My husband, daughter and I recently completed a trip I’ve been dreaming of for 30 years and planning for two years. We met Ray, Jen, and Jalapeno in St. Thomas and had a 16 day adventure to the Leeward Islands, including stops at St. John (US Virgins), St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, St. Barts, Anguilla, and Virgin Gordon and Tortola (British Virgins).
Our sailing conditions included long passages with little wind, nice wind, and more than enough wind! We encountered rough, sloppy seas, broken boat parts, and engine troubles. Through it all, Ray and Jen maintained unfailing good humor and accommodated our every need and want.
We had great drinks and meals, even if it required Jen setting the toaster up in the floor of the cockpit to keep it from flying around. We had an awesome, day-long celebration for our daughter, who turned 21 on the trip, completely with mimosas to start the day and homemade birthday cake to end it.
Ray and Jen joined us for many land adventures and gave us recommendations for several others that we enjoyed on our own. When our plans for activities one day didn’t work out as expected, Ray jumped to the rescue and cleared customs for us to visit some unplanned harbors, replacing frustration with delight for all. Ray was a gracious escort for several adventures – star gazing, scuba diving, dinner at Dune Preserve to see Bankie Banks, a late night dinghy ride back to the boat at Cane Garden Bay, and a hike to the top of the hill overlooking Colombier.
This was our second charter on Jalapeno, and the boat was, as always, well equipped and spacious. When Ray and Jen didn’t join us for land excursions, it was because they stayed behind to do maintenance, food prep and cleaning to ensure that everything was in top condition for us. We were spoiled rotten the entire trip!
We made family and friendship memories to last a lifetime. I have tears in my eyes as I write this – tears of sadness that our trip is over and tears of joy at the wonderful reminiscences. Thank you Ray and Jen.