A guest post by Katrina Blanchard

Soon after boarding the s/v Audax John asked me what my goals for the trip were. I smiled- this was an easy question. I replied to have fun (I already was, so was not too worried about that coming to fruition), snorkel, snorkel, snorkel, see some different islands, and catch a glimpse of the brown booby. I am a wildlife enthusiast, and had read on the plane that brown booby’s inhabit the Virgin Islands. Last year I saw the Blue Footed Booby in the Galapagos and loved it, so naturally I wanted to spot its cousin here! Needless to say, catching sight of the brown booby has become a favorite pastime here on the Audax for the last few days. Thank you to whoever donated the bird guide to the Audax- it has recently been put to good use! Jordi and I actually spotted some Brown Boobies when we were on the beach with his sister and nieces at Brewer’s Bay! We also managed to see some other Boobies while aboard the Willy T, a floating bar and restaurant in the Bight at Norman Island. One of the Willy T’s claims to fame seemed to be the amount of women willing to get naked on the bar (this was deduced from their explicit photo album and the show we got while sampling some of the local beverages).

I arrived in the Virgin Islands a week ago, Jordi and I spent the first few days at Josiah’s Bay on Tortola- we got to spend some time with his sister (Anne-Seymour) and her family, which was really fun. Then we came back to the boat when Erin arrived from Maine. These last three days have been incredible, John, Erin, Jordi, Steve and I have been cruising, we’ve stayed on Jost Van Dyke, Norman and Cooper Islands. We’ve filled our days with snorkeling, relaxing on different beaches, hiking, sailing, people watching, reconnaissance missions to the local island bar, and great meals. Yesterday was Steve’s birthday, we did not let him do any meal preparation or clean up, he got a freshwater sunshower, and a birthday cake! Hopefully he felt like it was a special day! I want to thank Team Audax for sharing a portion of their trip with me, it has been incredible. It has been great to see how the three members of Team Audax work together, and how seamlessly they have their routines and day to day decision making nailed down. Thanks boys!

From shananigans at Willy T’s to snorkeling galore. Sandy beaches, beautiful vistas, camaraderie and more. Chance meetings with family on Sandy Cay and a windfall of vast quantities of gourmet food at Cooper - Thank you, thank you and thank you Hunt, Susan and company!!!! We ate egg sandwiches, made fresh bread, baked birthday cake and drank delicious cocktails. Reset, reload, rejoice.

Birthday Boy, its Jordi in a tree, a bountiful bucket and the photo album of it all.