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April 1998 Polynesia PagesBEFORE THE CRUISE
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Polynesia April 1998
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First let me tell you that there are two excellent reports of this trip on the Barefoot Bulletin Board. I have also posted them here on my site. Sheri and Julie have given great accounts from the perspective of first-timers.
After the last passengers had departed on Saturday, we were off to the Virgin Islands.
Besides the crew, there was only me and a couple who were going to meet the Flying Cloud in Tortola. We raised the sails and left Sint Maarten at 6ish (7:15). The sun had already set and the air was kind of chilly. We had a late supper and then I headed up to the top deck to sleep. The solitude was awesome. Except for the bridge crew, I was the only one topside. Pretty soon the sound system started blaring out ZZ Topp, Pink Floyd, Queen and various other soft rock artists. I decided to head to my cabin. The music didn't keep me up...I had dozed off several times...but the wind and cold weather kept waking me.
The next morning I woke up before dawn. I got my coffee and went topside to see where we were. By this time we were heading into the wind and the sails were flapping in the breeze. (a foreshadowing of the rest of the week.) The Virgin Islands were dead ahead. I looked back toward the bridge and Captain Neil was bouncing on his tows, practically giddy. "It's grrreat to be back in the Virrrgin Islands."
By nine o'clock the Tortola harbor pilot had docked us on the large pier in Road Harbor. Road Town, Tortola is a beautiful harbor. It's lush and surrounded by hills. The buildings are low so that the foliage is visible. The bay is very busy with sail boats coming and going from the several marinas. Also in the harbor was the Flying Cloud.
Pretty soon after we docked, folks started bringing their luggage to the ship. I was sitting up on the top deck when the Captain told me there were some people in the saloon looking for me. I went down to meet them but Zelda, the purser, told me I couldn't leave the ship until I had cleared Immigration so I waited while everyone else went for breakfast. Around eleven o'clock, I was cleared and jumped into a Suzuki with some of the email gang to explore Tortola. We met some of the folks who had arrived early at a small cafe and got acquainted. From there we drove to Cane Garden Bay. Its a very narrow beach with several bars. Since I had an early breakfast, I ordered a burger while the others swam and tanned. After a couple of hours there, we just drove around the Island and enjoyed the views. Around by o'clock we were back in Road Town at a restaurant called Pusser's. I had read and heard about Pusser's a was under the impression that it was an old authentic pub. It was actually more akin to The Hard Rock Cafe with several locations around the BVIs each with a gift shop that sells Pussers logo merchandise. Their famous drink is the Painkiller so I had a couple while a steady stream of soon-to-be Windjammers entered.
We headed to the ship around five thirty. I had already checked in so I made my way up to the top deck and started meeting some of the early arrivals. (I had changed rooms between cruises...moving from the BQ to a standard cabin.) A steel band started playing pretty early and dinner was served around seven. The party went pretty late and it was fun to finally meet the people with whom I had been corresponding I had been corresponding.
The next morning some folks went out to explore Tortola again. Since I had done that the day before, I decided to stay aboard and relax. We were supposed to sail at noon but due to some bureaucratic nonsense we didn't get off until after 2 o'clock. We sailed for a couple of hours and ended up at _______ Island. (Sorry, but I can't remember the name.) The Captain put the dive board down and most of the passengers swam off the side of the ship until a barracuda decided to check out the festivities. A sit-down dinner was served and the inevitable crab races followed.
Tuesday found us at Norman island, home of Billy Bones. BB is one of those little beach bars. Not much to it ...the atmosphere makes it great. Billy Bones' speciality is the Pirates Punch. The recipe is simple...a shot of rum...a shot of spiced rum...another shot of rum...then some rum...then the bartender waves a bottle of fruit juice over the glass and adds a shot of rum. Hand him or her an eleven dollar bill and enjoy. Some may disagree but I think Pirates Punch puts Sunshine's "Killer Bee" to shame. One of our shipmates is rumored to have passed out after just one of them. (I didn't observe this incident so I will not name names.) I had two and decided that I wouldn't need another drink until the next millennium. There was also a "floating" bar on the island. (I put "floating in quotes because a friend who visited the BVIs a month later tells me that it was still in the same place.) Several shipmates went there...some were carried. Since I wasn't due to have another drink for 2 and a half years, I went on back to the ship.
At Story Time that morning Captain Neil had announced that there would be a Toga Party that evening. There were only three rules...1) one sheet...2) one knot...and 3) no underwear. By dinner time he had eased up and made the party a combination Toga-PPP party. PPP is not the software you use to connect to the internet. It's short for Pirates, Pimps and Prostitutes. Actually anything that starts with the letter P will do. Most folks went with the toga option. Laura Jo, the activities mate, was recruited to check that the men were in compliance with rule number three. The process is too embarrassing for me to describe here but it was hilarious at the time. Captain Neil then made sure the women were in compliance...only a few were. A contest for best costume followed and the finalists were awarded a bottle of champagne.
It had become obvious by this time that we weren't going to get much sailing in on this trip. I was aware of this beforehand but it was now just beginning to sink in. The Virgin Islands are close together so no trip is more than an hour or two. Also there are lots of rocks and reefs so it is not practical to sail at night. I knew I would miss the long night sails...I just didn't no I'd miss it so much.
But anyway..we arrived at Jost Van Dyke early Wednesday morning. There was a long beautiful tree lined beach. The tenders took us to the beach for a wet landing and the day was spent sunning and swimming. For about an hour the beach was ours. There was a small hotel there but most of the guests had not made it to the beach, yet. Unfortunately at about eleven o'clock a large tender arrived. It was full of passengers from a foo-foo ship that was parked around the corner. Within a few minutes another tender came and the beach was packed. I grabbed lunch at a small bar and headed back to the ship early, laid out on the deck and took a short nap.
Dinner that night was at Rudy's on another harbor in Jost Van Dyke. First we went to a real nice outdoor bar called Foxy's. It was real relaxing for a while but we were soon attacked by sand fleas. There was some bug spray at the bar but that quickly ran out so we walked over to Rudy's. Rudy had fixed a huge buffet with lobster as the main attraction. Exactly a week ago I had been feasting on lobster at Sunshine's at Nevis. The Poly was turning into a package tour. (If this is Wednesday, it must be lobster.)
After the lobster, a band played, Popeye sang and there was dancing in the street in front of Rudy's. There was also a big butt contest for the women. Again I will not mention any names.
It was car rental time again. Several of us rented Suzukis and headed off to explore Virgin Gorda. We started out at the Baths, a rock formation that has formed caves and pools. From there we drove around the island ending up at Leaverick Bay for lunch. There's a fairly large resort with a Pusser's restaurant. We dined outside and just relaxed for couple of hours. After more exploring, we ended up at the "Top of the Baths" restaurant and bar. There was a small pool there which was nice after almost two weeks of swimming in salt water.
After a buffet dinner on the ship, most of the passengers went back ashore to a bar near the marina. There was supposed to be a band but it ended up being a DJ who was playing mostly disco...not exactly my cup of tea.-- (NOTE TO ANYONE READING THIS IN THE DISTANT FUTURE--In the mid-90's there was a sudden resurgence of the disco-music of the late 1970's. Please do not judge our generation by this strange aberration. As I write this in 1998, the trend seems to be subsiding and hopefully will be forgotten by the turn of the century.)--Luckily there was a baseball game on the bar's TV and some of us sat at the bar watching and trying to talk over the lilting strains of the Village People, Bee Gees, and Donna Summer.
On all my Windjammer trips, Friday has always been "beach day". This was pretty much the same except that Marina Cay was pretty well developed compared to the small islands in the West Indies. It's a small island near Tortola (aren't they all) with a resort hotel and several bars; one of which was another branch of Pusser's (The BVI Cafe.) The island is surrounded by a break water. I couldn't tell if it was natural or man made but it was sufficient to keep the waters around the island calm. It was so nice that I spent most of the day in the water. Before heading back to the ship several of us went up to another bar at the top of a hill and were treated to a great view of the surrounding islands and the Poly at anchor.
At Swizzle time that afternoon the crew held an auction to raise money for a satellite dish. The TV station in St. Maarten has closed down and videotapes were the only entertainment available for the crew during their time off. Because a ship is in constant motion, the dish needs to be stabilized by a gyroscopic devise. A regular $250 Primestar-type dish wouldn't do. The cost for the gyro-synchronous dish is near $3000!!! The crew donated The 1st Mate's shorts, a piece of sail with the Windjammer Logo, a flag autographed by the crew, and the cassette with various versions of Amazing Grace and other songs that is played when Polynesia's sails are raised. I don't know the exact totals but the bidding went through the roof. There was less than $1000 when we arrived and by the end of the auction, they had enough to purchase the dish.
I think Captain Neil was ready to do some real sailing by this time. He took the Poly for a spin around the waters around Tortola. It was great to spend time sailing at night.
Again the Captain's Dinner was not the finale to the cruise. After dinner and Popeye's flaming dessert we headed back into Roadtown. There were tenders available until late and most everyone went into town, stopping first at Pusser's (lame) then heading to The Pub (cool).
Saturday morning was interesting. The Amazing Grace was in the harbor and came along side to deliver supplies to the Poly. I had an afternoon flight so I just relaxed on board until time to leave. The taxi ride to the airport was longer than I expected. The Beef Island airport was a surprise, too. This was the first time I've seen chickens running around free at an airport.
West Indies vs. British Virgin Islands
The cliche would be to say "apples and oranges" or "they both have their good points" or "you can't say one's better, they're just different." Well I'll probably catch hell from BVI enthusiests but I really think that Polynesia's regular itinerary lends itself better to the Windjammer experience. Make you're own decision, though. Lots of folks love the Flying Cloud and have returned several times. I would like to return to the BVIs but I think I'll stay on land or charter one of those plastic boats (after I win the lottery, that is.) Winjamming to me means sailing and there is just not enough opportunity for it around Tortola. Other than that it was outstanding. We had a great time, the islands were beautiful and the crew was fantastic so if the lack of sailing is my only complaint it is a minor one.
The British Virgin Islands are a great place to just relax. Don't expect a lot of history and culture. Just beautiful beaches, fun bars and quirky restaurants. If you want more variety of activities the West Indies is best. In other words, they're like comparing apples and oranges. They both have they're good points. Neither one's better, they're just different.
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April 1998 Polynesia PagesBEFORE THE CRUISE
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