Curious about who we are?  Learn a little more about us....                                                          What's next?  Our itinerary.  

 

Wednesday, April 29, 2009, Christmas Cove, St. Thomas, USVI

     "What in the world is going on with the Zia crew?" you might wonder.  I've been woefully negligent of my updates lately and I apologize for that.  Our newfound obsession with kite boarding has been seriously eating into our free time.  Joe and I must have had at least a dozen sessions over the past month and a half and are making great progress.  The key to becoming a successful kite-boarder, able to ride independent of any dinghy support, is being able to stay upwind.  With the right conditions, we should be able to launch from a beach with a side shore breeze and return to the same spot we left from.  The natural pull of the kite is downwind.  One of your first goals as a beginner, after mastering kite handling and actually getting up on the board, is to counter this tendency by steering the board upwind.  Our favorite beach at the Bitter End, on Eustatia, is often crowded with kiters and I have resisted launching from there because I freak out whenever there is another rider close to me.  During our last sessions there on the 27th, I risked it and was thrilled to find myself, after three or four tacks, significantly farther upwind than where I started from.  In fact, I had to figure out how to ride downwind on the fly since until that moment I had spent all of my time working on going upwind.  I made it back to the beach, riding up and jumping off the board as I brought the kite overhead to the neutral zone.  It was a small triumph that made me jump with joy.  All this hard work and seawater up the nose is actually starting to pay off!

     Lest you think all of our time is whiled away with such frivolous pursuits, I must also relate the tale of our haul out.  Poor Zia has been in desperate need of new bottom paint for the last few months.  We've been hemming and hawing about scheduling it, and finally decided that Nanny Cay, Tortola was the place to do it.  Definitely not the cheapest option, it kept us close to our friends, we had hauled out there before three years ago, and we knew they did good work.  With light winds in the forecast, and a plan to start heading north afterwards, they lifted us out of the water on Friday morning. 

     Boatyards are miserable places, but as far as they go, Nanny Cay is better than most.  They have a couple of convenient restaurants, a pool, and a nice beach.  There is even a hotel there for those who don't want to suffer the discomfort of living on the boat on the hard.  Yes, that means peeing in a bucket in the middle of the night, closing up all the windows at sundown to keep the mosquitoes at bay, and very limited use of running water on the boat.  We endured our first night and started looking at hotel rates.

     Even school was a welcome reprieve from the heat and dirt of the boat.  We carted our books down to the picnic benches by the pool, overlooking the beach, and our brilliant students set to work. 

For recess they played on the little sloop perched on the beach.

Just as we were finishing up our lessons, I looked up and saw our wonderful friends on "Sky" anchored outside the entrance to Nanny Cay.  They came by to see what they could do to help and to go for a swim in the pool.  Forever generous, John and Po invited us to spend the night with them on Sky instead of returning to our hot and dirty boat on the hard.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have such like-minded friends out here to cruise with.  We are so lucky that their plans happen to coincide with ours and we continue to benefit from their companionship.

     Speaking of plans, I'm not sure if I ever mentioned our decision to return to Annapolis and cruise the US East Coast this summer.  We had thought about continuing south to spend the summer in Central or South America somewhere, but when we sat down to look at our options, we decided that the temptation to return home for a bit and touch base with our roots was too great to resist.  We are not giving up cruising by any stretch, but we are planning to come back to the Chesapeake Bay, spend some time in our home waters, and reconnect with family and friends.  We should be in Annapolis in early June. 

     Looking forward, we hope to head back south starting in November-ish and perhaps explore the Western Caribbean next winter.  Still in pursuit of an opportunity for Cassie and Juliana to become bilingual in Spanish, we are looking to settle somewhere in Central or South America and get the kids into local schools for a year.  Taking into consideration the hot summers and wet springs, and our desire to be able to live on the boat for the whole time, we are currently leaning towards Ecuador.  Although situated on the Equator, the influence of the Humboldt Current bringing cold water up from Antarctica keeps the weather temperate year round.  School runs from March through December. We've even found a place that offers decent kiting in the vicinity so Joe and I will have something to keep ourselves busy!  Of course, it is all still very much in the planning stages so if anyone has any suggestions, we are all ears!  The more input we get the better our chances of success, so please do write with any ideas.  We would really appreciate it.

     With a brand new, speedy bottom, Zia was back in the water on Monday afternoon.  In the meantime, "Sky" had taken the girls and their school books on Sunday and were really hoping that we would make it up to Anegada by Monday night.  Bob and Kathy were onboard and the forecast called for good kiting winds.  Thanks to the crew at Nanny Cay, we were back in the water by 3pm.  It was very gratifying, after paying the rather large boatyard bill, to see the dramatic improvement in performance that a slippery new bottom afforded, sailing upwind in the northeasterly breeze. 

     Although the kiting was frustrating, with shifty and gusty winds challenging even the seasoned members of our group, the camaraderie was phenomenal.  Bob in particular enjoyed bonding with the four girls, engaging them as a group in all sorts of games and taking them under his wing to teach them a little about kiting.  Kathy preferred to engage them individually, holding surprisingly adult conversations with our pre-teenagers.

     After spending the day Tuesday at Cow Wreck Beach, Alex, whose family owns the bar/restaurant/hotel there, told us he would be playing with his band at the Whispering Pines that evening.  Coincidentally, he also recommended the lobster at the same establishment as the best in Anegada.  After spending so much time on the island, we figured we were long overdue to treat ourselves to a famous Anegada lobster.  None were disappointed with either the lobster or the dancing.   

     With the winds displaying similar unfavorable tendencies the next morning, we decided to go for the sure thing and head back to Eustatia Sound where we knew the kiting would be good.  In addition, our friend Lisa had gotten the kitchen pass from Francois to come for a quick Zia visit and we were due to meet her in Tortola on Thursday.  The kids are always happy to head back to the Bitter End where they have made special friends with the staff of the sailing school.   Joe and the girls even won first place in a Hobie regatta one afternoon.  So, we were all in favor of the decision to return to our winter home away from home. 

     Our reunion with Lisa was fantastic.  Her flight actually landed her early at the Beef Island airport and she wound up waiting a few minutes for her welcoming committee to greet her.  The short walk to the dinghy and boat ride back to Zia landed her squarely in the arms of eager friends.  Although it had been a year since we had seen each other, it felt like fifteen minutes as we talked away the evening over dinner onboard.  Luckily, Lisa's agenda was highly flexible, her only requirements being sun, sand, sea and a good book. We knew just the place to satisfy all those requirements.  You guessed it: the Bitter End!

The girls were also anxious to return as Bob had been talking with Cassie and Jaimie about body dragging and they didn't want to miss out on the opportunity.  He spent hours with each of them, carefully teaching them how to fly the kite and then going out into the water and dragging with them.  Bob is truly an amazing teacher and a bighearted friend, finding as much joy himself in the instruction as the girls experienced in the adventure.

     For an encore the next day, Bob spent his morning giving the girls rides standing on the board with him while he kite boarded.   Juliana, who had no interest in body dragging, was bursting with enthusiasm at the thrill of it all. 

Cassie was a natural,

but Bob's real challenge came in getting the 90 pound, 5'5" Jaimie up on a plane with him.  Amazing.

     Our time with Lisa was way too short, but will live long in our memories.  We did manage to tear ourselves away from the Bitter End after a final dinner party on Zia on Sunday night.  We brought Lisa to visit The Baths, and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner out at The Last Resort, right by the airport. 

     With May fast approaching, and 1,500 miles to travel back to Annapolis, we made plans to move on from the Virgin Islands.  Traveling in the company of Sky, we are sure to have many wonderful adventures along the way.  Stay tuned!

Next Entry >>>>>>>>
   

 
                                                            ©2005 Zia Later.   All rights reserved.   Your mileage may vary.   Void where prohibited by law.