A Superb Sailing Vacation in Magical Islands with Friends
What do the Colgates do when they want to get away? They go sailing with friends in the British Virgin Islands
By Doris Colgate, Offshore Sailing School CEO and President
Steve and I first started sailing in these magical islands 39 years ago. Wow, 39 years, where does time fly? It was a very hot day in New York City when we flew out of (then) Idlewild (now JFK) with a group of 30 graduates on our very first bareboat charter.
The sheer delight of sailing in cool trade winds, swimming and snorkeling in crystal clear waters got us hooked on bareboating forever.
It didn't take long for us to set up a sailing school branch at The Moorings on Tortola where we've been ever since. So this trip, while meant to be a total getaway vacation, also gave us a chance to spend some quality time with our branch manager and see a few of our clients learning while we were out cruising.
Sailing to
raise funds for a great cause
The whole trip came about because we asked, and The Moorings graciously gave us, a one-week cruise on a gorgeous Moorings 4600 catamaran to auction off at a fund-raiser regatta in 2009.
As members of the St. Charles Yacht Club in Fort Myers, Florida and avid supporters of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, we offered to donate our fleet of Colgate 26s for the Club's first Commodore's Cup Regatta.
Our sailing mates on the bareboat charter, which was a live auction winner, were Chuck and Mary Wright, Ella and John McDowell, and Peter Malen and Liz Byck (who in the end couldn't join us). Mary and Ella are shown at left. Below are (left to right) Steve, Ella, me, Mary, Chuck and John.
We had a blast!
Steve and I flew down on February 4, 2011 in order spend a day with our manager, Mike Huffer, before boarding the boat. Saturday the six of us gathered aboard Kes Kat, a Moorings 4600 with Ormond, Florida on its stern.
Just as we were about to step off for dinner ashore, our provisions arrived, a huge amount of food (because we were originally supposed to be eight) wirh a plethora of fine wines and liqueurs. We never thought we'd get through it all. We came mighty close!
We dined at Charlie's right at the base (named for Moorings founder Charlie Carey), then slept in air-conditioned comfort aboard at the dock that night, each couple in our private suite with showers just like home.
Saturday morning we
headed to an 8:30 briefing by Julian Hodge in a packed room with 39 "starts" all going out the same day. Because they had so much going on, Julian asked that Mike (Offshore manager) do our boat check-out. It was a windy day, forecast to be 16-22 through Tuesday but, truthfully, it was more like 20-25 all week.
Super Bowl Sunday
At 11:30 a.m. we left the dock and motored over to Cooper Island. At left are John, Chuck and Steve (left to right) in the cockpit. Chuck had already made reservations for dinner ashore where we would be able to watch the game on a big screen behind the bar. The restaurant was packed and he artfully snagged the only table left that a partial view of the game.
I crumped out at half-time and John took Steve and me back to the boat while they watched the rest of the game. We missed the best part, the last five minutes!
Time to unwind
Monday was a lazy day as we happily motorsailed over to Little Harbor on Peter Island. The boats already in were anchored "stern-to" with lines ashore to rocks and trees.
Our first attempt was near a beautiful stealth black sailing yacht (at least 70') at the head of the harbor under the ruins of a home that once belonged to Steve's sister's inlaws. I never did find out that yacht's name or home flag, but all its toys were stealth black too, including a 15' or so clone, and two very fast ribs (dinghies). Another big yacht called White Lie came in ignoring our attempts to get lined up and artfully backed in next to "stealth."
It seemed this was the big boys side of the harbor,so we upped anc
hor and headed to the other side where there was more room and boats more our size; also more peaceful as it turned out, without all those toys and waterskiers buzzing around.
Snorkeling began in earnest in our first harbor away from The Moorings base. And everywhere we stopped, opportunities arose to don flippers and masks and ogle colorful fish and coral, now protected by a parks system. That's why we found mooring balls in most harbors (for a $25 fee per night), to avoid damage to the reefs from anchors.
Chuck cooked an amazing steak dinner on the grill that evening with sides prepared by us gals. For lunch we pan grilled mahi for our salads and sandwiches. And started working on all that wine!
Sidney's Peace and Love
We arose earlier than usual Tuesday and after breakfast headed around Soper's Hole, through Thatch Island Cut to Sandy Cay for a lunch stop and some exploration ashore.
The main on those 4600s are a bear to get up in windy conditions and if you don't have the wind spot on your nose, it's easy to catch the battens in the lazy jacks as the main goes up. Steve and crew got inventive as the wee
k wore on and by the end of the cruise, it was a snap to get that big main with all that roach up in one shot.
When we pulled out the jib a half hour before dropping the hook at Sandy Cay we hit 8.1 knots on a broad reach! In rolly conditions we picked up one of the park moorings and Steve and I stayed aboard as the Wrights and McDowells explored that tiny island eco-system.
Our lunch of left-over steak, salads and pan-toasted ham and cheese sandwiches went without wine today. Hmmm?
Later we moored off Sidney's Peace and Love in Little Harbor on Jost Van Dyke where we would partake of pre-ordered lobsters. Relaxing in this peaceful (though not very pretty) anchorage, we read books, played Suduko and slept before heading ashore. 
Sidney passed away last year we found, but his girls were running a tight ship. Two stores stuffed with merchandise and a very busy outdoor restaurant attracted quite a crowd as the sun set.
Here are the guys, sitting at the self-service honor bar with some of our purchases. How we managed to spend so much money in the over-stocked shops in this tiny retreat is beyond me, but we did as the guys chatted with other charterers and Stanley's daughters and grandkids.
Slip-siding to Marina Cay
The wind was on the nose Tuesday morning as we beat up to Marina Cay. We weren't making much headway with 140º tacks and wind gusts to 30. It was fun steering on our half-hour stints, but if we were going to get there in time to find a decent mooring and enjoy some snorkeling, it seemed more prudent to motorsail with just the main. Under sail alone, we had reached 8 knots again!
Four hours later we entered the harbor and found lots of boats of all types and sizes already on moorings. It had been awhile since Steve and I sailed around these parts and to our amazement, Scrub Island next to Marina Cay was now an impressive mega-yacht marina with condos and homes under construction, apparently only since March 2010.
Mary and John went off to snorkel and reported they found three big anchors among the coral. A trip ashore to a small Pusser's emporium proved to be less than exciting. I was happy to just stay aboard and read.
Mary's turn to make dinner - a super meal with chicken roti, pea salad and yellow rice. We were anchored between obvious live-aboards with their wind geneators whirring away and dogs pacing their decks. Time had stopped, happily I'm sure, for these retired folks.
Island tim
e "Mon"
Slow start Thursday, no rush. Another great breakfast in the big airy cockpit, watching other boats leave their moorings, enjoying the sun and our books again. Our destination was Saba Rock in Virgin Gorda Sound. Since our heading was again on the nose, we powered over in lumpy seas.
What a difference the years make! As we approached we saw a Seaborn cruise ship anchored not far from a beach (probably theirs) teaming with pink bodies, loud music and lots of water toys. Off the Rock there were lots of moorings, most already taken but Steve skillfully found us a good one in the lee of the island. Still quite a lot of breeze.
Mary and Chuck packed Kings Cribbage with their sailing gear, which boggled my brain a bit at first. Big numbers could
be achieved by just adding a tile here and there - two of this, a run of that . . . and lots of laughs. Here we are, taking a respite from eating, sleeping, sailing, reading, snorkeling and swimming with game in progress.
After another pan-grilled mahi-mahi and salad lunch we dinghied to the Bitter End. There was lots of activity coming and going from their docks, with several mega-yachts and ships anchored out in the harbor along with so many bareboat and crewed power and sail yachts. Though this resort has quite a fleet of sailboats and a sailing school, only the windsurfers seemed to be in use.
Mary and I stretched our legs on a ong path around the resort as others checked out the shops. Back aboard with a nice breeze and many stars above, Mary made marinated chicken breats with a pear sauce and yellow rice. Can you tell we enjoyed our dinners together? Yum!
Serious sailing and Mocko Ju
mbies
Since we were just going to go across the Sound to Leverick Bay for the Mocko Jumbies Friday night, we decided to head out into open water and get some fun sailing in.
It was a nice reach in winds up to 24 knots with our speedometer hitting 9 at one point! As we headed towards Anegada we felt we had too much genny out for that amount of wind and took it in for a short while. When we tacked to head back, we let the jenny out just enough to give us some oomph, heading 030 back to Leverick Bay.
After our usual "mooring beers" we all headed to shore for a nice lunch at Pusser's. Mine was a lobster/mango salad. None of us could pass up more shopping, of course.
Lounging in the cockpit or dozing below, we enjoyed a very
lazy afternoon, reading and sleeping; then toasted our trip with a glass of wine before heading back to the resort for a $30 all you can eat buffet with a big roast pig at the end of the line. This buffet with all its choices was the true meaning of "pigging out."
At 8:30 the Mocko Jumbies did their thing; two adults, two teen boys and a young girl on really tall stilts gyrating to the music and wowing the ever growing crowd jostling to have their pictures taken between the performers legs.
Back aboard we enjoyed our third night of "crummy rummy" - an amazing two deck card game that garnered a lot of laughs and groans. Mary and Chuck aced nearly every set. We could still hear the music blaring from shore, not quite lulling us to sleep in this very calm anchorage.
Where did the week go?
Saturday morning we set sail for our last full day aboard, 20 miles back to The Moorings base. We had all day to enjoy our time aboard since the boat didn't really have to be back before mid-morning Sunday. We helped Mary make sandwiches in case 
we decided to have lunch underway (still a lot of wind); then dropped our mooring at 9:30 a.m. anticipating a nice reach down Sir Frances Drake Channel.
When out of Gorda Sound, we set our sails on a close, then broad reach, eventually ending up wing and wing on a run, before heading into Great Harbor on Peter Island for a lunch stop.
Once again we were surrounded by mega-yachts while under sail and in the harbor. Most carried British flags, all had many crew tending to owners and guests aboard.
Our final sail was with genoa alone, arriving back at the base around 3 p.m. where we met up with Al and Aileen Dresser, Offshore students from Toronto who had just completed their Fast Track to Cruising course on a boat identical to ours. It was time for another beer, some showers ashore, and making arrangements for a 
delightful dinner down the road at Brandywine Bay - now owned by a French couple. Yes, another "yum!"
Sunday, we packed as the Wrights and McDowells headed off to the airport for a morning flight to San Juan and Miami. Our flight was mid-afternoon and after more than a two hour delay in the Beef Island airport, we realized we were not going to get home that night as everyone else had. Somehow, we got to a decent hotel by 1:30 a.m. in Miami and flew back to Ft. Myers the next morning. All's well that ends well, and oh well - we were still on island time Mon.
Memories that last a lifetime!
We laughed, a lot. We sailed. We played games and finished books and passed them on. Sudoko experts became even more expert. Culinary achievements met all time highs. Wine tasting became a ritual.
We snorkeled and swam. We shopped. We took turns steering and then went back to reading and laughing some more.
This was a week to remember. We started as friends. We became really great friends as the days passed and when we parted, we talked eagerly about meeting up again the following week at the Club.
As I write this we are all still tan, still smiling a lot . . . and anxious to tell everyone we see what a great time we had.
The next adventure . . .
We talked, too, about the next adventure. Perhaps bidding on the week-long charter on the Canal du Midi in France aboard a LeBoat 47' Magnifique that The Moorings gave us for our April 16 Leukemia Cup Regatta. Why not? Just come to the St. Charles Yacht Club in Ft. Myers for our Leukemia Cup Regatta (your entry fee goes entirely to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) and then join us for a barbecue and silent and live auction that evening. You might just want to bid on the French canal adventure or some of the many other great trips, resort stays, jewelery and gifts. It's all for a great cause!
Call or email me if you want more information, and have fun on the water where ever you are!
Doris Colgate
239-985-7511 (my office number) or doris@offshoresailing.com