Best for Last

Okay, sorry for being a day late on this final post. We nearly pulled an all-nighter to finish the trip and we needed some down time. We have arrived!!

It seems the wind gods saved the best for last. The final day sailing was nothing short of magnificent. We were on a beam reach with beautiful sun throughout the day and carried that tack in diminishing winds and seas throughout the evening guided by a bright white (nightlight) moon. We matched the subsiding wind and seas with increased sail area and maintained speed finishing our final day with 209 miles. As we approached Anagada, the northern most island of the BVI's, we came across the first sailboat of our trip. They hailed us as we approached from behind.

Get this small world moment...it was the boat that was docked next to us in Newport!! They left a couple days ahead of us and we miraculously passed them within 1 mile of our mutual final destination, the BVI's. Nice folks. Anyway, we decided to stop at the first inviting harbor and the moonlight made the entrance to Virgin Gorda's North Sound painless for the exhausted crew. We found an empty mooring off The Bitter End and called it a voyage!!

Now, it's one thing to arrive in paradise on an airplane. You step on the plane in your wintery home town and several hours later you are baking in the sun. It is quite a different thing when you sail for 7 days feeling every degree of climate change as the hours and days pass.

Note: You were thinking my next comment was going to be about the great sense of accomplishment completing such a voyage. The fact is that it is somewhat anti-climatic. You arrive in the same weather you have had for the past several days and all you want to do is sleep on a motionless bed!! In fact, the most satisfying thing is to drop the hook and shut down the boat. Hold on now, the story has a very good ending but please bear with me as I go on a little rant.

Secretly, I always take a moment to thank my boat for delivering me and my crew/family safely to our destination, no matter how long or short the trip may be. Yesterday was no exception. Zen performed flawlessly and yes, Mom, as you wrote in one of your blog comments, I guess I am somewhat like a proud parent. Zen has definitely earned a spot in the Burgess clan.

Okay, sorry for the rant...back to the end of the story. The fact is that the elation and sense of satisfaction comes the day after you arrive. It hits you square in the face as you awaken to a very different situation from the past several days. Your world is quiet and very calm, there is no cranky crew member shaking you from your dream of wrestling a washing machine (due to the ambients sounds of the smashing waves and whipping wind...get it...anyway) and you think for a moment, hey, I could roll over and go back to sleep!! That's exactly when it hits you...bam! Your eyes pop open and like a kid at Christmas you jump from your bunk and hustle up on deck to drink in paradise!!

Everyone is different at that point. Some sit down and just stare, others jump in the water and swim around in circles and finally others acknowledge the fact that you have arrived and begin cleaning the boat that so graciously carried you through the rigors of an ocean voyage (we had one of each...I will let you guess who did what). No matter how you spend those first few moments, the feeling is the same. Great satisfaction and pride in your accomplishment. What a great trip!!


Thanks to all of you for the fun comments on the blog. I hope you will join us again on the next chapter of this voyage. Zen will remain in the islands under the watchful eye of a boat management company until the the rest of the Burgess clan joins her for Christmas vacation. In the mean time feel free to check back for some more updates. Upon my return I will be posting some videos of the trip.
Cheers,
-Tom