Well, the idea was born on Saba: shall we go diving with the family? This week in the BVIs we put the idea into action! PADI diving courses start at 10 years of age and so Eline can just join in. However, her depth is limited to 12 meters up to the age of 12. Children from 13 years and adults may go up to 18 meters. Marinthe is still too young but can still participate because she has her own instructor and can go to a depth of 2 to 3 meters in the pool and the sea. And I already had my PADI in 1996 and it is still valid, so for me it is a refresher course and step by step to get familiar again, because I am not such a hero in the water. Anyway, this way we make it a real family happening and that is very enjoyable!

The other sailors around us are mainly (certainly 90 %) American charterers who come here for a week and rent a boat. We don't meet many 'departures' like us anymore. You can see very well that in the BVIs a lot of money is made from the tourist sector. It looks well taken care of, nothing compared to the poorer Caribbean islands, but you do pay for it! For example, a steak here in the supermarket quickly costs about 15 euros. That is not normal, is it? We buy only the most necessary and things that are affordable (such as minced meat). And the weather is suddenly more unstable. At the beginning of the week it rains regularly, actually for the first time this trip, and the wind comes from all directions, but not steadily from the east as is usual at this time of year. Every time we sail a bit we have wind against us, whether we are sailing east or west. Oh well, it doesn't bother us too much because our attention is focused on diving and snorkeling.

Back to a week ago... on Friday morning we sailed to Virgin Gorda Yachtharbour to spend a night in the harbour so that we could give the boat a good rinse with fresh water. This is much needed after the ash rain from the Montserrat volcanic eruption. We do school, the laundry, shopping for a new supply of preservatives like lots of water bottles, and clean the boat from the outside. And we visit 'Dive BVI' to discuss whether we could do a diving course with the whole family. They help us very well and the next day we can do an 'exploratory' course to see if it is something for us. So we have a busy 'rule' day and we are happy that after such a busy day (and a night of sailing before that) we can make a long night on a stationary boat.

The next morningend (Saturday) we get up early to sail to Leverick Bay in the north of Virgin Gorda, because that's where the diving course is. In the morning Toine, Eline and I get some exercises in the pool (like exchanging breath regulators, running mask full of water and deflating it etc). Marinthe is allowed to 'play' in the pool and swims around like a fully trained diver with a full diving set. After lunch we take a boat to Great Dog Island for a dive in the sea. Marinthe is completely uninhibited and swims without any problems with her own instructor to a shallower part where she swims 2-3 meters under water and watches the fish. The three of us get the chance to make a 45 minute dive at a depth of 12 meters. But it's not going so well; I'm going much too fast for such a first time and I can't get my breathing to calm down and I don't like the idea of such a dive, so I decide (with pain in my heart) to go with Marinthe. Toine and Eline do very well for the first time .... They get to a depth of 8 meters and stay there for half an hour. But Eline has some problems with clearing her ears and therefore they stop prematurely. So we all come back from our first diving experience with a bit of a hangover. Marinthe as the only one not, Eline not really either, but Toine and I do. How do we continue? And will we continue? We let it sink in for a night. The rest of the afternoon and evening it rained continuously. This is the first time this trip. It is very good for the boat because it is very clean. After a few hours of rain, all of Montserrat's ashes are gone, even high up in the mast. We sit inside and watch the movie 'Moordwijven' together.

Sunday is a very useful day. The UV band of the genoa comes loose in a number of places and we manage to fix it with the inexpensive sewing machine we bought in Portugal, but the sewing machine itself doesn't quite make it and it's definitely broken when we're almost done. A bit too much to ask! Toine patches up the dinghy, which has a crack in it from the rocks near Saba. And after much deliberation we decide to continue with the diving course, with instructor Cori who did a great job with Marinthe yesterday, nicely tailored with a calm build-up for me and also fun for Marinthe. In the afternoon and evening it rains again and Toine and Eline do their 1st chapter diving theory. Part of the PADI course is a lot of theory. Toine has to study a thick English book, and for Eline we can arrange a Dutch version via the E-learning module on the internet. In total 5 chapters that take about 2 hours each. Unexpectedly we have a nice dinner in the French specialties restaurant of Leverick Bay. We are surrounded by a lot of loud fellow sailors, which is amazing to see how little restaurant etiquette some people have.

Monday morning consists of PADI theory chapters 2 and 3 for Toine and Eline, and Marinthe does school. In the afternoon, Toine and Eline get their first real pool training and Marinthe and I get to just swim around with scuba gear for fun and for me to get familiar with breathing underwater. It goes very well, for all four of us! In the evening we go and lie behind the reef in the bay and have dinner on the boat. Just before dinner Toine bangs his head very hard against a half-open window and that hurts him for a few hours. Not fun! Fortunately, it is over the next day. Tuesday we have a rest day and Toine and Eline spend that day studying the last two chapters of PADI theory.
Furthermore, we snorkel some more and rummage around on the boat. Wednesday morning we go out early (7:30) with the dive boat for two dives in the sea. Those go great, with all four of us! We are very proud of each other! Marinthe again with her own instructor and I may go along with Toine, Eline and instructor Cori. She is doing very well and responds well to us. It is very nice to see Toine and Eline doing that course together. They have a lot of fun together, Toine gets to depth a little easier (and Eline sometimes has some trouble clearing her ears), but all the other exercises in the sea (like taking off the mask, changing breathing regulators, etc) Eline does them with much more ease than her father.
We see many beautiful fish, a ray, two baracudas and Marinthe even sees a lobster. In the afternoon Toine and Eline spend the whole afternoon finishing the theory exams and the last pool exercises. Marinthe swims a bit and plays on the boat and I do the laundry and watch Toine and Eline. As a 'reward' for ourselves we go out for another delicious meal in the Leverick Bay restaurant.

Thursday we have another rest day. We just go to school and then we sail to Cooper Island, a few islands away. Along the way we see a large ray jump out of the water, fly for a while and then plunge back into the water a few meters further; twice and that is really special. Meanwhile, I've gotten quite a cold (also for the first time this trip) and am sneezing. Fortunately, I do not (yet) pass it on to Toine and Eline, because you should not dive if you really have a cold. Then the clearing of your ears does not work well. At Cooper Island it is very nice snorkeling! We see many beautiful and large fish and also some baracudas. We BBQ (Cobb'ing) on the boat and lie between many catamarans. Friday is the last part of the PADI course. We are picked up from our own boat with the dive boat and only have to sail around the corner. Unfortunately, there is no extra power available to accompany Marinthe and therefore Marinthe and I can only snorkel. We take the underwater camera into the water and make nice pictures of Toine and Eline. Also this time the exercises are much easier for Eline. That's really nice to see, she is becoming freer in the water. Also the clearing is no longer a problem. Toine is also doing very well of course! And then after the 2nd dive, they are both certified PADI divers! Congratulations to both of them!!!!

Once back on the boat, we have some lunch and then sail in a few hours to Jost van Dyk, the most north-western island of the BVIs, named after a Dutch pirate. This is a very different island from the other BVI islands. A little less luxurious with a relaxed Caribbean atmosphere. We are moored in Great Harbour, which is a spacious, bad anchor bay (4 anchor attempts needed!) with a sandy beach and along that beach lots of nice stores and restaurants. We join the Friday-nights BBQ at Foxy's; a 'famous' restaurant in the BVIs and beyond because of its nice atmosphere. The restaurant itself is full of t-shirts and other clothing donated by visitors.

Today, all that remains is to clear out of the BVIs, update the site and get the weather for the coming period. Next week we have other adventures in store for us. A few days and nights of sailing to the Turks and Caicos, or Great Inagua (Bahamas) and soon after that another day to Cuba. The weather is a bit unstable so we will definitely have the wind against us for a while. Quite exciting. But we are looking forward to it! We will keep you informed via the latest news on the homepage.