"Tales From the Caribbean"
NEW ADVENTURE
Posted 6/9/02
By: Captain David Kummerle
Glory of Christiansted
Captain David has lived in the Virgins for over 20 years. He sent this email to share an enjoyable recent experience and he paints a pretty good picture.
I am on charter with guests doing their 5th repeat and found something
really neat the other day. We were in Anegada, planning on one of Lowell's Tom Jones style butter dripping down your chin lobster dinners and this small, three seater open-air seaplane, looking like an oversized kids toy, flew bye and landed in front of the Anegada Reef Hotel. He parked it nose in on the beach for a bit, then took off again heading back to North Sound.I have seen the plane, apparently doing rides this season, operating from a big float in the lee of The Sandbox on Prickly Pear. My guest (the he part) said "man, I want to do that." He's 72. He's also recently jumped out of a bigger airplane on a skydiving "intro" so I figured what the hell.
We sailed back to North Sound yesterday and looked up the pilot, Neil Perks, who founded the business three years ago with his two seater ultralight. This new plane is bigger and far more stable in flight....and of course, carries an additional passenger. In years past, he has driven boats for the Moorings and other bareboat companies, but his career apparently was in flying. He is well licensed in planes, including corporate jets. His brochure gives the poop.
Don and his wife, Dot (73!) went up and had a blast. Don decided he wanted to go AGAIN, so Neil took us both up right away.
Wow, wow, woweeeee! The plane is off the water seemingly within 100'. It is very smooth in flight, not at all "jittery" for its small size. It is like sitting in an open cigar! with two "pusher" engines behind the wing. The pilot has a windscreen. There is a voice activated communication system so you can talk and hear the pilot as he gives The Two Dollar Tour. I was trying to hold the mike in place (the wind was blowing it away), talk, listen and take pictures at the same time. You fly anywhere from 50-400' (up over Prickly Pear), and passing over Pajaros Point on the absolute end of Virgin Gorda, then hanging a right to fly along the coast towards South Sound, you are below the hill tops and maybe 150' feet away. The foliage and craggy cliffs are really up close and VERY personal! We circled over smashing shoreline waves, The Invisibles, shallow reefs with requisite sharks (Nurse) and spotted eagle rays over Calcahoun Reef, damn, the thing was slicker n' shi.....pretty slick. We did a fly-bye just over the mast head and landed with a short tax run.
What a highlight in a great charter. The fee is $100 for two people. The flight is 20 minutes long. Neil must have been doing something special with the Anegada thing because that would take longer. If you have adventurous clients, mention it. Dot, my 73 yr. old, does NOT jump out of airplanes like her husband. She LOVED it. Besides a phone and monitoring ch. 8 on vhf, his email is <flightadventures@surfbvi.com>
It was cool!!!!!!....David
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Splash
the Dolphin...
By: Capt Randy & Shelly
Everyone always wants to know, "Do you ever see Dolphins?" The answer is Yes! We have a very friendly dolphin that goes by many names and stories of her abound. It's not unusual to hear of her antics among charter Captains, crews and guests alike. Our first experience with Splash the Dolphin was an exciting one! We were anchored in the Charlotte Amalie harbor, in St. Thomas. That particular week, we had friends onboard Three Moons. We had just finished having breakfast in the cockpit when a lone dolphin appeared. Wow! What an amazing and gorgeous creature! Right before our very eyes, she began swimming around and around our yacht. Who knows? Maybe she could smell the wonderful breakfast that had been served and had decided to come over to investigate! Splash continued to circle Three Moons as if she were looking for someone or something to play with. She was having a ball going up to the anchor chain and rubbing her belly on it. She even appeared to turn her head and make eye contact with us as if to say, "Hurry up! Come out and play!" So naturally, we dove right into that beautiful turquoise water and the frolic began. Rather than let us touch her, she lead us on a wild game of 'Ring Around the Rosie' around Three Moons. She would swim away slowly, just under the surface of the water. When we pursued, and was within 6 inches of reaching her, she would dart ahead in a steak of bubbles. Often, she would dive and come up between or behind us. You could almost hear her chortle, "Catch me if you can!" Finally, after 2 hours of playing in the water with her, we were exhausted! She, on the other hand, was still in the mood for fun. She continued to swim lazily around the yacht and occasionally would go back to the anchor chain for another long belly rub. We stretched ourselves out in the sun to dry off and to continue to watch Splash's antics. About 15 minutes later, a man came up to us in a dinghy and said, "Hey guys! There's a dolphin swimming around your boat!" To which we replied, "Yeah! We know! She has worn us out!" Finally, after another hour, she disappeared and left us with incredible memories of an amazing experience. Since then, we have seen her several times. On a few occasions, she has escorted us into the harbor. (Hey! Who is steering the boat?) We know that it is her because she is easy to spot. Splash is marked with a long scar down the right side of her fin. We are sure that if she could talk, she would have incredible stories to tell. We have heard stories from other Captains and Crews about her. One of the most recent stories, came from a friend on a motor yacht. He was out snorkeling one day and Splash came up to him. Teasing him to play with her, she would dive down to about 20 feet, touch the seafloor and then come back. He in turn, mimicked her every move and she was visibly delighted. His infectious excitement of his experience made all of us eager to have contact with her again. Is she a tame dolphin that was brought to the island and released? Or did she choose freedom rather than the security of a trainer? Perhaps she is a wild dolphin that prefers human contact. At any rate, those of us who have been given the opportunity to spend time with her are filled with awe and an abundance of joy. We always tell our guests that each week something wonderful happens that is totally unplanned. Maybe you too will see Splash the dolphin or you may even see a whale and her young swimming slowing down the Sir Francis Drake Channel. The best things in life are the ones that are totally unexpected and best of all, they're FREE. Capt. Randy & Shelly |
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Island
Time Yacht Charters
Lewisville, TX
940-566-8738
info@IslandTimeYachts.com
"Creating Lower Latitude
Memories"