Wicked Windy

Happy New Year to everyone! Here in the BVI the celebration that happens on December 31 is Old Year’s Night and it celebrates all the good that happened last year as well as hopes for the year to come. I like both mentalities and I was lucky enough to share NYE/OYN with Ben and some other very good friends at BEYC.  I was on charter with a large family who had 7 children that were too young to celebrate with us but a couple of the adults joined us for a glass of champagne as the steel drums played Auld Lang Syne at midnight.

After leaving the North Sound we headed for Anegada. We had a great sail there and headed off to the Atlantic facing side of the island to get some big life snorkeling in. The next morning I managed to fit in a run with one of the guests. Since it is a barrier island Anegada is totally flat, a nice change to the hills of Virgin Gorda. We dinghied ashore and headed for Cow Wreck Beach. We were aiming for a 6 mile run at a 8:30 pace and we kept each other on track. It is always nice to have someone to run with and running with someone from a completely different world from mine always makes for interesting conversation that keeps the miles ticking by. Being on charter can make it difficult to find the time to run or a road to run on, depending on the islands we stop at. I tried to swim for 30 minutes most mornings as some cardio cross training and, thankfully, one of the moms was tranining for a marathon and IronMan, so it wasn’t just me that wanted to put in some miles.

We sailed for a total of 8 days around the BVI hitting the snorkeling highlights and staying in quiet, secluded anchorages. I had the opportunity to show off some of my favorite spots that are a little bit off the regular, bar hoping route. The breeze has been up since before Christmas and continues to build. The last night on anchor we had 35+ knot gusts hitting us, which made for a sleepless night and an early morning departure to a final, quieter snorkel spot. Anchoring in Great Harbor, Peter Island allowed everyone one final swim in the clear Caribbean water and the running mom and I a quick jaunt up the hill to the Sunset Lookout. There’s only one road on Peter Island and it goes uphill past the wind turbine and to a northwest facing lookout and back down to the resort. We hit 5 miles as we returned to the beach. Charters are my job and everyone likes when a job is finished but I was sad to see these guests leave. My job and lifestyle introduces me to so many people that I wouldn’t otherwise meet, it’s a part of it that I really appreciate.

These guests were from three families from all over the US and they get together as a family a few times a year. It is very refreshing to see parents take an active role in their children and to have those children respect and enjoy the family time together. Seeing a big family sail together and play together reminded me a lot of my own family and made me miss them more than I already do. I really do feel lucky to have such an amazing family. I don’t know if distance makes the heart grow fonder, if that was true I would have the world fondest (is fondest a word?) heart, but it certainly gives me the perspective I need to recognize that every piece of me is made up of the morals and beliefs that my parents and sisters taught me and continue to teach me.

 The wind is still up right now, howling over Frenchman’s Cay and through Soper’s Hole as I write. Hurricane Hercules is in the North Atlantic and is reported to be one of the worst storms in history. My living and hobbies depend on the wind but too much of anything can be a bad thing. A big blow like this one reminds us to respect the elements and nature. The sunny Caribbean can be a scary place when boats can’t hold their anchors and mooring lines break. The Northeast is getting slammed with some more snow and freezing temperatures.  As for running, all of these things can slow your pace down or drive you back inside before completing a run. I know it’s a whole lot easier for me to battle some strong gusts when running, than for you who are jogging though snow and ice, but get out there and don’t look at your pace. My oldest sisters always said that winter running was just for maintaining. And when it gets just too damn cold, you can all come run with me!