The Baths -> Roadtown

Today we sailed from Jost Van Dyke to Virgin Gorda with a brief stop in Soper's Hole to take on additional fuel. We beat upwind and picked up a mooring at the Baths and headed into Spring Bay for a cookout. We fixed traditional Caribbean jerked chicken and enjoyed the tranquility of Spring Bay. After our cookout we headed back to Roadtown and docked for our final night onboard.

Heading into Spring Bay
Swimming in Spring Bay

The guests departed this morning around 10am and Captain Jim Baker and Wooten Jones are heading back to the states. Another great end to a season in the British Virgin Islands!

Soggy Dollar Bar -> Sydney's House of Peace and Love

We sailed downwind from Anegada and made a brief stop to dive Brewer's Bay on Tortola on our way to White Bay, Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar Bar. We spent the afternoon on anchor swimming to and from the bar enjoying the world famous painkillers and the beautiful beach.

Wooten, Jim, Andrew, and Julie at the Soggy Dollar Bar

Painkillers served up fresh at the Soggy Dollar

The whole crew at the Soggy Dollar Bar

After our afternoon at Soggy Dollar Bar we headed to Sydney's House of Peace and Love for dinner. After our lobster feast on Anegada, most of us chose to move onto traditional Caribbean BBQ at Sydney's. There BBQ plate has some of the best goat, chicken, and pork that you will taste anywhere in the Caribbean. After dinner we shared a few drinks with Sydney and Sydney Jr. and enjoyed the peace and quiet of Little Harbour.

Dinner at Sydney's

Anegada - Cow Wreck Bay and Lobster Dinner with Sam - from Food Network

We spent the afternoon on Anegada at Cow Wreck Bay with Alex. We went diving and snorkeling on the reef right in front of the bar. We followed our snorkeling with a very competitive game of Bocce Ball.

The girls laying on the beach at Cow Wreck Bay

Captain Jim playing Bocce Ball with Alex

This evening we enjoyed a lobster dinner with Sam at Whistling Pines on the west end of Anegada. Sam has been featured on the Food Network with Alton Brown, on his show Feasting on Waves. Sam is a friend of the Lundy Charters crew and helped teach the girls how to cook lobster. He showed the girls how to catch, clean, and prepare what Food Network considers to be the "best rock lobster in the Caribbean." We had the opportunity to show Sam the video of himself on Food Network for the first time this visit, thanks to Captain Chris tracking down a copy and sending it down.

Hanging out with Sam at Whistling Pines
Lobster at Whsitling Pines

Bitter End Yacht Club - Monday Night Mashup

This morning we left Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke and headed up wind to the Bitter End Yacht Club. We are making a stop at the Indians to do some diving and some snorkeling before heading the rest of the way up the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Virgin Gorda.

Sailing off Virgin Gorda
Captain Jim talking through maneuvers off Tortola

Lundy Chaters Friends Trip Begins - Foxy's

We picked up our friends in Red Hook, USVI this afternoon and headed straight to Foxy's to enjoy the evening on Jost Van Dyke. We made Chicken Roti onboard and headed into Foxy's to party for the evening.

Wooten Jones at the Helm on our way to Red Hook

Tomorrow we plan to head for the Bitter End Yacht Club for Monday Night Mashup (the last one of the season).

Family Trip Ends - Lundy Friends Trip Begins

We dropped our family off at Guana Island this morning and picked up the Lundy Charters friends charter in Red Hook this morning.

The Baker Family on docks

Captain Jim Celebrating Festival on Tortola

Anegada -> Bitter End Yacht Club

This morning we headed south from Anegada to the Dogs. We went scuba diving at The Chimney which is one of the most popular dive sites in the British Virgin Islands. After our dive we enjoyed lunch on the mooring and then headed to North Sound on Virgin Gorda to the Bitter End Yacht Club. We enjoyed the evening on docks and dinner at the Pub at Bitter End.

Having a beer with Sam from Whistling Pines and Altons Brown's "Feasting on Waves"

Captain Jim with his family at Cow Wreck Bay

Family Charter Begins - Trellis Bay -> Anegada

After turning the boat over we headed back over to Trellis Bay to pick up Captain Jim's family who are coming down to enjoy an end of season charter. We started out early from Beef Island and enjoyed an upwind sail to Anegada.

Once we reached Anegada we headed to Loblolly Bay for a dive and then to Cow Wreck Bay to spend the afternoon with Alex at his bar. We enjoyed a lobster dinner at the Anegada Reef Hotel and then headed over to Whistling Pines to have a couple of drinks with Sam.

At the helm heading for Anegada
Loblolly Bay
At the Bar at Cow Wreck Bay
Captain Jim playing "the ring game" at Cow Wreck Bay

YMCA Sail II BVI Program Departs

The girls enjoyed the short commute to shore via dingy this morning to Trellis Bay on Beef Island. Trellis bay is a short 100' walk to the Beef Island Airport. After checking their bags in for their early afternoon flight they walked around explored Trellis Bay's art gallery and cafes. There flight departed on time from Beef Island bound for Raleigh, NC. We are sad to see them go... We can't wait to do it again next year.

Roadtown - Trellis Bay

We left the bight at Norman Island early this morning and sailed across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Roadtown. The girls explored Roadtown during Festival, which is the a celebration of the end of Slavery in the BVI. After lunch we headed back out for one final sail up the Drake Channel. We practiced man-overboard procedures and tacking as we worked our way upwind to Trellis Bay. We had a final banquet dinner at the Loose Mongoose. The girls will enjoy a short commute to the airport in the morning (via dingy) and then they will be off on there way back home.

Captain Chris Instructing on how to Pick up a Mooring Ball

The girls at the Loose Mongoose

Sandy Cay - Sopers Hole - Norman Island

This morning pulled off docks at Sydney's House of Peace and Love and left Little Harbour on Jost Van Dyke bound for Sandy Cay. We anchored on the downwind side of the island and swam in for a short walk around the island.

Laying out on the Beach at Sandy Cay after the hike

After pulling up anchor at Sandy Cay we enjoyed a downwind sail to the home of Blackbeard the Pirate, Sopers Hole. We picked up mooring balls headed to shore to explore. We stocked up provisioning at Sopers Hole and did a little shopping in East End before heading back out.

Renoir II Sailing out of Sopers Hole from the mast of Mad Dog II
Mad Dog II on a Beam Reach sailing to the Indians

We sailed the boats side by side from Sopers Hole on our way to snorkel the Indians and the Caves at Norman Island.

The Indians, from the Mast of our boat

An underwater group picture of the girls snorkeling at the Indians

We anchored off Norman Island (the inspiration for the book Treasure Island) for the evening. Tomorrow morning we are bound for Roadtown, the capital city of the British Virgin Islands

Jost Van Dyke - White Bay/Little Harbour

Today we enjoyed a nice downwind sail from Monkey Point on Guana Island to Jost Van Dyke. We practiced jibing, sailing wing on wing, and our man overboard procedures. We reviewed keel boat nomenclature as we passed in between Sandy Cay and Sandy Spit.

Sailing a downwind course to Jost Van Dyke

Our first stop was White Bay to swim and enjoy the pristine white beach (thus the name). After our stop at White Bay we headed to Sydney's House of Peace and Love in Little Harbour for an authentic Caribbean style BBQ, courtesy of Sydney himself. The girls docked the boats "Mediterranean Mooring" style to the docks.

Grinding the winch
Hailing Renoir II on the VHF to coordinate Anchoring

Monkey Point

After a smooth downwind sail from Anegada, we headed to Marina Cay to top off on provisions and water. We headed through the Camino Cut and over to the southern end of Guana Island to an anchorage called Monkey Point. The anchorage is protected and has wonderful snorkeling. The girls spent the evening snorkeling and with the help of Captain Chris Davis, the girls are preparing a local Caribbean dish, Chicken Roti, for dinner.

The girls on the beach

Sailing through a bit of rain near Virgin Gorda

Anegada - Lobster Dinner with Sam - from Food Network

This evening we enjoyed a lobster dinner with Sam at Whistling Pines on the west end of Anegada. Sam has been featured on the Food Network with Alton Brown, on his show Feasting on Waves. Sam is a friend of the Lundy Charters crew and helped teach the girls how to cook lobster. He showed the girls how to catch, clean, and prepare what Food Network considers to be the "best rock lobster in the Caribbean."

Helping Sam carry the lobsters from the ocean

Captain Jim and Captain Chris with their friend Sam, pulling lobsters

Picking our own lobsters for dinner!

Anegada Service Project

We started our service project morning by having breakfast at Dotsy's Bakery in the Settlement (which is the only town) on Anegada. We enjoyed fresh baked cinnamon rolls and banana bread amongst the locals as we prepared for our service project.

The Girls at Dotsy's

After breakfast we headed to the Anegada Rock Iguana sanctuary where Rondell showed us around the facility. The girls cleaned the cages for the iguanas, prepared fresh food, and fed them. They helped to build new cages for the expanding program. The program currently protects 60 iguanas per year until they are fully grown and then releases them into the wild. The Anegada Rock Iguana is endangered and there are only around 600 iguanas worldwide, all of which reside on Anegada.

The Girls at the Anegada Rock Iguana Rehab Project

After helping with the Iguanas we headed over to the Anegada Methodist Church. After the concert last night they were able to raise enough money to purchase the island its own set of instruments. We shared an amazing lunch with the congregation. They members of the church prepared fresh fish, curried chicken, and various other Caribbean dishes. The girls shared the camp blessing with the congregation.

The girls at the Anegada Methodist Church

After lunch we helped clean up an old school building to store the new instruments that the children will now be able to play year round. The girls worked hand in hand with the local children to clean out and prepare the building to store the steel drum set.

Having a blast with the locals!

The girls took a brief tour of the island and headed back to the boats to prepare for a lobster dinner at Whistling Pines in celebration of a job well done.

Anegada - Choir Performance

Upon anchoring at Anegada we headed to shore at the Anegada Reef Hotel. Our first destination on Anegada was Cow Wreck Bay on the northeastern part of the island, where we had a great afternoon of snorkeling around the reef and exploring the beach. We visited with Alex, the owner of the restaurant on the beach, and he told us about his family's history on Anegada and played some of his music for us.

The Girls Arriving at Anegada

After a great afternoon on the beach, we headed back to the boats and cooked dinner together. The highlight of the day was an evening concert at Anegada Methodist Church. The children of the church had just finished a five-day music camp, and we got the chance to hear them perform. They danced, sang songs and played steel pans (steel drums), and the atmosphere was incredible! It was very special to see how the people of the church come together to worship - it was lively and a great chance for us all to see how lucky we are. We had a great time singing along with them!

Tomorrow we are planning service projects with the church and with a rescue program that works with the endangered Anegada Iguanas. And we are very excited about a lobster dinner with Sam, the chef at Whistling Pines!

Sail to Anegada

The girls woke up early and enjoyed breakfast while motoring out of the North Sounds. We raised our sails as we passed Necker Island and set our course for Anegada. We enjoyed strong winds and a relatively calm sea once we reached the leeward side of Anegada and the protection of the third largest reef system in the world (Anegada itself is the third largest reef in the world).

The Girls at the Helm Pulling out of North Sound
Captain Jim and the girls Sailing out of North Sound

The girls learned about reefing sails, reading clouds, and predicting weather while sailing a beam reach the 17 nm miles to the "drowned island" (named this because the highest point on the island is 23ft above sea level).

We reached the channel to Anegada and the girls were able to negotiate the difficult channel with ease. We set our anchors in front of the Anegada Reef Hotel and headed into shore.

Bitter End Yacht Club

After a windy night in Savannah Bay we were quick to get underway and take advantage of the strong breezes to finish our upwind sail to the North Sound of Virgin Gorda. We picked up a mooring ball at the Bitter End Yacht Club, where the girls enjoyed an afternoon of swimming in the pool, shopping, and hiking.

The girls enjoying lunch
Snorkeling

We enjoyed fresh catch dinner on the dock and the Fat Virgin followed by a movie at the outdoor movie theater at Bitter End and some dancing with DJ Heavy Beats. We plan to depart for Anegada in the morning...if the girls can pry themselves away from the Bitter End Yacht Club.

The Baths - Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour - Savanah Bay

We began the day with an early morning sail from Cooper Island to Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour. We stopped in for to provision some fresh fruit and local bread from the bakery on Virgin Gorda. The girls explored Spanish Town and picked up some post cards to send home.

The Girls in Spanish Town

After our stop in Spanish Town we sailed downwind to the Baths for an afternoon of snorkeling. We capped off our afternoon with a cookout in our secret Lundy Charters cookout spot nestled amongst the rocks.

The girls at the Baths
Snorkeling at the Baths

After the Baths we sailed upwind to Savannah Bay to anchor for the night. We are enjoying having Savannah Bay all to ourselves for the evening!

Sailing to Savannah Bay

Notes from the Girls:

"Having so much fun, love you lots." -Rachel

"Hey, the weather is amazing and the wind is great! Having the time of my life, can't stop smiling." -Sarah B.

"Mama te extrano mucho, manana es tu cumple y no dse si te ha llegado mi carta asi que mil felicides, me la estoy pasando de pelos! este lugar esta incrieble, muchisimas gracias por esta oportunidad, estoy feliz! te quier much" - Mar

"Hey guys, can't wait to see you all in St. Thomas on the 9th!" - Captain Jim

Cooper Island

With the girls at the helm, we set out for our for their first sail this morning to Cooper Island. Diving right into the curriculum, we learned about basic navigation, rigging, and furling. After arriving safely at Cooper Island, the girls took time to snorkel around Cistern Rock before heading into Cooper Island for some beach time.

The Girls at The Cooper Island Beach Club

Getting Ready to Snorkel Cistern Point

SAIL II BVI Girls Arrive in the British Virgin Islands

The girls from the Sail II BVI program have arrived in the British Virgin Islands and are safely aboard the boats in Trellis Bay. The girls spend the evening orienting themselves to their homes for the next 10 days, a matching pair of 50ft Benateau Yachts. Captain Jim and Captain Chris have divided the crew amungst the two identical boats and are ready to head out on our first sail in the morning. Our destination is Cooper Island, just across the Sir Francis Drake Channel from Beef Island.

Lundy Charters Crew Arrives in the BVI

The Lundy Charters Crew, Captain Jim Baker and Captain Chris Davis, arrived safely in the British Virgin Islands and have begun preparations for the arrival of the Sail II BVI Program. We are provisioning, fueling, and sailing the boats to Trellis Bay on Beef Island where we will meet the girls. Calm seas and a clear forecast await the girls arrival.

Captain Jim Baker heads to the Pamilico Sound on the YMCA Sail On Program

Captain Jim Baker joins Captain Lee Sutton on the YMCA Sail On Program this week for an overnight cruise with campers from Camp Seagull and Camp Seafarer.

Fraser Island

We took a two day one night trip over to Fraser Island from Hervey Bay. The island is accessible by 4X4 and only by ferry. When we arrived it was raining and we headed through the Central Station (an old logging station) out to the main beach. We drove up the beach and as we did the showers stopped and the sun came out for the first time in a week. We had good timing. We saw the wreck of the Maheno, an old passenger vessel that washed ashore on Fraser Island and drove up the 75 mile long beach to the north end. There were very few people there and we spend the majority of our time out of sight of any other people.

At the north end of the island we waded in the champaign pools and relaxed on the beach for the afternoon. For the evening we drove back down the beach and camped out for the night. We cooked dinner and camped right on the beach with no one in sight as far as you could see in both directions. The stars were the most stunning I have seen anywhere...including out at sea.

We spend the next day exploring the rain forests and inland lakes on the islands interior trails. The inland lakes boasted white sand beaches and clear blue water. It looked more like a beach in the caribbean than an inland lake. We relaxed at the lakes and went on nearly every trail on the island before leaving on the last ferry.

We are back in Hervey Bay now for the day...catching the overnight train to the Whitsundays for a couple days of sailing.....

Byron Bay

We arrived in Byron Bay around 8pm during a heavy downpour only to find that there was no room left in the inn so to speak at the hostel we had booked. After a brief canvas of the lodging options we were able to secure a two bedroom apartment from a surly Frenchman named Gerard. We took advantage of the full size kitchen and fixed a proper hot dinner and followed that with some much needed ice cream. The winds and rain picked up overnight and by morning the weather had blown out.

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day and headed out to the beach to enjoy the beautiful weather. We lounged on the beach, enjoyed pints at the cafe, and explored town until it was time to catch our bus up to Brisbane at 8pm.

Byron Bay is full of surfers and young travelers, needless to say..the place is quite full on a Valentines Day weekend.

Sydney

After an early morning flight from Melbourne, we arrived in Sydney around 8am. We headed over to the hostel to drop off our bags and begin exploring the city. We headed down to the
Harbor and caught the first train over to the Taronga Zoo. We spend several hours at the Zoo and even caught a seal show at the end. After the Zoo we took the ferry back over and took a tour of the Sydney Opera House. The project began with a budget of 7 million and ended up costing around 109 million to complete.

After the Opera House we headed back to the Hostel to get settled and moved into our room. We were able to make it back up town in time to catch the sunset from the Sky Tower. We enjoyed dinner afterwords in the rotating restaurant on the top floor.

The next day we got an early start heading to the Australian National Maritime Museum and Wildlife World before lunch. We spend the afternoon taking a cruise around the harbor and exploring the Sydney Aquarium.

We spent our last rainy day in Sydney getting caught up on rest and visiting a few last sights. We revisited the Australian National Maritime Museum and caught an afternoon film at the IMAX about the Wild Coast of Africa.

We have now begun our treck up the East Coast. We caught a 7am train out of Sydney bound for Byron Bay.

Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road...hard to believe there is more to the tour than standing on the very beach that Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze stood on at the end of the film "Point Break''....Bells Beach... This was actually our first stop on the tour...couldn't save the best for last.

We actually begun the tour from Melbourne, amongst the worst bush fires in Australian history. The fires affected suburban areas of the city itself so the effect was easily felt among everyone we encountered on our tour.We passed through Geelong (Second largest city in Victoria) and stopped in at an Aboriginal Cultural Center there. It was our first encounter with Aboriginal people that we were able to interact with. The Aboriginal people experienced a history similar to that of Native Americans in the United States ( I am starting to think it was worse). Needless to say they is a large amount of the population that is understandably self-separated from western society. It was good to have a chance to actually speak with an Aboriginal person, as it seems that every Australian (White - European decent) has a different opinion about the "situation".

We drove up the coast to the "Twelve Apostles" where we hopped into a helicopter for a birds eye view of this natural wonder. The video and photos of our flight are amazing and will be posted to this page...see above...

We also visited an arch just up the coast called "London Bridge" and were surprised to learn that a second arch existed before 1995 and had fallen while people were out on the section that is now separated from the land. Fortunately no one was hurt during the collapse...but they did just finish filming a BMW commercial on the arch and had 12 BMW's parked on the part that collapsed the week before. Good thing for Bavarian Motor Werks that they didn't film the commercial one week later.

Kangaroo Island

Up and out the door early to catch the first ferry to Kangaroo Island our of Port Jarvis. You may remember Port Jarvis made the news a few years back when a dead whale was devoured by great white sharks off its coast for several days a few years ago. There are some famous pictures of a local standing on top of the whale while the sharks were slowly eating there way through it. We had the privilege of riding with the very man who captained the reporter out to take that famous picture. (See Below)

Kangaroo Island is the 3rd largest Island in Australia with a population of about 4000 people. We headed out to Pennington Bay for a bit of a swim before getting our tour of the island started. We headed out to a few rocks named the "Remarkable Rocks". They resemble "The Baths" in the British Virgin Islands, but these rocks are perched high atop a cliff and have a fantastic view of the southern ocean. We visited several beaches that hold a few of the remaining Australian and New Zealand Seals. You can get very close to the seals and we were able to get some amazing pictures of them. We finished up our visit with a sand boarding in a place called the "Little Sahara".

Adelaide

After arriving on the Ghan from Alice springs, we didn't have very long in Adelaide....an afternoon and evening on the front end of our trip to Kangaroo Island and an evening on the back end. We spend our afternoon looking through the city market in Adelaide. It is the Australian version of a farmers market. We stocked up on some fresh fruit for our trip to Kangaroo Island and headed down to the beach. We found the only Mexican restaurant in town and enjoyed Sangria and a great view of the beach. We needed a chance to cool down from our days spent in the scorching outback heat.

The Ghan

This morning Jim and Maria rode on the legendary Ghan - a train that travels from the southern part of the continent in Adelaide all the way up to the farthest point of the Northern Territory of Darwin (many of you may have heard of this from the movie Australia) and back. We started the journey from Alice Springs yesterday at noon and will arrive back in Adelaide today around 1pm. The train is the way to go...this is now Maria's 3rd excursion on a train in Australia and it is a great way to see the land as I am learning how vast and expansive the Australian is. The Northern Territory where we just left has only 1% of Australia's population. It's hard to comprehend until you actually drive 9 hours on a paved highway with much or less the same scenery and look on a map to find that you have gone about 1 inch. This was our experience for the last 2 days when we took a tour of Ayers Rock (Uluru), Kings Canyon, and Kata Kjuta from Alice Springs.

Maria and Jim Explore the Outback

The first day we drove 6 hours starting at 5am out to Kings Canyon, stopping on the way to get my first glimpse of some kangaroos and a camel. The temperature for the day was 41degrees C, so about 100-110 F, so needless to say we only did a 1 hr. hike of the Canyon before returning to the van to enjoy some refreshing AC. From there we made a 4 hour drive to our camp site outside of Ayers Rock. That night we enjoyed a traditional Australian BBQ with kangaroo steaks - a great way to spend the night in the outback after a memorable sunset over Kata Kjuta (huge clumps of rocks rising over 500m in height in the middle of the desert). The next day was filled with the sunrise over Ayers Rock, a 2 hr. base walk of the rock, another 1 hr. hike of Kata Kjuta, and a million curse words at the billions of flies that flocked to piss off all the tourists. If Jim and I had not each invested in a fly net the day before, we would have been absolutely more miserable - at one time you could have 75-100 flies all over your back, arms, and face. That fly net was undoubtely the best $9 I have ever spent - for my emotional, physical, and mental safety! ha. Upon arrival at our hostel, our first priority was icing down a 6 pack and ordering a pizza to celebrate our accomplishment of seeing, exploring, and surviving the harsh outback

Jim Baker and Maria Powell meet up in Alice Springs, Australia

Today Maria Powell and Jim Baker met up in Alice Springs, Australia for a month long trek across the country.

We will be postings update, photos, and using the SPOT messenger to track our travels across Australia by satellite. Our travels will take us to Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Melbourne, Sydney, Bryon Bay, Brisbane, Maryborough, Hervy Bay, Fraser Island, Properpine, Airlie Beach, Sailing around the Whitsundays, and Cairns. If any of you have any suggestions for us or know anyone we should meet, please drop us an email

More to come after a visit to Ayers Rock tomorrow.....

After a final night at The Last Resort Guests Depart.......

After we sailed over from the baths to Trellis Bay. We went ashore on Bellamy Cay to enjoy dinner at the Last Resort.

After dinner the band came on and several of our guests made use of the "guest mic" on stage.

After breakfast our guests departed Trellis Bay by cab for the ferry dock and back to the states......

Afternoon Cookout at the Baths

We spent the afternoon cooking out at our favorite spot at the Baths. We set sail for Trellis Bay. We dodged a few squalls on our way over. We pulled into Trellis Bay and headed into the Last Resort to confirm out dinner reservations and have a few drinks.

Chris warming up the rock grill at the Baths

Florence and Jim

Relaxing at the Baths

Departing Cooper Island for the Baths

At 0700 we dropped the mooring and headed for Virgin Gorda. We are going to make a quick stop at VGYH to pickup a few items for our cookout and then head over to the baths.

Photos from the sail to Cooper Island

Departing Soper's Hole for Cooper Island

After a quick provisioning stop at the Harbor Market in Soper's Hole, we have departed for Cooper Island. We plan to snorkel cistern point and relax on the beach at the Cooper Island Beach Club.

Departing Jost Van Dyke

After enjoying homemade Caribbean Roti made by Chef/Mate Chris Davis the crew went ashore to relax at Sydney's House of Peace and Love.

After enjoying the honor system bar they walked over to Harris's Place for some dessert.

We are heading over to Soper's Hole for a quick provisioning stop.

Relaxing at the Soggy Dollar Bar

After a quick sail around Sandy Spit, we realized that there was no better place to ride out 30 knot winds and heavy seas than the tranquility of White Bay. We pulled in early this afternoon for a few painkillers and lunch aboard. We plan to spend the afternoon relaxing on the beach and then head up to Sydney's House of Peace and Love for the evening.

Relaxing on the Beach at the Soggy Dollar Bar, enjoying the famous Painkillers

Set Sail for Jost Van Dyke

This morning we enjoyed breakfast anchored off the Anegada Reef Hotel and then set sail for Jost Van Dyke. We are making a quick stop at the airport to aquire some delayed baggage, but our destination for the evening is Foxy's.

Spending Christmas Day on Anegada

After arriving at Anegada, we headed over to Cow Wreck Bay to snorkel and relax. We watched the storms roll past Anegada and enjoyed a spectacular rainbow that stretched across the length of the beach. We headed back to the boat for a quick shower before meeting Sam at Whistling Pines for dinner. Whistling Pines was made famous when it was featured on Feasting on Waves with Alton Brown as the best place in the Caribbean for Lobster. As usual, Sam did not dissapoint and presented us with a spread of BBQ and Lobster.Tereasa and Jim at Cow Wreck Bay

Guests Arrive at Bitter End Yacht Club for Christmas Eve

After a short delay on the ferry, we picked up our guests in Roadtown and headed to the Bitter End just in time for Christmas Eve Dinner. They enjoyed the Christmas buffet and made a short stop over at the pub before singing Christmas carols aboard. After a good nights sleep, a great breakfast, we set sail for Anegada.

Lundy Charters Crew Waiting at BEYC for guests

The Lundy Charters Crew is enjoying Christmas Eve on docks at BEYC, we just checked our guests flights and they are on time. We plan to go pick them up using one of Bitter Ends boats this afternoon when they arrive in Roadtown on the 5:00 pm ferry. In the meantime, we are finishing our provisioning and enjoying catching up with our old friends at the Bitter End.

Sunset at the Bitter End Yacht Club

On the way to the Bitter End...

After a busy day in Road Town provisioning the boat, we are now underway to the Bitter End Yacht club to await our guests' arrival tomorrow.

Lundy Charters Crew Arrives in the Virgin Islands

At 1400, the Lundy Charters crew arrived in St. Thomas. We are heading out on the 1615 ferry to Tortola. Our guest arrive on Christmas Eve.

We plan to pickup the boat in the morning, provision, and head to the Bitter End Yacht club where we will await our guests.

Oyster Catcher in New York Harbor at Night

The lights of New York City at night from the bridge of the M.V. Oyster Catcher

Halloween Charter Aboard M.V. Oyster Catcher

Captain Jim Baker arrived in New York to serve as a Relief Captain aboard the M.V. Oyster Catcher. Captain Geoff Werner and Captain Jim Baker sailed the M.V. Oyster Catcher around New York Harbor on Halloween. Glorious Catering and mates Chloe Douglas and Fred Brehm helped entertain family and friends aboard while we left from the World Financial Center, went around the Statue of Liberty and up the East River and Hudson River.

Sunset during the M.V. Oyster Catcher Charter in New York Harbor

George Washington Bridge

M.V. Oyster Catcher on docks near the World Financial Center

Statue of Liberty from the bow of the M.V. Oyster Catcer during our Halloween Charter

Lundy Charters founder Captain Jim Baker races at Belhaven Yacht Club

After finishing the delivery of the M.V. Oyster Catcher, Captain Jim Baker and Captain Geoff Werner took an afternoon off to race at the Belhaven Yacht Club. We raced with some of our friends from the Bitter End Yacht Club and finished second overall.


Captain Jim Baker before onboard before the race

Captain Jim Baker at the Belhaven Yacht Club before the race

Video from the Race

Important reminder, bring cold beer to a race.

Lundy Charters Runs Long Island Sound Charter on M.V. Oyster Catcher

Captain Jim Baker stayed in Darien after the delivery of the M.V. Oyster Catcher to help Captain Geoff Werner run its first charter of the season. The charter was out of the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT. After a squall blew through, we were able to get out on the water and run a great charter.

Captain Jim Baker at the helm of the M.V. Oyster Catcher

The squall from the bridge of the M.V. Oyster Catcher

The Indian Harbor Yacht Club

The Charter Guests Celebrating a Graduation
Captain Geoff Werner sharing some local knowledge with the guests

More Photos From South Andros Remote Fly Fishing Trip

Kurt and Justi show off their bonefish

Dinner.....

Haircut onboard

Making some conch salad....

Departing Marsh Harbour....despite the brush fires

Despite brush fires near the airport, our flight to Miami was still able to depart from Marsh Harbour.

Special Thanks

We would like to thank the Captain and crew of the Chicora from Charleston, SC for lending us the use of their tender yesterday. Thanks guys!

The end of one adventure, the beginning of many more...

Last night Chris and Jim relaxed and enjoyed a good night's rest at the Abaco Beach Resort in Marsh Harbor, and will be returning to North Carolina today. Lundy Charters would like to thank all of our guests from last week: Brian, Kevin, Jim, Peter, Justi and Kurt for making our adventure one to remember. Here are some pictures from the week:


Sunset over the Tongue of the Ocean



Dinner in Fresh Creek



In search of bonefish



South Andros



Fishing a Blue Hole



Enjoying a Lobster dinner aboard the boat



Anchored off an uncharted island




Sunset in Hope Town

Lundy Charters Staff Enjoys a Day Off in the Bahamas

Chris Davis and Jim Baker Enjoy a Day off in the Abacos

Lundy Charters Founders Chris Davis and Jim Baker are back in Hopetown after a sail from Nassau

We are back in Hopetown with the boat. Today we are heading up to Guana Cay for a BBQ and some relaxation.

Lundy Charters Founders are entering the Sea of Abaco

After a very calm day of cruising in the open ocean, we entered the Sea of Abaco through the Little Harbour cut. We are going to travel north until we get tired and then anchor up for the evening. Tomorrow we plan to go to Nippers on Great Guana island for the beach BBQ, to relax on the beach, and swim in the pool.

Last night as we were rounding the last marks to enter the harbour we saw what looked to be shimmering off a reflector at sea. We slowed down for a closer look and found out they were fireworks coming from Gorda Cay (about 40 miles North). Disney bought the island and uses it as a destination for their cruises. They have even renamed it Castaway Cay. We cruised by it on our way North today, it is the southernmost settlement of any kind on or around Great Abaco Island.

Captain Jim Baker and First Mate Chris Davis Sail from Nassau to the Abacos

Lundy Charters Drops off our Fly Fishing Pros in Nassau

The crew disembarked at the hurricane hole marina in Nassau this morning. Captain Jim and First Mate Chris set sail for the Sea of Abaco for a few days of well deserved rest and relaxation. The seas are very calm (one to two feet) and the crossing is going beautifully.

The Final Sunset as we sail from Andros to Nassau

Pictures of The Andros Lighthouse as we pull onto docks after our sail from South Andros

Andros Lighthouse

Brian O'Keefe fixes the crew a Conch Salad

Conch Salad

North Andros Departure for Nassau

After spending the evening at Hanks the guys were up early to head up Fresh Creek and fish some of the extensive inland flats on North Andros. Captain Jim and First Mate Chris took on some fuel for the trip to Nassau and prepared the boat for departure. A dinner of fresh conch salad and a sunset over North Andros marked our departure for Nassau. Next stop, the bright lights of Paridise Island.

Brian O'Keffe gets an Andros Haircut

We finally found Salt and Pepper

Brian finally locates the salt and pepper

Andros Lighthouse Marina

We spent the day cruising and trolling north to Andros Town where we will be spending the night on docks refueling and preparing to make the ocean crossing back to Nassau forthe crew's Saturday departure. Tomorrow we will fish some of North Andros' famous flats before departing for Nassau tomorrow night. Spirits are high as we enjoy dinner at Hank's Place in Andros Town and gear up for one last day of bonefish.

Fishing for Dinner off Andros

Sailing into the Water Cays in South Andros

Catching Fish in the Curly Cut Cays

Green Cay.... an untouched island...no one for 60nm in every direction

Pictures From a Rendezvous at Sea

Uncharted Islands

We spent last night anchored off of an island that does not appear on any charts of the area. We explored the flats off that island as well as some of the charted cays in the area. Today we are heading out to the tounge of the ocean to catch some fish for dinner.

Tomorrow we will fish our way up the tounge on our way to North Andros.

South Andros

We arrived in South Andros yesterday after an overnight stop at a beautiful and deserted cay off the tongue of the ocean. We spent the day exploring the reefs and fishing the untouched flats. That evening we enjoyed a delicious lobster dinner. Today we set out early at first light in search of bonefish and the afternoon free diving a blue hole and exploring the coral heads. The water has been glassy smooth, the winds very light and visibility amazing. We have seen sharks, turtles, and many different varieties of fish. This afternoon we will move to another location to explore more of these uncharted flats and cays.

Departing Nassau

This morning we took on Brian O'keefe, Peter Morris, Jim Bartschi, Kurt Olesek, Justi Campa, and Kevin Jergins in Nassau at Nassau Yacht Haven. We topped off on beer and other provisioning, fueled up the boat and pulled off of docks. 65 miles to green cay.
Some notes from the crew:

Hi to Bailey and Georgie

Hi girls I love you dad

Hi nancy and justo all great. T

Ko says trip has started well. We fish tomorrow, great crew!

Hi rach. Super fun times. Unbelievable

On Docks in Nassau

After a long approach and strong currents in the channel, we have made it safely onto docks at Nassau Yacht Haven.

Our slip number is W59, if we aren't there, we are on the fuel dock at the end of the T dock.

In Sight of Nassau

At 1900 we sighted Nassau. This should put us on docks at Nassau Yacht Haven around 2130.

Exiting Little Harbour

At 0945, we exited the Sea of Abaco through the Little Harbour Cut.

82 Miles to Nassau

On the way to Nassau

This morning we were up early, rigging our runabout, a 25 foot, 2006 Angler, for towing. After checking the weather, we set off for Nassau.

The Gin Jac II

With the boat provisioned, fueled and inspected, we spend the evening preparing to set out at first light for Nassau.

Update: 4/3/08

Gentlemen,

We arrived at the boat today and found the inital boat that we had planned to take to be experiancing mechanical problems. To keep schedule, we traded our boat with a big sail and small motor for a boat with a big motor and small sail. It is the same size as the catamaran we had planned on taking but is a sailing trawler. We will be towing a 25 foot runabout and will have a rigid inflatable dinghy as well. Once we depart, it should take us around 12 hours to get down to Nassau. This will have us pulling into docks tomorrow night, provisioning in the morning, and accepting you guys on the boat whenever you make your way over in the morning.

Our boats name is the "Gin-Jac II" Look for us on docks.

A Beautiful Morning in Hope Town

Arrival in Hopetown

The Lundy Charters crew has arrived in hopetown.

First mate Chris Davis is pictured waiting for the hopetown ferry.

Crew Travel Status

Captain Jim Baker and First Mate/Medic Chris Davis have departed the United States for Hopetown. We will upload pictures of the main boat, runabout, and any RIBs we can aquire while on Elbow Cay. Expect updates regarding out departure and estimated time of arrival in Nassau. See you guys soon.

EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION FOR LUNDY CHARTERS STAFF AND GUESTS FOR ANDROS

If there is an emergency and you need to contact us please do so via sat phone at 011-8816-414-93850.

You can send free text messages to us at the following link

http://www.iridium.com/index.php

Once you get to the website, click on send a satellite message in the top right corner of the webpage. Once you get to the popup enter our number 8816-414-93850 and your message and click send.

Lundy Charters gears up for Remote Fly Fishing Trip to Andros

Lundy Charters is excited to be planning a remote fly fishing trips to South Andros. Captain Jim and Chris will be working in conjunction with leading industry owners, guides, and photographers to chart the flats surrounding the south of the island. During these trips we will generate an itinerary comprised exclusively of remote locations that are inaccessible by traditional lodges and land based companies.

Upon successful completion of our scouting voyage, Lundy Charters will be able to offer an itinerary that will both challenge and excite the most seasoned fly fisherman.

Chris and Jim plan depart for Hopetown on April 2nd.

We plan to pick up Brian O'keefe, Peter Morris, Jim Bartschi, Kurt Olesek, Justi Campa, and Kevin Jergins in Nassau on April 5th at Nassau Yacht Haven.

The Loreleis sing at the Nail Bay Resort while sailing with Lundy Charters

UNC Loreleis Spring Break 2008, Boston - Peace of Mind



UNC Loreleis Spring Break 2008, Amy Winehouse -Back to Black



UNC Loreleis Spring Break 2008, Colbie Cailat - One Fine Wire




UNC Loreleis Spring Break 2008, Carrie Underwood - Starts with Goodbye

Captain Jim and Medic Chris Davis Leave BVI.....

After enjoying a day off at the Bitter End Yacht Club and saying goodbye to all of our friends, we headed out on the North Sound Express to catch a flight back to Raleigh to begin preparing for our April remote fly fishing trip to Andros. Thank you to all 114 of our guests and 7 contractors who joined us for an amazing two week tour of the British Virgin Islands.....

UNC girls depart British Virgin Islands

After spending the day at White Bay, the girls headed over to Sidney's House of Peace and Love for the final evening of the trip. The girls caught an afternoon flight home to Raleigh this morning from Saint Thomas.

We enjoyed having you, Thanks again ladies! - Chris and Jim

Some other Pictures from the week.....

The Girls at the Baths

View of White Bay from the top of the Mast

Relaxing at the bar at Nail Bay

Singing for drinks at Cow Wreck Bay

White Bay

Calm seas and a light breeze brought us to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke where the girls enjoyed swimming over to the famous Soggy Dollar bar, the home of the "Painkiller." Some of the girls were able to watch UNC beat Virginia Tech thanks to the satellite tv on one of our friend's boat.

The Last Resort

After snorkeling the dogs, the girls sailed into Trellis Bay after a quick stop at Marina Cay.
We met up with some friends of Captain Jim aboard another yacht before heading to the last resort for dinner and the Singing Chef.

The girls enjoyed dinner at the last resort and capped off the evening by joining the Singing Chef.

After lobster dinner on Anegada, the girls made friends with Sam, our favorite local bartender.

We are underway now on our way to the Dogs to snorkel and have lunch and then on to Trellis Bay and The Last Resort.

Anegada

After an early morning trek to Anegada, the girls spent the afternoon lounging on the beaches in Loblolly Bay and Cow Wreck Bay.

The girls are now settling down to a lobster dinner at the whispering pines resort on the beach.

Nail Bay

The girls finished up an afternoon at the baths and headed west to the exclusive Nail Bay Resort for the evening.

They went swimming in the pool and enjoyed a bit of down time before their performance

After a wonderful performance for the resort guests, the girls were treated to dinner at the resort's newest villa, a replica of one of the original plantation buildings on Virgin Gorda.

Relaxing at the Baths

Hey mom, dad, and meredith -Hannah

Hey mom, dad, and ian. Dad, thanks for Painkillers - Kelton

Leaving BEYC

Passing Mosquito Island

Sailing

"Second Mate Bailey" at the helm