Preparing for sailing...

Before I continue describing my trip, I have some advice for those considering the same or a similar sailing course.

First, study the books!!!!!

If you have not sailed before, there is a ton of information to learn before you can master the skills you will need to pass your exams.  Remember, you will be learning a whole new vocabulary and when the skipper says to trim the jib, you need to know what that means right now.

Second, contact the company you are going out with and learn a bit about the layout of the boat you will be on.  The Prana has a dodger and bimini so we actually spent little time in the direct sun.  I could have left a lot of the sunscreen at home.  You will want to be prepared, but I ended up over-packing.

I also did not need the foul weather pants and floppy hat I bought.  I'm sure I will use them eventually, but not on this trip. The couple of times I was on deck during rain I definitely didn't need foul weather gear.  Check out the weather at your destination during the weeks before you go.  Having an idea of what to expect in that regard can be a big help.

Bring a flash light and extra batteries.  Our boat had lights throughout the cabin, but they were not bright enough to read by.  I had a flashlight to use and definitely needed it for studying the night before each test.

Except for one night when we went ashore for dinner, I lived in lightweight shorts and a t-shirt.  The sand flies can be quite bad on shore at night in the Virgin Islands (and elsewhere in the Caribbean, I suspect).  Insect repellant, long pants and a long-sleeve shirt are your best defense.  I have a neem oil-based repelleant I got in Panama and found it to be very effective for both flies and mosquitoes.  I'm not sure if the standard Off bug spray will deter the sand flies or not.

I wish I had reached out to my instructor before going down there to see if there was anything I could have brought with me for him.  A lot of items are either unavailable in the islands or are outrageously expensive.  It would have been a nice gesture to offer to run to the store for Bill and I'm sure he would have appreciated it.

We cooked on board most nights and had to come up with a menu.  If there is a simple, quick menu item you can make in a galley with limited space and utensils, bring the spices or other special ingredients with you.  A great meal at the end of the day really adds a lot to the experience.

Check out the cell phone coverage where you will be sailing.  Sometimes I could get a signal and sometimes I couldn't.  The AT&T network is used in the USVI, so if you have Verizon or T-Mobile you will be paying roaming charges.  Being able to send a text message or get an email from home is nice, but I would not depend on that ability.  In addition to my smart phone, I brought my iPad.  Mine doesn't have a data plan so I couldn't connect to the internet except when I was in the hotel on land, but I was able to take notes during my trip and that was handy.

Feel free to add a comment if you have questions or there is something special you want me to address and I will do my best.

Another free airline ticket...

If you haven't clicked on the link in the upper right-hand corner and become a Travel Hacker, you're missing out.  The travel cost for my trip to St. Thomas was about $20 because all I had to do was pay the taxes on my Delta SkyMiles ticket.

One of the recent editions of the Travel Hacker newsletter listed an opportunity to pick up 30,000 American AAdvantage miles by opening a checking account.  Not a credit card -- a checking account.  All I have to do is spend $750 over three months using the debit card and have at least two direct deposits made.  Who can't do that?

And, by the way, this is the second time I have done this with Citi.  I closed out the last account about nine months ago.  Look, unless you got lucky in the stock market, your money is earning squat if it is in a CD, savings or money market account.  Put it where you get something for it.

The economy is going to tank big time over the coming few years as the Euro zone finally can't sustain itself and takes the rest of the world with it.  Initially, money will seek a safe haven and the US dollar has always been the reserve currency.  But as the fiscal crisis becomes a reality in the US as well, inflation will go through the roof.  We're going to watch Barack morph into Jimmy Carter... just lacking the administrative experience, common sense and ability to manage foreign affairs that the Peanut had (oh... wait... Jimbo didn't have any of those things either).  I vividly remember the 16.25% mortgage that I had for fifteen months because inflation was so bad.

Good times ahead.  Get your free airline tickets so you can get out of Dodge when it becomes necessary!

What an amazing experience!

I came away from my trip to the US Virgin Islands feeling totally energized and excited about the prospect of sailing again.  The St. Petersburg boat show is this weekend and I have joked to friends that I have cut up my credit cards to make sure I don’t do anything stupid.

I’m not going to try to explain all of the things I learned in a week of sailing instruction, but I will try to share the enthusiasm I have for my new hobby.

I arrived in Charlotte Amalie (the capitol of the USVI and primary city of St. Thomas) in the early afternoon with the intention of grabbing a taxi to Red Hook in the East End.  There are tons of taxis along with guys directing you to a van headed to your destination.  As soon as they have a full load, off you go.  The cost was only $15.00 per person and our driver was fairly cheerful (compared to subsequent drivers I had).  Including dropping off other fares, it took about 45 minutes to get to Two Sandals by the Sea Inn.

Sunset at the Sunset Grille

Two Sandals is a nice property on the hillside overlooking Red Hook and American Yacht Harbor on Vessup Bay. Two Sandals is clean, simple and relatively new.  The rooms are just big enough and have the usual amenities.  After dropping my bags and changing into shorts and a t-shirt, I walked into Red Hook to look around.  Red Hook itself is a ten-minute walk down the hill.  Be careful – driving is on the left side in the Virgin Islands (US and British) so as you cross the street, look right!

Red Hook has quite a few restaurants of various descriptions, a couple of gift shops, a good sized grocery (Marina Market), a pharmacy, an Ace hardware store, three banks and a couple of chandleries.  I’m sure I missed a few things but from a tourist perspective those are the high points.  Oh, I almost forgot the Red Hook Ferry Terminal.  There are ferries on the hour to St. John for $12 that takes you right into Cruz Bay.  Another ferry goes to Christiansted on St. Croix.  And still more ferries take you to the BVIs – Jost van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Tortola.  The latter includes stops at both Road Town and the West End.

After wandering around a while, I hoofed it back up to Two Sandals and this time went up the hill and down the other side to the Secret Harbour Beach Resort.  There is a nice, somewhat secluded beach here and the resort’s Sunset Grille is right on the beach.  I couldn’t get a good estimate on the number of rooms, but I would imagine a room in the worst location on the property would be a three-minute walk to the beach.  There is a dive shop on the premises.  There was a 10^th wedding anniversary party going on with a bunch of 30-somethings having a great time.  I got one of the local brews, kicked back and just enjoyed hearing the lapping of the waves as the sun slowly set amidst boats of various sizes anchored on the inlet.  Compared to other parts of St. Thomas, the prices were very reasonable.  As I sat enjoying the view, a three-foot long iguana slowly made his way up the steps from the beach.  It started raining lightly as he came across the top step and he had his fill of fresh water as he meandered back and forth between the small pools of rainwater that accumulated.

View of American Yacht Harbor from Two Sandals Inn

Breakfast the next morning at Two Sandals was wonderful and included a warm chocolate chip scone, a yogurt parfait with granola and jam, coffee and orange juice served in a tall glass with a splash of grenadine.  Breakfast is served on the balcony overlooking the harbor, which provided a very pleasant atmosphere.

After breakfast I decided to head back into Red Hook to see if I could find my boat.  At this point the only thing I knew was that I was booked with Blue Water Sailing School.  I did not have the name of the boat, the dock where he was berthed or even the name of the skipper.  I asked various people where to find BWSS and no one seemed to know until I came across Sam, an instructor on a catamaran school that pointed me in the right direction.  It turned out that I would see Sam several more times during the coming days.  I wandered around Red Hook a bit more and stumbled across Lattes in Paradise, an open-air coffee and breakfast shop on the second floor of the American Yacht Harbor complex.  As I sat and had my medium latte with an extra shot, dock employees, shop owners, fishing guides and others with business in the Red Hook vicinity came by to grab fresh baked goodies and coffee, lattes or espresso made from freshly ground coffee.  It was fun to hear the banter going back and forth between these regular patrons as they began their day with a round of caffeine.

After checking out of Two Sandals I had a taxi pick me up and deposit me at AYH around 3:00 at a cost of $6.00.  Based on Sam’s directions, I met up with skipper Bill Miles and the other two students for the week, Paul and Beth.  More about my roomies later.  The boat, Prana, is a 1994 Beneteau 440 that is spacious and well maintained.  In fact, I actually thought it was a much newer boat when I first saw it.  I later learned that the boat is put in dry dock at the height of hurricane season for maintenance and was just put back into water a couple weeks prior to our arrival.

Next up, the beginning of my lessons and the experience aboard Prana.

Sailing, St.. Thomas and other ruminations...

I got off of my training sailboat, Prana, a couple of days ago and will give a full report once I return to the mainland.

Typing on an iPad is a pain in the butt (basically hunt and peck... I need to get a portable key board!).

I'll try to give a blow-by-blow description of my classes, sailing experience, etc. once I have my laptop available.