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We woke up at 6 am with happy anticipation for the day. Cap'n Marty's Island hop has been the highlight of the trip since 2000. We had done it faithfully every year since, with the exception of 2005 (when the weather had been too rough), and 2007, when we had not come to St. Thomas. We opened the curtains and could see people on the beach. already staking their claim on a spot for the day. Only on Island Hop day are we ever up this early. Craig got the coffee on right away (we always bring Dunkin Donuts ground coffee with us) and we packed what we would need for the day. No need to shower this morning as we would soon be on the water.
After drinking our coffee and a glass of orange juice, we hopeed into the car and took the short drive to Marina Market in Red Hook by the appointed 7:30 meeting time. Marty's roommate Doty and their neighbor Andy (whom Doty and Marty have nicknamed "Kramer") would be joining us as well, but we had never met them. It turned out that we weer wandering the store together but didn't realize it until Marty arrived. We ordered our deli sandwiches for lunch (Craig got turkey and swiss and I got turkey, cranberry sauce, mayo, and dijon - it was Thanksgiving after all - we had to overload on turkey in the absence of leftovers). Craig and Marty went to park the car in the nearby garage (the whole Red Hook area had greatly expanded in the past two years, with new strip malls and a new parking garage so we no longer had to parallel park in a roadside ditch) while the rest of us finished up the shopping. We met up across the street at the dock and rented See and Ski #5 from Matthias. It was a gorgeous day and the seas were very calm. We stocked up the cooler, filled out our paperwork, and headed out. Being on the ocean is so relaxing! Our first stop was Peter Bay, St. John, where we checked the progress of the villa which had been under construction for the past 8 years. It finally looked almost done, and it was gorgeous. We even saw someone walking on one of the patios. We tooled around St. John, pulling into various bays. The beer-drinkers drank beer and we enjoyed the sun and the ocean. Then we went to Tortola to clear customs so that we could enter the British Virgin Islands. The old customs house had been demolished and a new one stood next to its foundation. Joan, Craig, Steve, and I went ashore. The customs house was very small. It had a counter and a very small waiting area. There were around four customs agents working, and there were several people in line. The first people in line were some guys who had not filled out their paperwork, and it caused quite a delay while they did so. The other people in line were commercial operators, one of whom tried to cut us in line. Joan and I stayed inside and Craig and Steve waited outside. When it was finally our turn, one man started running our paperwork while another one ordered me to go out the door and to my right. They were so stern that I was scared to leave Joan and go on my own, but it turned out that was just the way to get to the cashier. I paid our $62, and after much ado, they stamped our passports and we were on our way. Marty picked us up on the dock and we headed out. This was Doty and Kraner's first Island hop, so Cap'n Marty was on the top of his game, slipping seamlessly into tour guide mode. He explained the rock shaped like a ship that used to be shot at by pirates, how Lovango Cay got its name, etc. These were all stories which Marty had told us when we were newbies on the Island Hop - 8 years ago! Marty and Craig were wearing their "My Dixie Wrecked" shirts, crew attire from Island Hops of old. We had the radio on, and Marty and Joan did a great version of "Love Shack", not realizing that I was taking a video the whole time. We went to the Indians (rock formations protruding from the ocean) to snorkel. We put on our maska and fins and flopped over the side of the boat into the water. We swam a bit against the current to get to the Indian formations. The sun wasn't consistently out at this point, so the water didn't look as clear as it could have, but we had fun and enjoyed seeing the coral and the fish. Sea fans were waving in the currents. Craig swam all the way around the formation, while I stayed closer to the boat. Craig saw a huge school of fish. There was an underwater tunnel that some folks were swimming through. It looked intriguing, but we were afraid we would run out of air if we went that deep. Steve lost his snorkel mask, and the water here was so deep that there was no chance of recovering it, so he headed back to the boat early. After we were finished snorkeling, we all ate our sandwiches on the boat and then headed to the caves which had inspired Treasure Island. Craig, Doty, Kramer, and I jumped out of the boat and swam towards the caves. Craig spotted a jellyfish and pointed it out to me. It was near the surface of the water and it was amazing to watch it propel itself gracefully through the turquoise water. We made sure to watch the surface of the water as we swam after seeing that. We swam to the smallest cave which seemed like it was on a very eroded beach. There were fish congregating at the edges of the cave, and as the waves came in, the fish tumbled around one another. After enjoying the cave, we swam back to the boat. Next we headed to the Willy T, the floating bar and restaurant off Norman Island which had also changed a bit in our absence. The top deck was now covered. One thing that had not changed was the bartender - our old friend Zeus was there waiting for us. Marty reminded Zeus of the nickname he had coined for Steve years ago: Milky (since Steve had been "milking" a single drink for a while). We had about 4 painkillers each. Zeus was his irreverent self. Doty, Kramer, Craig, and I did a "mount and do" shot ski (waterski embedded with 4 shot glasses - everyone must drink simultaneously or else the booze will spill). Zeus held up a container of Parmalat in honor of Milky's moniker. As usual, the Willy T was a ton of fun, and Doty and I both jumped off the boat. I came away from the Willy T with a T-shirt and a good buzz. After Willy T, we sped across the waters of the BVI in the late evening sun, and anchored off of Jost Van Dyke. We swam in to the Soggy Dollar Bar to get a painkiller for the road. Marty and Joan lounged in the hammock for a few minutes and then trying the ring toss game. We then swam back to the boat, holding a drink in hand. We wished we had some more time to spend at the Soggy Dollar, but we had had so much fun at the Willy T that we had stayed there later than anticipated. As the sun got lower in the sky, we raced the clock to try to be back at the Red hook marina on St. Thomas by the time the boat was due at 5 o'clock. Marty had us pulled into our berth by 5:02 pm. We had certainly made the most of our Island Hop time! We all came back to our room and hung out on the balcony for a while. At 6:30, the party broke up. We got showered and changed. Tonight we had reservations for dinner at a very nice restaurant. Normally, we are pretty low key after a day on the water, and opt for something simple like pizza delivery. But tonight was Joan's last night on the island before heading home to St. Croix, so we definitely wanted to celebrate with a nice dinner together. We were feeling a little bit tired as we met Marty and Joan at Marty's place and drove to the the Old Stone Farmhouse for dinner. We had really been looking forward to this ever since Steve and Marty had pioneered the place last year and came back with glowing reports. The restaurant itself was gorgeous - a 200 year old restored plantation field house, made of brick and stone. It had a very nice atmosphere, with hardwood floors and brick archways. The restrooms were in an outbuilding across the courtyard from the main dining room. The food was artistically presented, and we loved everything that we ate. The meal took over 2 hours to savor. It was incredible. I had the lobster monte cristo (cardamom french toast, prosciutto, and fontina cheese), the mandilli de saea (silk handkerchief pasta, basil pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan), tandoori charred sea scallop (yellow daal, cilantro-mint oil and cucumber yoghurt), and the "three little pigs (butterscotch pork belly, kurabuta shoulder, tenderloin medallion, cheddar grits, barbecue butter beans and granny apple crisp). Craig had burgundy snail ragout (jumbo lump crabmeat, garlic saffron butter cream, and tomatoes), soup and knuckle sandwich (lobster bisque, armagnac chantilly, lobster knuckle sandwich), tandoori charred sea scallops, and mishima ranch wagyu short rib (petit filet mignon, forest mushroom cream, buttermilk mashed potatoes, crispy shallots, carrots, and asparagus). We are not generally "foodies", but we can definitely enjoy an exquisite meal. After such a big day in the sun, we were a bit lethargic and not as hungry as we would normally be. A restaurant like this would ideally be enjoyed on a more empty stomach. But tomorrow Joan would be going back home to St. Croix, and we wanted her to be able to join us. By the time I got to my final course, I was quite stuffed, and wound up taking a rather large doggie bag of "three little pigs" back to the hotel. After dinner, we went back to Marty's apartment at around 11:30 to hang out for a while. We saw the adorable kittens which lived outside under his porch. Marty has an official Christmas Story leg lamp, the first life-sized one I had ever seen in person - blazing forth in unparalleled glory. Marty showed off his pride and joy - his home theater system - and we chatted for a while. We were all a bit sleepy and quiet after such a full day. At 12:30, we said our goodbyes and drove back to Secret Harbour. Marty's new place is a lot closer than his previous place, so it was a nice short ride back. I chanted the usual mantra so that Craig remembered to stay on the left side of the road "Left! Left! Left!" When we got back to the room, We sat on the balcony enjoying the tranquility of the lapping waves. At around 2 o'clock we went to bed, still with full bellies. |
 Joan  Craig, Marty, Joan, Steve  Hanging at the Willy T  Doty and Andy ('Kramer') at the Willy T  Zeus and Steph  The Soggy Dollar  Joan and Marty at the Soggy Dollar  Dinner at the Old Stone Farmhouse  |
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