YOU'VE SEEN HIM BEFORE.............................

AND YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOGNISE THAT SMILING FACE..................For this is Capt. Dwight Rodriguez, Master Chef, whose floating gourmet kitchen has a keel, a mast, a huge coolbox and a small engine................ And whose heart, whose soul, and whose sense of humour, is as big as CULEBRA..........And here's what happened.............................. We motored from St. Thomas to Culebrita, recharged the batteries and at the same time made 60 gallons of sweet water and barely had we entered the bay, when around the corner came another yacht................And no less than "TODA VIA" with Captain Rodriguez and his crew, Renaldo and Betsie...........We certainly missed seeing his beautiful wife Marjorie...............They had not even rafted up before Dwight told us the menu for lunch...................What a host!................... I'm telling you, take a look at the "Queen of Florida" being served lunch on her floatie............It doesn't get any better than that,................I have a lot to live up to...........Truly a remarkable guy................We've made him a temporary permanent Australian and with his cooking we could easily charge him with attempted manslaughter, for there is no stopping when you taste his food and you will eventually explode..........



After the "GRANDE LUNCH" we went exploring to the Jacuzzi pool, where the ocean waves wash in at high tide, and to look at the turban-headed cactuses................. We waddled more than walked.................We floated more than swam.................And the formations of this solidified volcanic lava showed the intricate crystal structures of iron and quartz in a myriad of swirling "patterns..........And in the distance the annual Round-Culebra yacht race was in progress as part of "PR Constitution Day" celebration.



And as if all of this is not enough to kill us all, DWIGHT gets hold of six huge lobsters from the local fisherman with whom he normally deals for all his restaurants ........................" I KNOW WHAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE FOR LUNCH TOMORROW"........................" A FEW HERBS AND SPICES............A LITTLE PASTA, ."



We have to tell you that by the time we finally made it to the town on Culebra, we swore we will never eat again......................Take a look.... That's Laurie saying " I can do that........" and there's me thinking............never mind........

But if there is one thing we've seen that really reminded us of living on the edge, it would have to be this cactus................Dangling between a rock and a hard place..............Hanging on for dear life ................

THANKS DWIGHT FOR AN WONDERFUL TIME AND IT IS GOOD TO KNOW THAT "TODA VIA" HAS BEEN VOTED "BEST FLOATING RESTAURANT IN THE SPANISH VIRGINS" FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR..............

THE WAY THINGS WERE.......................

WE have finally left St. THOMAS to head back to the SPANISH VIRGIN ISLANDS........... That is to say that 'SPANISH VIRGINS are different from U.S. VIRGINS who are different again from BRITISH VIRGINS'...................The Island of St. THOMAS is very steep-sided and most of the anchorages have such a bad swell coming in that you virtually are rolled out of your bunk during the night............. This has nothing to do with "VIRGINS".............But finding a sweet place to put the anchor down was found in a little bay on Water Island, called 'Honeymoon Bay'............And from there we dinghied back and forth to town...................If you weren't looking closely, you could meet a sea-plane head-on as it was landing...............At one end of Hassel Island we got a glimpse of " THE WAY THINGS WERE............"

In days of old, ships and yachts used to be pulled out of the water on a railway........... a colossal flatbed on wheels on which the yacht would be supported with large wooden blocks, placed against the hull underwater as she (the vessel) slowly emerged from the soup........... And in really old days, the engine to pull the flatbed up the slope was a steam engine run by a boiler and a giant smoke stack...........Take a look at the old railway, the engine room and the remains of the boiler below...................You might have to do a double-click to see the details of the bits and pieces of machinery................




In modern times, they use a travel-lift to haul a yacht out, or a dry-dock like the one below, that first sinks down to let the vessel float in, and then they pump the U-shaped hull empty of sea-water............... Many ways to achieve the same end................Then again there is another method that we are trying to avoid..............THAT'S THE ONE WHERE A HURRICANE PICKS YOU UP AND PUTS YOU ON THE BEACH............GENERALLY IN PIECES.............



FLOWERS, FLOWERS EVERYWHERE



The passage from St. THOMAS to CULEBRITA, the first of the SPANISH VIRGINS, is only 18 miles and all down-wind but we need to make power and water..................Funny how the priorities dominate the decisions....................Once again it will be a holiday in PUERTO RICO, this time to celebrate their "CONSTITUTION"................. We will definitely have to join in.................After all, we have brought a goodly supply of 'VIRGIN ISLAND RUM' with sun-hats.............That will just have to be consumed.........

Oh, .............And we missed the flying sea-plane as it landed........... We're OK.

TWO STEPS FORWARD AND ONE STEP BACK..............

RAIN, RAIN and MORE RAIN
.........And it keeps on pouring down... Each day brings on a new batch of greyness and in the afternoon it thunders and roars........... We are now on our way back to PUERTO RICO and none too soon, for the first TROPICAL DEPRESSION has just passed over us here in the VIRGIN ISLANDS and is on its way to FLORIDA. The charter ended most successfully before the heavans opened and Captain GLOBAL GLENN MILLER from the yacht "TREEHOUSE" sailed back with us to St. THOMAS before boarding a flight back to the US. We anchored near a beautiful beach on the island of St. JOHN and before our very eyes a torrent of water came down from the hillside to wash this channel out of the beach where there had been nothing but sand......... (Double-Click on the photo below)..........And out on the water, now muddy brown, not blue, was a new waterworld of vegetation........... It is not hard to see how barren islands soon have palm trees growing on them.............



Still, despite the rain there are moments of sunshine and the beauty of these tropical islands shines through.................... And every beach is a panorama of colour even if each island sells the same stuff...................




Capt. Glenn has returned to his own "TREEHOUSE" to do a bunch of modifications and at the same time be there for his son SPENSER who will undergo what will hopefully be a very successful treatment for his non-malignant tumors that are pressing on his auditory nerves. Everybody wishes both of them strength and endurance...............

But try as we might, we have not been able to get the sun to show its face, not even in the harbour of St. THOMAS, below............ Meantime on the post at the dock of LITTLE HARBOUR on the island of JOST VAN DYKE sits the future "FOXY", because we tried to get him to face us but he really was foxy.....................What a wonderful carefree existance these kids have.............



EVEN THE SEA-GULLS ARE FED UP WITH THE WEATHER..........ITS WRITTEN ALL OVER HIS FACE.

LITTLE HARBOURS.............................

When the anchor is down and the snubber is set, the bag with our snorkel gear comes out, and over the side we go, into that magic world of little things..............Each and every fish unique, marvels of nature, and all of them inquisitive as to what we, in large blue flippers might be..................... LITTLE HARBOURS that are protected from the prevailing winds, equally provide the safe platform for marine growth................... Double click on some of them to see the details, despite the fact that the water is not too clear................ Our submerged resident photographer took these pictures...............in a place called 'Little Harbour' on Peter's Island in the British Virgin Islands (BVIs)...............



YOU ARE NEVER REALLY ALONE..............