Virgin Islands Vol. 1

Monday,  April 9

Yesterday, we headed North, leaving Key West after a great winter. The last two weeks have been especially nice because we were on the front row of Hollywood, which provide a nice view of the water. The weather has been somewhat warmer, making air conditioning nice to have.

The nights have been rather warm. I'm not sure I'd like to be here in dry camping in the summer. It
seems you'd have to run the generator all night (which is against the rules).

We had a pleasant drive UTR (Up The Road) to Markham Park in Broward County.  It was nice to be
back driving the Coach – doing what it does best – taking us on new adventures.

We arrived mid-afternoon and immediately saw Lynn and Bob.  They are also leaving their RV here while we go to the Virgin Islands.

And they are parked right next to us. We got together for dinner and the rest of the evening we spent

getting ready for the trip tomorrow.

This morning we got up early and finished up all the little details required to get the coach ready to be
left alone for a couple of weeks.  The biggest concern with leaving the coach and car (we rode to the airport with Bob) is the two Hobie Kayaks on the top of the car. I've bought very heavy duty bicycle locks to secure them.  Hope it works.

The check-in at the airport was hectic, convincing us once more that it is no longer any fun at all to travel by air.  It seems the width of the seats and the distance between rows has been again shortened. My knees were touching the seat back in front of me the entire trip.

But we did arrive here in St Thomas.

The airport welcome sign is a forecast of things to come

Bob, Lynn, Steve, and Linda were on the same flight.  Butch and Linda K had arrived earlier, along with
our previously unknown 9th crew member, Jim.  Jim had picked up our rental car and we all piled in
and headed to the boat.

And what a boat it is.  A 50-foot catamaran with 5 cabins (actually there are 7 cabins if you include the two bow crew cabins).  We settled in, had a delicious dinner at the Hook and Anchor, and then the ladies, along with poor old Jim and Butch took off to buy liquor ($300) and food ($500).  They returned, wepacked the food away and crashed .

We have noted very little damage as a result of Hurricane Irma as of yet.

The Crew:  Steve, Butch, Lynn, Linda K, Clara, Linda D, Jim and Bob (Dave taking picture)

Dinner at the "Hook and Anchor"

Tuesday, April 10

Very gradually, we check out the boat, get last minute provisions, check everything and we're finally off.  

And the winds are howling out of the East. And we're heading – West! We've confirmed during the
boat check out that it is really a major effort to raise the mainsail, so we elect to motor the few miles
to Christmas Cove.  Good decision! The seas are running 6 to 8 feet and we're dead into them.
It really doesn't make for a great first day for sailing (or for being out in the ocean for that matter).
And we want to make sure everyone is comfortable on their first day. We motor slowly upwind and arrive fairly early at what we thought would be a relatively deserted anchorage.  But alas, all of the moorings are already taken. So we anchor. As soon as we're settled, I snorkel out to the anchor to make

sure it is well set – and it is.

First dinner aboard

Butch enjoys sitting on the bow in 6 - 8 foot seas

Jim, Bob and Dave start learning how to handle the boat.

The ladies all bought matching dresses

This morning before we left the dock, Clara went to the fish house a short distance from the marina
and bought and fileted 3 Blue Runners and tonight we had them for dinner.  Fresh fish! Nothing like
it.

Showing the locals how it's done!!

We settle in for a great evening, floating and swimming, drinking and eating.

Sunsets are always a favorite

Wednesday, April 11 and Thursday, April 12

Yes! these are sharks off the back of the boat!!

And this is Clara off the back of the boat - without the sharks

Thursday we take the opportunity to learn a lot more about sailing the boat.  We spent a good part of the

day sailing and teaching the newbies on board some of what we are figuring out. It's a teach as you learn

experience

Friday:  We decide early that with these strong winds that we'll start the day with reefed sails.  This is after a great breakfast of eggs and bacon.

After raising the sails, the very first thing we do is lose one of the big cushions overboard in the wind.  
After several tries, we are able to retrieve it with the sail up. A very difficult maneuver with a mast over 75 feet high with nearly 1,000 sq. ft. of sail.  It was a great exercise in man overboard and handling the boat.

One of the better anchorages around St John is Francis Bay. There are few boats in the mooring field
and we have a choice of moorings. After settling in, we start snorkeling. There's not a lot to look at,
but we find a spot that has 6-8 turtles and everyone spends most of the afternoon watching the turtles.  
They all have “sucker” fish eating the barnacles off them.

We must have swam with the turtles for hours.  The turtles did not seem to be bothered with us swiming close to them.

We want to make sure all the crew have an opportunity to learn as much as possible about boat
handling, but Steve and I quickly realize that we also have a lot to learn before we start trying to teach
others.  This is a big boat – and it's a catamaran. It does not sail close to the wind – about the best we
can get is 55 degrees off the wind.

Additionally, raising the main sail and tacking this brute is a major challenge.  The lines get hung in the
mast (which has a lot of stuff on it) every time we tack.  As Steve and I go through all the issues, we
start figuring out how to control the beast and clean up the mast.

The water is incredibly clear with visibilites of 75 to 100 feet

Tonight we are again on a mooring in the Virgin Island National Park in Francis Bay.  And WOW!
What a great spot.

After a great afternoon in the water, we settle in for another great meal aboard and to bed.