Freedom of the Seas-Western--1100+ pictures/video-July 10, 2011 sailing

[RickyG]

Great Freedom review!! This is my first time posting after reading many reviews. Your writing style and the way you insert the pictures compelled me to take the leap and tell you "Thanks" for doing this!!

I am really looking forward to the rest of your BVI review. After many cruises and captaining my own pleasures boats, I have always wanted to try the 'Bareboat Charter' in the BVI. I can't wait to hear about your adventures. :)

[ryansmom]

Great Freedom review!! This is my first time posting after reading many reviews. Your writing style and the way you insert the pictures compelled me to take the leap and tell you "Thanks" for doing this!!

I am really looking forward to the rest of your BVI review. After many cruises and captaining my own pleasures boats, I have always wanted to try the 'Bareboat Charter' in the BVI. I can't wait to hear about your adventures. :)

 

Welcome to CC then :) Glad you found me & my reviews. Happy to hear I was your inspiration to post!

 

The sailing trip to the BVI was absolutely the best vacation we've ever had...even better than cruising. There is talk in my house of not only going back every year (or when we can afford to), but possibly buying our own boat....which will come in handy when we eventually retire ;)

 

yeah...it was that good and I miss it :(

 

I'm working on the next day when we leave the marina. Our first stop was The Baths at Virgin Gorda! Stay tuned....

[Winegirl58]

I'll write one next year after our vacation...we are renting a sailboat (with my brother-in-law's family) and sailing the British Virgin Islands for a week.

 

 

 

Hi Ryansmom!! I realize this review is a year old now, but I am enjoying the heck out of it! (I just found it) I would love to read about your sailboat vacation!!

[ryansmom]

Hi Ryansmom!! I realize this review is a year old now, but I am enjoying the heck out of it! (I just found it) I would love to read about your sailboat vacation!!

 

Welcome! Glad you are enjoying the heck outta our vacation! Plenty more sailing to write about...I'm only on day 2.

[ryansmom]

Okay...so you can have a better idea of where we went, this map is numbered where we started (#1) at Roadtown, Tortola, and the next stops (in order) that we made. I thought it might be a good reference for you.

[ryansmom]

Saturday, July 7, 2012

 

Destination: Virgin Gorda

 

We slept with no AC that first night. We only had a tiny fan blowing on us. It really didn't make a difference (only later in the week would we discover the fan had 3 different speeds), but it wasn't stifling hot either. I slept okay, Randy on the other hand...not so well.

 

We were up around 5:30am because the sun started to rise and it was getting light out and Randy couldn't sleep because he was warm. That little fan just was NOT cutting it for him. (What you don't know is, we had some really hot days at home before we left for vacation and our central air was having issues. We had more than one hot night at home...now here after traveling all day, when we didn't have air, he said it was just a cruel joke at that point).

 

My husband is an electronic technician and he is the type of person whose brain keeps working to figure out problems. Not having air conditioning on only one side of the boat (when it WAS there earlier in the evening), he wandered around the boat trying to figure out why it wasn't working.

Not having our walk-thru on the boat, about the boat, yet, he tried everything and looked everywhere. Eventually, he got off the boat onto the dock and checked our shore line power. That was where he saw the second breaker and that one was what seemed to trip a circuit board on the land power tower and blow out our starboard AC. He flipped it and our air conditioning was restored. At 6:20AM.

 

We never went back to sleep. We stayed up and took in the views. Around the marina was quiet this morning, except for the occasional rooster crowing in the background.

 

Eventually, the rest of the troops got up and we waited for the Sunsail rep for our walk through. The walk through goes over where everything (or most everything as we'd find out) is on the boat. Important things to know and such. It didn't take very long. There was a point afterwards where Randy and I walked all 4 teenagers out to the front of the boat and actually showed them our water tanks. We told them this was ALL the water we had onboard and told them "if YOU run us out of water, remember YOU won't have water either". I was really surprised, and proud of all of them, when we didn't run out once. (Granted, there are places we can stop to fuel, get water, dump our trash and buy ice and provisions while sailing around the islands.) While we waited for the 9:30am chart meeting (for the captains), Michele and I got some extra blankets and towels and some floats and noodles for the water (you can rent them there). Rick and Randy were in charge of getting us another grill and dinghy (extra dinghy = $35/per day :eek: ).

 

After their 9:30 chart meeting and after topping off our water tanks, we were ready to leave Roadtown, Tortola.

 

Everyone sat outside as we headed out of the marina. Some really beautiful sites on the way out: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

 

My husband and nephew worked on bringing our two dinghys from the front of the boat to the aft as we pulled away from dock. Michele & Ricky brought the boat fenders in off the side of the boat (I didn't do any work...I just took pictures and video) I just sat outside taking pictures and video. I guess Ricky was hungry from all his work, because as soon as we started getting going, he decided it was a good time to have breakfast? Not the best of ideas...Fruit Loops were flyin' everywhere! :rotfl:

 

Everyone else was outside too. The Captain and his Gilligan of course.... And all the family guys. Some were on the sundeck, and after a while, some on the trampoline enjoying the splashes. Later, Rick even thought about giving Ryan a shot at the helm!

 

After we hit the more open water, I went below to get sunscreen on. Turns out, that wasn't such a good idea. I started not feeling well. What the heck? I've NEVER been seasick..ever! Turns out, after thinking about it a day or so, I think it was partially because last night at dinner, I wasn't thinking and ordered that iced tea. Most likely made with island water. So, I'm thinking between that and the rough waters did me in. So, I sat in the aft of the boat and eventually laid down on the bench around the table. I must have dozed off (lack of a good night's sleep last night probably didn't hurt) because after a while Randy came over to me and startled me.

 

Turns out, we were already at the ONE place I was looking forward to visiting the most. The Baths at Virgin Gorda.

 

He took these pictures for me while I was laying down: Corinne excited to be at our first stop. Michele ready to catch the mooring ball and Casey excited we're here! (she's a bit dramatic)

 

When we arrived, it was time to make lunch. There were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, ham and cheese and snacks. After lunch, the plan was to dinghy to shore to snorkel and explore. I felt much better and wanted to go. Even if I didn't feel well, I was going. Randy was worried I wouldn't feel well during the dinghy ride to shore, but I was okay. Actually happy to have both feet on dry (steady) land.

 

Once on shore, we got our fins and masks on and away we went. The guys, (Randy, Rick, Ryan and Ricky) took off in one direction. I made the mistake of sticking with the girls (Michele & Corinne). Corinne was having issues with her snorkel, but since it was new, her mom was sure it was her and not her snorkel. They took forever, but we somehow made it around some boulders and did do some snorkeling. We lost the guys and ended up going back to where we started...where the guys were already back and waiting for us. Some of the sights from snorkeling: 1, 2, Randy stopping for adjustment, Ryan, 3, a view of our boat from where we were, 4 and 5. There's not much reef to see here, since it's all volcanic rock and boulder, but it's still very beautiful! 6, 7, 8, 9, our boat from where we were, 10, a 'road' of fish, more fish and I think he's following me?

 

I felt fine the whole time I was out snorkeling. Randy was concerned how I was feeling and met me in shallow waters. He took my fins off for me, and out of nowhere, I started feeling nauseous again. I went and sat on the dinghy and within about 30 seconds, I felt perfectly fine again. Now c'mon! What the heck was that all about? Luckily, that would be the end of that for the rest of the week!

 

Knowing how much I wanted to explore the Baths, Rick didn't mind waiting while the three of us walked around and saw what the Baths are famous for. Michele and Corinne came for a short time too, but they headed back not too far into the walk while we continued on.

 

We saw some beautiful sights and we hope to be able to go back someday for a longer period of time than just a quick afternoon. Too much to see, not enough time to see it today

 

Our sights: Ryan just being goofy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, us, 7, just amazing, 8, 9, 10, these ain't 11 no little rocks, 12, 13 and 14.

 

We arrived back at the dinghys where Rick was waiting for us. Michele had taken the other dinghy and Corinne back to the boat. We also brought some empty beer bottles back with us . They were in our dinghy when we got back from snorkeling. Really? You're going to leave your trash in OUR boat? Whatever...at least it wasn't left for litter on the beach.

 

Back on our boat, Captain Rick started heading north up the coast. Next stop: Bitter End & Saba Rock. I decided not to chance feeling sick again, so I laid down and rested. Apparently some others had the same idea while Ryan and Casey headed to the sundeck to enjoy the ride.

 

Along the way, we saw Richard Branson's island: Necker Island along the way. Private island...invite only. And his catamaran.

 

Beautiful sites of Virgin Gorda as we sailed up the coast: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

 

We arrived and moored. We went ashore to have drinks (this is a big thing with Rick & Michele...they stop for 'drinks' everywhere! I couldn't be part of that family full-time...my poor bladder wouldn't be able to handle it!) and buy a flag. We let Ricky be our dinghy captain this time. Welcome to the Bitter End. Rick always buys a flag each sailing trip they go on. Everyone gets a 'boat' name and signs the flag. Then, the hoist the flag up the mast. I will admit, it DOES make it easier to spot your boat among all the other boats when you're moored up and coming back in your dinghy. We had drinks at Saba Rock till after sunset. Ryan. With all this family, you wouldn't think he'd drink alone, wouldja? Nope...he didn't.

 

While we were sitting having drinks, we saw Richard Branson's catamaran moored at Bitter End Yacht Club. Lemme tell ya...it is one HUGE catamaran!! You do know who Richard Branson is, right? Founder of Virgin Air and record label.... Randy told me he thought you could rent his catamaran for like $88,000 a week! No thanks...buy something else instead!

 

So, we stayed briefly, talking, petting a kittycat and having a drink. As it was getting dark, we headed back to boat to eat dinner. The first of many pretty sunsets. Another sunset pic.

 

The dinner menu tonite consisted of: pasta salad, shredded chicken bbq and garden salad.

 

While we were outside eating dinner, we put the air conditioning on inside the boat to cool it for the evening. This would be our every day routine: open windows and doors during the day and while making dinner, and while eating dinner, put the AC on for the night. Worked perfectly.

 

The deal was, Rick & Michele cook (they brought all the meat and knew what they had), kids cleared the table and Randy & I did dishes. I've never done dishes in just inches of water before. I find myself still conserving water at home!

 

After everything was cleaned up, we decided to plot our next move for tomorrow. Rick came up with a good plan.

 

It was about 9pm when we had showers and called it a night.

[3red7s]

This looks time consuming...but very enjoyable. Thanks!! We leave on 9/11 & if you would scan the daily Compasses, that would be fabulous!!:o

[3red7s]

This is time consuming....but so wonderful!!! We leave on 9/11, if you could scan the Compasses, it would be awesome to have in hand!! thanks

[RickyG]

Once again, thanks for taking the time to do this time consuming review of your BVI trip with pictures I am really looking forward to reading about the rest of your adventure. :)

[ryansmom]

This is time consuming....but so wonderful!!! We leave on 9/11' date=' if you could scan the Compasses, it would be awesome to have in hand!! thanks[/quote']

 

This review is from LAST July. The Compasses are scanned and posted in each day. Altho, I'm not sure helpful they will be a year later? Enjoy your trip!

[ryansmom]

double

[ryansmom]

Once again, thanks for taking the time to do this time consuming review of your BVI trip with pictures I am really looking forward to reading about the rest of your adventure. :)

 

I should thank you for taking your time to read it!

 

I know they are long! :rolleyes:

[Winegirl58]

Loved reading your FOS review from last year (we are going in October), and now, I am thoroughly enjoying reading your sailing adventure. I have always wanted to sail those islands, and I probably won't, so I am sailing them thru you and your lovely family! Thanks for such great reviews! More photos the better! :D

[tndisneyfan]

Thank you for your review. I haven't had time to read all of it yet but I've enjoyed what I've read.

[bcsurvivor05]

Thank you so much for this review. We are doing the same itinerary in Feb. After reading all of the recent reviews of FOS I feel like I know the entire ship already and don't have to figure it out :)

 

Do you by any chance have a pic of the pullman down? Just curious what it looks like and how much room is really there.

[ryansmom]

 

Do you by any chance have a pic of the pullman down? Just curious what it looks like and how much room is really there.

 

 

It's at the end of Day 2 - Sea Day, when we retire for the evening (last paragraph maybe?). Post 34. (not a very good picture tho)

[Marty in KY]

I just spent the last 2 nights reading your review(s). Probably my favorite review ever. And I've read a lot of them on CC and Disboards over the years. Now my 11yo daughter has started reading your review of FoS as well. She loves all the photos--she's an obsessive vacation planner like me (we drive my wife crazy). We go on FoS Western Caribbean on September 30, 2012. Thank you!

 

BTW--I probably spent another hour this evening looking at the catamaran charters. Now I'm obsessed with wanting to try that, too. It's my dream to have a boat like that and sail the islands someday when we retire. Many, many years from now--but I can dream!

[ryansmom]

I just spent the last 2 nights reading your review(s). Probably my favorite review ever. And I've read a lot of them on CC and Disboards over the years. Now my 11yo daughter has started reading your review of FoS as well. She loves all the photos--she's an obsessive vacation planner like me (we drive my wife crazy). We go on FoS Western Caribbean on September 30, 2012. Thank you!

 

BTW--I probably spent another hour this evening looking at the catamaran charters. Now I'm obsessed with wanting to try that, too. It's my dream to have a boat like that and sail the islands someday when we retire. Many, many years from now--but I can dream!

 

You're lucky to have a 'partner in crime'.... Nobody here is a planner like me. I have to do the research and give them up to 3 choices. That's the extent of my guys' planning... lol.

 

You CAN rent a captain if you don't bareboat...it's a little more money, but still great if you really want to go and don't know how to sail. I was really surprised to see how many boats actually DID hire a captain!

 

Hope your family enjoys your trip. Freedom is a great ship!

[ryansmom]

Day 10

 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

 

The 'good plan' we came up with last night? Destination: Anegada. HAS to be the most beautiful place on Earth!!

 

Good morning Virgin Gorda. The day started about 7am. No surprise that only the 'adult' half of the boat was up this early. Not many up this early, but the people on this boat must not have had AC on their boat. We saw them jump in for a really early morning dip. After a little morning chat of the plans for the day and a wash down of the back deck, we decided not to wait on the teens to head out.

 

Around 7:45am we pulled off our mooring ball and headed toward the dock to top off our fuel and water and to get more water, soda and anything else we might need. The plan was to head to Anegada for the next 2 days, and it's waaaay out there (appx. 14 miles from the nearest island) and you can't get fuel, water or provisions at Anegada.

 

We pulled up to the dock right about 8am when the gas station and stores opened. While the guys fueled and watered up, Michele & I grabbed the trash and headed ashore in search of dumping our trash and finding our last minute provisions. 1, 2 and 3.

 

While we were walking along, we spotted Richard Branson's catamaran docked there. The Necker Belle. Such a HUGE boat...just amazing! We took many pictures of it too.

 

We dumped the trash and got some drinks and bread at the store. As Michele was paying, Randy showed up and it was a good thing! We were wondering how we were going to carry all that stuff back to the boat!:confused3

 

Back onboard, we pulled away from Virgin Gorda and headed toward Anegada. While pulling out, I just HAD to take pictures of Branson's catamaran, because ya know, how often do you see 'rich'?: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

 

It's a pretty far ride and we DID decide to raise the sail. Rick decided we had a good wind, so he got ready to hoist the sail. I don't have many pictures of the sail because I took video of it, but here is a picture of the sail up thru the hatch window in the aft of the boat. We got the jib up and then the sail and we were cruising at good 7-8 knots...a good wind! Simply a beautiful morning!

 

Wouldn't you know, the sail went up and THEN the troops got up! The kids had missed the whole thing! They were bummed, but we told them it wouldn't be the only time we had the sail up during the week. Then we teased them they shouldn't sleep all morning and they wouldn't miss stuff like that! (my theory is you can always sleep at home!)

 

Once the sail was up, it was about a three hour ride to Anegada. It was a beautiful sail and nobody felt sick. Corinne read after her breakfast. I took a nap. Michele cleaned up the rope (wench duties) and then sat out front to relax.

 

We all enjoyed the long ride and eventually we were on 'buoy lookout'. One red. One green. Michele & I determined they should be changed to hot pink and neon yellow to be easier to see from a distance! LOL Random pix: Ryan, Corinne with an ominous cloud over her and a very FLAT Anegada in the background and Ryan & Casey relaxin' and just pretty.

 

This is where we were goin. Anegada. It is the only British Virgin Island that is completely flat. All the others are mountainous. Anegada's highest point is only 28' high. It's made up from a coral reef, not volcanic rock, so there is a LOT of reef around it and it's very shallow very far out. It's a tricky island to sail into.

 

These two are pretty happy and excited to be here. I was too!

 

We moored just before noon and Rick wanted to make sure we had reservations for dinner that night at Anegada Reef Hotel. If you don't have them in by 4pm, you won't get in...especially if you want lobster for dinner. A local specialty, it's caught fresh. Oh, and they didn't take long to come collect the mooring fee either.

 

After we had moored and made dinner reservations (7:30pm), we all had lunch and then the boys decided on a quick swim. Ricky was always first in at any stop we made. After lunch was cleaned up, we loaded everyone into the dinghys to head around to the other side of the island (near Cow Wreck Beach) for some snorkeling. It was quite a ride, so the guys took turns 'driving'. Ryan and Ricky.

 

It was so beautiful on our ride out there. The water got so shallow in some spots, we could walk next to the dinghy. We went near Cow Wreck Beach where there is good snorkeling although some shallow spots, Rick says it's good stuff to see. We didn't get any rain from this cloud, but it looked cool.

 

Sites along the way: 1, 2, 3, Ryan again and Randy doing what he does. These rental properties not in such good shape...altho, rented? 4, 5 and 6.

 

We finally arrived at our spot. The water was beautiful. Clear and warm! Absolutely perfect! Not sure if you noticed in the pictures, but we were the only ones on this part of the island and beach. That is always nice.

 

Ryan had not planned to do shallow snorkeling, as we understood it to be rocky. Not his thing. Since he wasn't going to go, I wasn't going to go because he's my kid and I'd stay behind with him. Well, our 2 nieces weren't going either, so Michele offered her shirt and gloves to me to go (since I hadn't brought mine beacuse I had planned to stay with Ryan). I wasn't going to, but I decided to go for it. After all, how often do you get to snorkel in Anegada? So, Rick and Ricky were 'buddies' and Randy & I were "buddies" (ALWAYS swim with a buddie).

 

While the 4 of us were out snorkeling, Ryan, Michele, Corinne & Casey went for a walk along the beach.

 

In the meantime, we had a great time snorkeling. We saw lots of fish and lots of shallow grassy areas. That was the first time I'd ever snorkeled in about a foot of water! What an experience. I was bummed Ryan had decided not to come. It wasn't rocky at all and he would've been fine. We had a strong current that kept pushing us back, but we ended up out further than we thought. Easy swim back in though.

 

Scenes from snorkeling: 1, definitely shallow...but grassy, not rocky. We never did get any of that rain, deeper, more shallow, it did get deeper in spots, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, we were pretty far out there, and yet only this deep!

 

We started going parallel to the shoreline and the little current there was, was strong. Even if I was standing up! I was having a hard time maintaining my balance! Randy sitting making an adjustment.

 

More scenes from under the sea: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

 

Later, we arrived back on shore and the shore-group showed us their findings: a TV from Japan, or maybe China? Ryan thought this was funny to find a tv on the beach! AND Ryan's pride find: a beautiful conch shell. After I said how beautiful it was, the next question out of my mouth was "did you find it in the water?" He told me not only was it NOT IN the water, it was behind the beach in the grassy area. I made sure he was certain and he said he was; and it was dry.... I asked him if he was keeping it, and he wanted to. Then we told him "then YOU are hauling it home...not us...we are not carrying it". He was fine with that. Corinne was happy with her coral collection from her walk.

 

After Rick & Ricky came back in, and some pictures, we all loaded into the dinghys and headed back to our boat.

 

Here would be those pictures we took: Our crew, Ryan & Dad, ocean 1, ocean 2 and a picture every married couple should take.

 

See.... I was there. Corinne was with us on the way back, and we had a good time on the ride back. And no...it never did rain on us.

 

Along the way, Ricky jumped out of their dinghy and ran to shore, picked something up, and hopped back in the dinghy. Turns out, he had spotted a coconut. I'm not sure whatever happened to it because we left it with Rick & Michele when we left.

 

Once there, we cleaned up and got ready for dinner at the Anegada Reef Hotel, while Rick and Michele ran over in the dinghy to make sure we had a beachside table. She came back with a menu in case anyone wanted to change their order from lobster or chicken to something else (2 takers). We were enjoying watching the sun begin to set but, before we left for dinner, we had to fly our flag. You can't sail around flagless! So, once everyone had a 'name' and signed the flag, we raised our colors. The family flag of: Skipper, Wench, Gibbs, Calypso, Sniper, Skippy, Nemo & Blonde Colada was officially flying. (My husband was also dubbed "Big S.H.I.T." which stood for: Skipper's Helper In Training.)

 

I have a jillion pictures of the sun setting, so I won't bore you with all of them. Just a select few: 1, 2, 3, a "moment", 4, 5 and 6. Sun setting and flag officially flying, it was time to head ashore for dinner. Oh, and our flag wasn't the only thing flying in the wind all week

 

We left our boat and headed ashore. We arrived just after dark and had two tables on the beach; one for the teens and one for the adults. The boys. And the girls.

 

Of course we took some pix: our family, their family, brothers and 'sisters'.

 

They cook fresh lobsters right there on the beach. There were lobsters for Rick, Randy, Ricky and Corinne. Chicken for Michele and I, ribs for Ryan and steak for Casey. Generous portions and the food was delicious. I believe the lobsters were in the 2 - 2.5 pound range. Definitely worth the money and not a morsel left! Of course, we took lots of pictures and enjoyed a great meal and awesome company.

 

When it was time to head back to the boat, somehow it was decided to race back in the dinghys. Teens vs adults. It was pretty close, but we edged the kids out (we had the better/faster dinghy boat).

 

Back onboard, we gathered everyone up to relax outside and watched the stars. There were jillions of them as it was a clear night. Not too long out there, I called it a night. It was chilly out and I was tired anyway. Mornings are too early to stay up too late (unlike the kids)!!

 

At least we were staying put tomorrow and not sailing away to anywhere else. Total 'relax' day tomorrow...that means 'sleep in'...yay!

 

[RickyG]

Great review of your trip so far!!

Compared to a cruise, does this way seem like a lot of 'work'? Meaning you have to do the grocery shopping, cook the meals, clean up.......

Don't get me wrong, I want to try a bareboat charter in the future, but it's also nice to go on vacation and have someone else do the work.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your adventure!!

[loeytalldog]

Love your review and pictures! Keep going!

 

How did the teens cope with not having electronics for the week? Did you hear I'm bored etc.?

 

Lois

[ryansmom]

Great review of your trip so far!!

Compared to a cruise, does this way seem like a lot of 'work'? Meaning you have to do the grocery shopping, cook the meals, clean up.......

Don't get me wrong, I want to try a bareboat charter in the future, but it's also nice to go on vacation and have someone else do the work.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your adventure!!

 

Believe it or not, it's MORE relaxing than a cruise. Shopping was no big deal...really. My BIL/SIL cooked, kids cleared the table and my husband and I did dishes (I washed, he dried). It was no more work than at home really. Trash full? Take the bag out front to storage and when you get to next stop, dump it. And being able to eat dinner in your swimsuit and not have to change for the dining room...big plus ;) Casual EVERYWHERE ya went. Absolutely totally relaxing and at your own pace. I'd pick it over a cruise ANY day.

 

Love your review and pictures! Keep going!

 

How did the teens cope with not having electronics for the week? Did you hear I'm bored etc.?

 

Lois

 

Thank you (welcome to the trip). Actually, the teens didn't moan about being bored. The oldest girl is a big reader (read 1+ Harry Potter books during the week), the other is a sun goddess and the boys...well, they are boys. Hung around with their Dads and our nephew brought his laptop...apparently loaded with some tv shows/movies for them to watch at bedtime (and before dinner one night). My son is so easy going...he's like 'whatever'. He surprised himself (& us) by REALLY enjoying the trip. He said he wants to go back, it was the best vacation he ever had. (We are checking into a sailing trip in the Bahamas for 2014) My nieces/nephew have iPhones, so whenever we stopped for water, or provisions (or our 2nd day on Anegada), they checked for free wi-fi. Believe me, they jumped at that EVERY single chance they could...but, didn't 'complain' about not having it. My kid doesn't have a smart phone, so it didn't bother him at all.

 

working on next day.....

[Angelsea57]

ryansmom,

 

Thank you for such detailed reviews, you did a great job.

 

I know it's a lot of work. Thank you!!

 

This post made my day. We will be on Freedom soon too.

 

It's nice to see all the details you posted about the

 

ship. Glad to see the Flat screen board, the Madagascar

 

characters, cup cake shop, etc. This reminds me of when we

 

cruised with Oasis and Allure. So nice..

 

Great job. :)

[ryansmom]

Day 11

 

Monday, July 9, 2012

 

Anegada...Day 2.

 

Good morning Anegada. It's so beautiful here, I have tons of pictures just from this morning. And yes, they were out to collect their fee this morning too. The water looks very different through my sunglasses (they're polarized), so I tried a couple of pictures through my sunglasses: 1 and 2. I won't bore you with the rest... I have a TON of pictures of just scenery. It's so beautiful, you can't help but take so many pictures.

 

This was truly starting as our 'relax day'. We slept in till probably around 9am! The lastest I've slept all vacation! One by one, the troops got up and we started having breakfast eats. This morning would be the day we would discover that you cannot run the air conditioner AND the toaster at the same time! Seems we'd blown a fuse and with a little call back to Sunsail, they told us where/how to reset it. All fixed, but NO more toaster with the air on...lesson learned!

 

Late morning we decided to head ashore. Today we would be taking a taxi to the other side of the island to Loblolly Bay beach. And, of course we would be doing some snorkeling too! The ride wasn't very long, or exciting. Saw some locals on the way and stopped to look waaaay across to Flamingo Bay. They looked like little pink dots they were so far away, but the views were beautiful. Our ride was about 15 minutes or so and before we knew it, we arrived and before we left for the beach, we asked the driver to return and pick us up about 5pm. This was our 'open air' taxi.

 

Loblolly was a nice little area. Couple of beaches, gift shop, a restaurant, restrooms and very quiet and not crowded at all. We walked toward one of the beaches to settle in for the day.

 

We claimed our little part of the beach with our own little tiki and headed into the water. Of course we took a ton of pictures, but I'll just post a few of the better ones: I dubbed this one my new wallpaper for my laptop and love in paradise. Another 'married' picture...this time with the beautiful sand. (You can't see it, but it has a lot of red in it from coral.) Thinking we need to go somewhere less crowded?

 

There was some beautiful snorkeling here. Everyone but Michele and our nieces went out. It wasn't as shallow as the other side of the island that we were at yesterday, but the fish and things we saw here were just as good, if not better.

 

Scenes from today's snorkel: Randy, my nephew's family call him "Rickyfish" and we dubbed him the "Fish Whisperer" because these fish followed him around for THE longest time, see? This shell is kinda scary, dontchathink? On our way out, Randy spotted a conch shell. He picked it up for a closer look and hey look! ....somebody was home! Now don't be getting all upset, he did put him back where he found him. A little further out, we saw the barracuda! He even had an entourage with him. He is one mean lookin dude! We didn't stick around too long to watch him.

 

We were movin' on.... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, came across him again, 6, reef 1, 2, a fish we didn't see many of, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, say cheese, this fish blended well with the rock and reef, see?. He's bottom left corner, 14, 15, a little more color here, 16, 17 and 18.

 

On our way back in, we stopped to watch this fish that was blowing the sand on the bottom. He did one hole, then swam to the right and blew another hole. I believe he was eating whatever stirred up from the sand, but after he did the second hole, he went back to the first hole. We just floated here for about a minute just watching this dude. He was quite interesting.

 

I noticed how 'wavy' the sand on the bottom was. Seemed so natural and unspoiled. I have a few pictures because it was just so neat and undisturbed. We continued on in...still seeing fish. 19, 20, back to shore, and it's still beautiful. Ryan getting ready for lunch...just waiting for everyone else.

 

We were out for about an hour or so when eventually everyone had made their way in for lunch.

 

We all had a nice lunch at the Big Bamboo. The menu and drink menu 1 and 2. This was my view at lunch...the beach where we were. There were (spicy) wings and conch fritters for appetizers while we waited for our lunch.

 

Although it wasn't crowded, it sure took a long time for them to prepare and serve lunch. So, I eventually came up with an idea to speed things up. I decided to walk to the beach on the other side of the restaurant and see what was there. Nobody. Just beauty was all. I took a few pictures and Randy joined me. We took a picture of us and then headed back to the table. I was hoping it was one of those "if I leave the table, the food will come" deals. And, sure enough, I was gone all but 3 or 4 minutes, and the food arrived. Uh...you're welcome.

 

Mostly chicken fingers and cheeseburgers were ordered...I was actually hungry and ordered a salad. We must have been the late lunch crowd, because by the time we were finished eating, everyone else had left? Oh well...we were ready to get back to the beach anyway.....

 

After lunch, we walked back to the beach and saw some ominous clouds. It never did rain on us, even though it seemed we were surrounded by rain clouds. Some went back out to snorkel, Ryan went out with his Dad and was his 'buddie'. Michele went out with the guys for a bit this time while I stayed behind with the girls and found shells along the beach and in the shallow water. When Michele came in, she went 'shelling' the smart way...with her snorkel still on. I put my mask and snorkel on and joined her.

 

We found some really pretty shells and coral here. And, out in deeper waters, my husband found me 2 sand dollars. They were extremely fragile and I was afraid they'd get broken on the trip home, but they did not. Once the guys had finished snorkeling and came ashore, we packed up and headed out toward the area we needed to pick up our taxi.

 

We had our taxi return for us about 5pm and he was early. While he was waiting for us, he took up a game of cards at the Big Bamboo and we just waited for him to finish. (That's called "island time".)

 

He drove us back to the dock where our dinghys were and we headed back to our boat. We got back not too long before 6pm. As soon as we got back to the boat, we remembered we forgot to bring back ice. We always need ice, so the guys went back ashore real quick and picked some up. It didn't take them long...they were back in no time. A quick wash of the deck and snorkel masks and the sun started setting already.

 

It was time to fire up the grills and start dinner. On the menu for tonight was steak, corn, 'smash' potatoes and salad. Always a family dinner and nice to spend the time talking with everyone. Might be why I can't find any pictures of dinner from tonight?

 

The teens were plenty hungry, of course, and they patiently waited for dinner. Ryan even decided to clean up the deck...because some grill ash had landed on it. Our Swabbie did a great job!

 

Some other pix while waiting on dinner and the sun to set. I have at least 36 pictures of the sun setting...I'll try to post just the best ones: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

 

After a delicious dinner, Randy and I did the dishes and cleaned up again.

 

There was a family game of Go Fish and a very long game of Uno (we played with 2 decks of regular cards...plus 7 people...makes for a VERY long game!

 

Finally someone won and we called it a night. Showers and bed weren't too late tonight...probably between 10-11pm since we all slept in that day!

 

Tomorrow we leave for the next island...but I love this one......

[Eng23]

Hi Ryansmom! I'm still following your BVI Sailing vacation with great interest. Your review of the Freedom last year was a big help in getting me through my pre cruise countdown and your info was most helpful.

 

In reading about your current adventure in the BVI I am enjoying your writing style and the wonderful photo's. As I wait to sail the Allure of the Seas later this month I can only think that I might enjoy the type of sailing vacation you embarked on. It does look like alot of fun. I am curious as to what the cost was for the boat for the length of your vacation? I know that the small runabout boats are extra as is renting a captain if you are not an experienced sailor. Keep up the good work on this sailing vacation review. I am drooling for more! :)