Cruise Stories - USS Minnow?
So, the O'Malleys tracked down a charter boat and booked it for the entire day so we could leave Jost when we needed to. As with all good plans, there were a few bumps along the way.
Bump number 1 was connecting with our boat. The arrangement was to meet on the pier. We were dutifully waiting at the end of the pier where our ship was docked but didn't see anyone holding up a sign that said "O'Malley" or even anyone who looked like they were looking for us. Kathy ran back to the ship to get the phone number and called the charter company. They said the crew woman was there waiting for us at the pier.
Huh. Still didn't see anyone but we waited some more. Kathy was trying to call them back when Sam, our crew for the day, finally found us. Turns out, at the end of the ship disembarkation area, there's another pier with all the small boats. Ooops.
Sam led us over to our boat where Captain Craig was trying to tie up so we could climb aboard. It's fascinating watching someone try to parallel park a big boat. While we were waiting, Sam started talking about all the places we could go but we said, "We thought we were going to Jost Van Dyke." She said, "Oh, I don't know about that. You'll have to talk to the Captain."
OK, that concerned us since our entire goal was getting to Jost. Once we starting talking to Captain Craig (whom I called Captain Carl the entire time, too much Pee Wee's Playhouse in my past) he told us that the seas were really rough and it might not be a safe trip. Oh. Guess that makes sense. We decided to go boating anyway and he said he'd consider making the trip once he got out there and could check out the seas.
We hopped on the back of the boat and Kathy, Terry and I went up top for a while. When we got out of the bay, Captain Craig decided to make a run for it to Jost. He advised that we go below or we'd get drenched. We headed to the cabin but the rest of the folks stayed in the open back.
Captain Craig wasn't kidding about getting drenched! Some of the folks in the back got pummelled by the waves. Debbie's dress was totally soaked.
Mary was about to get repeated waves on her coming up from the back. They were all laughing and having a good time and Kathy and I were laughing at them and happy to be dry.
Jost Van Dyke was absolutely beautiful! The water was crystal clear, the sand was fine and we didn't want to leave, ever. There are only about 140 people who live on the island and there were probably that many tourists there with them.
We hit Foxie's and the Soggy Dollar Bar for some beers and fries then it was time to head back to our boat. Kathy and Moose got a "to go" pack of Amstel Lights and we went back to the dock.
Sam and Captain Craig were just coming back as we got to the boat and we encountered Bump 2. They jumped in to the back and Craig opened a door in the deck and climbed down. They appeared to be concerned about something but were trying to play it cool and told us to just give them a few minutes.
We weren't too worried until Captain Craig started bailing water out. Seems his boss had put a matt in down below that had covered the float so no water was draining out with the pump. They'd had rain the day before so there was a lot of water.
We were trying to be cool about it but when the Jost folks kept coming up and asking if they needed help or if they should call the Fire Department, we got a little concerned. OK, maybe a lot concerned. It was almost 2 and we were supposed to be back on board our ship by 2:30.
Captain Craig assured us it was no problem and we would get back in time. The ferry pulled up while we were waiting and there were a handful of folks from our cruise waiting to take it back. I was making contingency plans...we could take the ferry but then we'd have to grab taxis to get us to the ship...that could work except that it looked like the ferry wasn't leaving any time soon.
The thought that we may be stuck on Jost wasn't completely unappealing, though. We were thinking hey, a night here, catch the ferry tomorrow back to Tortola and a plane to our next stop. It would be an adventure. Except, I didn't have a credit card or any ID except my driver's license on me so flying may have been an issue.
After some furious bailing, Captain Craig had us ready to go. Kathy and I prayed to the sea gods the entire way back but we made it with a few minutes to spare.
The ferry people didn't get back until 3 but they still managed to get on board. I would have been stressed beyond belief if we'd had to go that route.
