The crew of JOY were well beyond our expectations. Captain CJ, a friendly South African, and his lovely wife Lexi, a Brit from Yorkshire have been in these islands on JOY for 5 years and know these waters exceedingly well. Luke, also a fully qualified Captain, was the ship’s engineer and did a great job keeping us safe and his partner Danica was the chef. We provided a bit of a challenge with three kids and a few dietary restrictions from some of the passengers. The meals were served family style, and were absolutely wonderful. Luke and Danica were also from South Africa.
The yacht was spacious, incredibly well laid out, and was finished beautifully. We had not been on a catamaran before. My wife and I have been on perhaps 25 or more cruises, but the catamaran was a real treat for us. It was incredibly steady during some windy crossings.
The absolute highlight of the trip was snorkelling these warm crystal blue oceans. Captain CJ took us to spectacular locations, where we swam with black tipped reef sharks. They are from about 3 feet to 7 feet, and are curious, but seem to be harmless. They bumped our legs to see if we should be lunch, and they swam right up to us. It was a bit nerve wracking at first, but as we got used to them, it was an incredible experience. We swam with endless types of tropical fish. Sort of like snorkelling in your dentist’s aquarium. Safety was always paramount, and the crew took incredible care of us. No one ever rushed us, and CJ always explained in great detail prior to us leaving the catamaran what we were to expect.
Getting into, and out of tenders is always tricky, particularly for us at age 70, but they made it safe and effortless. We snorkelled most days in spectacular locations.
There was one narrow channel between two islands where there was a slow moving current, a sort of lazy river. We snorkelled that lazy river two or three times each and saw endless tropical fish and colourful coral. The water is simply the best we have ever seen, and we have snorkelled around the world. All of the islands are surrounded by a coral barrier reef, perhaps two kilometres offshore. The water within this barrier reef is very calm. We went to a couple of local art galleries and a couple of pearl farms. This area produces amazing black pearls very sought after by jewelers around the world.
We were sad to say goodbye to the crew. We felt that we had made true friends, and we look forward to sailing with them again, perhaps in a different part of the world. After we got off the yacht at Bora Bora, we are at the Four Seasons Bora Bora in their world famous over water bungalows for 5 nights. It is everything you would expect from a tropical, world famous Four Seasons.
This was a world class trip, made particularly memorable by the crew and the yacht JOY”.
