Matt and Jodi took off this morning on a hike in search of donkeys - and wound up going back to Caneel Bay, where there were donkeys galore, and in flagrante delecto - providing an expert lesson in the birds and the bees to anyone in the neighboring area. To hear the conversation from Matt and Jodi’s perspective was very, very amusing. :)
We ferried past said donkeys on our way to Tortola from St. John. One was just having the greatest time of all, rolling around on the grass. So our trip to St. John was totally successful and complete by the decree of Jodi!
Once we made it to Tortola, we were taxied to the port of debarkation for our journey. We were not the first on board, nor the last, and we were very pleased by our accommodations. The rooms on the trimaran were far more spacious than expected, and we had the great pleasure of setting under sail in order to do our checkout dive at Randy’s Reef. We were set free to do a self guided tour (alas, the nitrox compressor exploded a few weeks prior, so there was a limited supply of nitrox) to make sure that our gear was working properly, and that there were no immediate difficulties noticed. I was glad that we had arrived in St. John a few days prior in order to be fully accommodated to the heat and humidity of the BVI.
The name Cuan Law reflects owners and designers, Duncan and Annie Muirhead's Scottish heritage. "Cuan" is the Scottish-Gaelic word for ocean and "Law" means mountain. Cuan Law with her towering white sails appears to be a snowy mountaintop rising from the ocean. The Cuan Law was built in Canada and she and her sister ship Lammer Law in the Galapagos Islands are the world's largest sailing trimarans. Unfortunately, the Lammer Law is no longer fitted for diving in the Galapagos, and Annie and Duncan “sold out” that boat to their partners. Annie will let you know that there was no money forthcoming on that deal!!
We got to watch the crew unfurl the sails as we set out in the Caribbean. The feeling of the wind on our faces and the sheer power of the vessel was magnificent. Our checkout dive wasn’t necessarily overwhelming, but we managed to get through it without too much difficulty. The soft coral was as plentiful as i remembered it being, and there were a ton of painted and bluebell tunicates.
We had a little challenge getting back to the Cuan Law, as the map on the board was not quite accurate to our position, but nothing that a little surface swim couldn’t take care of. Although we are disappointed that there is no night dive tonight, we are still off to a good start, judging by the fringed filefish and bluebell tunicates below.
Dinner was a beautiful sit down meal outdoors and the stern deck. All of our meals will be outdoors! If the self serve buffet and dinner service are any indication of how we will be fed on this trip, I would say we are going to be in very good hands for the next 6 days.
