FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011

John, our host and Captain John (captain of the Jamaica Bay) picked the four of us up at 10 am for the short five minute ride to the new Yacht Haven Grand Yacht Club and the Jamaica Bay. The guys immediately began telling stories on each other and repeating stories we've heard over and over again for years!

Upon our arrival at the harbor the entire staff was standing at the entry to greet us and introduce themselves. (The ship has a crew of 15) The only word I can think of to describe the experience for the remainder of the day is WOW and that does not do it justice. We were taken to one of three outside entertaining areas and given a refreshing drink. Our luggage was taken to our cabins and then we were given a tour of the ship. We drew for cabin keys and I was fortunate enough to draw the Main Deck VIP Suite! Our suite is nicer than any hotel room I have ever stayed in and the bathroom is practically big enough to live in! Our cabin attendant, Andie (also the head attendant) is from Melbourne Australia. She had worked on the previous Jamaica Bay and this latest one for a total of seven years. She is excellent at what she does. She unpacked our clothes for us, put them away, had all items that needed to be pressed ironed and back in our room by the evening.

Tom and Helen arrived from DC around 4 pm and we left the harbor and motored for about 1 1/2 hours to Francis Bay on the northern side of St. John and anchored for the night. Our meals have been been over the top but more on that when I have the time to post pictures and describe the tablescapes that go with each meal.

A quick short story on the evening meal. The main course was Coq au Vin. The server asked each of us for our choice of white or dark meat. Jim and I both chose dark meat. Later, after retiring to our room Jim asked me what kind of meat we were eating. I asked him what he thought it was. He said well, I thought it may have been some sort of small animal or a bird like creature! When I told him it was just a plain old chicken he was very relieved!
The ship has a staff person who is a yoga instructor so the six of us made a date with her for Saturday morning at 8 am on the sun deck.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2011

The trip wasn't nearly as awfull as I had anticipated. We were upgraded to first class from Lihue to San Francisco. We were really hoping for the upgrade on the red eye from San Francisco to Dulles but that was not to be. However, we did get the exit row. Jim strategically reserved the window and aisle seat in the hopes that with his status with United that the middle seat will not be booked. That did not happen either! So, he graciously gave up his aisle seat on the last two legs and sat in the middle seat! What a generous husband I have! I did not sleep one wink on the red eye so immediately upon departure of the plane in Dulles I headed for a Starbucks and tried to get my mind off the fact that it was 2 am in the morning in Kauai! We had a 2 1/2 hour layover at Dulles and then it was only another four hour flight to St. Thomas. Jim said that as soon as the plane left ground I was out for the next 2 1/2 hours. I did feel better after the short nap.

As we came upon St. Thomas it just took my breath away. It is just beautiful. I've been to Grand Cayman in the Caribbean several times but this island is no comparison in terms of the water and landscape. It is just perfection! We stayed at the Best Western on Emerald Bay. We checked in and immediately put on our suits and went onto the beach and hit the water. We watched as two dolphins swam around the sail boats and the birds dived into the water for fish. Rob and Joan arrived about an hour later and we walked up to the beach restaurant attached to the hotel for dinner. The food was great, we had a great time catching up with Rob and Joan but the highlight was the hotel cat. He was a huge muscular shorthaired calico that was very friendly and had lots of personality. Of course, the fact that Rob was feeding him bits of his Mahi Mahi probably made us more popluar than some of the other tables! At the end of our meal I picked him up and put him in my lap to Jim's absolute horror. But, the other cat lovers at the tables around us were very envious!

We both crashed that night and had a great nights sleep with the slider open and the gentle breeze and sound of the ocean. Friday morning we joined Rob and Joan for breakfast and then waited for our host to arrive at 10 am to take us to the Jamaica Bay.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2011 TRAVEL DAY!

We are off this afternoon, headed for St. Thomas. We leave here at 2:30 pm Hawaii time and arrive in San Francisco later this evening. Then, off to Dulles, Washington DC on the red eye. And finally, our last leg from Dulles to St. Thomas tomorrow morning at 9:30 arriving in St. Thomas at 1:30 pm local time. Will we still be standing??? Wait for my post tomorrow evening! Quite frankly, I'm hoping for the "monster storm" to affect Dulles airport so our red eye flight will be cancelled and we can get a good night's sleep in San Francisco!

My kindle is loaded so I have plenty of reading to do. I've tackled Ken Follet's "The Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End" in past winters and I'm just delving into his latest "Fall of Giants." That should keep me in plenty of reading for the next week.

Aloha!

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2011

Okay, so many of you seem to be more interested in the bet Jim lost (hence him having to get a pedicure with clear polish and a design on each big toe) than our upcoming trip. So, here is the scoop. As many of you know, I was looking forward to Jim's retirement on December 31st with a bit of trepidation. I had to remind him that this was not a boss/employee relationship and to make life easier for both of us that he needed to remember our family's motto... there is the Wells way (me) and the wrong way. So, for the past month we have been keeping count as to who is "right" the most. A common saying to one of us challenging the other is "wanna bet?" I WON!!!

I thought you all might be interested in some of the stats of the Jamaica Bay III. The ship is newly constructed and just completed in Germany in late 2010. It is in its maiden season in the Caribbean. The owners have been on the ship for about three weeks and are still learning all the bells and whistles!  The copy is not that easy to read but here goes..

Project Name:	Jamaica Bay III	Yacht type:	Motor Yacht
Based concept:		Sub type:	Displacement
Imo:	1009936	MMSI:
Call sign:		SYT#:	Y00081
Flag:	Marshall Islands	Port of Registry:
Length Overall (m):	59.50	Length Overall (ft):	195.21
Length On Deck (m):		Length On Deck (ft):
Length Waterline (m):		Length Waterline (ft):
Beam (m):		Beam (ft):
Draught Max (m):		Draught Max (ft):
Draught Min (m):		Draught Min (ft):
Shipyard:	Nobiskrug	Year:	2010
Hull:	779	Status:	Completed
Port:	Rendsburg	Country:	Germany
Comment:
Naval Architect:	Nobiskrug
Exterior Designer:	Felix Buytendijk Yacht Design
Interior Designer:	Felix Buytendijk Yacht Design
Hull Material:	Steel	Superstructure:	Aluminium
Gross Tonnage:		Displacement:
Class:	Lloyds Register
Class Comments:		MCA:	No
Guest Cabins:
Guests:	12	Max Charter Guests:
Crew Cabins:		Crew:
Total HP:		Total KW:
Engines:
Max Speed:		Cruise Speed:
Range:	4,000	Propulsion:	Twin Screw
Fuel Capacity (Liters):		Fuel Capacity (Gallons):
Water Capacity (Liters):		Water Capacity (Gallons):

MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2011 FOUR DAYS UNTIL ALL ABOARD!

Jim and I are off to St. Thomas on Wednesday to board the Jamaica Bay III on Friday morning. Our hosts, John and Susan are the owners of the yacht. Also joining us are Tom and Helen from Washington DC, and Rob and Joan from Bakersfield, Ca. All the guys were Rutgers University fraternity brothers and part of a mile relay team with speed records that still hold for the University. We are so very fortunate to be invited on this once in a lifetime experience and my plan is to share those experiences through this daily blog with pictures and posts. Please join us on our journey....