Beginning the countdown…

Lori is heading to the islands tomorrow, I will be following along with the rest of the crew on Tuesday morning. Still waiting for my travel authorization with the USVI portal. I’ll start panicking if they don’t arrive in the morning. Packing will also be done tomorrow and soon we will all be frolicking in the Virgins!

Stormy weather!

After a mostly calm day, we had a little storm hit Austin and Lake Travis around 18:30 on May 28, the regular Memorial Day weekend storm for the area. I recorded a maximum true wind speed at the top of the mast of 70.3kts, that’s 80.845mph for you landlubbers!

Ripple handled it like the seaworthy vessel that she is, the only damage was when my Berkey water filter fell across the galley as the boat was on quite a heel! Luckily, Berkey is having a sale on replacement parts this weekend!

Dock F appeared to drag it’s anchors and actually kissed dock E. Luckily I am hearing no reports of damage to boats or people. The crew here at Sail and Ski Yacht Club was on the job immediately after the wind died down putting everything back in place and had everything ready for the Memorial Day weekend by daybreak.

British Virgin Islands – 2021

It FINALLY looks like the sailing adventure that we had planned for June 2020 (British Virgin Islands) > postponed to October 2020 (BVI) > postponed to December 2020 (BVI) > postponed to March 2021 (Tahiti) > postponed to June 2021 (Tahiti) > postponed to June 2021 (BVI) is going to happen. We are making our final preparations and expect to be boarding our charter on Tortola, BVI on June 2nd!

So many preparations, hotels, transfers and airline reservations purchased and canceled for a single sailing trip. The number of times that Covid regulations and closures postponed this trip made me think we were living in a Gilligans Island episode!

It is now time to start packing the SCUBA gear and swimsuits!

Preparations and Provisioning

We are now less than 14 days from our next adventure – circumnavigating the British Virgin Islands.  I can’t wait to play with the Lemurs on Necker Island, eat lobster on Anegada Island, SCUBA dive the wrecks of the Rhone and the Kodiak Queen, and swim in the Baths once again.  At this point we are closely watching the weather, getting all of the last minute details confirmed, preparations and provisioning are being lined up, documentation is being located, and Covid 19 tests are being scheduled.

See you soon in the BVI!

Mardi Gras Storm

We had a little cold front here in Texas this year.

Monday February 15, 2021, the temperature dropped to 9.1°f @ 8:09am with a wind chill of -6.8°f @ 8:48am here on Lake Travis in Central Texas.

I measured 9″ of snow in the cockpit on Ripple, and
5.75″ in the middle of the dock!

Ripple weathered the storm quite well, keeping me warm and toasty below deck!

Of course I took a few photos, here’s a sampling

February 15, 2021

SV Ripple on Lake Travis Texas during the Mardi Gras storm of 2021. – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

The view from Ripple

Sail and Ski Yacht Club parking lot during the Mardi Gras storm of 2021. Lake Travis, Texas February 15, 2021 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

Sail and Ski Yacht Club parking lot

February 14, 2021

Please join me on Ripple when the weather warms back up!

BVI 2020???

With the leadership of the United States continuing to not take the Covid 19 seriously, the BVI along with many other countries have set in place many strong rules and restrictions regarding US Citizens and others entering their countries. At this point we have had to once again postpone our next planned charter. After the first of the year, we will look over our options and hopefully make it down to the BVI sometime in 2021.

BVI Love!!!

Postponed Again!!!

Well… with the Covid-19 explosion here in the United States, it looks like most of the world will not be allowing United States tourists to enter their countries.
So… we are postponing the 2020 trip once again. We are now hoping to board a 47′ sailboat on December 4th to enjoy the warm island water and wonder hospitality of the British Virgin Islands once again.

Postponed

With the current situation with the Covid-19 virus, the BVI has CLOSED their borders for the month. As I currently understand the situation, travel into the BVI is scheduled to open up for belongers on June 1. After the borders are opened to belongers, there will be a 30 day moratorium on vessel travel between the islands, and a 90 day block on tourists being allowed into the country.

So…..
That pretty much cancels our plans to blissfully sail around the BVI on June 18 . We have rescheduled our charter to September 29, and extended it for another day, making this trip an 11 day sail!