The Crew Arrives

Alison: Bill, Brian and I finally arrived here in Tortola! No problems with the flights and we got into Tortola last night, on schedule at 8:30pm. And then the fun began. The huge line up at immigration took us about 1/2 hour to get through. Then it was off to get our luggage, but it didn't take us long to realize that none of our luggage was there. None for Bill. None for Brian. None for me. Another 1/2 hour to file the necessary claims with American Airlines where they assured us that our luggage would be on the next flight, or maybe the next one, or the next, well maybe sometime tomorrow.

Luggageless, we took a taxi over to the marina to catch up with Mike. As we expected, we found Mike sitting at the bar, Bushwacker in hand. Fortunately, Mike had told the bar that we would be arriving tired and hungry, so the kitchen was kept open for us. After some food, a couple of cold beers, we were ready to head off to the boat and bunk down.

While work was being done to Soul Healer, he stayed on another boat. With air conditioning! The air conditioning made the night at the dock much more comfortable. Mike, while a good skipper still needs to work on his hosting skills. Brian and Bill woke up around 5am a little cool, and searched their cabins for a blanket or an extra sheet. But none were to be found. Lesson for Mike: Make sure each cabin has extra sheets, a blanket and towels (at least Bill and Brian had a pillow).

Mike: Sheets and blankets were piled in the salon. They're big boys so they coulda got their own.

Alison: Today, we're off to get some provisioning. And then the plan is to sail over to Norman Island, and snorkel the Caves. This will give us a chance to check the boat over and make sure everything is ship shape before we start our passage to the Turks and Caicos.