British Virgin Islands Short Sailing Trip - Amy Rose Herrick

Sometimes in life you may get to live some of your dreams. Standing on my front gallery on St. Croix I look across the channel. On a clear day I can see St. Thomas and St. John off to my left about 39 miles away. These two islands make up two sides of the three island trinity of this the Virgin Islands, a U.S. possession. St. Croix is the third island. Gazing slightly to my right I can see Tortola in the distance, too. It is located in the British Virgin Islands. These two separate island chains are in reality very close geographically together. These tiny bits of earth in a huge ocean far from any sizable land masses are separated by dotted lines on maps. If I stand at Point Udall on St. Croix on a clear day I can see the rest of the down island chain dotted on the horizon like a string of pearls tossed across the seas with only a hint of their rugged sea mount tops visible. It is a breathtaking view. It doesn't take long before you want to go there to see what it looks like up close. You think about the people living there. You wonder how it feels to ride the waves to reach your destination. How many empty beaches could you explore? So many possibilities! Don't forget all the small uninhabited islands waiting for you, too. Taking time out to snorkel is a given. You know you will arise eagerly early to watch the sunrises. You will be at a new anchorage anticipating each sunset, camera ready. You turn off the cell phones and laptops to relax for a time. In your heart you want to see if the pictures of those little dots of Paradise you have seen in glossy magazines are accurate or just carefully Photoshopped staged scenes. It is not so far away . . . and you can do this . . . if you have a suitable boat! Living the dream is even more wonderful than the dream itself. What wonderful memories are made when friends and family share the dream with you. You feel different - enchanted, free, alive. Our friends Dan and Julie took us across the waves in their catamaran Kindred Spirit from their home port in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands twice. We visited many different anchorages in the British Virgin Islands. I hope these few pictures and impressions inspire you to make your own journey to these jewels of the Caribbean. Whether you choose to stay earth bound, residing on your own seaside oasis in a comfortable room, or venture by boat from island to island anchorage, you won't be disappointed