Thanksgiving 2013 in North Sound Virgin Gorda

Mascot of the day

Yesterday we attended a cruisers potluck Thanksgiving feast and it was AWESOME! 

The Sandbox

The wonderful owner of The Sandbox on Prickly Pear agreed to let us use her beach bar as the gather spot of the festivities. 

Cruisers gathering for the potluck

We all dinghied ashore with our various potluck dishes at 14:00.  This happened to coincide with a passing rain shower so some of us showed up soaking wet.  We quickly dried out. 

So many yummy choices

Cruisers digging into the Tday spread

However it really didn't matter as the attire was beachwear and attitude totally laid back.

Everyone eating

We ate Thanksgiving with sand between our toes!!  The food was plentiful and yummy.

We loaded up our plates and went back for 2nds and 3rds

See - Tom eats!

I had thought to provision some Tday items prior to leaving the USA. Our contribution was stuffing and rolls. 

Our view while dining

It was an unusual Thanksgiving and terrific time!  Maybe it will become our standard! 

Rafted up boats are a big group from Puerto Rico

Can't beat this ambiance

Jeanie on s/v Lady said it best in her very proper British accent "I think Thanksgiving is just the most fabulous holiday.  You don't have to buy gifts or decorate.  You just eat!"

Sorry for the blur - Charlie s/v Lady

However I found out later that the inflatable Turkey actually belongs to Jennie and Charlie on s/v Lady. 

We Did It! We Made It! We Are Here!

View from our boat to shore - Bitter End Yacht Club villas - pic by John Tygart

After three days here in the British Virgin Islands, it's finally just now starting to sink in what we have accomplished.  Five years ago this month we were here on a chartered sailboat and now we are here on our OWN sailboat that we sailed here from the USA!
So some of you might imagine that we have been sitting around drinking painkillers and lounging in the sun since we arrive.  Sadly, we have not yet taken the time to have one.  Crazy I know!  Our crew John left yesterday morning for home.  Since arriving we have been working to get s/v Honey Ryder back into cruising mode vs ocean passage mode.  More later on this but think of it this way.... imagine you are hosting family and friends for Thanksgiving weekend - think of all the prep you have to do leading up to everyone arriving, think of everything you do while they are there and then all the work after to get back into normal mode.  That is sort of what we are doing now....post passage mode.  Additionally internet is slow here in paradise so be patient as we update the blog.