St John

3/16/12
St John, USVI
18 21.60 N 64 44.9 W

A short hop took us to Christmas Cove on St James Island.  I was glad to be away from the thousands of tourists and the infrastructure that comes with a ship port – the anchorage was rolly mainly because of passing traffic.  Ne'r Do Well is with us and the other two boats, Caribbean Souls and Spirit will catch up tomorrow.  Christmas Cove is beautiful – not many boats and the beach is deserted.  In order to reach the US Virgin Island of St John we have to negotiate Current Cut, as the name suggests the current runs at 4 knots in either direction depending on tide – and of course there is rocks !!  Both ourselves and Ne'r Do Well waited until Caribbean Souls and Spirit caught up to us the following morning then sat safely at anchor watching them bounce and roll through Current Cut – after seeing their safe arrival at the other end we weighed anchor and followed.

Our first stop in St John was Caneel Bay – a few minutes dinghy ride from the popular Cruz Bay which supports the largest town on the island and a very full anchorage.  Exploring this colourful town was fun – we found the ice cream shop and a great bakery – unfortunately all at high prices.

The following day we motored around the corner to Francis Bay.  Watermelon Bay/ Maho bay is a bay within the Francis Bay area – simply beautiful.  Wonderful snorkelling off the boat, lots of walks for the hearty, we explored a hotel at one end of the bay – I suppose you would call it “eco-tourist”:  accommodation as the huts were made of undressed rough sawn wood and canvas top and sides – the table was a picnic style with attached seats and the bed looked very rustic @ $120 per night !!  The restaurant was spectacular – a rough wooden structure high up on the hill overlooking the bay – simply beautiful.  There was a resident glass blower and potter to assist the tourists to lighten their wallets.

The next day the four boats took their dinghies around the corner to the Annaberg sugar mill.  It always amazes me how people 100's of years ago managed to build such strong structures – I often consider the difficult task of  lifting the boulders great heights.  One more night in paradise then off to check out the British Virgin Islands.

St Thomas, USVI

3/13/12
St Thomas, USVI
18 20.21 N 64 55.90 W


Today (Thurs 13th March) we motor sailed to the US Virgin Islands – we are now anchored in the capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Charlotte Amalie Harbour named after a Danish Queen, on the island of St Thomas right next to the cruise ship parking lot – there are 5 cruise ships in port at present.  We only called in here to complete checking in formalities and will probably leave tomorrow for the island of St John – a much quieter island made up of National and Marine Parks with rules and regulations but that is how they manage to keep the island and surrounding reefs beautiful – and it is too shallow for cruise ships – yea !!! We found out after arriving and making a phone call that they weren't interested in us checking in anyway as we had come from Puerto Rico – all considered part of the USA as far as Customs and Border Protection are concerned.

Apart from the cruise ship crowds and all the jewellery shops and hand bag shops (which it is perceived that cruise ship passengers want to buy because it is duty free and so cheap but always seem to be empty even when the ships are in town) it was a good opportunity to stock up on some perishable supplies. Though not perishable, rum evaporates very quickly in this climate so at $9 a bottle (for good stuff too) some found it's way into the shopping cart.

The narrow alleyways between the old colonial stone buildings near the waterfront in Charlotte Amalie were fascinating and cool to wander through.

Culebra

3/6/12
Culebra
18 18.21 N 65 17.70 W

Our trip around the corner of the island was rough to say the least – 12ft swell and 28knot wind on the nose – we were hardly moving whilst bashing our way through the swell – it smoothed out once we turned the corner and headed north and we had a relatively fast sail to Culebra.

Dewey is the town in Ensenada Harbor – a pretty little town with a hardware, groceries and pubs – what more could you want !!! Recommend the happy hour at the Dinghy Dock Bar where they often have live music also. We got into harbour just before the strong winds so it was nice to have a sheltered anchorage, even so we were boat bound for a couple of days not wanting a soggy dinghy ride. There are always plenty of boat jobs to do so took the opportunity to wore fridge & watermaker.

Heather and Ray from Ne'r Do Well and Don and I took the local ferry across to the mainland of Puerto Rico. Only $3 for the 90 minute trip who could resist the last chance to donate $ to the big American marine chain store West Marine . No more WM south from here and as always bought many more items than was on our list, returning to the boat that night with our arms full of boat “goodies”.

After leaving Ensenada we went around the corner to anchored in the beautifully calm reef protected bay Amorodover. We had a fun night on board when Ne'r Do Well Caribbean Souls & Spirit came over for dinner and lots of laughs.