The beginnings are always the hardest. Harder than going home. For our trip this year to the British Virgin Islands, it’s felt like a race against time to get ready.
Starting From The Front Row
Fate has given us hardly a nickel’s worth of consideration in these final days before we depart: work crunches, a mouse infestation in the home, and a sub-freezing arctic front icing down the city is just par for the week before vacation.
You set the traps, you wear a coat, you press on.
Alicia and I took some time last week to drop by Silent World and get some gear; last year’s adventure convinced us both that a good set of personal snorkeling apparatus would both increase visibility and decrease discomfort (and the “somebody spit in this snorkel” ick factor).
We have our fins, new partial-dry snorkels, and a set of superhero-like rayblocker masks from Seadive. In addition, you’ll be able to come along with us on this trip as we explore the BVI’s best (okay, closest-to-the-boat) snorkeling destinations with a Flip Ultra HD cam fitted with an underwater case.
Headed Where?
At some point in 2007, The Moorings completed massive renovations on their Road Town base in the British Virgin Islands. In June of last year, we had a chance to experience it, and it’s a hell of a job. Green marble showers, a pool, restaurant and bar, and shops for everything you need, and that’s before you step aboard your boat and forget all about life on land.
The plan is to be aboard the boat about 17 hours from now, with food freshly stocked and linens primed for sleeping; the next morning sees us at the briefing and on the way to Norman Island where I can go to that place I like that’s got the sand and water and fish.
We’ve been lucky to have been upgraded to a 37-footer; a Beneteau Oceanis line monohull sailing vessel with a bunch of state-of-the-art-blah, blah, and blah. You’ve heard this part before. I’m just trying to write something in order to stay up until 3:30 in the morning.
That’s when we leave for the airport.
Oh, the inconvenient things we do for convenience. Hurry up, 3:30.