2024-03-10 Derek visit - moving to St. Croix

We took a day off from Snorkeling, and moved to Coral harbor on St. John.   Not a place we would pick to hang out at, lots of derelict boat with full time people.  Went ashore and picked up  lunch at Johnny Lime, but brought back to boat to eat, as no great place to leave dink on that side of the bay.

Derek and Kris waiting for food at Johnny Lime

Next day, we left, hoping to stop at Salt Pond on the south side of St. John, but no luck, moorings all full, and there was swell moving into the anchorage, so we headed around to the north side.   That is the nice thing about the Virgin Islands, there are so many options close together.

Spent a night at Francis Bay, on the north side.  Went for a snorkel, and Kris got to watch an octopus move from sand to rock and virtually become invisible, as it camouflaged itself on the rock.   Dean and Derek able to spot it, but you would have never seen it just snorkeling over it unless you knew it was there.   

Do you see the octopus?

 Had a nice beach walk in the afternoon.  

Nice beach at Francis Cay

Next day moved to west to mooring field near Henley Cay, which we heard should be great snorkeling.

It was good snorkeling, with the most fish variety we had seen, and some quite large for reef fish.  Lots of coral variety as well.

Watched a ray being harassed by a fish.

It was then time to head back to St. Thomas, as Derek needed to fly back to Idaho.   After a quick shopping trip in the main harbor to pick up a gift for a friend, we headed over to Lindbergh Bay, by the airport.  Next morning early, we took the dink to the beach, and dropped off Derek and Kris.   Took water and towel with, so Derek could wash off and dry his feet for land travel, after getting out of the dink and walking up the sandy area to the road.  Kris walked the short walk  with him to airport, but no place to leave the dink, so Dean went back to boat and waited until Kris came back to pick her up.  Sad to see Derek go, had a great visit with him.

We hoisted anchor and headed back to the main anchorage.   

Saw this large ship loading a large powerboat for shipment.  Compare powerboat size to large sailboat on the carrier as well.

We got the Safari bus up to the Cost U Less store which had Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese in 2.5 lb blocks in stock.  Derek had full luggage, so did not bring cheese, so we picked up other provisions, and 6 blocks of cheese.

Next morning we headed south, and had a nice sail to St. Croix, with 12 to 18 knots of wind, sailing at 60 apparent.  Little choppy and bouncy, but not bad at all.  Averaged around 6.7 knots, and anchored at Fredrickstead.  About 18 other boats here.  

Went for a nice walk about town early Saturday morning,  Not much open or going on, but Kris did get some booties to wear with her flippers, as her flippers are a bit loose, and with all the snorkeling she got a small sore on her toe from the flippers rubbing.  There were 3 dive stores open, as the snorkeling and diving by the pier is supposed to be quite good.  

Looking out at the anchorage.  Charm is the far right boat

Nice old buildings on the waterfront

Nice artwork depicting typical Moko Jumbie stilt dancer

Another waterfront building.  Lots of building have these type of doors, with the angled cross bar lock

Dean relaxing on waterfront park bench

Today we will go snorkel the pier, and then don't know when we are moving on next.  Depends on weather.

2024-03-03 St. Thomas, St. John and Dereks visit

We stayed in St. Thomas, as Derek was flying in on Tuesday.   Went to town for groceries, and took the safari bus to Budget Marine to get a courtesy flag for the BVI's as Kris decided it was a bit complicated to make, and only $14 at Budget.

For those that don't know - the Safari bus is a pickup with a modified back to haul people.  It costs $1 or $2 depending on how far you go.  Routes are not published, and there are no schedules, but if you wait long enough - usually not more than 10 to 15 minutes, one will come by if you are on the major roads.

A Safari Bus

Tuesday Derek's flight was delayed so he got in late.  Kris took the Safari bus into to meet him at the airport, and about the time the luggage was gathered, the rain started.   Dean stayed on the boat, as we were not sure if Derek wanted to come back to the boat first, or get something to eat first - so not sure the best place to take the dink.  The rain made the decision easy.   Kris and Derek took the taxi to Wendy's near a dinghy dock, and Dean waited on the boat for the rain to stop.   It was really coming down, causing localized flooding.

View out of the taxi coming to boat from airport

By the time Kris and Derek were halfway done with dinner, the rain slacked enough that Dean could come in, and joined them for dinner.  The dinghy trip back to the boat was only a little wet - but our water tanks were full.

Saw a nice fireworks show in the evening.  No idea why there were fireworks.

Next day we stayed in St. Thomas, walked up to get Derek approved snacks and the store, some more fresh veggies and fruit, and then lunch.  A couple of large cruise ships came in to the dock so town was quite busy by lunch time.

A couple of large cruise ships at dock in St. Thomas

In the afternoon we decided to head over to St. John, as the anchorage in St. Thomas was a bit rolly. It was only about a 10 mile trip to Rendezvous Bay, and the anchorage was much calmer, making for a peaceful night.    

Dean made cinnamon rolls and bread in the morning.   Yummy.

In the afternoon we went for a nice snorkel.

Saw a nurse shark, a ray, and lots of fish.   Some nice healthy Elkhorn coral which was good to see.

Nice ray swimming by

Three fishes playing in the Elkhorn coral

No, not on the beach - underwater - look at the fish

Derek diving down

Next day we moved to Great Lameshur Bay and got a mooring.  Had a nice snorkel in the afternoon, and got to watch some squid and fish doing their thing.

Relaxing evening, and then next day stayed at Great Lameshur, and went for short walk ashore.  Explored some ruins and stretched our legs. The Manta Namid with Bruce and Sandra on it were anchored in the bay.  We had met them in the Bahamas and had a good revisit, they are the second boat from the left.

From the left, Sandra, Derek, Kris, Dean, Bruce

Ruins overlooking Little Lameshur bay

Green and tropical looking

Nice and shady with some large trees on the trail

In the afternoon, went for another snorkel in a different spot.

A Hawksbill turtle was not too afraid of us, and got to watch it for a while.

Lots of nice fans, soft corals, sponges and some nice hard coral as well.  Plus lots of nice fish.  One very large scary barracuda.  Overall a nice snorkel.

Don't have any firm plans except for getting Derek back to airport on the 8th.  

2024-02-25 Moving on to St. Thomas

We stayed at Ensenada Honda in Culebra for a few days, as it was a three day holiday weekend, so we did not want to head out until the end of the weekend.

We went out for a nice dinner at Zaco's Tacos again, and walked up to a grocery store further away for the exercise and to check it out.

We like the artwork at Zaco's Tacos - food is good as well

Nice container home we saw on our walk

Stopped and got groceries, but could not resist the ice cream.   Yes, it was before 10:00 a.m., but ice cream is good anytime

On Tuesday we headed back out to Bahia de Almodover, as we wanted to make water, and needed to get a little power as well, so motoring out would do both.

Leaving the anchorage in Culebra Ensenada Honda

After a night in Bahia de Almodover, with water made and laundry done, we headed to St. Thomas.   The winds were NW, which does not happen often, so we decided to head over as we could sail the 20 miles.  Winds up to 15 knots, with some rain were forecast.  What we got was different.  The winds were NW - but saw up to 28 knots, and heavy rain.

Heavy rain knocked down the seas a bit. - But visibility went down to about 1/4 mile

Enduring the rain being blown in

Skies started clearing as we approached the channel on the SW side of  St. Thomas

Calm seas and a bit more clearing skies approaching anchorage

Quite the change as we dropped anchor.  Only 1 cruise ship at the dock, and anchorage not too crowded

St. Thomas has quite the different feel from Puerto Rico.  And catamarans definitely outnumber mono hulls here.  This island is definitely more touristy, and louder.

Next day we went for a nice long walk along the waterfront, down to Ace hardware - as we were looking for a new showerhead (Did not find one).

Passed this large graveyard on the main road.  Nothing buried, all above ground, and stacked.  

We also had lunch out, and then walked through some of the cruise ship shopping area - since no ships were in, and it was empty of people.

Nice courtyard and restaurant

When cruise ships are in, this area is packed with people

We heard lots of sirens that afternoon on the boat - and saw a large fire on the hill.   So sad, someone lost their house.  No one was hurt but the structure was a complete loss

Lots of black smoke on the hill

Such a steep hill.  Firefighters we parked above and below the home, and we could see the flames - at least 10' high.

Next day, we decided to head in and get some groceries, and look at the Home Depot for a showerhead.  St. Thomas is a small island, but lots of shopping here.   The Home Depot was further away, so we took the bus there.  These "busses" are only $1 or $2 per rider depending on how far you go.  You wave them down, hop on and pay when you get off.  Basically a truck with modified back with bench seating.

Our safari bus had some McDonalds sponsorship, but they are all different

We got a new showerhead, and then stopped at the Cost.U.Less store for some groceries and then back to boat.  The Cost.U.Less is a large grocery which is a cross between Costco and a large normal grocery.  Great store.  We will make a couple more trips before we leave.

Our son Derek arrives Tuesday, so we are excited to see him and will stay here until he arrives, and then head out for some fun times.

2024-02-18 A nice week in an beautiful anchorage

We decided to leave Ensenada Honda in Culebra on Monday - we wanted to make water, and Dean wanted to clean the bottom of the boat, so we motored the 4.5 miles over to Bahia de Almodover.

There were a couple of other sailboats there, but the water was clean, and it has a beautiful view, as it is protected from the Caribbean sea by a reef, so you are anchored and looking out at the sea, with land behind you.

The view from the boat

I worked on finishing the salon cushions and thank goodness, got the backrests done before running out of thread.  

Cushions - done for now.

Learned a lot on this project, and still want to redo one cushion and sew a bolster backrest for the long one, but the cushions are comfortable, and will stay cleaner than the old ones - so a success.

Dean got in the water and scrubbed the bottom.  He had some friends help him out.

These little fish hiding in the small gap between the hull and top of the rudder - about a 1.5" gap

We have got a lot of growth on the hull, we cleaned it a month ago, but this 83 degree water and lots of sun makes the stuff grow fast.

Dean's fishy friends were not scared and swam right up to him.

With the bottom clean and the cushions done for now, we decided to do some fun stuff, and headed over to the island of Culebrita to do some snorkeling.  We had heard that the NW corner had some good reefs, so took the dink the 2 miles over to check it out.   Unfortunately, there was a lot of reef damage from the hurricanes.

Large reef, but lots of white and dead

Some good signs of growth and recovery

Lots of this undamaged fire coral, which is more resilient to hurricanes and bleaching than other corals

The island of Culebrita is quite pretty, but we did not choose to hike to the top this time.

Pretty beach on Culebrita, looking towards Culebra

Kris went for a nice kayak trip around the anchorage and into the mangroves near land.   There were hundreds of upside down jellyfish in the mangroves

They may look like weird plants, but these are upside down jellyfish

They were so thick in some spots they completely covered the bottom

We had the anchorage mostly to ourselves for the week, with two days of being completely alone - but it could not last.  On Friday, 7 powerboats came in and anchored.  They were not loud, but were a bit close to us.  On Saturday morning, more started coming, and we realized we were in the prime spot for the locals weekend getaway, and it was a three day holiday weekend.

Three boats rafted up in front of us.

We decided it was time to move again so Saturday we headed back to the large anchorage of Culebra - Ensenada Honda.    Shortly after lunch we got a text message from our friends Ed and Cathy on What If- who are currently in the Bahamas.  They said to look towards land - their son and family had rented a house for the weekend to get away and were nearby.   Turns out we were quite close, so we launched the dink, and went to say hello.

Ed and Cathy's son with his wife and children - and us.

We had a good but short visit with them - as they are on holiday weekend, and had lots of activities planned, we did not want to slow them up.

We will stay here a couple of days - and then look for the next place to go. 

2024-02-11 A week in Culebra

We left Fajardo on Sunday, as winds were predicted to build out of the south, and we wanted a better anchorage - plus we were done with Fajardo.  We sailed the 23 miles east in light winds, with lots of tacking, finally having to turn on the engine the last two hours to make it in before dark.   

The anchorage in Culebra Ensenada Honda is very large, and well protected.   Monday we headed into town to stop at the post office.  We had used our spare water pump a while back, and wanted to keep a spare on board, so stopped at the post office to make sure they would accept general delivery shipments.  Smallest post office we have ever been in, but very nice people, and yes, they would do general delivery.  We walked around the area a bit while waiting for the post office to open.

Street post office is on.

2024-02-03 Vieques, and Fajardo

Our plans changed due to a southerly swell so we did not go to our planned stop on Vieques, but went to the town anchorage of Esperanza.

Looking at town from the boat.