It was a travel day for us- the last stop before returning our fine vessel in St. Thomas. We had to stop in the immigration office before returning to the USVI.
The Indians pass us by as we head due South between Tortola and St. John - down the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Alex reefed the jib but kept the engine on for a little boost. I help tight to the wheel, watching for waves on our rear. We made excellent time in the open sea until losing our wind in between the landforms. We've found that the seas are generally calmer in the morning so we were happy to get an early start.
We abruptly approach a plastic milk jug floating in the water. Although it is illegal to fish the BVI without a permit, local fishermen make home-made traps. This is very dangerous for boaters as well as the tropical fish population. Due to high waves, it is difficult to spot the trap until you are right up on it. You should be very aware of the line to ensure that you don't foul your prop. You can often tell which direction the line will be depending on the current.
The shoreline is stunning! Palm trees line the rocky shore and green hills arise straight out of the water. The Great Thatch passes on by on our right hand side and we begin hugging the coast of St. John. Great Thatch is a small uninhabited island in west BVI. The island was previously occupied and was once a customs house checkpoint until there was a civil disturbance in 1856. Prior to that it was owned by pirates but was repurchased only 13 years ago. Today it is a national park.
Ruins remain standing there today and are thought to date back to the sugar plantation era. The ruins are extremely difficult to access as the paths are all heavily overgrown. After the civil disturbance the island was abandoned and it remains so today.
We swing closer in to shore and pass by beloved Mayo and Francis Bay. The Puerto Rican family's mega yacht was still anchored in the deep waters. It was nice to come back this same direction because it put everything into perspective. I was glad to have land on either side again! Because the islands are at most 3 miles from each other, the BVI makes a great place for beginner sailors to learn the ropes.
Jost Van Dyke was directly behind us as we turned past the bay. We minded the flashing yellow buoys that indicated the bounder of the National Park. Green and red approach on the horizon to indicate Johnson's Reef.
Caneel Bay was our least favorite spot to moor for the night because the moors aren't actually in the bay- the private hotel reserved it for swimming and snorkeling. It was not in a protected cove- we were tied up along the side of the channel so every time a ferry passed by, we rocked violently side to side. We wondered if this would continue all night.
We settled in just before noon and decided to prepare the last of our sandwiches while we waited for the immigration office to reopen after lunch.
We dingyed over to Cruz Bay and found a spot to tie up. This bay is commercial use only. No private or chartered boats can stop here overnight. Just as we tied up, a large ferry arrived. We hurried to beat the crowd to the immigration office. Too late. The officer made us wait until the entire load of people had checked in. Completing the forms was very confusing because it's not clear what each one is for and there were several choices. We were charged $35 because it was Sunday.
As we were waiting for our turn, our Canadian friends from Willy T's appeared. They had ridden over on the ferry and were headed home.
It was a relief to get that taken care of, it was a mad house in there. I wanted to get a few souvenirs since this was our last stop that would have a gift shop of any sort. We found a small convenient store and quenched our thirst with a large ice cold water as we figured out where to find an ATM. A homeless guy overheard us and insisted that the ATM was this way (as he started leading us down the main dirt road.) We were hesitant and kept expecting him to ask us for a few bucks but he pointed us to the machine and took off in the other direction.
I think he must have gone to go tell his buddy that we were in the vicinity. We were clearly tourists and just got cash for our pockets. The second man walked with us back up the hill to the main intersection of town. "It's a small place. You see everyone you know- everywhere" he said. Worn and sun tan, his guy looked like he wasn't doing too bad for himself. He enjoyed the nice view and temperate climate. He seemed content to be in such a beautiful place and was happy to walk and talk with us.
I stopped in one shop for a quick look around. We got trapped listening to the sales woman chat for at least 30 minutes. I suppose she was lonely and needed someone- anyone to talk to. Business was slow yet tourists are rude and ignorant, she said. Eventually we had to make a run for it. The rambling and complaining put but Alex and I in a bad mood, just listening to her babel. We had been 100% carefree this entire vacation and we realized that we were getting back to the mainland at that point. Back to civilization.
We shook it off and promptly returned to the boat to get our swimsuits on so we could go for a dip. The water is a stunning clear color of turquoise. Small tropical fish swam below us as we approached the white sand beach. We pulled right up to shore and drug the dingy a few feet up the beach so it was secure. Ahhh, this is more like it we thought.
I laid our beach mats out under a shade tree and read while Alex snorkeled around. He saw a spotted eel and a large shrimp just a few feet away!
I popped open an ice cold Heineken and felt totally at peace, toes in the sand.
That night we made dinner on the boat. It was a delicious cajun pasta with sausage and fresh tomato. We were doing well on finishing our food supply, we were trying to use everything we had.
Almost a full moon, we reclined under the stars... In Peace.
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