Rick and Greg the Grand crew on the Hard: March 18th

It rained through the night and it was the old dance opening hatches closing hatches...bumping into the captain in the dark (scary in daylight). The plan for today is to go across the river to Jost Van Dyke likely to Foxy's were I hope to celebrate a salute to the human liver and behave. You are all thinking 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' so be it.
Rick changed the alternator belt on the engine yesterday. The old one had been working for two years and was slipping. We could smell the occasional puff of burned rubber and once we ruled out Louise's bathing suit we zeroed in on the belt.


this mornings short route

The Ford Lehman diesel is unique in that to take the belt off and replace you have to take off the hose for the circulating pump and off course the antifreeze all has to be drained out to accomplish this. Access is not bad but you have to lean over the engine for an hour or two.

Jost Van Dyke BVI

Once we get the ship shaped or is it shipshape...when we are ready we will move over to Jost Van Dyke. There are several notable harbours and anchorages on Josie. JVD is named after a dutch pirate. the island is only about 4 miles by 3 and has less than 300 permanent residents.
Today we will moor at Foxy's in Great Harbour. There are many options on Jost Van Dyke as shown; Soggy Dollar and Ivan's in White Bay are good day anchors or taxi over from Great Harbour. Then Great Harbour, Little Harbour and the relatively new Tabu at the east end.
more later

The Crossing:

We had a spirited sail across from Tortola to Jost Van Dyke. We were steady 6.8 to 7.1 in cross swells and stern quartering 20 plus breeze. It was a nice run to say the least. This boat can lift up her skirt and go.

Our plan for today continues to evolve. Louise is preparing to stomp her flimsies, Mary Lynn is making lunch and Rick is changing to look less pouffie when we go to shore for ice.

Later that day

We went to shore and Louise walked over to White Bay while we took the cab. Our cab driver 'Gregory'. He proceeded to introduce us to as he framed it a reggae white boy from Jamaica 'Mishka' not only did he play cuts from Mishka he sang and gesticulated. Now for those of you who have taken the road from Foxy's to White Bay it is not a road that one should combine driving and gesticulating while singing. Then he singled me out when he got to the lyric 'the fool in the mirror' and he was looking at me in the rear view mirror, his tip reflected that (pun intended).
Mary Lynn arranged the return trip with Gregory in two hours hence. (that meant drinks at Soggy over to Ivan's and back in two hours) We managed to cram all our activities into the two hour window. I prefer the pace at Ivan's to that at Soggy.
About mid path between Ivans and Soggy there was a pair of sandals sitting nicely together...

We met Gregory who was exactly on time and he sang and pointed and looked at me in the mirror etc...all the way back to the police station.

We went back out to the boat and prepared for shore leave, dinner at foxy's and some dancing. Dinner was relatively uneventful but the pace was not moving too fast and we had timed our peak early.