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   The Sails filled & The Paulota turned into the wind. We had to pick up our cruising permit & clear customs on Tortola and since it was late in the day we decided to moor off Saint John (Still in U. S. waters.) for the night & sail into the B. V. I. in the morning.
   We sailed along the coast of St. John, marveling at the beauty & apparent solitude of the island. The Paulota was making little headway in the slight breeze, but we were in no hurry as we were only going to the southern end of the island & this was giving the girls a chance to get their sea legs in calm waters. (Later they realized how lucky they had been.)
   After reaching our mooring, the girls & myself took a swim in the clear waters of the Caribbean, while Lars & Mary Beth cooked dinner. The water was perfect, warm but not to warm & we had a fairly cool breeze. At first the girls were afraid to splash, (Sharks) but soon that fear left and they had a great time trying to splash me. Why is that kids think that splashing someone who is also in the water is so much fun? I mean, your already wet!
   Back on the boat, after a scrumptious meal. We passed the time telling tales of trips & cruises past. Lars had quite a few good stories & the girls were all ears. The night was clear & since we were so far south, we found the southern cross. Melanie couldn't believe the amount of stars she could see. Luckily I had bought my binoculars and with them, looking into the milky way was fantastic. It was a great night, the start of a great vacation. Later that night Tiffany wrote a poem. See Tiffany's poem.
   Tiffany with Mary Beth at the helm They loved sailing.
   We woke to a beautiful, sunny day and after a quick breakfast, pulled anchor and with Mary Beth at the helm of the Paulota headed for Tortola and our Cruising permit.  After a short hop and a fairly long wait at the customs office, where all of us (Even the girls.), had to fill out the necessary forms. Tiffany, Melanie and  myself  took the dingy over to the post office so we could mail some postcards we had written while in Saint Thomas. Again the girls found animals, this time a goat and some chickens.  The goat was friendly but the chickens ran away (I guess they heard me say that turtle tastes like chicken.). Our chores finished we went back to the Paulota, pulled anchor and started down the island chain to what was to be our first stop, Virgin Gorda and the Baths. 
   It didn't take long, The wind picked up and since we were heading into the seas, it got really choppy. After about an hour of this everybody except Lars started to feel a little queasy & since we would have to spend a few hours tacking into the wind to get to the baths we chewed on ginger root and decided to change course and sail instead to Peter Island. We never did get to the Baths or Virgin Gorda.
   It ended up being a very good choice (Remember Lars, having spent years sailing these islands, knew all  the best places.) After dropping anchor we took the dingy to shore and climbed up and over a large hill to White Bay on the other side. On our way up, we ran into a goat on his way down, He politely moved to the side while we passed. I had all I could do to keep the girls from trying to bring him back to the Paulota. After we passed he turned and as if saying "Hey, you could at least say, nice day, how are you?" "Boy you cruising people have no manners." gave us a bleat and a dirty look and continued on his way down the hill. I remember thinking, "At least he didn't try to sell me something." Can you tell how I feel about hawkers?               

            Left:

  White Bay on Peter Island turned out to be a beautiful place to moor.

  With white sand beaches to relax on, clear water to swim in, and surrounded by mountains to block the wind. It's a perfect place to spend a few days on a sailboat.
   The beach on White Bay is spectacular: Calm clear waters, soft white sand and friendly people. (the most popular way of getting to the beach is by sailboat, so almost everybody had cruising in common.) The girls & I stayed & went for a swim while Mary Beth took a walk, looking for a little beach bar Lars had said was a short distance down the beach. After about an hour she came back & we climbed back over the hill to the dingy & home to the Paulota. We got back in time to have a couple of drinks before dinner. We moved the Paulota closer to the hills on our port side, looking out away from the beach & spent the night. You can see Peter Island Here or the rest of the B. V. I. Here
   I slept on the deck & about 1:00 a.m. was awaken by the sound of a baby crying loudly on the island. After hearing an answering cry from another area & then another, I realized that I wasn't hearing babies, You guessed it, I was hearing goats. So much for the quite nights in the Caribbean. 
   The next day we sailed over to Norman Island. Did a little snorkeling, spent some time on the beach, Mary Beth worked on her tan while the kids and I went shelling and played in the ocean. After a relaxing day we sailed back to Peter Island where we spent another night. 
   That night for dinner we went to a really neat bar/restaurant on a boat moored off the Norman island. When we first got to the William Thornton the girls yelled "Mommy, look at all the sharks!" they turned out to be remoras. I guess at one time or another a shark had passed by and the remora had decided that the boat was a better host then the shark and jumped ship, (shark). 
   The William Thornton is a salute to the history of piracy in the area. Not only does it fly the Jolly Rodger but above the bar, the names of all the pirates who were the scourge of the Caribbean are displayed. All except the female pirates, who believe it or not no one at the restaurant, except myself, knew anything about. What ever happened to the memories of  Mary Reed or Ann Bonny.
   After a great seafood dinner we went back to the bar for a couple of drinks and some socializing with other cruisers. Cruisers usually have a lot of stories which makes for great conversation & the Majority are party people.
   After awhile Lars picked up Melanie and danced with her, she put her head on his shoulder and promptly fell asleep. He put her on the deck, it was Tiffany's turn. She had been watching them with a sad expression but when he came for her, her smile almost lit up the boat, I'm sure she had a crush on Lars. They danced for awhile, Mary Beth & I talked for awhile, then with a sleeping Melanie and a happy Tiffany we got back in the dingy and went home to the Paulota. We tucked in the kids and talked late into the night.
The next morning we set sail for Jost Van Dyke. Continued