Friday, April 30, 2010

Honeymoon Cove and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI- Day 10 & 11

Again we woke up with the sun rise. I prepared the coffee while Alex did his last engine check. We checked the weather station but it was almost 100% static so it was completely useless. I wonder how people get reliable information. I can see how news travels faster by mouth. 



We were continuing south between St. John on our left and St. Thomas on our right. We had to go far out to the middle of the channel to get around Packet Rock. I remembered our trip out and the 30 knot winds and 8 feet seas we encountered the first time we pass Packet Rock. Even that day, and had gusts around 18 knots. We reefed the main sail and jib. I think I was psyching myself out and making it much worse than it was. My mind and body were at odds. My mind was calm but my body was shaking, numb and stiff. I couldn't speak, felt short of breath and  light headed. I tried to just stay still and quiet so I didn't make Alex worried. Although I knew we were safe, I couldn't help but feel that no matter how many times we do this, it'll always be exhilarating. 


We were just ahead of a mean looking storm. We cut through the channel because it seemed like a short code and it was much more protected so the waters were calmer. Charlotte Amalie is a port town and hosts the major cruise lines. On cruise days more than 20k tourists invalid the island which normally houses 20k residents. We turn in past the giant ships and plan our arrival at back at Honeymoon Cove. It looks just like a Corona commercial with a white sand beach and palm trees lining the shore. 


Exactly the moment when we were pulling up to the moor, huge rain drops pelted down on us. This made it more difficult to attach and we had to yell to hear each other. I ran down to get Alex's rain coat but he didn't want it. I was bundled up with a rain coat, hat and sunglasses. 

Just as he was about to drop anchor, a man yelled for us to go further to the left for better holding. This was just a few seconds too late because we were already coming in for that mooring. The rain was pounding down. We could hardly see the boats around us. 

I turn slightly left and gave it some gas. Alex yelled "depth!!" A coral wall was just to our left. Whew! It was a huge relief once we finally had out anchor down. At that moment the rain stopped and the sun peeked through the clouds. Nice timing, I thought. 

Alex put on his snorkeling gear and went down to inspect the anchor. He always likes to swim down and take a look to make sure that we're secure. This time the anchor was turned upside down so he picked it up and dug it deep into the sand. He then told me to reverse a little to dig it deeper. We felt much better after knowing that we weren't going anywhere. Next it was time for a beer!!



We were enjoying the afternoon sun on the bow of the boat when a police boat entered the cove.  We hoped that they weren't there to tell us that we were too close to the coral. The came up to the guy next to us and boarded his boat! We just sat there drinking our beer and guessing what the deal was. 

After the cops left, the guy actually drove by on his dingy and said hello. A few minutes later he returned with another man who had dive gear. We thought something was wrong with their boat and he was going to go down and check it out. I few minutes later the diver pops out of the water with a small bright blue bag. The first guy starts dancing to celebrate. WOW!! Must had been something in that bag that they didn't want to cops to find! 

We dingy over to the beach with our mats and books. There was a lady with a food cart making hamburgers for lunch. It's called Heidi's Mini Grill. She also had ice cold rum and beer... beauty! She invited us back a dusk for their Monday night movie on the beach! 


The guy from earlier said "Welcome to the neighborhood!" So funny! There sure are a bunch of characters in these parts. Lol!

At dusk, we pull up next to all the locals. They had a white sheet tied between 2 trees and had the grill fired up. They were all very friendly and welcoming. It was all locals- they do this once a month to get to know each other. One man we talked to had lived on this tiny island for 20 years. He had a gray, handlebar mustache and long white hair. 

We grab a couple chairs, homemade hamburgers and rum and pineapple drinks and plop ourselves down in the mist of the small group of residents. About 100 people live here on peak time. Their slogan was "Where the Weird go Pro" the continuation of  "Keep Austin Weird." 


The previews consisted of a Speedy Gonzales cartoon and the main event was "Wrongfully Accused" The backdrop was priceless- a purple sunset, sailboats, palm trees swaying in the wind, and white sand under our toes. 


We had such a great time and imaged that we could someday try to replicate this in our back yard. We didn't sleep well on our last night on the boat. Alex was worried that we would swing too far over and scrape the coral. We were pretty close but we were fine. Alex kept getting up and checking the depth gage just to make sure. We woke up at 13.5 feet when we were around 11.5 the night before. 

We did a major clean up and packed all of our bags. We called CYOA on the radio and gave them a heads up. We were just about 20 minutes away but had to fill up with gas first. We slowly motored over to Grand Yacht gas station, trying to prolong our trip as much as possible. 


We loved the Ryajen and had a fantastic trip. We both learned so much about sailing, the Caribbean and ourselves. 

After the boat check, Doug the CYOA employee jumped aboard and we went out into the channel again. We pulled out the mail and jib completely out so he could check for any damage. It was truly beautiful! We did it perfectly! Next we pulled into the harbor and he would do an underwater check. We were a little worried but it was all good! While he was doing that, he let us tour the shiny Catamaran next to us.WOW! It was gorgeous! There was a huge dining room and sprawling kitchen with windows all around. It had 2 cabins and 2 heads, perfect for a couples get-away! 

We gather up all of our luggage and head back to Villa Olga where we had stayed a few nights at the beginning of the trip. We had the same room as before. Then we went back towards French town for lunch. The deli had delicious sandwiches and chowder soup. 

The we head across the main street to ask about dive trips. We signed up with Admiralty Dive Center for tomorrow! We did a little bit of shopping and got Sanna and Monique's souvenirs, a beautiful dress for Isabella and a monkey for Ian. The we went back to the hotel and relaxed at the pool. 

I called mom to say hello and then talked to Monique. She was staying at our house while we were gone and the AC had gone out! She had some people coming to look at it the next day. 

We sip our refreshing rum and pineapples from dainty coffee mugs that we found in our room. I noticed that there was a waiter from the restaurant next door sitting on the roof. He was smoking out of an apple! HA! 

We had dinner at Bella Blu - it was so scrumptious! We split the seared tuna tar tar appetizer.Yummy! We had the pecan crusted snapper for dinner. 

That night we enjoyed the A/C and a real bed! We woke up at 6:30 and had bagels for breakfast at the Frechtown Deli. We returned to the CYOA dock to meet our dive master, Fish Butt (John). Dwayne the shop owner was our captain.



He asked me if I had a problem with sharks. Honestly after our adventures in Indonesia, I can handle anything! I was pumped!! We dove a 90 ft wreck and reef dive (our first wreck)!


We had a small group so we had a good amount of time to explore. We came down at the bow of the massive ship named the WIT Concrete. It originally sunk during a hurricane but it was blocking the channel so it was moved to it's current location in 1995. It's 350 feet long and 50 feet wide! You can't see both ends at the same time. The ship is still intact. 


We were able to go inside the vessel in some areas and shimmed our way up a narrow vertical passageway. Just as I cleared it, a huge grouper looked me eye to eye. It was spectacular! 




1 comment:

Lytle said...

I love this post Loranda! The shipwreck was so grand... what an experience! I'm looking forward to hearing about your 20,000 dives in Roatan!