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! 

Caneel Bay, BVI- Day 9

No urgency for coffee, we proceeded to close up the hatches. After confirmation that we're ready to sail Alex grabbed hold of the bow line. A few minutes earlier, we noticed our neighbor take off without paying the mooring fee. We'd thought we'd attempt the same :) After all, we were in pirate territory! Just as we had one line disconnected, a man appeared in a dingy. Oh well.. twenty five bucks! We said goodbye to charming Treasure Island and settled in for our journey to marvelous Caneel Bay.

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.