Top O’ the Mornin’

Not only is today St. Patrick's Day, it's Patti’s 50th birthday! We woke with mild intentions of setting sail fairly early for a full day at Norman Island, but a quick dip in the clear water at Cooper Island turned into a full swim and more adventures. Last night while the kids were playing with a ball on the trampoline it went overboard, and if you know Matt, you know he wouldn’t turn down a challenge to find something at the bottom of the ocean, especially to put a smile on four little faces. So down he went to search, with everyone in tow cheering him on at the surface of the water. Of course he found the bouncy ball, along with two conch shells, a spoon and a pair of sunglasses!

April has been shadowing Matt and becoming more comfortable diving down with her snorkel gear to see what lies deeper. Today she had the very special experience of swimming underwater with a sea turtle, which she said is an even bigger deal than losing not one, but two teeth today!

After we were all sufficiently water logged we said goodbye to Cooper Island. This is a really special spot and I look forward to visiting here again one day, once the beach club with restaurant and rum bar reopens after their post-hurricane renovations.

On our way to Norman Island we stopped at the Indians where Matt, Mark and the kids snorkeled while Patti and I began the dreaded task of packing (since today is our last day on the boat). When we tried visiting the Indians about a week ago (one of the top snorkeling destinations in the BVI) the water was too rough for comfortable swimming and snorkeling, but today the conditions were perfect.

Then we motored into the Bight and caught a mooring ball. Mark took the kids in the dingy to shore to play on the beach, while Matt, Patti and I continued with the packing.

You would be surprised how big this task is after living on a boat for three weeks! But we worked fast and furious, eager to enjoy the sun, water and leisure of our last day, and get down to the most important part of the day – celebrating Patti’s birthday! Which is exactly what we did when Mark and the kids came back about an hour later.

The adults swam off the back of the boat and floated with gin & tonics in hand.

Then we all had showers and got dressed for Patti’s birthday dinner at the restaurant on shore.

Before dinner we had a round of Painkillers on the beach with our Norwegian friends, Christian, Torill and their children. They came all the way over from Cane Garden Bay to say goodbye. They are lovely people, and so inspiring. They both left their jobs last summer to sail with their children on a one year journey that began in Norway!

Dinner was wonderful. The chef (whose name happens to be Patrick!) baked a delicious chocolate birthday cake for Patti.

So much to celebrate today, and so much to be grateful for. We will miss these days!

Love & gratitude, peace out...