2025 Blue Pepper with the Schmidts - The Plan

This year we asked the kids what they wanted to do for our big trip. Both were pretty quick to say they wanted to travel with the Schmidts.  So after some planning and consideration, we asked Todd and Annie if they’d be open to it.  We asked if they would consider a week aboard a catamaran in the US and British Virgin Islands.  And they agreed!

With Luke in college out of state, we really only had the week of his spring break to consider.  So we got to work finding a boat/crew that would accommodate us and our dates.  We found the Blue Pepper, a 60’ Fountaine Pajot Catamaran.  

This boat has a layout that offers 6 staterooms to accommodate up to 10 guests (the crew needs one).  This is slightly different than the boat we had two years ago and puts the galley on the main bridge so we can hopefully watch all the cooking magic!

The boat is crewed by B & K - Captain Brendan and Chef Karen.  We have already had some communication with them via text, phone and video chat and they seem delightful.

We’ll fly out of GRR with a 6:00 am flight on Saturday, March 1.  We’ll meet Luke, who departs from South Dakota in St Thomas, around 4:00 pm.  Then we’ll stay one night on the island before boarding the boat at noon on Sunday.  After our time aboard, we’ll spend another night on land and then fly home (our separate ways) on Monday March 10.

Day 7 - Jost VanDyke

I’m learning that I lack the vocabulary to fully describe the things we are seeing, doing and tasting.  As I reread the blog I’m using words like incredible and marvelous on repeat and yet it still feels like it falls flat.  I wish I could better describe it all but I realized today, I just cannot.  It is magnificent.  I stand in awe and wonder at the beautiful views, creatures, friendships, tastes, etc that we have experienced and consider it a gift.  So please excuse my entirely deficient vocabulary.  

And with that… Day 7!

I woke up early … the sun wasn’t up yet but the rays were slowly creeping across the sky.  I checked the clock and saw it was just a few minutes past 6:00 am which meant the sunrise was close.  So, I decided to get up and sit on the fly bridge to watch the sunrise.  In an effort to not wake up Scott, I left my nightgown on, grabbed a blanket and sat on the cushions to watch the world awake.  It was everything I hoped it would be.

We started the day off with bagels… I was thinking a bag with some cream cheese… but that’s not what Amy means when she says bagels.  We had bagels from a local bakery that were warm and soft.  Then a board of toppings including cream cheese, salmon, bacon, cucumber, greens, etc  A wonderful way to kick off the morning.  Plus, have I mentioned the coffee?  Its incredible - hints of coconut, its literally a dessert in a cup - and I don’t typically like coffee!  

We have a 25 nautical mile sail today back south to Jost VanDyke.  Captain Nick estimated it would take appx 3-4 hours.  It was a beautiful leg of our trip.   Our top speed along the way was 13.2 nautical miles per hour but we averaged 10 nm/hr.

You can see the Virgin Islands out ahead, but behind us, low-lying Anegada quickly drops out of sight… like a little secret only a few lucky sailors get to know about.  We were traveling with the wind today which made for a pretty smooth ride without too much splash so we took advantage of those trampolines stretched between the pontoons.

We pulled into Jost Vandyke as expected.  We will moor between the island and Little Jost Vandyke.  It is a beautiful space that is protected from the wind and waves but also has a ton of coral beds surrounding the boat so we will be able to snorkel from our moored position.

My favorite spot is where the two islands come so close to one another that there is only a shallow area between them.  You can look out and see the ocean waves crashing.

 

Nick and Amy needed a little time to get the boat settled and prep lunch so we took a dinghy ride to shore and then followed the signs to the Bubbly Pool.  Its a very cool little spot with a pool of water that is fed by a gush of water from the ocean that pushes through the rocks to form tiny little bubbles.  It was a beautiful hike to get to, a fun spot to visit, and an incredible view from the top.

 

By the time we got back, lunch was almost ready so we sprayed off the salt water and sat down for our afternoon cocktail.  We were served a Passion Fruit Daquari with homemade Seshwan Simple Syrup, garnished with a Seshwan Button.  If you are asking what’s a Seshwan button, don’t feel bad… we didn’t know either.  But Amy raved about them and both she and Nick highly recommended we give it a try after finishing the drink.  So, Roger was the first to try… followed by JC.  Then Mary and Gretchen and even Sammy tried after our lunch.  So here’s the scoop.  I heard many things including… "my tongue is tingling", "it feels numb", "it awakens your mouth."  The effects lasted over 5 minutes but everyone who tried it ended with a smile!  The overall consensus was that it was an incredible experience like nothing they’d had before.  (How cool is that?)

It was soon time for another well-crafted meal.  Today’s lunch was a Shrimp Quinoa Poke Bowl with cucumbers, mango, seaweed salad, locally-grown micro greens, and marinated shrimp.  I’ve never had anything like it, likely would not have ordered it off a menu but in full disclosure, it was great.  The flavors blended so well together and it was delicious.

After our lunch, we enjoyed some free time.  Everyone headed for the water.  Some went snorkeling, some kayaking, some used the underwater scooters and others just enjoyed a float in the Sun Chill out back.  It was a lovely afternoon spent doing whatever sounded best to each of us.  

When we got out of the water, we all started to gather on the bridge to relax in the sun and dry off.  Here we saw a beautiful double rainbow, without experiencing the rain shower.

Captain Nick was making appetizers and dinner tonight.  So soon, he brought up dry-rubbed smoked chicken wings with a homemade ranch dressing and celery.  They were excellent! 

As the sun was going down, Nick drove us in the dinghy over to a small island just off the coast of Little Jost VanDyke.  It literally is a sandbar with three palm trees on it.  Beautiful and private.  We took pictures and walked around the island picking up stones, gazing at the beautiful light as the sun set and watching hermit crabs crawl along the ground.  We had to swim in from the dinghy because it was too shallow so just as the rest of the group was climbing back into the boat, Sammy announced that she wanted to take another lap by herself.  It seemed really important to her so we let her walk the shore alone.  

I met her about 3/4 of the way around and we walked together back to the boat.  I really enjoyed this little island.  I’m not sure if it was the beauty of the light, or the simplicity of it all but I thought it was just perfect.

When we got back aboard Heavenly, Nick went to work on supper while we all took showers to get cleaned up after a full day of being in the ocean.  The table was set beautifully with tropical flowers and coral and bits of sea glass and shells.  The lighting was lowered and a new playlist was started with a Caribbean theme. (They really know how to set the mood). Dinner was a Caribbean Jerk Smoked Pork Tenderloin with mango salsa and coconut rice with a Grilled Plantain on the side.  Another incredible and completely unique meal for us!  Plus we had Key Lime Pie for dessert, one of Gretchen’s favorites… and it was likely the best Key Lime any of us have had.

After our meal, Nick set up the projector again and we watched Waterworld on the bridge.  It is a beautiful night.  And as I type out these final words, again lacking the words to properly explain, I’m overwhelmed.  I’m listening to the lapping water on the hull of the boat and looking out at a very dark night sky with only  a few other mast lights swaying in the breeze.  It was a perfect day in every way.

Day 4 - Norman Island

 It was another beautiful morning spent up on the bridge as we waited for our group to all wake up.  A few very short rain showers came through… leaving us all smitten with the sounds of the rain falling on the water.

Breakfast was an apple pie French toast bake with a caramel drizzle with sausage and fresh fruit.  Amazing again!

We got underway and headed across the channel to check into the BVIs.  We moored the boat and Nick headed ashore with our passports in the dinghy.

 

It took him just under an hour to process our entry through Customs.  Then we were off for the Indians.  On the way we put out the sail (a very cool process on its own) and went the bulk of the trip with our engines off.

 

Unfortunately we ran into some less than ideal weather on the way and had some big gusts come through with the squall.  One of the gusts pulled the main sail so hard that the rope holding it popped the winch and caused the main sail and line to whip in the wind. We cleared the deck area while the crew got it battened down again.  Nick mentioned later that we were lucky to have pulled the main sail down in time to clear the worst of the weather.  Another boat that was trailing us was not so lucky and ended up having to turn south and go quite far out of their way before they could finally drop their sail.  

As we approached our first stop, Nick decided it would be too rough to moor so we decided to skip the Indians and pushed on to Norman Island and the caves further up the coast where we would moor for the night.  Its a beautiful cove with fun snorkeling spots on all sides.   We tied off and Nick and Amy started on lunch.

Today’s lunch was a Vietnamese inspired banh mi sandwich with smoked chicken, carrots, cucumber, avocado and cilantro along with a five spice sauce.  It was served with a peanut Asian slaw.  Everyone raved once again.

After lunch, Tyler climbed up to the ceiling of the bridge onto the boom and put the sail away.  It was fun watching him crawl along the top, tucking in the canvas.  Nick and Amy have both done such a nice job including the kids in activities they’ll enjoy. Its been fun to see them included! 

After our lunch settled, we packed up for a snorkeling trip to the caves.  There was a series of three caves that we could swim to and go in.  We saw lots of fish along the way and at the entrance.  The final cave dead ended on a little stone beach.  We took off our flippers and stacked some rocks, hoping to find them someday on a future visit.  We had a lot of laughs at that little beach… the rocks hurt our feet so we hobbled, and some fell.  Those who kept their flippers on struggled to walk as well... they looked much like a penguin shuffle.  It was a lot of fun.  Then we all headed back to the boat.  Tyler spotted a jelly fish on the way.  Once to the boat we shared some additional laughs just trying to re-enter the dinghy.  Oh gosh, was it funny!

On the ride back to the boat, Nick stopped to let some of us out for some additional snorkeling.  We were within a swim to the boat so we just took our time while he returned with the Wielhouwers.  

We spent some time floating around the boat and enjoying the water a little longer before getting out for showers and cocktails.

Sammy and I especially enjoy laying on the trampoline at the front and enjoying the view of the clouds passing by the mast.  Nick told us the first day that the mast is 105 feet tall.  

After we got cleaned up, Amy had prepared a snack for us… homemade tortillas with heirloom tomatoes, boat-grown basil and a special type of mozzarella cheese.  It was another excellent dish.  After the snack, we played a game prepared for us by some friends of ours and enjoyed the sunset.

Supper was a butter tarragon poached lobster with mushrooms and pasta.  The kids and I were served a very similar plated dish but with breaded chicken instead of the lobster. For dessert, we had a Bailey’s infused cheesecake on a cookie crust topped with a chocolate syrup and shavings of chocolate from a recent stop at Grenada.  It was incredible.

To end the night, Captain Nick set up a projector and screen up on the fly bridge and we snuggled in to watch Captain Ron.  Its an older movie set in the Caribbean with Martin Short and Kurt Russell… but believe it or not, none of us had seen it yet.  We all enjoyed the movie and laughed a lot.

We all headed to bed as soon as the movie finished.  It was already 10:00 pm and was the latest we all had been up so far.  Speaking of sleep, not only are we going to bed early, but we are sleeping in a long time as well.  You can blame the sea air or the rocking of the boat… I’m not sure what causes it, but we are all getting more sleep than ever!