Just a Little Love Shack on Marina Cay, BVI!
Much like today, in 1937 the U.S. economy was struggling and the world is a tough place for a pair of newlyweds looking for a place to escape the madness. Fledgling writer Robb White and his new wife Rosalie “Rodie” Mason decided to head out on an adventure to make a fresh start for themselves. What timing! There was a crippling depression at home and rumblings of a war abroad. Married only 4 months, Robb & Rodie packed up and set sail for the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean in search of a quiet place to write and reflect. Once ashore, they experienced several disappointing weeks in Sea Cow’s Bay, near Road Town, Tortola of being a “novelty” to the West Indian locals and being eaten alive by mosquitos. Frustrated, Robb put his typewriter in his little sailing boat and wrote in the middle of the bay each day. The pair decided they had to get out of town and spent weeks sailing their 13’ sailboat daily throughout the islands in search of a more suitable home. Excitedly, they found Marina Cay, a rocky nine acre island surround by reef just off the East end of Tortola, near Trellis Bay and bought it for an amazing $60! 
We first visited Marina Cay in 1987, vacationing on a privately chartered sailing yacht. The crew told us the tales they had heard of Robb & Rodie living in a tent while digging a cistern and building a small house on top of the highest point of the little island. Paradise wasn’t entire idyllic; as the couple faced one challenge after another. Rob wrote about the experience in his book Virgin Island, published in 1953. His book was made into a movie Our Virgin Island in 1958 starring Sidney Poitier. We’ve been told that the Beef Island airport was built just so that the film crew and stars could land conveniently to Marina Cay! On a 1958 episode of TV's This Is Your Life, Robb White's sister said that "young Bob was the proverbial minister's son, a rebel against all rules and full of deviltry". His rebel spirit was what made his time on Marina Cay a successful venture.
The Whites spent three years on Marina Cay, hacking a home out of the rough, rocky land and shipping in enough concrete to build a small, sturdy house. These were adventurous years —during which the couple lived on what they caught in the ocean, weathered a hurricane, fended off a crazy Nazi skipper, aided Jewish refugees who sailed across the ocean to escape the Holocaust, and survived a surprise a visit from Robb’s mother-in-law (who didn’t appreciate the amenities as compared to her 8,000 acre Georgia plantation!). Many of these tales are detailed in his memoirs published in 1939 by the title of In Privateer's Bay.
Robb was recalled to military duty in the Pacific Navy when World War II broke out; he flew as a pilot, and served on battleships, submarines and aircraft carriers. He earned eight medals and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander after five years of service.
During his time away in the Navy, he and Rodie lost Marina Cay. The British government had never issued them a license to hold the land and later formally refused, stating that White's published writings had misrepresented conditions in the BVI. Sadly, a couple of decades later, they divorced; Rodie stayed in her childhood home in Georgia and Robb relocated to California and continued his path as a very successful writer. He wrote adventure novels or young readers such as The Lion’s Paw, television scripts for shows like Perry Mason (21 in all) and screen plays for a few horror films. On November 24th, 1990 Robb White died from major head injuries during an car accident.
Today, the 600 sq. ft. stout little house Robb and Rodie built stands surrounded by bougainvilleas, hibiscuses and banyan trees. During the sailing season, you’ll find us there with our guests enjoying sundowners at the bar and listening to local music! We enjoy introducing people the wonderful black & white photos of Robb & Rodie, taken when they were only 28 & 24 years old at Pusser’s Restaurant, also located on the island. Our favorite is one of the couple toasting the camera with a pair of crystal martini glasses. These restored old photos were taken by a sailing visitor from San Juan who visited the island occasionally from 1937-1940. 
Many of Robb Whites books are out of print. But we can regale you with the amazing tales of his adventures at Marina Cay handed down from generation to generation of crewed yacht charter Captains! For the past fifteen years, we visit Marina Cay aboard Three Moons Yacht on our charters for the same reason the Whites did; there’s always something magical experiencing what it must have been like to live on a private island and escaping the madness of the world!
~Contact a professionally certified yacht charter broker for more information about Three Moons Yacht
- Posted from Other Islands, Virgin Islands, British
Sail Magazine Visits Three Moons Yacht!
Sometimes, the most amazing things just “fall into your lap”. Last week we were asked by the U.S. Virgin Islands Dept. of Tourism if we would be interested in hosting Sail Magazine for an article on "Five Things I Didn't Know About St. Thomas".
Three Moons will be included in the July charter column of Sail Magazine. Our special guest, Associate Editor Meredith Laitos is writing an article featuring St. Thomas. Photographer Elinor Mason was also onboard Three Moons taking photos for the story. Once available, you’ll be able to access an online version of the story with more photos at sailmagazine.com.
Our writers from Sail Magazine want to promote how easy it is, not to mention less expensive, to fly into St. Thomas and be on a yacht within a blink of an eye. They also came aboard with the idea of leading prospective charter clients back toward booking monohulls, or at the very least, making sure that renting a monohull, either Captained or bareboat is included in the choices made by their subscribers. They were excited to promote the romance of sailing on a traditional monohull as though it’s a new marketing idea!
Recently, seven well-respected yacht charter brokers joined us aboard Three Moons. They commented repeatedly about how much they enjoyed the stable, weighty feeling of a large monohull cutting through the water and the beamy room of the main salon.
Over the past season, we’ve heard & read more about the popularity of monohulls increasing. Why? As one of our long-time brokers commented, “The savvy client knows that they can book a larger monohull for less money per foot as compared to a catamaran”. Across the board, we’ve found that our 72’ monohull is at least 30% less to charter than a 58’ catamaran for 8 days, 7 nights. And yes, thats even with this month’s rate increase!
Our current all inclusive rates* are:
8 guests - $339.00 each per person per day
6 guests - $405.00 each per person per day
4 guests - $535.00 each per person per day
*rates do not include airfare
Contact a professional, registered yacht charter broker for more information about Three Moons
- Posted from Water Island, Virgin Islands, U.S.
A Celebration for the World to See...St. Thomas Carnival's 60th Anniversary!
We are in the thick of St. Thomas carnival! It is the last two days of Virgin Islands Carnival's 60th Anniversary Celebrations, and that means it is Parade time!!
Wednesday’s Food fair was spectacular with lots of local foods to sample and enjoy.
Yesterday was J'ouvert with 9 bands – That may be a record! The event was safe this year and lots of fun with people swarming & dancing to their favorite band. “Happy Carnival!” called thousands of locals and tourists as they crowded the streets of Charlotte Amalie in the pre-dawn hours Thursday morning, excited for the 60th Anniversary Carnival J’ouvert celebration.
Nine bands and a few smaller groups inched down Waterfront in huge semi-trucks baring massive pieces of sound equipment designed to pump beats into the eager throngs of grooving partiers.
Today is the Children’s parade. They have practiced hard and have been looking forward to this day all year. Tomorrow is the Adults' Parade, and we know that thousands will be attending, but today is about our children.
About the fireworks - The world-renowned Grucci family of New York will produce the Carnival fireworks finale at 9:00 PM on Saturday. The Grucci’s expect to feature the number “60” in the sky-dance of color. Participating sponsors of The “Fireworks Spectacular” are Virgin Islands Lottery and WSTA Lucky 13 Radio and helping are Crowley Marine, Boynes Trucking Systems, Tropical Shipping, MSI Building Supplies and Challenger Trucking. The best spots to fully enjoy the awe of the Fireworks By Grucci are downtown at Carnival Village and its adjacent waterfront area.
You may have missed celebrating Carnival with us aboard Three Moons Yacht this year; but it's not too early to plan next year's celebration! Join us for a front row seat in all the festivities!
Looking for Really Great Roti in St. Thomas? This is our Favorite place!
So you ask...what is "roti"? Roti is prominent feature in West Indian cuisine and one of our favorite "local foods".
A roti with a stuffing of ground yellow split peas, cumin, garlic, and pepper. The split peas are boiled until they are al dente and then ground in a mill. The cumin is toasted until black and also ground. The stuffing is pushed into the roti dough, and sealed. When rolled flat, the filling is distributed within the roti. It is cooked on the tava and rubbed with oil for ease of cooking. This Dalpuri style is the most popular roti and making them is a true labor of love.
We like our roti stuffed with a savory curried chicken, potato, and carrot filling. (You can also order beef, goat or shrimp roti!) Top it off with fresh mango chutney and Yum-O!
Opened in 1996 by S. & Ben Jinghai, you'll find this busy little 400 sq ft. restaurant on Garden Street in downtown St. Thomas, near Hotel 1829. Don't miss a true taste of the islands!
Three Moons Yacht Charter & Crew Evaluation
YATES YACHTS CREWED YACHT EVALUATION
Sherry Yates-Charter Broker, CYBA International/Yates Yachts
Toll Free: 866-994-7245/Website: www.yatesyachts.com
Yacht THREE MOONS
Guests: The Page Family Charter
March, 2012
How did you enjoy your cruising vacation?
It was a 10 out of 10 for all of us, both Julie and I, and our two teenage boys. It exceeded our expectations.
How would you describe your Captain and crew? Were they Courteous? Helpful? Friendly? Attentive? Knowledgeable?
Randy and Shelly were so hospitable. They made us all feel so at home on their boat. They were very friendly, attentive and gave us a vast amount of information, history etc. on the BVI’s and everything and anything we did! It was really a great benefit to have a crew who had so much experience in the area, they knew every nook and cranny. We felt very comfortable about their sailing abilities.
Tell me about your meals? Did the menus meet your expectations? Did your crew pay close attention to your Preference Sheets?
The meals were all 5 star. The presentation was beautiful and the taste so delicious. The meals completely exceeded our expectations. Shelly and Randy really followed our preference sheet and even accommodated our son who disliked seafood. They just took it in stride and prepared him steak or chicken instead. Our 14 year old even mentioned to me that Shelly noticed he didn’t like a lot of onions on his salad and made his with less! We especially liked how Randy cooked so much of our main courses on the grill.
How is the yacht? Is she clean and well-maintained? Were your cabins comfortable? Was the cockpit comfortable? Was there enough shade?
The Three Moons yacht is extremely well kept and clean. Although we rarely spent time in our cabins, they were comfortable and had plenty of space for storage and organization. The deck on the boat has plenty of shade which made for very comfortable sailing. The crew changed our sheets and made our beds, which I must admit we did not expect.
What did you like most about the yacht? What did you like the least?
We all really enjoyed the outdoor table on the boat deck where we ate all of our meals and appetizers. I really do not think there is anything we can say that we liked the least, except we all ate too much!
How did you find the pace and the itinerary of your vacation?
Perfect! We saw at least one new island a day. Randy and Shelly were very accommodating to our desire to do as much snorkeling in as many places as possible. We visited 7 different islands!
Would you charter this yacht again? If not, please explain: Absolutely! It was a wonderful vacation enjoyed by the entire family.
What can Yates Yachts do to improve our services?
We really cannot think of anything that Yates Yachts could improve upon. Sherry was extremely helpful in every way, especially helping us in getting information on accommodation in St. Thomas and also providing us with other small details about the island.
May we use you as a reference? Of course.
Additional Comments:
We really cannot imagine having a more pleasant, and helpful crew than Randy and Shelly. They really cared about us and showed us more than we could have imagined. They have such a calm sense about them which made our trip extremely relaxing. I do not believe that anyone on our boat raised their voice once for the entire 6 days. Any family or group that could be their clients would feel very fortunate during and after their voyage.
Signed: Andy, Julie, Stefan, & Austin Page
* * * Thank you very much! We value your opinion. * * *
- Posted from Road Town, Virgin Islands, British
Three Moons Yacht Charter Guest Comments from Our Groups this Month!
March 24th, 2012
Thank you so much for a memorable, wonderful vacation! Shelly’s culinary expertise, Randy’s sailing expertise and your generous attitude has made our first family boating trip fantastic! Snorkeling was high on our list of “to-do’s” and we sure did it! Snorkeling in a different locale everyday for 6 days! Wow! three Moons is certainly a 5-star experience! Thank you! It’s going to be hard to get back to reality!”~ Julie, Andy, Stefan & Austin, Minneapolis, MN
March 17, 2012
“We hope we can make this week of peace and serenity last the whole year long! Thank you so much for making one of fifty-two weeks in a year so special”~David & Mary Ann
“What a wonderful week of sails, travel and yummy food!!! We look forward to seeing you both again!”~Sue & Gay
“We came on our trip with high expectations, and you far exceeded them from first stepping on board. You both have been wonderful hosts. If “stars” were given to boats (maybe they are!), the Three Moons would be a 5-star experience! Many thanks again!”~Kent & Laury
- Posted from Road Town, Virgin Islands, British
Arghh! Shop for Three Moons Yacht Treasure at Our New E-Store!
Bring on the Booty! As we say, the only pirates in the Caribbean are at the gift shops! So here we "arrgh", with a fine display of downright amazing T-shirts, hats and bags at our brand new E-store!
New Guest Comments and Photos!
February 4th, 2012
“Dear Shelly & Randy- What a fabulous time. We’ve been all over the world and this is a top 5 vacation. The food, the drinks, the destinations-everything- First CLASS! Thanks so much for your hospitality.”
Kim & Greg
“Thanks so much for an amazing trip. Everything was wonderful! “5 Star” You are both the best hosts ever.”
Rick & Michelle
“Wow! What a trip! Best Ever. We look forward to seeing you again. I will be practicing my dance moves!”
Rhonda & Bill
“What can we say- You popped our BVI Cherry! We won’t be able to get enough now. Looking forward to our next sailing adventure”. Happy & safe sailing.”
Glen & Kathy
January 20th, 2012
“We were here in 2008 and 2012! And again, it’s the best vacation we have ever had! Thank you so much Shelly & Randy again for making our vacation special!”
Peter & Sue
“Shelly & Randy for the second time you have made this experience for us GREAT!! Service #1. The presentation & food again were fabulous. Thanks again-You Guys Rock!”
“Many thanks for yet another memorable voyage aboard Three Moons! Best wishes and happy sailing into 2012!”
Johnson
“Thank you so much for the great holiday good food and a smooth voyage. Hope to see you again soon!”
Louise
“What an amazing way to begin 2012! Ever more precious family time, beautiful vistas & views, fabulous food and, of course, Shrek! Our third visit was even better than the first two, and we’re looking forward to celebrating Grandpa's 90th on board Three Moons”
The Specs
"Dear Randy & Shelly,
This has been one of our most memorable Christmas vacations ever! Waking up to sunny skies, a brisk swim and your enthusiastic attitude made it exceptional. Your culinary skills Shelly, and your sailing expertise, Randy, allowed us to relax & enjoy. It isn't often we get to spend this much time as a family and we treasure our time together. You made it fun for all & we will always remember your warm smiles, excellent food and your love & appreciation of life. Your accommodation to our dietary requests, your interesting stories, and painkillers to drink were most appreciated. Whenever we see a rainbow, we will remember our wonderful sail on Three Moons!"
XXOO Diane, Bob, Jon & Sarah Puckhaber and Jay Shea
Dear Shelly and Randy,
We all made it home safely. We will forever have fond memories of our sail on Three Moons. We will miss your gourmet meals, pleasant smiles, blue skies, warm water and snorkeling. You helped make our vacation perfect. We will certainly return. You made us all feel so comfortable and relaxed. If you are in New England please let us know so we can show you New Hampshire. We will have a nice room for you and I'll try and cook something although it will be hard to live up to your culinary genius Shelly. Thank you for everything. We will miss you. xoxo Diane
