Just a few pics so far of our trip to the BVI. We chartered a 43' catamaran with 4 other people & went island hopping. It rocked.

Portside view from the aft deck
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485896878/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/485896878_f280003010.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Portside View" /></a>

Pelican Island
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485897420/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/224/485897420_849a5101c3.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Pelican Island" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485905954/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/485905954_c915254d47.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Grilling On the Boat" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485899192/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/485899192_92bde7bca5.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Cat at Dusk" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485906492/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/485906492_a7f2426447.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Sunset at Norman Island,BVI" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485959343/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/485959343_7e7129766c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Salt Island" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485954510/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/485954510_25ecd79135.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Moored" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485956352/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/485956352_fe06c96870.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Cloudscape" /></a>

More to come...

 

nice

 

Great shots...

 

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485992864/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/485992864_dab1c14be4.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Devil's Bay" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485994260/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/485994260_b041f294e7.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="The Baths" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486025811/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/486025811_316f1d362e.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="The Baths" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486002132/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/228/486002132_157d45b3f9.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Cave" /></a>

 

Thanks guys. G'night.

 

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486008670/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/486008670_e964db66e2.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Ladder at The Cave" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486604914/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/486604914_acb61b4124.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Self Portrait" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486641511/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/225/486641511_bf70d5ceb3.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="View From Top of the Baths" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486611862/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/221/486611862_d7b5a1e81a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Top of the Baths Restaurant" /></a>

The Bitter End Yacht Club
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486613224/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/486613224_ddeacdfe69.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="The Bitter End Yacht Club" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486645133/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/486645133_f618d517a3.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="The Baths at Virgin Gorda, BVI" /></a>

Marina Cay
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486669277/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/196/486669277_52b198d694.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Marina Cay" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486659076/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/486659076_5dba6f0270.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Ish at the Helm" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486661826/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/486661826_b79f88c4ca.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="What It's All About" /></a>

 

gorgeous shots! I especially love the cave one, has a lot of mystique to it from the lighting.

 

Great shot's although down there it is hard to take a bad one.

What Islands did you go to?
Did you sail yourself, or have a captain?

I loved sailing down there but it has been awhile.
Are they still protecting against over development?

One other thing I loved about sailing there was that all the morings are government owned and and you don't have to deal with the crap like you do down in the windward Islands (Grenada)

 

Thanks! We started in Tortola, then went south to Norman, snorkeled the Indians & the caves, & moored there the first night. We also visited Salt, Cooper, Virgin Gorda, Marina Cay, & Jost van Dyke. Went dancing at The Bitter End & Foxy's. Got t-shirts (the conventional way) at Willie T's. The guys tried to get us to jump off the boat naked for the free t-shirt, but the bar-tender said they had an accident a few months ago, so they don't do that anymore! Darn.

We didn't have nearly enough time to do everything we wanted, but it was really fantastic anyway. We sailed ourselves - didn't want to have extra crew around. Fortunately, one of the guys who came along loves to cook, so he & my brother took care of most of the meals.

I haven't even looked at the photos that I dumped to my portable hard drive yet. I've also got some on my little Nikon Coolpix because I have a waterproof housing for it. Much more to process, but I think these are probably some of the best non-people shots.

They're definitely protective about development there. You do see signs of it, but several main islands are still uninhabited (Norman), or have very little on them (Jost van Dyke). It's another world compared to the USVI. I really wanted more hiking time, but I was the only one, so we did more sailing. Next time.

There are private moorings now, but we didn't have any difficulty. What problems did you run into?

 

Very nice pictures wndrlst thanks for sharing.

Were all the dslr pics taken with the 17-85?

 

In the Windwards, we had the usual scam artists, coming out collecting mooring fees for moorings that weren't theirs.

Willy T's? is that in Pirate's Cove?. They were still building it the last time I was there.

 

lovely pics wndrlst, I am teh jealous.. :p Im especially a sucker for those atmospheric, hazy, cloudy, dark, water shots...

 

very nice pics. +1 rep points.

 

I actually got to use my 70-200 a lot. I rented a 10-22 that saw a quite a bit of use, as well. Anything taken from land was with the 17-85, because I didn't want to trust my entire kit to the dinghy, but if it was from the boat, they're pretty well mixed.

Ah, most of the private moorings either required payment on land, or the dinghy collectors had emblems on the dinghies. For the most part. I need to start thinking more like a criminal - I'd have totally been suckered in by something like that.

Willy T's is the floating pirate ship bar in The Bight. Nothing fancy, but they used to give out free t-shirts to ladies who jumped off the top deck naked.

Me, too!


Thanks asianspec.

 

Awesome shots. Reminds me of how badly I am in need of a decent vacation.

 

oh yea im also a sucker for heat blur.. sick shot

 

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/485905954/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/485905954_c915254d47.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Grilling On the Boat" /></a>

That bring back memories. Insert the song "Sailing" or put some Chris Rea on while you watch a sunset and you will wonder why you should go back

 

Beautiful shots, great composition... you're very talented.

 

Great shots and looks like a fantastic vacation.

How many people on and how big was the catamaran?

 

great shots wndrlst, sounds like an awesome experience.

 

from the first post....

 

Very nice series! It also looks like it was a lot of fun.

 

As virus pointed out, it was a 43 footer. I don't recall the beam width, but it was nice and wide. Each hull was very spacious, and it had a nice salon and better-than-average galley. Each of 4 cabins had its own head, which was also very nice. There were 6 of us on the boat, and happily we're all still friends!

This is all of us on the last day:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxiephotos/486737144/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/209/486737144_156003fafe.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="The Crew" /></a>

(I knew there was a reason I packed that tripod & remote.)

It really was a great experience. We're already trying to figure out when we can do it again, and where to go. There is a lot more I'd like to explore in the BVI, but there are so many places to see!

 

awesome shots

 

Could you share whom you went with? I'd like to take the family on a real cruise

 

Do you mean the charter company? The "crew" just consisted of friends, but we chartered (bareboat) from Sunsail. I honestly wasn't all that impressed with Sunsail from a service standpoint, but the boats are very nice.

I agree with you about the "real" cruise. I strongly doubt I'll ever get on another standard cruise ship.

 

I'm not a sailor, So I would be looking for someone to sail/cook/etc..

I've taken weekend trips locally, but would like to take the family on a summer trip in the caribbean.

 

I see. Sunsail does offer staffed charters, as well. I met a group of people at one of our stops who had chartered through Moorings (affil. w/Sunsail), and had a hired captain & first mate/cook. They were very happy with the experience & the quality of the food. They said they had gourmet meals every night with wonderful desserts. They didn't have to do a thing to sail the boat, cook, clean up, etc. Definitely sounds worth checking out! Let me know if you decide to go to the BVI, I'd be more than happy to share more specifics aobut our trip.

 

That did it cost to rent the 10-22? I'm thinking of renting one for a Yosemite trip at the end of next month.

 

It was about 100 with shipping and insurance for 2 weeks. I used lensrentals.com and was very happy with their customer service.

Oh, and Yosemite....so jealous!

 

That's pretty reasonable. I called a small chain around here and it was $28/day - but the weekend (Fri-Mon) counts as a day.

 

Yikes, that's pricey. Definitely check out lensrental's site. The lens was in great shape - they turn them over pretty regularly. Also, they let you know when it's on its way, give you one extra day to pick it up from the PO after it's deflivered, and send another email when they receive it back.

 

I told you wndrlst was a hottie. :troutslap

 

Who you talkin' to?

 

Myself.

 

Oh, well in that case. & it's not nice to lie even if it's only to yourself.

 

Wow, very nice shots. I felt like I was their just looking at the pics.

 

I like the 3rd and 4th pictures best!

 

I agree

 

What camera did you use?

I don't feel like digging through other threads to search for your equipment?