We’re sitting around the table in the saloon of the Casbah III, munching on popcorn, eating ice cream and ice cream bars, trying to kill off as much food as we can before abandoning ship tomorrow. Game 4 of the Stanley Cup playoffs is on the iPad; it’s 4-3 Bruins in the third period. We’ve played Swoop and now are doing Skyjo. Earlier in the week it was bridge and four-handed cribbage. We’ve slid downhill from brain games to games emphasizing luck rather than skill and strategy. That’s what sitting out in the sun all day on island time does to you, I guess.

The day started in what has become the usual habit: up at 8, french toast and bacon, ready for mooring drop/anchor up by 9 AM. And as usual, rather than heading directly to and through the Thatcher Cut, we detoured slightly. Our planned route went from Jost Van Dyke around the west and south sides of Tortola toward Pelican Island and the famous Indian Rock snorkeling site. But the breeze, running 6 to 8 knots, as it has on several occasions sang its siren song and we spent an hour or more just sailing for the fun of it. The wind was directly on our nose when pointed up the Cut so tacking back and forth was the order of the day. We eventually bowed to the inevitable and fired up the motors to help. We arrived at the Indian Rocks about noontime.

The Thatcher Cut is an interesting passage since the U.S. – British border runs down one side. That meant that our tacks to port had to be made just before crossing over into U.S. territory. It’s as close as any of us will come to being undocumented wet backs, I’d guess.

Arriving at the Indians, did we jump in and start snorkeling? Of course not. Hot dogs, chips and fruit first and then over the side.

The snorkeling was fantastic. Hugely interesting coral growths and a plethora of colorful fish. You can see the results in the pictures. The camera system is working well and I’ve experimented with processing in Lightroom to do color correction and exposure compensation. Those with more snorkeling experience may not be impressed but for us newbies it was a really great experience.

Back at the boat the guys, as has also become tradition, jumped back in for a quick dip, this time jumping off the port pontoon forward into the 24 feet of water beneath our keel. Then off we went for the Bight, an anchorage on Norman Island, a trip of maybe 30 minutes under power. On the way, Carter and I swabbed the aft deck to get rid of sand that had accumulated during the week. We hauled up buckets of sea water to wash down the deck and swept it with the ship’s brush.

We found a close in mooring at the Bight, a pleasant anchorage with a nice restaurant, the Pirate’s Bight, where we had our farewell dinner. For indeed, tomorrow we’re going back to Nanny Cay to refuel the vessel and turn her back to Horizon.

Our adventure won’t be completely over though. Our flight – we’re all flying together to San Juan – doesn’t leave until 8 PM or so and that gives us the afternoon to explore Tortola by land. From San Juan, Carter and Jeff will catch a red eye flight to Boston, arriving home Sunday morning at 5 AM. Judy and I, being retired slackers, will stay overnight in Old Town San Juan and do some site seeing before we head back to Florida Sunday night. I’ll try to continue blogging for the next two days to record whatever turns up.

And bummer – the Bruins just lost 5 – 6 on an open net-goal with 20 seconds to play in their third period.