Author: Allison

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Driving through seven states in three days!

In our last blog Scott and I drove from Seattle to Arizona and now we had to drive through seven states to get to our new home in Fort Lauderdale. We left Phoenix, AZ on Sunday morning before dawn and the desert had a beautiful yet eerie feeling as we began our drive on I-10. Today would be our longest day of the entire drive, with fourteen hours of driving before arriving to San Antonio. Unfortunately, we forgot that they were two hours ahead, so it took up sixteen hours of our day.

As the sun rose, it became obvious that this drive would be flat and boring until we reached San Antonio. When something other than tumble weeds passed by, we had to take a photo!

Five states later, we arrive in San Antonio, TX

By the time we arrived to San Antonio, it as 8pm and we were exhausted. Then we had to empty the truck like we did every night. Thank God the hotel let us keep the luggage cart in our room with all of our belongings on it.

Lucky for us, there was a great restaurant just across the parking lot called 54th Street Grill. The food was fantastic as were the drinks!

Our trip was coming to an end and we couldn’t wait to get to Mobile Alabama! This would be one of the shortest legs, taking us ten hours from San Antonio. It would be a direct shot due east from San Antonio.

It was a bit foggy and hazy when we left San Antonio, making the sunrise calm and beautiful. Since we left before the hotel was open for breakfast, we were on the hunt for a place to stop.

Not wanting to waste time at a sit down restaurant, we decided to stop at Buc-ees convenience store. We had heard that all of the Buc-ees stores are huge, so we had to check it out!

As soon as you walk in, you realize this is no ordinary convenience store or gas station.

Outrunning the storm through three states!

Before Scott and I left the hotel, the news was warning viewers about dangerous storms that were headed our way. It was my turn to drive, so my goal was to try and stay ahead of the storms.

Unfortunately, my luck ran out just as I was driving across the Calcasieu River Bridge. Visibility was zero and most cars around me, slowed down to 5mph and limped across the bridge with their flashers on.

Finally, we broke free of the storm and found sunlight again.

Welcome to Alabama

We passed through Mississippi in about forty-five minutes and soon we were on the Gulf of Mexico! I don’t think I have ever been so excited to see water after days of driving thru the desert.

After about 10 hours, we finally arrived in Mobile, Alabama. Once again we had to unload the truck and by this time, Scott had it down to a science.

Fort Lauderdale – here we come!

We were so excited to get “home” and finish the last leg of our long journey across ten states. The weather was warming up, which created lots of fog along the way.

Soon, the terrain started to change and we started to see lush trees and lots of grass. We were not in the desert anymore!

What we didn’t realize was how buggy this leg of the trip would be. We had to pull over about every 45 minutes to clean the windshield. Before we headed home, we had to go to the car wash. Here we ordered a bug remover wash. LOL!!

Five days and ten states later, we finally made it “home”. While we didn’t have any furniture, we were simply happy to be reunited once again and to begin this journey!

As always, thank you for following our blog and our journey. Be sure to following our channel (link below) and follow us on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney as we begin our search for our next boat. We have a lot to learn about insurance, auctions, hurricane requirements, etc. Next week, we’ll share our first weekend in Fort Lauderdale and we figure out a way to get on the water!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Florida or Bust

At the end of April, I flew home to make the cross country trip from Seattle to Florida with Scott. I was only home a couple of days and then we headed out. It was a bit surreal saying goodbye to the our home for the past three years.

The original plan was to not have a lot of possessions in the truck, as we would need to empty the truck every night at the hotel. Why? Thieves love to target hotels along I-5 looking for vehicles with personal possessions. Well, our plan didn’t go accordingly.

Scott and I began our drive to Florida on Friday afternoon taking the I-5 route. Since it was the end of April, we were not sure how the weather would be going across the Rockies or the Plain states. We left Seattle at 4:30am and it was 37 degrees. Goodbye Seattle, hello Florida!

The Long Road Ahead to Florida

I had driven I-5 to Arizona when I was in college and this was Scott’s first time. Driving through Portland, OR is never exciting. It was rush hour when we drove through and as we got closer to the middle of the state, the fog moved in.

We stopped at one rest stop, Cabin Creek and it was actually a historic location.

The Prettiest Part of the Drive to Florida

Probably the prettiest part of the drive was driving thru Oregon’s Grant’s Pass and in Northern California. There was some construction, so going over the passes with huge semi trucks was a bit nerve racking, but after a few hundred miles, we got used it it. We were also surprised to see snow on the passes! Grant’s pass only has an elevation of 960′. our last home was at 825′.

Our biggest shocker was the price of gas in California. It was over $6/gallon and that was painful. We had decided to fill up every time the tank was only half full, just to be safe.

As we drove towards Mount Shasta, it was sad to see the remnants of last year’s forest fire that devastated the area.

Sacramento Bound

Scott and I had made reservations a few weeks prior for each stop. Our first night would be in Sacramento. We chose to stay close to I-5, as we simply needed a place to grab dinner and rest our eyes. The first leg took us 12 hours.

At the hotel, we lucked out as we were able to use the luggage cart and keep it in our room overnight. That really helped us out.

Great Thai Restaurant near the Hotel

We stayed at a Hilton property and just across the road, they recommended the Manaao Thai Restaurant. Though it wasn’t big, it was family owned and the food and service was outstanding.

Day Two Florida Bound via Phoenix

The following morning, we left at dawn and the drive was beautiful. It was also the beginning of our very FLAT drive to Florida.

Our plan was to stop for lunch just outside Pasadena, once we went over the Grapevine. That drive was uneventful and not windy like it normally is.

After stopping for lunch, I took the driver’s seat. Our goal was to get into Phoenix by 6pm. However, once we reached the city limits, I-10 was closed for construction and we were detoured all of the city. Luckily, it didn’t delay us too much and we unloaded the truck quickly. This time, they would not let us keep the luggage cart. Bummer.

The best part of this leg was our good friends from Renton (who now live in Phoenix), Nick and Michelle came and joined us for dinner. It was the perfect way to end the evening and say a proper goodbye.

Tune in next week, as we finish this epic road trip across the US. As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our boating blog and also our YouTube Channel (video link below). You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Cheers, Scott and Ally

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2022 Palm Beach International Boat Show

2022 Palm Beach Boat Show

I had only been in Fort Lauderdale two weeks, when I had to work at the 2022 Palm Beach International Boat Show. The show ran from May 24th thru May 27th. As you know, I’ve worked many shows in the Pacific Northwest, plus Scott and I have been to the Miami and Annapolis boat shows. The Palm Beach International Boat Show was unlike any other show I have attended.  The show is located in downtown Palm Beach along Flagler Drive and it features over $1.2 billion dollars worth of yachts and accessories.  Here I saw hundreds of boats on the water including 8’ inflatables to  Superyachts up to 300 feet in length. There was also a huge display on land, including boats, accessories and food vendors.

OneWater Yacht Group Display

While I’m used to working a very large space with over a 100 boats which are mostly runabouts, this was a very different experience.  OneWater Yacht Group had fifteen yachts on display and we had a large tent with an open bar for guests to relax in.

Chris Craft had a very cool design center at the show, which was a show stopper.

The Sunseeker Predator 65 made its’ global debut during the show and it was awesome to be a part of such a media frenzy. We had magazines lined up to do a feature of this beautiful yacht.

So many yachts at the Palm Beach International Boat Show

Everywhere I turned, there were huge displays and gorgeous yachts.   I did have the opportunity to tour one of our superyachts on display, a 2005  Palmer Johnson 123. You can say we are not in Kansas anymore! You can find a link to the yacht here.

The superyacht marina was massive. One yacht was so big it had a helicopter and submarine on board. I took a stroll over to the super yacht display to meet a mutual friend.

I was stunned by not only the size of the vessels, but also the level of luxury each manufacturer put into their displays.

The Palm Beach International Boat Show also features smaller boats

From the super yacht marina, I headed over to the smaller boat display. Here they had runabouts, towboats, inflatables, center consoles plus cigarette boats and some very unique vessels. It was obvious that speed is a necessity here, with so many boats having four or more outboards.

One crazy thing I saw was a swarm of bees on a rocket launcher. The following day, that swarm must have been swatted at, because they were flying thru the show and it was crazy!

One irony of working the show, was that the Sea Ray display was right across the water from our tent. If you have been following me over the years, you know that I spent a lot of time marketing the Sea Ray L590 Fly that we (former company) had in stock for a long time. Soon after, we brought in the Sundancer 320 and 370 Outboard, which I spent months marketing. Here these three models were staring at me the entire time during the show!

Vendors at the Palm Beach International Boat Show

The vendor tents had a ton of vendors on display featuring everything from shirts, fishing equipment, boat accessories to food and beverage. I wish I would have spent more time checking out the vendors, but I was working the show and didn’t have time to wander.

Working the Palm Beach International Boat Show was a great experience and I can’t wait for Scott to be able to experience it next year. If you have not attended this show before, I highly recommend it.

As always, thank you for following our journey. Be sure to subscribe to our vlog (video link below) and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Tune in next week as we start our five day road trip moving from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale. Cheers, Ally

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Moving to Fort Lauderdale

moving to fort lauderdale

Moving to Fort Lauderdale sounds amazing (and it has been), but it wasn’t without some hard work, tears and frustration. Scott joined me for my first week in Fort Lauderdale and then I was alone here for the next five weeks. This journey ended up being harder than I expected. During the next five weeks, I would live in two different apartments and stay in four different hotels while traveling on business. My first trip was to Palm Beach for the Palm Beach International Boat Show. I’ll share a blog on that experience soon. Next I drove across the state up to Dunedin. This was quite the driving experience, as I drove across the Everglades and up the west coast of Florida. That’s the longest drive I have made by myself in a very long time.

Moving into our apartment

I was excited to move out of my temporary housing and into our new apartment. Unfortunately, I was moving in with just a few boxes, a blow up bed and chair. Surprisingly, my rental car was packed and it took me ten trips to the apartment. I watched tv on my laptop while sitting in a lawn chair.

With no furniture, the apartment echoed terribly. I did enjoy the view at night, but always ended up closing the shades as I didn’t need people watching me. LOL

Exploring Fort Lauderdale

I spent my weekends walking up and down the Riverwalk and watching all of the boat traffic. There are tons of restaurants and shops in Los Olas and it will be great for Scott and I to explore the area together.

The Riverwalk is always bustling with activity, which makes it a fun place to live.

Heading back to Seattle

After living on my own for five weeks, it was time to fly home. I was only home three days, so I didn’t get to see many people. Finally we packed up the rest of our stuff and headed to Scott’s parents house for the night. The following morning, we left for Sacramento at 4am.

Our original plan was to not have much in the truck, as we would need to empty the contents each night at the hotels. Why? We have been told that thieves target trucks and vans that are full of possessions at hotel parking lots. Unfortunately, our plan didn’t work out and yes, we emptied the truck every night. Stay tuned to find out how our five day road trip went.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our vlog (video below) and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney.

Cheers, Ally and Scott

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Time to spill the beans

moving to fort lauderdale

We can all agree that the past few years have been a struggle. Who knew in 2018, when Scott and I sold our home to downsize and prep to live on a boat, what the future would look like a couple of years later? So many of you have asked us tons of questions on why we moved to Fort Lauderdale and now it’s time to spill the beans.

ruins

Let’s go back to January 2020. I had forgotten I had applied to a VP role in St. Thomas and suddenly my phone rang one day (I was actually working at the Seattle Boat Show). Right there, I ended up walking around the show interviewing with the VP of Human Resources. We had a delightful conversation which led to many more with other executives. This was a very large company with locations on nine Caribbean Islands. They verbally made me an offer in March 2020 and asked that Scott and I fly down for a weekend to look for housing. At that time, no one really knew what covid-19 was or how long it would be around. What we did know, were countries were shutting down their borders. After talking about it, we decided to take the job site unseen. Just five days later, St Thomas and every other country shut down. If we would have taken the trip, we would have been stuck and lost our current jobs.

people wearing diy masks
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

So my offer had a TBD start date, which we hoped would be in a month or two. With that said, we began the packing process, which included selling our Bayliner 4087. It sold very quickly and we soon were frustrated being boatless during the pandemic.

Unfortunately my “new company” started to close many of their locations, as they were located at cruise terminals and there were no cruises due to the pandemic.

St Thomas
Notice there are no cruise ships

Fast forward one year

The following April, we decided to keep our trip to St. Thomas (was supposed to be the bare boat charter, but that was still restricted) and while we were there, I met with my “new company”. Scott and I were still on board to make the move and they were figuring out a new way to do things. But by June of 2021, it became obvious that this job wasn’t going to pan out, so both of us parted ways.

Now we had the itch to move to sunnier warmer weather – next option? Florida! I was interviewing with one company in Gainesville and after they flew me out, I knew I couldn’t be land locked. I needed to be near water, so that was not an option. Then I flew back down to Fort Lauderdale in August (no it wasn’t a surprise that Scott planned, it was actually another interview) to meet with a boat dealership. Again, they made me an offer, but unfortunately the current marketing director decided not to retire while I was in mid-air flying to Florida. The offer was not a good fit for my career. After spending that weekend in Fort Lauderdale, we were determined as ever to make the move somehow.

Fast forward to December 2021 when I started talking with OneWater Yacht Group. I was so excited about the opportunity, but I didn’t have my hopes up. Imagine my surprise, when it wall worked out! Like I always say, “things happen for a reason” and I truly believe I was meant to come to work here.

Living in Fort Lauderdale

When Scott and I announced we were moving, we heard the same thing from everyone. “It’s hot and humid there, why”? Well, when you are sick and tired of endless days of gray skies, misty rain and miserable weather, you’ll take a little humidity. This hasn’t been an easy journey either. For starters, I lived alone for almost a month and a half in a city I don’t know at all. Then I traveled up and down the East Coast, moved into our apartment with no furniture and then made the cross country trek with Scott almost two months later. As I am typing this (May 15th), we are still waiting for the movers to arrive with our belongings.

Scott and I are renting an apartment in downtown Fort Lauderdale, in Los Olas. There are so many restaurants and shops within walking distance and we love that! The atmosphere is energized and the streets are clean. Add sunshine and boats and we’re happy as clams. We are just a few blocks from “River Walk” and we get to see lots of boat action regularly.

Are we buying a boat now?

We know that’s the next question and if we find the perfect boat – yes! But there are a few things that have to happen first. First, we are still dealing with a lack of inventory and we are not going to pay 30% over market value just to have a boat. Second, we need to research hurricane policies, insurance, liveaboard marinas, etc. We don’t know the area and we don’t know the boating industry down here yet. For example, we’ve heard if you moor your boat north of I-595, then you’re safe – what does that exactly mean?

In the meantime, if you know of a project boat or a turn-key liveaboard power boat, reach out to us. We are entertaining all options. Until then, we plan on exploring and experiencing all kinds of boating adventures here in Fort Lauderdale. This includes, canal tours, air-jet adventures, private charters, day sailing trips and boating over to the Bahamas. Our blog and vlog is called “Boating Journey”, which doesn’t mean we have to own a boat. It means we are going to spend our time exploring new adventures on a boat.

Over the next few blogs and vlogs, we’ll share with you our adventure of how we got here, what we’re doing here and everything in between.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to both our blog and vlog, and on social media @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Staying at Grande Bay Resort in St. John

grande bay resort

Wanting to relax a few days after our charter, Scott and I reserved a condo at Grande Bay Resort in St. John. In our last blog, we returned our Leopard power catamaran to the Moorings base the night before our charter ended. The next morning,  Scott and I jumped on the Fast Ferry  back to St Thomas first thing in the morning.  However,  the ferry we took back, was not the same ferry or company we took to Tortola. 

 Instead of having an upper deck on the ferry, we had an interior seating only. It had three seats on either side and was set up like an airplane (they even played movies!) Unfortunately the weather was terrible and we had about 6 to 7’ swells. To say that it was an uncomfortable ride is an understatement.

To top it off we had to take another ferry from Charlotte Amalie to St John and head back into rough seas.  As you can see by the photo below it was not a fancy ferry.

Grande Bay Resort & Condos

 For this year’s visit we stayed a little closer to town and we reserved a fabulous condo with a wonderful view.  The condo was nice and open with nice appointments.

After checking in,  we headed in to town to grab a cold drink and unwind. Our first stop was the Tap & Still Cruz Bay Pub. They were very friendly and quick with the cocktails!

After a round of drinks, we decided to explore a bit more of St. John that we didn’t see last year. A few blocks later, a huge squall came thru and we had to find shelter quick. Luckily, for us we ran into another bar Meada’s Garden (though it was outdoor!).

The owner was serving cocktails at the bar and we found out that the restaurant was only a few months old. We decided to make dinner reservations for our third and last night in St. John as he was so friendly and fun to talk to.

Best Restaurants in St John

Since Scott and I were here to relax and unwind, we made it our goal to visit the best restaurants on St. John. One of which, we visited last year, The 1864 in the Mongoose Station. Turns out we sat at the exact same table! The food was even better than last year. If you are in St. John, this is a must.

You can’t skip breakfast if you have a full day’s worth of activities. On our first morning, Scott and I headed to High Tide on the beach. We had dinner there last year and this time, we bellied up to the bar for breakfast. The service was fantastic, the drinks were strong and the food was delicious!

On our second night, we made reservations at a very small steakhouse, called Dave & Jerry’s Island Steakhouse , which was walking distance from Grande Bay Resort. It came highly recommended and one of the owners actually greets every guest. It’s a bit tight, as they only have about 9 tables inside, but it’s worth it. Scott and I should have split a steak, as I could barely make a dent. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo before I dove in!

Renting Another Dinghy

Last year, Scott and I rented an 11′ dinghy from Wharfside Watersports to explore the shores of St. John. Read that blog here. That dinghy was great, but it wasn’t big enough to handle the big swells through the channel, so this year, we rented a Zodiak for $595 for a full day so we could explore. After breakfast, we headed to the office, where we stumbled upon the broken props they set up outside their office. LOL!!

As we were getting our instructions, we learned that unlike the 11′ Highfield dinghy we rented last year and visited numerous beaches, the Zodiaks were not allowed on the beaches. Uh ho! However, the Zodiak was a great dinghy and handled the swells very well. Our plan was to visit Maho Bay beach to snorkel with the turtles. After we made our way to our destination, we realized that if we jump in the water, we need to be able to pull ourselves back into the boat.

Unfortunately, the boat had a very small swim ladder, big enough for one foot and only one handle to pull yourself up with. It was too risky, so we simply cruised around dodging a rain storm. After a few hours, we were tired of fleeing the rain storms, so we headed back to Grande Bay Resort condo to relax by the pool.

The rain squalls never let up, so we left the pool and decided to enjoy downtown St John and a few local bars.

Time to head home

Our trip to St. John was short, but enjoyable. We highly recommend taking a few days to unwind on land after a boat trip. Though we had a round trip ticket on the private ferry, I refused to get back on it. Instead, we paid $15 each and hopped on the government operated ferry and headed back to Red Hook. Red Hook is on eastern side of St. Thomas, which required us to take a longer taxi ride back to the airport, but it was worth it.

Next on our journey, is our move to Fort Lauderdale, FL! So much is happening in our lives and we’re excited to share it with all of you.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and vlog (link below). You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. See you next time in Florida!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Returning to the Moorings Base

In our last blog, we mention that we decided to head back to the Moorings base the night before we had to return the boat. Our crew had a simple continental breakfast while we enjoyed the serenity of our anchorage.

After breakfast, the garbage and ice boat came along. It is so cool that you can get ice AND get rid of your garbage so easily!

Since we had the boat for the entire day, we decided to cruise a bit and perhaps get in some snorkeling.

We left Norman Island around 10am and headed to Treasure Point.

Once we got out of the bay, we realized the weather was getting rough.

Exploring the British Virgin Islands

Since the weather looked too rough to snorkel at Treasure Point, we headed to the Indians. Once we arrived, we realized there was no way we were going to go snorkeling as the weather was getting worse.

We were surprised that so many boats were moored there and wondered if they were actually snorkeling.

Before heading back to the Moorings base, we headed towards Salt Island for a nice cruise. About five minutes into our cruise, we ran into a major squall!

Returning to the Moorings Base

After battling with squalls for a few hours, we decided to head back to the Moorings base. The Moorings base recommends that you call the base to have a captain come meet you and hop on board to stern dock the boat.

Be sure to watch our YouTube video (link below) to see how easy the process worked. The Moorings give you a check-out sheet, making the process easy.

The Moorings base recommends that you leave behind any provisions for the staff, instead of throwing it out. We did throw out items that were spoiled. After we each took long showers and cleaned up, we headed to Soper’s Hole for a wonderful dinner.

Returning to the base was the best decision we made. The following morning, we were relaxed and not rushed trying to get to the ferry. Tune in next week, as we head to St. John to explore the USVI.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and vlog (link below). You can also follow us on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Relaxing on Norman Island in the BVI

On our last evening of cruising we headed to Norman Island which was about an hour from Jost Van Dyke. It was our first “rolly ride” but the Leopard 433 PC made the trip comfortable.

Our crew pulled into the Bight at Norman Island and we grabbed a mooring ball closest to the beach. There Are plenty of mooring balls to choose from and the Pirate’s restaurant manages them. The cost is $25 per night.

After we grabbed our mooring ball we jumped in the dingy and headed to the restaurant to pay our fee. Here we have another opportunity to put another boating sticker on a piling.

The beach on Norman Island

We decided to relax on the beach for a couple of hours and do some snorkeling before heading off to Willy T bar. One thing to make note of is there are lots of sea urchins and they are large.

Moored right next to us was a really cool cat maran called “Gravity” and it had to be about 70′ long.

The Willy T

The Willie T is a unique floating restaurant and bar anchored in the bite at Norman island. It originated in 1989 and was a decommissioned tanker, named after an inventor from Jost Van Dyke William Thorton. Unfortunately in 2017 hurricane Maria sanks a ship where it now still lies at the bottom near Peter island. Today divers can still dive and support the boat through a number of non profit programs.

In 2019 the owners rebuilt the ship and it was moved back to its original location at Norman island. They serve food and have a full bar.

When our crew arrived there was hardly anyone on the boat and we had the whole upstairs to ourselves. Though the signs say “do not jump” Ben jumped before I could even snap a photo. Turns out everybody jumps off the Willie T.

The Bight

Our crew all decided that the Bight is somewhere where we would come back again and stay multiple days. The water was so beautiful and blue. We all decided to relax and enjoy the calm waters of the bay.

For Scott’s birthday I had bought him a solar powered charger and it sure came in handy on this trip, since our inverter never arrived.

After relaxing for the afternoon we headed to the bite restaurant for sunset cocktails and dinner.

Looking at the top of this hill, there was a tree with a heart shaped head that was waving at us.

The Pirate’s restaurant was open air and had plenty of seating for a large crowd. It was The perfect backdrop for ending our last night on the island. Not to mention the food and lobster were fantastic.

Heading back to The Moorings

Our crew decided to head back to Tortola in the mooring space the following morning to save time for check-out. Tune in next week to see how the process works.

As always thank you for following our blog And be sure to follow our YouTube channel with the link below. Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Celebrating on Jost Van Dyke BVI

Jost Van Dyke is known for two bars, the Soggy Dollar at White Bay and Foxy’s at Great Harbour. Last week we moored at Cane Garden Bay and after visiting the Callwood Distillery, we got ready to leave for Jost Van Dyke. It was literally just across the bay, so it only took us about 35 minutes to get there.

The place to anchor and grab a mooring ball is Great Harbour. Scott had hook duty and we grabbed the mooring on the first try. We did have a little trouble reading numbers on the balls, but luckily ours was legible . Once again, Ben had gotten up at 7am and reserved the ball and it was one of the last ones available.

From Great Harbour you can either take your dinghy to White Bay, take a water taxi or take a land taxi. While you will see boats anchored below, they were simply there for the day. The bay is not protected at all.

Off to The Soggy Dollar

Our crew took the dinghy to White Bay and we did get a little wet on the ride. The trip only takes about 10 minutes, so it’s not a bad ride at all. When you pull up to the beach, you’ll be amazed by how white the beach is!

You do want to make sure to pull up your dinghy as far as you can on the beach and then use your anchor to secure it. We saw a few dinghies trying to float away. There is a lot of activity at White Bay. There are tables and umbrellas for lunch, there’s the shop, the bar and other restaurants too.

Buy a drink at The Soggy Dollar Bar

Did you know you can order someone a drink as a gift at the Soggy Dollar ahead of time? Ben and Maria bought Scott a drink before we left on the trip. When he arrived, he had to find his name on the sheet and bring the sheet to the bartender. How fun is that?!

We only spent about two hours at the Soggy Dollar after grabbed lunch and had a few pain killers. It was time to go back to the boat and enjoy the water as it was nice and calm.

None of us had been on a paddle board before and Ben decided to give it a try. After he fell off a number of times, he suddenly was a pro. He cruised all of over the harbour!

A few things to note about the Leopard 433 PC. As I mentioned earlier, this cat was set up as an owner’s version. This means the starboard side is a full suite and the port side has two cabins that share a head. The head is very narrow, so if you think you can easily put four adults on that side, think again. The boat comes with towels, but it does not come with any amenities, like soap, etc. So we grabbed some from showers at The Moorings base. Imagine showering under these conditions? it was so beautiful!

Dinner at Foxy’s

We headed to Foxy’s around dusk and there was plenty of room at the dinghy dock.

Foxy’s has a great shop and an outdoor bar. We had arrived early for our dinner reservations, so we enjoyed a cocktail and put up a couple of Boating Journey stickers. While Maria and I shopped, Ben and Scott explored. Scott did not put on bug spray and he got eaten alive – you need bug spray here!

They have a great menu with some classic Caribbean dishes. While we were enjoying dinner, Foxy himself stopped by to say hi!

A few nights ago, we had noticed a bunch of tarpon swimming under the boat at night. So we decided to bring them some left overs and they went to town on them!

Birthday breakfast for Scott

The following morning, was Scott’s birthday, so we made him stay in bed, while we made an attempt to decorate the boat. While we were decorating, a local stopped by selling homemade empanadas for $5. His mom makes them fresh every morning for the cruisers.

Ben’s birthday was in a couple of weeks, so we had them both open their gifts together.

Before we headed back to shore to look for breakfast, the guys needed to figure out why one fresh water tank was still full. The Moorings do provide an operations manual for each vessel and low behold we found our answer (I don’t remember what it was, but I want to say, the switch needed to be moved over to share).

Foxy’s during the day

The night before, we had brought our old license plate from The Wine Alley to hang, but we didn’t have any nails. So we brought it back the next day to hang with zip ties. As we were tying off the dinghy, Foxy came out to greet us again. What a fun birthday surprise for Scott!

We found a great spot to hang the license plate and then headed off to find breakfast. Be sure to look for it the next time you’re at Foxy’s.

At the main dock, there is a custom’s shack and a welcome board for those arriving by boat.

It was difficult to find breakfast, as there is really only one place to eat – Christine’s Bakery! She makes great empanadas and you can order egg sandwiches. However, she would have to cook those and she didn’t seem thrilled with the idea. LOL

Walking back from the bakery, you could still see much of the hurricane destruction.

While we were only on Jost Van Dyke less than 24 hours, it was all that we needed. This is a party destination, so unless that’s all you want to do, we recommend heading to your next destination. It was pretty cool that we got to meet Foxy in person too!

Next week, we head to Norman Island and the infamous Willie T’s, so be sure to tune in! As always, thank you for following our journey! We have so much planned over the next few months now that we are living in Florida, so we are very excited to share that with you. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel (link below) and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Cruising to Cane Garden Bay in the BVI

On the second leg of our bareboat charter, we left Saba Rock and headed to Cane Garden Bay on the other side of Tortola. Our crew enjoyed a simple breakfast in the anchorage. While we were eating, a guy in a dinghy pulled up and asked if we had garbage. For $5, he’ll take your garbage and they will even delivery ice for another fee! How cool is that!?

We had heard the snorkeling was fantastic at Monkey Point, so we planned to stop there on our way to Cane Garden Bay. The trek would be about 20 nm and we cruised around 2500 rpm this time. One note, we noticed that our fuel tanks were not using fuel evenly. Turns out the auto fuel tank switch was not turned on. Once we turned it on, they started to even out.

Snorkeling at Monkey Point

Monkey Point is about half way to Cane Garden Bay, so it’s an easy stop. We grabbed a mooring ball and jumped into the water. It was amazing how blue the water was here.

Unfortunately it was so windy that the water was murky and the only fish we saw were eating algae off of the boat. Since snorkeling was a bust, it was time for lunch! Left over pizza with salami and cheese.

Time to head to Cane Garden Bay

As I mentioned before, Ben set his alarm every day for 6:55am and got ready to snag a mooring ball on the BoatyBall app. Some days we got the last one (the earliest you can reserve them is 7am), but for Cane Bay we had our pick. He chose one close to the beach, but we still couldn’t swim to it.

For this leg of the trip, Ben captained the boat and Scott had hook duty. Once again, our crew nailed it on the first try and we were moored! What a beautiful anchorage.

Before we could play at Cane Garden Bay, we had to take care of our travel arrangements and take yet another covid-19 test. In order to get back into the USVI by boat, they required another test 5 days prior to arrival. We used a proctored test and it worked great with the boats Wi-Fi.

Dinner at Cane Garden Bay

After swimming and relaxing on the boat, it was time to head into town to grab some dinner. There is a small dinghy dock just off of Quito’s Gazebo that you can tie off to. This time, we remembered to grab a flash light!

Some restaurants were closed, as it was Monday (that’s common practice in the food and beverage industry). However, we were thrilled that we stumbled upon the Paradise Club Lounge!

We grabbed a table on the beach and ordered some drinks. The four of us were not expecting much as the place looks a bit like a shack. We were shocked when our food came – this was five star Michelin food!

The sunset was absolutely magical and we couldn’t have picked a better spot!

Exploring Cane Garden Bay the next day

Cane Garden Bay was too cute, to just leave and not explore. So our crew took the dinghy back into town for breakfast. While Paradise Club Lounge does offer breakfast, we wanted to explore some other options and support some other locals. We stumbled upon Rhymer’s and they did not disappoint!

It was a bit surreal to see our boat out in the anchorage while we were eating breakfast, considering we had been planning this trip for three years!

After breakfast, we decided to stretch our legs and walk down to the local distillery, Callwood Rum Distillery.

The Callwood Distillery is said to be 400 years old and makes some of the best rum in the islands. The building is the original building – tell me this isn’t haunted! It was so beautiful and cool!

I saw some stickers on the wall and asked if we could place ours on it. She said “of course!” – this was our first Boating Journey sticker we placed on our trip!

Cane Garden Bay was a very cool town and I would definitely go back. It would be nice to spend more time there and explore a few more things. As with all great things, this leg has to come to an end. Time to cast off to our next destination – Jost Van Dyke!

Tune in next week for our third leg of our bareboat charter as we visit Foxy’s and Soggy Dollar for Scott’s birthday. As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our channel (link below) and our blog for updates. As you may know, we are in the process of moving to Fort Lauderdale, FL so we have lots of boating coming our way! Follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott and Ally