And we fish as well!

Absolutely STUNNING shot of Bitter End, Virgin Gorda, BVIs
Blue Heaven Docked at Bitter End. 

Fishing is only part of the fun and games on the Blue Heaven. Some boats travel to locations like the Bahamas, Dominican Republic or the Virgin Islands and never do anything but fish. Theres nothing wrong with that but those boats really are missing out on a better part of the experiences to be had while traveling. Over the past week, we caught Blue Marlin, Snorkeled, Swam in gin clear water, explored rock formations, hung out on the Willy T, and even got chased by a little weather. 

Last week a few days before the boss arrived, I asked if Dan and I could do a pre  fishing day. He said yes so Dan and I took the boat to the south drop. We did not have much luck all morning and Dan was really giving me hell about the fact that there are suppose to be big fish here in St Thomas. At about 12:30 Dan had to eat his words. We were pulling a five lure spread plus two teasers. Suddenly the right long came out of the clip and started dumping line. my first instinct was to come off the bridge and help Dan clear the rest of the lines so that we could back down on the hooked fish. But the Line was peeling off the reel so fast that I had to start backing down right away so that we did not get spooled. Dan scurried around the cockpit clearing lines and teasers. all the while the line was emptying off the spool despite me backing down. Once Dan cleared the spread, He harnessed up and locked into an hour long battle. We knew it was a nice fish but had still not had a good look at her. When she finally came to the surface She was a big one. We guess she was ( with no exaggeration)  around 550-600 lbs.  Dan reeled till he could reach the leader, Stuck the rod in the rod holder and wired his own fish. For those of you that have marlin fished you know that this was an exciting feat. For those of you that have not done this type of fishing. I only hope that you get to experience the thrill just once in your life. 

Once the boss and his guests arrive, We took the boat over to Sopers hole at Bitter End BVIs. We cleared customs to enter the BVIs and tied up at Sopers hole marina. The next morning we headed to the North Drop. The North drop is where the reef line drops from 200 feet of water to a few thousand feet and stretches along the north of the US virgin Islands and British virgin islands. We had an OK day catching a Blue marlin and a White Marlin At one point there were three boats all around us hooked up at the same time but we could not buy another bite. After fishing, We ran into Virgin gorda to Levricks Bay Marina. Levricks is a pretty little marina nestled into the west side of the bay on the east end of Virgin Gorda. On Friday nights they do a bad ass Caribbean BBQ / Party. The food is served buffet style. I am not a big fan of buffets but this one is outstanding. There is pulled pork Chicken, ribs, fish, Caribbean mac and cheese.... All the sides you can imagine for a bbq. But best of all is their cole slaw. I could eat just the cole slaw for a meal. Oh and there are easy deserts as well. All of the seating is placed along the beach overlooking the marina. There are strings of lights hung between the palm trees that really set the mood. All of this starts at about 7 pm. By 8pm there is a live band that plays the obligatory caribbean songs you all know by heart. By 8;30 the band begins getting the crowd involved. With the adult beverages flowing and inhibitions fading the crowd fills the sand dance floor. At about 9 pm The Jumbie dancers come out. The Jumbie dancers are Carnival attired dancers on 6-8- foot tall stilts. Lets keep in mind that the dance floor is sand. They dance with the crowd and get the people really going. At 9:30 Its time for me to go to bed but the party I am told goes on for hours. I highly recommend this event to anyone visiting the BVIs. ( make a reservation though.

The Next day we fished off of Anagoda Island in the BVIs. We had two blues that bite but just did not stay hooked and a third blue marlin that came into the spread that would not eat. That night we went into Bitter end marina. It is a favorite of me and the boss. The dark green mountains that surround the marina roll straight down to azure blue clear waters. The first pic at the top of the page is at Bitter End. On sunday we put away the fishing gear and just played. Our first stop was at the Baths. The baths at Virgin Gorda are a place that there are giant borders at the waters edge that are all piled up against each other. The tidal pools in , under and around these rocks are what give the place the name " the Baths". After the Baths we took the boat to the Indians. The indians are a set of rocks that I guess have some sort of resemblance to indians. The reef around the Indians is beautiful to snorkel. That afternoon we took the boat to Normans island and grabbed a mooring ball right next to the Willy T. ( A floating rusty relic that is a floating bar.) The guys had a great time. Although, It was a bit subdued from its normal debauchery likely because it was fathers day. 

I turned on my phone to check the weather later in the afternoon at the willy T and saw that there was some bad weather pushing in our way, so we left the Willy T and spent the night at Peter Island. 

All and all it was a great time had by all. Its just a shame so many other boat crews never get to go do some of the fun things that we do.   

Trolling

Texting

Blue Heaven at Sopers Hole Marina Tortola BVI

Sunset from Sopers Hole

Jason chilling at Sopers Hole

Steve and Jason

BVIs

Levricks Bay Marina

Levricks

Friday Night BBQ at Levricks

One Hell of a BBQ Buffet

Early on the dance floor WAS empty but not for long

Blue Heaven Crew having a waterside adult beverage

Dance floor packed 

Dan doing the conga line with the Jumbie dancers

Stilt dancers

Saba Rock BVIs

Bitter End Marina Tortola

What a bunch of Mo's

Dan Grabbing a mooring ball

Paddle barding 

Paddling to the Willy T

Sir Lance alot

white marlin that ate a Braziliano??????????

Let me go!!!!

Blue one in the spread 

Dan and Lance on top the baths

Blue Heaven at Bitter end marina

The baths

The Willy T

Devils Bay at the Baths

Mountain Top Overlooking Magans Bay St Thomas.

Black Beards Look out tower St Thomas

Blue one

Which boat is ours????

All lit up

Blue marlin