A view from the captain and crew

10 days in 2 minutes (Cody) So our first crossing, as most of you know, was like being tossed into a washing machine that was strapped into a wooden roller coaster. But the crossing back to the BVI was much, much easier. Instead of 16 hours it was 10.5 hours on March 16th. On the first crossing we had about four major things break, on the way back we had zero things break. On the first crossing we got the living day lights pounded out of us, I actually slept most of the time on the way back. After that we cruised around the Northern Sound for a few days before heading done to St. John in the USVI. By this time it was the 22nd which happened to be the first day of Spring Break  and my birthday at the same time. So for my birthday my dad gave me the trail map of St. John and said "pick some trails and we'll hike them on your birthday" so I did. Four and a half hours, 7 miles and across the width of St. John and back. That was my birthday present and I loved it. On the either hand, the rest of my family thought they were going to die and I'm not sure if Kaylee has forgiven me yet. That night my mom made baked potatoes and pork chops, it was fantastic. The next day our friends Dave, Rhonda, Zach and Olivia Hetrick arrived and we've been cruising around the BVI since. So far we've been to St. John, Norman and are currently on Cooper. This week we're hoping to get to The Baths, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda. Well there's your semi-daily dose of adventure. Ciao!. The coolest thing I've seen(Brian) We are so blessed.  Not only did we see dolphins once but twice.    First time we were cruising off of Statia at about 7 knots on the way to Saba.  I look up and see something splash in the middle of the ocean.  Look again and I think I see a fin.  Holy cow!  It's a dolphin.  Wait, not just one there are a few.  I yell at everyone on board to come look and then the pod of dolphins surround our boat.  Wow!!!   We now have 15 to 20 dolphins swimming with our boat for the next 4 to 5 minutes.  The kids are laying on the tramps out front and the dolphins are directly in front/ underneath the front of the boat.  Swimming with us at about 7 knots.  All sizes and ages of dolphins.  Big, small, old and babies.  Some are along side and jumping out of the water.  We also got to experience and smaller and shorter version of this on our crossing from Saba to Virgin Gorda ( 90 miles).   Wow I am so thankful for such a cool experience. Boat life (Kelli) Well, I believe I have mastered boiling water, prepping veggies with a butcher knife, readying breakfast, lunch, or dinner all while being underway whether under sail or motor. Brian remains in charge of morning coffee preparation as I don't tend to be brilliant until after my first cup. Cooking on the boat continues to be an adventure. I am so grateful for friends and family that are willing to wait for a meal as I juggle the pressure cooker and one burner that refuses to light after it gets too hot.  I am grateful for Lisbon as he drove Kaylee, William and myself to provision at various locations around Road Town.  What a grand adventure to grocery shop in a totally different culture again. In many ways provisioning in all these islands reminded me of shopping in Honduras.  One never knows what you might find at the local grocer. Flexibility continues to be key in planning.  My favorite time of day continues to be the mornings (which will shock many of you). Just as our day begins, giving thanks for another day. I am learning to be grateful for each day whether I am in Indy or on Saba Island. Both are extremes of "different" and yet each holds its own adventures. C'est la vie.  Adventure (Rhonda) I am not sure I can describe how completely fabulous it is here with the Gatewoods.  We find ourselves trying to find reasons why we NEED to actually ever go back to Chicago.  This is paradise times a thousand! As we venture from island to island, we can't help but marvel at the beauty, the salty air, the friendships we continue to grow and see grow thru our children.  We are a little worried about setting their expectations a little too high.  But I guess if that's the most damage we do as parents we'll be forgiven.  We'll continue to savor every moment until we have to leave next week, which right now, is about a million years away.  Happy hour at Cooper Island . . . incredible!!! Well I keep being required to write write my thoughts but I don't think you want to hear all my thoughts... Soooooo I'll write what I think about these past weeks. After the crossing, which was like heaven compared to the first crossing, we had to go back to where we started to get my baby Bessie repaired. And the guy who was repairing her gave us a replacement. Now Bessie will never be replaced but this one would have to do. So I named her Bessie's twin, Betsie. Betsie was a newer motor but she was a foot less wide then Bessie. She ran like a charm but being without Bessie for a few days was not too good. But we finally got Bessie back after she had a good patch over her tear. She's running beautifully know and shes hauling all nine of us, the Hetricks are here, all around the islands. At the moment were at Cooper Island at a nice restaurant just liming. Liming is an island term for just chillin. Weeeeel that's all I got for now. Soooo byeeee ;) Oh and that pie statement was very valid so im going to need a good pie when we get back ;D      -William Kaylee here and I'm not quite sure what to write about so I guess I will just talk about what Olivia and I have been doing. Well me and Olivia got burnt. Her more then me but still it hurts. We have been laying in bed every night dumping aloe vera all over our sun burns. It's intense. The other night we couldn't help it but we were so slap happy! We were saying the weirdest things and then just started cracking up. It was great. I'm having a great time here. I also have realized that I'm in love with ice cream. It is possibly the best thing on this earth. When I get home I'm going to eat tons of it! YUMMMMMM!!! HELLOOOOOOO THIS IS OLIVIAAA well basically I've been adjusting to living on the boat. The first day I experienced sea sickness, that wasn't too fun. And as Kaylee said; I have a really bad sunburn. So while everyone else took a hike today Kaylee and I stayed on the boat jamming to One Direction <3 we also enjoyed dinner last night and then decided to show everyone our amazing dancing skills, which included; the Bernie, tango, salsa, and a bunch of other random dance moves that probably scared everyone. Needless to say, we are all having an amazing time and we're all blessed very much.  This is Zach, And this trip doesn't suck!