Capri could easily advertise herself this way. Fortunately for us they don’t, because if they did, they would be overrun by guests. Now only a small group of friends come and experience it.

We finally managed, after many obstacles, and hindrances by the gods of weather to get 5 fantastic days aboard Capri (the original plan was 12).

Vinni and Carsten had to fight their way through wind and waves to get there and Mario and Grazyna had to invent new ways of “killing time” on St. Maarten. We wandered between our rental apartment and the beach on Simpson Bay, rode the bus between Philipsburg and Marigot Bay, Philipsburg and Maho Beach and drove a rental car clear around the island, lay on first one beach, then on another. We wandered around Philipsburgs streets and ate ice cream and had drinks all while we were waiting for first Capri, then for an airplane to Tortula.

In the meantime, we were kept updated by Capri. First they said we should come to St. Maarten, but in the meantime, the winds increased and the waves they were fighting got higher and higher. Next we tried San Juan, so we applied for an ESTA and while we were waiting for that and Capri’s crew were recuperating after the hard trip to San Juan, a little weather window opened and they left for Tortula. We tried to fly there immediately, but all the tickets were gone and we had to wait 2 days before we could get an airplane.

We landed Sunday evening and were met by 2 happy skippers. We walked 5 minutes to a little bay at the end of the airport and there, on, a tiny dinghy dock lay Capri’s dinghy, ready to take us out to Capri that lay 200 meters out in the bay on a mooring ball. Already from shore, we could see the Martini party light was on and shortly after coming aboard we were ensconced in the cockpit with a G&T (filled with lots of homemade ice cubes!) and listening to Vinni and Carsten’s tale of the long sail from the Bahamas to Tortula.

Even though I’m a sailor and have sailed in very hard weather in the Baltic, I have to say I’m really happy I wasn’t on board Capri for that trip. And I’m full of admiration for those two that they fought so hard, just because they had an agreement with us to sail the BVI with them.  A bravo and tip of my hat for both.

Back to Capri and the 5 star menus – we were given the suite (front cabin) with newly washed and fresh smelling sheets, a huge double duvet and 2 big pillows. Vinni and Carsten moved into the aft cabin along with all their toolboxes, charts, freezer, this and that and whatever. I thought – no much room in there, but hospitality is hospitality. It was a bit cozy in there so in the middle of the night – Vinni moved out onto the salon floor.

The few nights she slept on the sofa in the salon and even the quality of sleep perhaps was not the best – her mood was absolutely tops. The weather cooperated and got better and better each day. The first few days we experienced the famous squalls with their hard wind gusts. We started every morning with a quick bath in the ocean followed by a rinse in fresh hot water on the bathing platform. After a start on the day like that you feel like a newborn baby. There were rumors that The Little Mermaid had followed us out here from Copenhagen – actually there were two.

Breakfast was anything one could wish for – from yoghurt with muesli and fruit to soft-boiled eggs, fresh baked bread, hot rolls and cold cuts. Lunch and dinner were also complete with desserts and drinks ad libitum.

The time between meals – we sailed, housekeeping, some repairs of diverse: chartplotter, watermaker, sails electrical wiring, locks lamps etc. Such is life on a boat –  there is always something that needs attention.

Carsten and Mario playing electricians – note Carsten look – where the hell did that wire go?

The mermaids are completely unconcerned – one is busy reading while the other takes pictures – the boys sweat and solve problems

We also took the time to take walks and explore the islands. The destruction here is enormous. Irma hit these islands squarely, a category 5 hurricane and there are boats and houses destroyed everywhere. Heart breaking is a poor word to describe this. It will take years before life here returns to normal. The locals need money from tourists spending – and the best way to help them is to eat out at restaurants and spend on buying anything they have to sell.

We ate dinner here – even though the restaurant was missing the ground floor – the food was really good – as were the drinks

We came home to “Siberian cold” while Capri sailed onward to St. Maarten in real Caribbean weather.

I’ll miss the sun and warmt and most of all our sweet friendly host(ess)s, sailing in a bikini and not the 7 layers of foulies we are used to, even in the summer in Denmark. We’re ready to take another trip on Capri – anytime