ISBJORN Skipper August checking Spinnaker trim during a circuit of Jost Van Dyke.

We rested in Nanny Cay, but we weren't sitting around. There were repairs to be made on both boats - ISBJORN had lost her forestay turnbuckle on the way south. To hear August tell the story, the turnbuckle sheared off with the sound of a gunshot in 18 knots of wind. I somehow slept through the drama and woke up to a controlled situation. Luckily, we had rigged the stay-sail a day before. That stay was the only reason we didn't lose the mast.

ICEBEAR had her own suite of issues, the two main problems being a crack in the boom and loose screws around the rudder. The boom was de-rigged and sent to the shop in Nanny Cay. It's wild how much room there is on deck without a boom getting in the way! To fix the rudder screws, Andy borrowed a SCUBA kit and spent twenty minutes underwater wrenchin'.

Investigating some loose bolts below ICEBEAR. Photo by James Austrums.

Any means possible: Andy straps on a tank to go tighten the rudder plate bolts. Photo by James Austrums.

After this brief hiatus, ISBJORN set sail for a short trip to Virgin Gorda with the remainder of the sailing crew from both boats (and ship's photographer James Austrums)!

I had been to Virgin Gorda two years ago - before it was hit by Hurricane Irma. The destruction was not total, but it was enough. It was the little things that disheartened me, missing mangrove forests and a small bar I had once known, now gone.

We still enjoyed ourselves and had a lovely time island-hopping, the Bathes on the south tip of Virgin Gorda being my personal highlight.

Lynne, Myself and Aksel (from L to R) exploring the Bathes of Virgin Gorda with ISBJORN in the background.

The last of our dear ISBJORN & ICEBEAR crew departed, leaving the 59 North Team (plus family) at Nanny Cay. We re-provisioned and worked at the omnipresent list of boat jobs in preparation for a little time off with just the team. August's Brother, Aksel, flew into Tortola & I drove on the left side of the road for the first time in my life to go pick him up! Tortola is surprisingly mountainous; I had a blast driving across the island.

Liferaft maneuvers in Nanny Cay Marina. Photo by James Austrums.

Buried Treasure!

August, Aksel, and I departed Nanny Cay and headed north to Jost Van Dyke, exploring the tiny islands and spits surrounding the established island. I'm not gonna lie. It was lovely sharing the boat with fewer people, especially after living on it alone for so long! I returned to occupying the forepeak by myself; August and his brother shared the aft cabin.

We had an excellent couple of days. Snorkeling & hiking Sandy Spit, watching the sunset from 'Sunset Island' (yes, we named it), even finding a message in a bottle!

The three of us had just returned to shore from a brief top-reef snorkel, enjoying ham & cheese sandwiches lovingly prepared by August. We are in comfortable silence, observing the beauty surrounding us. I spotted a plastic bottle floating close to us and I went to fish it out of the water. To our delight, we found a treasure map! It was purely coincidental that the bottle housing the message used to contain Aquavit...

A map! Clearly torn and frayed by the power of time…

The Message:

“Avast Sailors, and Beware!

“For north of Tortola lies a treasure beyond compare. Marooned on a spit of sand, a Spanish galleon sunk by sir Francis drakes hand. Gold, silver, salt & spice, the sailors had been most fortuitous. Sir Drake’s men were a salty sort, and upon him, they were most mutinous.”

“The good Captain Drake they stuck on the galleon, never to be seen again. So he lifted his head and spit in the sand, muttering a curse most murderous. If Sir Drake’s buried treasure is what you seek, the curse you must lift lest your bones shall creak!”

“Look upon one of the North-West Virgins of British land, and overcome Drake’s curse with this simple plan:”

“The treasure is marked, and on the highest peak. But digging it up is not for the weak. For this precious treasure has been cursed, and to lift the hex, there is one thing you need do first.”

“Dig into the fine, warm sand, and bury there the oldest man. All the way up to his ears, and you may unearth the treasure without fears!”

A Treasure Hunt:

Whoever had written that message was obviously not only a pirate of yore, but a wonderfully trained poet as well. We hailed ICEBEAR on the VHF; the boom had finally been installed and we needed assistance. Andy, Mia, Emma, and Ben Doerr + Family were on their way to help us hunt for the treasure!

We searched long and hard. Led by the Doerr family, we returned to Sandy Spit (another amazing coincidence)! A detailed inspection of the roughly 50'x50' sand patch yielded great reward. We discovered a large 'X' - a perfect match to the 'X' on the map! Ben's kids and I dug with fervor and managed to unearth a modern-looking drybag (deffinitly not ISBJORN's drybag). Inside the bag? Candy, soda, and beers! Amazingly the beers were still cold, and there was a perfect proportion of soda and beer to kids and adults. We said Skal and basked in the glow of yet another beautiful Caribbean sunset.

Myself admiring the sunset on ISBJORN’s bow. Photo by James Austrums.

An Unexpected Twist

My original post-passage plan was to sail to Antigua and liveaboard ICEBEAR through December, working digitally and on various boat projects. However, upon our arrival to Nanny Cay, we realized that living aboard ICEBEAR would be unrealistic due to the unforeseen damages sustained during the passage south. ICEBEAR would have to go up on the hard for repairs in Antigua, and living aboard became a lot less desirable, if not impossible.

I had 48 hours to conjure up a plan B. I bounced around a couple of ideas - do I go back home to re-group and make a thought out plan? Maybe I could hitch-sail my way around the Caribbean for a bit? I thought about my goals and obligations: I had to stay connected to work as Shore Support for 59 North, but I also wanted to travel and challenge myself with new experiences.

Where did I end up? Find out in the next installment!

Thank you for taking the time to read about my experience; I hope you enjoyed the story. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, thoughts, or just want to say hi!

Until next time! Fair winds, smooth seas, & HOLDFAST!

Ben