New Guests, New Islands

Back in Road Town, after cruising to Anegada (new island!), Virgin Gorda (new island!), Peter Island and Norman Island with Bob "Beebo" Tusso (new guest!).

Sunset at sunset point, Peter Island:

How did this cat get way up here? He didn't look too psyched, and he doesn't like crackers and cheese:

There's S/V Audax at "The Baths", Virgin Gorda:

Me and "Beebo" at The Baths. This is right before he took a heroic Navy Seal style digger in the waves, trying to keep our bags dry as we loaded the tender amid breaking waves. Very Seal-esque move, indeed. Check out that SHIRT!!:

Anegada! Looks JUST LIKE the Bahamas! The island of Anegada was the inspiration behind Iron Butterfly's psychadelic 70's hit "Anegada Da Vida":

Funny little story..... Jordi and Josh are tight with the guys that own the "Hooters" restaraunt franchise. They gave Jordi a deck of Hooters girls playing cards. I flipped through them, making a comment about one in particular. This segued into further comments by the other guys, and so on.... before it was all over, about an HOUR later, we had the entire deck (all 52 girls) narrowed down to the TOP TEN, reality show style. Political alliances were formed and smashed, there were heated debates, but also many many laughs. It is our pleasure to present to you... the TOP TEN Hooters girls from the 2006 edition playing cards!:

David Coates (new guest) snorkeling mishap involving a Sea Urchin:

David Coates, Scot Herrigel (new guest) and Jordi:

Beebo and John, Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor. Yet another great sunset:

JOIN TEAM AUDAX!

Hey there, all you wanna-be Caribbean cruisers:

Here is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to JOIN TEAM AUDAX!! My position on the team will be up for grabs as of APRIL 23rd. The team needs an experienced, enthusiastic, not totally broke, sailor (possibly two) with a thirst for week-long bluewater passagemaking.

Your duties will entail goofing off in the USVI's and BVI's, helping prepare S/V Audax for the trip home, and then sailing her from the VI's to Bermuda, and then from Bermuda to New England, in the mid May to mid June time frame. This is not a paying position; you can expect to get yourself down here, and feed yourself for the duration. You will be doing it for the sheer thrill and experience, both of which are guaranteed. Doubt it? Read this blog.

For details, questions, and to throw your hat in the ring, please contact:

John Herrigel
jherrigel@greentreemaine.com
www.caribbeanendeavour.com

and

Jordi St.John
jordistjohn@gmail.com

Good luck to all candidates. It ain't easy bein' me. ;)

NOTE: This vacant position is NOT a result of any sort of "falling out" behind the scenes! We're all good, and still tight. Everything is Irie, mon. No problem.

Surf's Up!! (and a special bonus treat)

Yesterday was the infamous Bomba Shack Full Moon party. You know, the one with the mushroom tea. The one everyone asks about when you say you've been to Tortola. In an effort to get S/V Audax closer to the Bomba Shack, we pulled into Cane Garden Bay to grab a mooring. As it turns out, there was a killer NorthEast swell, which rendered Cane Garden Bay way too rough to spend the night..... BUT, WOW did we get a treat when we got there!! There was set after set of awesome waves breaking around the Eastern point of Cane Garden Bay, and the EXPERT surfers were out there rippin' it up. So we grabbed a mooring, Audax rockin' and rollin' in the swells, and just watched the surfing in AWE. It was incredible. These were BIG WAVES, and they were breaking on JAGGED ROCKS. This was EXPERTS ONLY surfing, for sure! The sets just rolled by S/V Audax, one after another. Other waves would break all around us in the shallower spots outside of the bay's entry channel. It was spooky how close these big standing/breaking waves were getting to our boat. We eventually got spooked and sloooowly steamed out, watching as much of the surfing as we could.

I have to say, big wave surfing is cool even when you watch it on TV. Seeing it in person, close up, was just unreal. I highly recommend clicking on every one of these pics, and keep in mind, they were all taken from the cockpit of S/V Audax!:

________________________

SPECIAL BONUS TREAT - This is for the "Eight is Enough" St.John St.Patty's day crew. Check it out! It's the "Iron Chef of Mounding Maj"!! (a.k.a. Patrick, who felt obligated to get wasted, since he's Patrick and it's St.Patrick's Day)

Sung to the tune of Rocky Raccoon, of course!:

Suzchelsjoshbrynethan

Here's all the pics I owe you from the Suzette, Chelsi & Josh week. Bryn and Ethan are still on, and Scott (John & Bryn's brother) gets on today and we head for Virgin Gorda. Crazy busy crazy busy gogogogo crazy busy......

Beach naps rule. Long Bay beach, Tortola:

Suzette jumps for joy. Ssshhh.... don't wake us up!:

St. Patty's day, Woody's, Cruz Bay, St.John:

"I like big butts and I cannot lie. You other brothers can't deny: When a girl walks by with an itty-bitty waist and a round thing in your face, you get sprung." Chelsi and her infamous Ghetto Booty at the Willy T.:

Cruisin' around Tortola in a rental car:

This is what Suzette looks like when she wants to lay out in the sun, yet doesn't wanna get any sun on her. Like a hermit crab peeking out of its shell:

Suzette learns sextant navigation from John. I offered to show her GPS / laptop chartplotting:

Cane Garden Bay, Tortola:

What a pain in the nuts. Do I have to do this again?:

St Patty's day, Quiet Mon Pub, Cruz Bay, St.John:

Washing vomit off of bedding. The morning after a late night of dancing at Foxy's, Jost Van Dyke. 'nuff said:

My Chelsi impersonation:

RUDE!! Wait, that's not my middle finger. It's my ring finger, with my new dragon ring on it!:

Peter Island Resort. POSH. One of my favorite hangouts, for sure:

They call me "pack mule":

MAN OVERBOARD!! This is not a drill, this is what you've been trained for. Next time we'll see if we can do it with sails up:

I'm working on my levitation skills. Right now I can only get about 6 inches off the water, but that's enough to really trip people out wherever we go:

We got lei'd in Cinnamon Bay, St.John:

Josiah's Bay, Tortola. Good break. Surfers. I got slammed by a wave while body surfing:

This guy was kind enough to advise me on the proper ways to touch Chelsi. He was a big fan:

John's monkey impersonation. Seconds later, his foot grip slipped and he landed hard on his nuts on the tree trunk, just like the classic comedy shows. "F*CK that SH*T!!" he exclaimed. Chelsi laughed herself to tears:

Let us all climb the mast and jump off the first spreader. I've got the top spreader in my sights, we'll see......:

Rebuilding the forward head pump. This earned me a gold star:

This is the SAME CAT that somehow got aboard in San Juan, remember?? Now he's trying to follow Chelsi and I back to our hotel room. This is on the second floor, even. Nice try, El Cato, but you smell:

"Team Audax Family Fun Day" turns into "Team Audax Family F*ck Day". Not the funnest day we ever had. Long story. You can see the enthusiasm on my face. (leftover pic from pre-guest cruise):

Cane Garden Bay, Tortola:

French toast and fried plantains, Cinnamon Bay, St.John. The night before, as I was recovering from stinging fire ants on my feet, we were informed that tarantulas had been known to inhabit this room as recently as the night before. Great. I HATE tarantulas, to put it mildly. Thanks to the rest of the team for performing a thorough search before bedtime. None were found:

Bomba Shack, Tortola:

The Sugarloaf vs Sunday River battle rages on:

Jordi expresses his disapproval of Chelsi's incessant papparazzi photography practices. Beach Bar, Cruz Bay, St.John:

Bryn Herrigel (aka Honey) and Ethan Bean (aka E-Bomb, Beef and Bean):

The Might Audax and her fearless crew, as seen by the rest of the world:

WOW! Good post, huh?! I finished just in time to go meet Scott Herrigel for the next round of shenannigans. Off to Virgin Gorda..... here we go again!! Later, dudes!!