Upcoming trips...

[Patti Puzo]

I know it is a little early, but when and where is your next/upcoming trip to Abaco?

Ours is May 07, on Guana.... I am pushing the excitement meter now... I can't imagine what it is going to be like as we get closer to spring:rolleyes: . Even after several trips, it still is an incredible feeling of anticipation!
Patti Puzo

[CrossPatch]

June 30, 2007 16 days on Lubbers!

[KTJ]

11 more days and we'll be in Treasure Cay... First time for both of us. We're so excited we can hardly stand it! :D

[Nowhere]

11 more days and we'll be on Guana...can not wait!

[South Pause]

Hey Denise and Clint: We are arriving on the 22nd and staying until the 26th. Think we'll be overlapping for a change! Let's get together. Want to get you guys over for a drink and a tour!
Will be fun spending T'giving on Guana.

[Abaco_Doug]

We only have 4 more days until we return to our house on Guana for a week. Then the next trip is March 17th, 2006 for 2 weeks ti escape New England winter!

Doug & Karol:)

[Henz]

you all make me sick... :( try October 2010 for two weeks!!!!!!!!!!

[SamFamAustin]

I know you mean, Henz! I checked my passport and had a Gomer Pyle moment ... GOLLY SARGE, EXPIRED ... I was wanting to come down to Man-O-War this Christmas to see the parents! Well, off I go to the post office and all that ... hopefully all fixed up sometime before 2010. :eek:

[Patti Puzo]

Hey Sam! Any chance you will be down there next spring?

[Chuck M.]

Our first trip will be May 4-14 2007........7 days on Lubbers and 2 in Marsh Harbour. Too far away to count days yet......I'll wait until I'm a "two-digit midget" (99 days or less).

[NCDD]

plan on sailing through around May, date varies with how much fun we have in the Exumas

[DrRalph]

Probably late June for us, we'll HQ at Seaspray like we did this year (http://www.drralph.net/06_Trip_Report_Elbow_Cay.html). Also we're sneaking in a little trip to BVI for Near Year's Eve:D .

[TurtleDreams]

For a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year, we will be on Green Turtle for 2 weeks starting on New Years Eve, Yippee!

[Chuck M.]

I'll highjack the thread for just a moment....

Dr. Ralph: Where are you staying in the BVI?

[bellavista]

12 days to go

[DrRalph]

Chuck, we're staying at the Heritage Inn (http://www.heritageinnbvi.com/), it's on Windy Hill between Carrot Bay and Cane Garden Bay, facing Jost. We have a Jeep, and a Contender 22 for three days.

[Chuck M.]

Dr. Ralph: Tha's a nice spot, and from CGB yo have easy access to White Bay and Great Harbour on Jost; two of my favorite spots in the BVI. I'm jealous........have a Painkiller for me at the Soggy Dollar Bar......

[South Pause]

We rented a private villa some years ago, called "Papillon", on the hillside over looking Smuggler's Cove on Tortola. Recollect there was an "on your honor" bar down on that little Smuggler's cove beach, with a cigar box where you deposited your $ for cold beer that was in a floor cooler.
There was an old car that was in the middle of the barroom. Never anyone there and we were there for 10 days. Nice little private beach.

Think they may have filmed part of the Old Man and The Sea remake there.

[Chuck M.]

South Pause: The bar at Smugglers is still there and is now run by the son of the gentlemen that owned and ran it years ago. The car was still there two years ago.

[Karyn]

June 29th - July 8th on Guana. Was just there 3 months ago and seems like a year!! Can't wait

[DrRalph]

We stayed at Sebastian's in Carrott Bay a few years ago and rented a Bradley 30 at Nanny Key Marina. We visited Jost and did Foxie's, as well as the Soggy Dollar. We considered staying at the resort, I think it's Sandcastles, there in White Bay, but we couldn't find anybody that would allow us to keep a rental boat there for the week, and I figured we'd go stir-crazy.

Smugglers Cove is indeed gorgeous. We visited in Dec' 02, and the old gentleman who owned that car was still alive (I can't remember his name). He achieved some notoriety for being the Queen's driver during her visit to Tortola in 1960(?), and that was the car they rode in. If you look around the room there are old waterlogged pictures of the event. He entertained us with the story while we sipped Painkillers, quite the afternoon.

One more BVI tale: we ran our rental boat into the bight of Norman Island on Dec 30, 2002. New Year's Eve is a tremendous holiday in BVI, and boaters from all over the world converge there for the festivities. There must have been 150 boats anchored up in the harbour, it was very tricky to work through them. At the north end was a little bar called Billy Bones Tavern, which has since been demolished and replaced with condos (sound familiar?). The bar had a substantial dock, and there must have been 20 dinghies and other assorted craft tied up.

In the middle of the dock we encountered an improbably voluptuous young woman who was wearing what appeared to be a child's bikini (never got the photo:rolleyes: ), a baseball cap, and a very big smile. She was holding a golf club, and there were several balls on a green turf mat next to her. Off in the distance, maybe 75 yards, was a red inflatable ring. The local air/sea rescue organization was running a contest to raise money to buy a defibrillator, and our girl was selling five chances to hit a ball into the ring for $10. I played miniature golf once about 30 years ago, but lack of experience was no excuse to pass this up, so Bunny and I each tried a few swings, she actually got one within a few yards of the ring on the second hop.

So we go into the tavern, there are at least 100 people in there, partying like crazy. We found two seats at the bar, ordered a round, and then settled back to watch the chaos. The couple next to us got up and left, just as another couple approached; they asked if the seats were taken, we replied in the negative, and they sat. The woman was maybe 40, slender, rather plain appearance, had on a yellow yacht/logo shirt, and khaki shorts. He was mid-fifties, a little dumpy, curly gray hair under a ball cap, sun glasses, 3-day stubble, and a bathing suit. They ordered drinks, then she got a call on her VHF, something about a crisis back on the yacht. The two of them were talking about her going back to the boat, when I got a very strong vibe about the man's voice and appearance. It took me a minute, then he turned to face the bar, and I saw the tell-tale "mole" on his chin. As the woman left, he lowered his cap and hunkered over his drink, back to the crowd. A moment later he turned again to hail the bartender, smiled at me, remarked that the place was really jumping, and went back to his drink. I leaned over and quietly asked, "Do people mistake you for Jimmy Buffett?"

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]He looked and smiled, chuckled, and took a drink. I said, "You mean to tell me, you're going to sit here in the middle of this bar, in the middle of these islands where you wrote all those great songs, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Please Don't say Ma

[Sandalman]

March 17th for 2 weeks with Abaco Doug and the wife's twin sister on Guana.
Last trip was March 2005 so we are foaming at the mouth!Can't wait to see everyone again and live the island life for a little while at least.

Scott & Karen

[Charlotte Couple]

Looks like we'll just miss you next year Patti! We'll be on MOW for two weeks in mid-April. Our usual travel friends will be with us the first week, and then my brother and his wife join us for the second. Their first time in Abaco.

Lat & Debby

[Patti Puzo]

Hey Lat.... How is the new grandbaby? I am so sorry we will miss you and Debby! My brother still talks about how skilled she was on the front of the boat in that wind at Cracker P's. I am a little shakey standing in the boat itself! I can't believe that has been 2 years (almost).
Take care...
Patti

[haziewaller]

March 21, 10 days on GTC. Lincoln Jones is taking us to see Barefoot Man!

[Chuck M.]

Great story Dr. Ralph. I've done 5 bareboat charters in the BVI, and on my first, Billy Bones was our first stop. Next year will be our first that we skip the BVI and head to the Abacos for our first trip there. If we ever cross paths, we'll have to trade some BVI stories. I get over your about once every three months to do some offshore fishing out of Adventure Yacht Harbor.