Sailing in the Virgin Islands

March 30 - April 10

Saturday

Skip, the owner of Island Yachts, met us early to deliver the dinghy and do the final checkout. We were out of the marina after breakfast on "Sailor Dog", a 37 foot Island Packet. We decided after we got going that we'd go to the Maho Bay for the first night out.

We picked up a mooring, tied the dinghy to it and took the sailboat over to a day mooring at Whistling Key, where we had snorkeled last week with Fred and Renee.

After a couple of hours of good snorkeling, we came back to the mooring, then took the dinghy to Maho Bay campground so Jan could find a new mask - hers was leaking.

We spent a nice evening relaxing on the boat in a beautiful place.

Some boats are bigger than others

Sunday

Today we sailed out of Maho East to Leinster Bay - not very far but we were tacking into the wind all the way. A very pleasant sail. This is a big heavy boat and today's wind, 8 to 10 knots, did not give it a good chance to show its stuff.  It seems that it needs 15 to 20 to get it going good. Maybe we'll see that later, although we're really enjoying the light breezes.

Tacking from Maho to Leinster Bay

We picked up a National Park mooring and went snorkeling around Watermelon Cay. All the snorkeling has been great, and this did not disappoint. It seemed that there were a lot more fish here than other places.

Another beautiful place.

Monday

We left Leinster with light winds and partly cloudy skies. We set the sail for a run downwind and slowly made our way East to Christmas Cove

We have decided that the "Puerto Rican Navy" (the name bestowed locally on Puerto Ricans who bring their big sports fishing boats - along with a lot of people - to the US and Spanish Islands on weekends and holidays) may have left Culebra by Tuesday (after Easter weekend) and we want to go there. This will be our first voyage to the Spanish Virgin Islands.

About half way to our start point for tomorrow, we finally got the edge of a rain squall and gave the "Sailor Dog" a little workout with some 20 knot winds. Boy, she handles 20 knots beautifully. We sail a few miles with nice winds and finally tuck into Christmas Cove.

We didn't expect good snorkeling, but we're pleasantly surprised with a nice afternoon of snorkeling around the island in the cove.

Bill taking care of business

Tomorrow we'll run downwind to Culebra.

Tuesday

We departed Christmas Cove around 8am with a starboard aft quartering tailwind and set a course of about 270 degrees to Culebro. There is a North swell of 4 to 6 feet. With the tailwind, we had a pretty uncomfortable downwind sail to Culebra of about 4 hours, arriving at Dewey, the only town on Culebra around noon.

I had a long check in by phone with customs and immigration. They asked if I had garbage aboard. We did and I said we did - which was a mistake. I realized I had made mistake, so a second person came on the phone and asked the same question. This time I said "no, we have no garbage we plan to leave here". Then a new person came on the line and accused me of being a liar, which I was when I said we had no garbage on board. They informed me that there is a $5000 fine for having "foreign" garbage.  After a lot of confusion, we finally got it straightened out. We will not have garbage.

We went to the Dinghy Dock Restaurant in Dewey and had our first meal ashore since Saturday. After a few beers and a good cheeseburger, we got a few groceries and returned to the boat.

At the Dinghy Dock

We motored out to Ensenada Honda mooring field. I swam quite a lot looking for a better mooring because ours does not allow for swinging a 180 degrees - we'll be aground. We could not find a better mooring so we set a stern anchor to assure we don' t swing 180 degrees and go aground.

We are anchored behind a reef in Ensenada Bay. It is quite a spot. The reef protects us from the rolling ocean waves, while providing an almost flat calm sea.

Tonight we should sleep really well.

Wednesday

Today we circumnavigated Culebra. It wasn't the plan!

We left Ensenada Reef after we figured out that the gear shift lever has to be in neutral for the engine to start. We had to call Skip to figure that out. Now we are educated on starting "Sailor Dog".

We went around the Western side of the island looking for the anchorages that we had been assured were there. They were, however the winds and north swell made all of them untenable. We went around the Northern point of the island hoping to find an anchorage on the Eastern side. No luck.

Instead we ended back almost where we started, which ain't bad.  We choose to spend the night on the anchor in Dewey Harbor.

"Sailor Dog" in Dewey Harbor, Culebra


Tonight we went to the Dinghy Dock Restaurant where the choice for tonight's menu (which was extensive) was whether you wanted your cheeseburger medium or medium Rare. Their scheduled food delivery had not come in. This place is completely dependent on delivery for everything.


Sitting in the Dinghy Dock Restaurant, we could look out at crystal clear water and see "big" fish swimming


 


"This is where I want you to tie up the dinghy"





We've seen enough of the Culebra, and we don't have time or a good weather forecast to go to Vieques, so tomorrow I think we'll head back to the USVI.






Thursday

This morning we got an early start, leaving Dewey harbor heading back to the USVI. The breezes were light out of the east/southeast. We put out the main and staysail, cut the motor on, tightly sheeted the sails and only tacked once.

We wanted to get some more water and decided to head into Charlotte Amalie. I soon remembered an earlier trip,when we had stayed at Crown Bay Marina so we called them to arrange for a berth for the night.

We arrived early afternoon and enjoyed a laid back afternoon around the marina and enjoyed lunch and dinner at their restaurant.

Friday

We are in some of the clearest water we've ever seen tonight.

The visibility in the water is incredible.  We could easily see the bottom in 25 feet of water. 

This morning we left Crown Bay seeking a protected anchorage for a projected shift in weather patterns tomorrow.

A "cold" front is coming through sometime tomorrow, which means the wind will shift from the East/Southeast to the North/Northeast and go from 5 to 10 knots to 25 to 30 knots.

We decided that the best protection would be on the South side of St John, so we motor/sailed over to Greater Lameshur Bay. This is the first place Clara and I went to upon arrival last week. However, we didn't get to the good snorkeling then. Today we did. We saw about as many variety of fish in about as clear of water as you can get. We snorkeled around for 2 to 3 hours, until we were all waterlogged. It was great.

This evening setting at the mooring, we could see the bottom 20 to 30 feet below as clearly as if there were no water.

Bill taking care of business back in Asheville.

We had picked up a Mooring closer to shore, but around sunset the bugs attacked, so we started for another mooring further from shore. Well, due to a comedy of errors, Jan ended up diving into the water to retrieve the boat hook, which Clara had to release when trying to pick up the mooring, because we had forgotten to shorten the line to the dinghy, and I couldn't put the boat in reverse to pick up the mooring for fear of tangling the the line in the prop, which would not have been good.

We retrieved Jan.

Saturday

It's a good thing we decided to stay here in Lameshur Bay today. The 'cold' front came through late this afternoon and the winds have picked up and we are getting heavy rain showers.  But before all this hit, we had an early morning sail, a long snorkel before lunch and another one after lunch. It still amazes all of us the wide variety of fish and coral we are consistently seeing. This has been by far the best snorkeling trip we've ever had.

Dave taking care of business

Unfortunately, Bill sprained his knee while trying to get in the dinghy, resulting in a lot of pain.  He soaked it in rum and that seemed to help.

Two lobster were hiding under the coral.  No one was brave enough to reach in and pull the lobster out



Another great day in paradise.

Sunday

This morning the winds were pretty strong, so we dinghied to shore and took a short hike in the Virgin Islands National Park. On return to the boat, we decided that we'd move from Great Lameshure Bay to Little Lameshure Bay, a move of a few hundred yards, but a more isolated anchorage with only 4 moorings.

I took a nice long swim/snorkel to check out the new bay, which is much like the other with a lot of fish and beautiful underwater canyons, then lunch and another swim/snorkel into a different part of the bay which had the most beautiful underwater landscape I've ever seen. It sure is going to boring when I have to start swimming in a swimming pool again.

Clara spent a lot of time snorkeling.

The fish with no tail

Just a nice lazy day. Nothing special, just a great day relaxing and enjoying the warm beautiful waters.

Monday

This morning we left Little Lameshur on a nice jibbing sail downwind to Christmas Cove (supposedly named for the Christmas Winds that occur in Dec/Jan and the protection this bay offers).

Before we left, we noticed a boat anchored outside the mooring field, and Clara identified that Beaufort was its hailing port.  I took the dinghy over this afternoon to check if it was someone we know.  Turns out that Jim Carr had bought the boat (a 34 foot Pacific Seacraft - "Merganser") in Beaufort at Beaufort Yacht Sales (Eddie Miller) last Spring.  Then he traveled North on the ICW and sailed (single handed) across the Atlantic to Spain and Portugal.  He had spent the winter there (with lots of interesting adventures), and then singled handily sailed the boat to the Virgin Islands, arriving a week or so earlier.  Quite the adventure and fascinating to talk with.

Tuesday

Today is the last day on the boat.  We motored from Christmas Cove to Red Hook and begrudgingly turned "Sailor Dog" back over to Skip. 

Our sailing journeys have been great on this trip.  When we go back to the Virgin Islands again, I don't think we'll bother going the the British Virgin Islands.  There are some really great places around St. John and I'd love to get back to the Spainish Virgin Islands when we've got at least 5 - 7 days to explore Culebra and Vieques.

Our anchorages and Pat and Dave's home

In the afternoon, we took a taxi to the Best Western Motel at the airport.  Later, Clara, Jan and I took a taxi back to downtown Charlotte Amalie for the gals to shop a while. 

It's hard to understand how so many jewelry stores can stay in business.  There must be a hundred or more in the shopping area.  They all seem to sell the same thing, in which, of course, I have no interest.  Tonight we had a relaxed dinner at the motel restaurant overlooking the bay.

Wednesday

Today is going home day - St Thomas to Charlotte to Raleigh.  We see the kids and spend the night with Slade.  

Our flight track out and back

It's been another great adventure!

St. John, USVI

Thursday, Mar 29 thru Thursday, Apr 5

Thursday

We travel to St Thomas, USVI from Raleigh, where we spent the night and left the car at La Quinta Motel. It was a long day with 3 legs flying via Orlando, Miami, then finally arrival in St Thomas - about 11 hrs including layovers. We stayed overnight at Sunset Gardens, a small older motel in Charlotte Amalie way up on the side of the mountain.  Adequate for a nights sleep and a great view.

Friday

A hectic start with every thing working perfectly. We called a taxi and it shows up in 2 minutes (before I was even ready to go), we arrive at the Red Hook ferry 2 minutes before the ferry leaves for St John. Then, we arrive at Cruz Bay and are met near the dock by the car rental representative (L&L Jeep Rentals), who has the contract with him and a portable credit card scanner and we are in a Jeep Wrangler in 5 minutes, driving on the wrong side of the road. All before breakfast.

First stop is breakfast at Jakes, a great little restaurant in Cruz Bay, then to the grocery store for wine and rum. We call our hosts, Pat and Dave Poole and arrange to meet Dave so we can follow him to their house. It's a good thing he did. We could not have found it otherwise. Their home is in the rain forest about 3,000 feet elevation (the highest point on the island is only 3,177 feet), up a dirt road, seemingly miles from civilization - a perfect place.

Bordeaux Mtn on Centerline Road, where we turn to go to Dave and Pat's

After settling in, Dave (Pat is volunteering today for the Friends of the St John National Park) goes with us to show us the island and all the great places to go (and snorkel).

Tonight we had a special treat. We all go out to dinner at Maho Bay, which is whole story in itself.

Maho Bay

After a great dinner overlooking a beautiful sunset over Maho Bay, we were treated to a demonstration of glass blowing, which is about the most unexpected thing I could imagine doing in the Virgin Islands. A pretty incredible start for our 3 week visit.

Saturday

Today we were introduced to a taste of what it's like to live here. A good part of the morning was spent on the upstairs deck drinking coffee with our hosts, meeting the neighbor, Gary, and just relaxing.

Around 10:30 we headed for Francis Bay for a couple of hours of snorkeling. Saw a couple of big turtles and a ray of some sort and lots of beautiful tropical fish.

Lunch in Cruz Bay at Jakes (their breakfast is a lot better than their lunch). Then picked up some items at the grocery, filled the Jeep up with gas (at $5 per gallon - or maybe it was per liter) and came back to the house and napped.

Tonight we went with Dave and Pat to a party of mostly people who have worked or currently work at Maho Bay. Great and very diverse and interesting group of people. The hosts, Fred and Renee are the couple with whom we are going out snorkeling on their sailboat Wednesday.

And we've only been here 48 hours. Wow!,

Sunday

The morning started slowly with coffee and breakfast with our host. Around 11:00 we headed to Great Lameshur Bay in the national park for snorkeling. This was probably some of the best snorkeling we've done ever. For about 1 1/2 hours it felt like we were swimming in a tropical aquarium. Visibility was probably 100+ feet. After resting for a while we went to Miss Lucy's for lunch. What an incredible location sitting on the edge of the bay watching the boats moving across the bay.

We were pretty tired so we spent the afternoon napping and enjoying talking with our hosts.

Tonight we went to Skinny Legs in Coral Bay for dinner and listening to a great band.

We gave up the night life around 7:30 and returned to get ready for tomorrow. 

A little about where we are staying this week.

Pat and Dave have a lovely little post and beam cottage located in the rain forest near the highest point on St John. The house is about 12 x 24 with a sleeping loft and a 8 x 24 porch. Below the porch is another porch which is the guest quarters where we are staying.

The guest quarters is a screened in porch where we can see and feel nature at its best It really feels like we are living in a tree House. It almost seems that the house was dropped among the trees. There are trees and plants growing within inches all around. It is perfectly delightful.


It seems that the house is dropped in the forest



The "porch" living quarters



The porch where we lived in the trees




The walkway to the house.  The entry to our "porch".




Pat and Clara prepare dinner

The bathroom is a delightful separate structure with all the amenities

 



The upstairs porch



Beautiful trees grow right beside the house


The home is very self sufficient. All the water supply comes from rain which is collected in a 10,000 gallon cistern. All the gray water is piped into the forest , and the black water is composted in composting toilets. The electric come from the grid as well as the cable TV.

The cabin is located about 1 1/2 miles from the main road that runs down the center of the island. The last 200 yards is a "very" unimproved dirt path. We get all our daily stretching exercises going in and out on this path. The jeep gets a pretty good workout also.

It is a great location getting the cooler temperatures and breezes and makes for some great sleeping. The highest elevation on the island is 1277 feet, and we are very close to the highest point on the island. It is reported that the temperature is typically about 10 degrees cooler at this elevation compare to sea level. I slept over 12 hours last night - and probably will tonight.

Monday

This morning we went into Cruz Bay to get a few items and to let Clara do some looking around at the stores.

Dave (our host) had made arrangements with a friend of his, Phil, to spend the afternoon on his boat (a 26 foot power cat) going to his "secret" snorkeling spots. We met at a marina (actually a dinghy dock) behind Skinny Legs to go out to his boat which is on a mooring in Coral Bay. A couple other interesting characters joined us, Collin, a former Alaskan fisherman, and Roy, who had formerly been a rodeo cowboy. Phil had been a corporate attorney with one of the large TV networks.

We first went around to the northeast side of St John to Newfound Bay. The entry is a narrow channel between reefs opening into a wide bay. We snorkeled on the reef in great underwater visibility. Then we up anchored and went to Flanagan Island which is between St John and Norman Island. Here we had the best snorkeling we've ever had in incredibly clear water. It is hard to believe that the visibility can be that good underwater. Where the visibility ended, the water turned to a beautiful blue. There were an amazing variety of fish and coral. We swam and snorkeled until we were totally worn out.

We took a tour of all the hurricane holes around Coral Bay on our return trip. After dinner at Shipwreck Landing, we were ready for bed.

Tuesday

Today we're on our own again, so we decide to go snorkeling at Salt Pond Bay, the place we are most familiar with on the island. We had first come to Salt Pond Bay several years ago and stayed at Estate Concordia overlooking the bay with Bill and Jan. And we've visited here on charter boats several times when we chartered out of the BVI.

Rams Head, St John, near Salt Pond Bay

The snorkeling was nice, but after yesterday, everything pales in comparison.

We stopped by Miss Lucy's for a late lunch and relaxed the rest of the day back at the house.

Coral Bay

Wednesday

Sailing on "Pepper"

We get an early start because today we're going out with Fred and Renee on their island skiff "Pepper" for a day of sailing and snorkeling. We had met them at the party Saturday night at their home.

Unfortunately, it was a rather cloudy day, but the snorkeling was excellent at Whistling Cay. Fred was very helpful in pointing out various fish and Coral. Their was another couple and their two teenage girls on the boat, which added to the fun. Renee had a nice lunch prepared when we returned to the skiff, followed by a nice sail back to the mooring.

This makes our fifth day in a row of snorkeling. We are beginning to feel like fish.

Tonight Pat fixed a delicious dinner of pork chops. Dave left this afternoon to fly back to WNC. Pat will follow in a couple weeks.

Thursday

This morning we drove to Cruz Bay and the Virgin Islands National Park Headquarters to catch a shuttle to the head of the Reef Bay Trail for a hike.

The hike was led by a park ranger who provided interesting narration about the history of the island and the variety of vegetation.

We hiked 2 1/2 miles down the mountain stopping at petroglyphs that are estimated to be 1000 years old and a sugar mill ruins which were the last to be abandoned in the early 1900's.

Petroglyphs

We were met at the beach by a boat for a ride around the south side of the island to Cruz Bay and the Park headquarters. Pat met us there and she and Clara went shopping and I came back to the house for rum.

Dave and Pat Lodge

We have thoroughly enjoyed our week's stay with Pat and Dave and look forward to getting with them when we get to our mountain home. They have a home near Linville only a few miles from our home.

Friday


Today is a transition day. We start phase 2 of this trip, leaving Dave and Pat and head for St Thomas and 10 days of sailing. We drop off the car, have breakfast at Jakes and get on the ferry.

Island Yachts is only a couple hundred feet from the ferry dock at Red Hook. We meet Suzan and Skip at Island Yachts, get some lunch and the start briefings and boat checkout?

We're on a 37 foot Island Packet "Sea Dog". It's a spacious beautiful boat and we look forward to sailing her.

Clara does the grocery shopping, about $500 worth, and Bill and Jan arrive around five. We put the provisions on the boat have dinner and settle into a restful evening, except for the "Puerto Rican Navy" that has settled in on the docks.