Packet Rock, Pillsbury Sound, Francis Bay - Day 2

Our sleeping schedules quickly adjusted to the rise and fall of the sun. Every morning I pull out the well used coffee peculator from under the galley bench and begin boiling water for coffee. Pureto Rican coffee hit the spot! We even had milk and sugar- just the way we make it at home!



Most mornings for breakfast we had fresh fruit. A wooden table in the cockpit unfolds which makes the perfect place to sit and enjoy a nice meal. Breathtaking blue water surrounds us and the familiar smell of sea air reminds us of our excursion in Indonesia.

We pull anchor at about 9:30 that morning with plans to sail south around St. Thomas, stopping at Francis Bay, St. John overnight.

It was a little windier than we expected as we cleared Water Island. We are fighting the wind and waves going south, cutting across the bay. As we pass the first set of rocks to our starboard side, we decide that it's time to get some wind in our sails. I take the wheel and Alex mans the lines. He boldly pulls the main up then gives it a minute to adjust. "How does that feel?" "Good," I say.

Next, we crank the jib out. We are used to sailing in Galveston where you have to use full sail to catch the little wind there is. We quickly learned that this was different!

Before I realized what was happening, we were completely keeled over. Our starboard rail was almost in the water. "Babe.... I don't like this!!" I yelled. Alex reassessed the situation and said, "Yeah..... let's pull it back in a little." At this point I was frozen stiff, holding tight to the wheel, wishing he would hurry up so he could take back over. In reality he recovered very nicely, reefing the sails at a more comfortable pace. From then on we decided to take it nice and easy.

The wind was relentless. We had full sail up in 19 knot wind. It frequently reached to 30 knots throughout our journey. We continued straight out from Water Island so we could avoid the dreadful Packet Rock.



You must sail far away from the coast line here because coral is found between land and Packet Rock. The further you are away from the shore in this open water, the larger the waves become. We guessed them to be about 6-8 feet. Big waves combined with 30 knot winds made for a very stressful first sail. Needless to say, we kept checking our progress on the chart as we passed each landmark.

Eventually we turned into the wind. We quickly learned how to deal with the waves- as long as they are not breaking on our side, we're ok. As we approached a small channel in the distance, we decided to pull in our sails and motor in. This would at least get us there quicker and allow us to take a more direct path.

Every once in a while I caught a nice sea spray from the waves rolling over the bow of the boat. Alex did a great job as Captain. We were both a little nervous about the unusually high winds but tried to exude our confidence. We laughed to lighten the mood and anticipated our much needed rum drink!

I took the wheel every now and again so Alex could verify our positioning on the chart down below. We both kept an eye on it so we could make sure that we were on the right track.

Finally, we passed Packet Rock and cranked up the engine to 25000 RPU. We were thrilled to see Calf Rock. That would give us a little protection form the elements.

We passed cautiously through a narrowing crossing between Cowpet Bay on St. Thomas and Fish Cay on Great St. James. That stretch was absolutely beautiful!! The water turned from a stunning blue to a see-through turquoise color. I swear I could see the bottom! Rocky edges on shore jetted straight out of the water and connected with the rugged scenery on land.

Day trippers from a nearby resort crossed our path in a large Catamaran. We were relived to be in calm waters and we were allowed a few minutes to catch our breath. I offered to take the wheel again to give Alex a rest.



Next we approached Pillsbury Sound and we quickly started feeling the rollers from across our starboard side. There's a passageway here which is exposed to open water to our left and right, that brings big choppy waves. Any time you are protected by land, the waves break on the islands and become smaller. We had to pass through this little section before we'd have that luxury. Consistent winds of 20-30 knots taunted us.

This was equally as challenging to navigate, and this time, the 6 ft waves were hitting us directly on our side. We had to turn slightly into it, trying to keep far enough away from land and shallow spots. Finally we spotted Two Brother's Rock and we hoped the worst was over! We were sheltered by land again!

We sailed past Steven Cay and into the Durloe Channel which was much anticipated. We were now surrounded by land and the waves calmed considerably! We enjoyed the uninhabited shoreline of St. John which was covered in lush green landscape. All of the islands are very different. Some are dry with cactus and others are lush and green.

I mind the flashing yellow buoy which marks the edge of the National Park boundary while keeping the red buoy to my starboard.

At last, we swing into Francis Bay- completely exhausted and desperately needing a refreshing rum and pineapple!

It's gorgeous! There are no structures, restaurants, houses, or businesses. Rolling green hills cover the island which provide a protected shelter from the wind. Turquoise water surrounds us. The bay makes an almost perfect "C" shape. We were warned about a potential Tropical Wave on Tuesday so this is a great spot to be.

OK, now it's time to moor! This is our first time- we weren't given an opportunity to practice this in our orientation. We quickly decide which one we are going for- one on the left side in the middle.

Mooring is good for the coral because it's an alternative to anchoring. So much of the reef has been destroyed by anchoring. A mooring is a buoy that is attached securely to the bottom. There's a line coming from the buoy with a loop.



We approach the mooring slowing (we always did it on our starboard side). One person is on the bow of the boat with the boat hook. They visually inspect the mooring to make sure it's in good condition as you approach. As soon as you come up to the mooring, the person at the wheel briefly switches the boat in reverse which keeps you stationary, and then back to neutral. The person at the front reaches down and grabs the line with the boat hook and attaches it to the lines that are attached to the front of the boat. Tie several boat knots to secure it in place. We used two lines, one on the starboard side and one on the port side to give us more stability. Once you are secure, you can relax and know that you aren't going anywhere. Sounds simple enough, right?



We choose an easy mooring- one that gave us plenty of room. Our first time was a success! No problems! Alex did a nice job of communicating to me as I manned the wheel. After we knew we could do it and had a better vantage point of the bay, Alex contemplated moving to a more sheltered spot since we knew there was potential for bad weather. We should have just stayed put.

None the less, we decided that we should move over further to the right side of the bay which was much more protected from the rolling hills. We thought we'd have less winds there. That was just a practice round, we told ourselves.



Alex unties us from the mooring and I reverse and cut through several other sailboats to get to the other side of the bay. More on this later...

..........

Alex surfaces, giving me a thumb's up. We are all good! Whew! We were secure. We receive a round of applause from our neighbors. We certainly did make an entrance!! Alex was a hero, he really does deserve some sort of medal or award for his quick thinking.

So, here we are in absolute paradise and we are completely relieved to have made it this far! It was a rough day, not nearly as relaxing a vacation as we imagined but none the less, it was an adventure. We learned a lot in our first day!

Francis Bay is breathtaking. 2/3 of St. John's is a National Park so it's very well preserved. Families are swimming along the shore, sunbathers lay out on the white sand beaches, and people zoom by us in dinghys. We realize that sailing is similar to traveling in an RV- only way better! LOL

Alex looked relived when he finally got a chance to site down. Everything was perfectly alright now. Our teamwork got us through a very eventful day. Good communication is crucial. We were in good spirits the entire time, laughing nervously when we had a moment to let our minds wonder.

Alex later told me that for a brief moment he thought to himself that we had gotten in over our heads. We really hoped that the remainder of our journey would be smooth, calm sailing. We handled it well, we just hope to also get our fair share of relaxation in as well!

In the galley, I prepared delicious sandwiches. We relaxed and read on the boat for the remainder of the evening and I went to bed at about 8:30 which seemed much later than it actually was.

I woke up several times in the next several hours to find Alex still sitting out under the stars enjoying a nightcap. Eventually I got up again and grabbed some pillows and blankets so we could lay comfortably in the cockpit.

We gazed above us at the Big Dipper, our galaxy the Milky Way, and the millions of stars overhead. The moon was a crescent shape and I realized that I would get to watch it increase over the remainder of the trip.

We counted the flashing green yellow buoy in the distance every 4 seconds. That was the only light around.

When we crawled into bed and I closed my eyes, all I could see was giant crashing waves. I was happy to be safe and sound in Francis Bay. I felt so thankful to for this amazing experience that I get to live and for the stories I'll get to tell.