Aboard Lady

St. John, USVI

St John Anchorages

The first anchorage we visited in St. John was in Salomon Bay, between Cruz Bay and Caneel Bay.  We picked up a National Park Service mooring when we first arrived flying our yellow flag.  Friends had provided Charlie with the phone numbers of the Cruz Bay Customs and Immigration, and Charlie phoned them, requested Local Boater Option ("LBO") and provided them with the BR numbers that we had registered for a year ago in Florida before we left for the Bahamas.  We were amazed to find out that once you are in Customs and Border Patrol's ("CBP") database, the BR numbers seem to work at places other than south Florida.  Not having to attend CBP's office gave us time to go swimming, and the snorkeling along the shore near Honeymoon Bay was quite good - lots of schools of fish.  We launched the dinghy and headed into the town of Cruz Bay.  We visited the National Parks Service headquarters for the Virgin Island National Park, where we picked up information, registered Charlie for a "Golden Ager" pass, paid the half-price for Golden Ager's fee for the mooring (only $7.50 per night - in the BVI's we had to pay $25 a night for a mooring) got some exercise walking up and down hills, and enjoyed a drink ashore before heading back to Lady for dinner. 

After a couple of days in St. Thomas (expensive, traffic, loud), we returned to St. John.  There were swells from the north that might have made for rolly anchorages in Hawksnest, Trunk and Cinnamon Bays, so we passed them by, and found a park service mooring in Maho Bay - a truly gorgeous place.  The Bay is accessible by road, as well, so being Saturday there were quite a few people on the beach.  We dingied ashore, looking for a mooring pay point, but did not find one. So, we enjoyed snorkeling around Maho Point, where we saw brilliant Queen Angelfish with bright blue lips, a juvenile French Angelfishwith curved yellow stripes on a black body, and best of all, two octopi having a tussle!  We discovered the mooring pay-point on an old Park Service boat, and saw a pink Caribbean 1500 flag on a yacht in Francis Bay.  Summer Love, with Donna and Steve Constantine aboard we equally as pleased to see us as we were to see them.  We made plans to get together for dinner the next day.

Sunday, (December 13th) we first went ashore and check out Maho Bay Camp, an eco-resort where the campers are paying about $150 a night to sleep in single beds in semi-permanent tents.  We talked to one gentleman who informed us that this was his seventh visit over 15 years, that the resort's lease expired next year and that it is for sale for $22 million. We had to climb about 200 steps to get up to the dining room, where we found out that they welcome cruisers to join them for dinner, they do not need reservations for dinner, dinners are about $20, and they give you a 20% discount if you are over 60!  Sounded great, except that the line opened at 5:30.  Took the dinghy and snorkeled over by the gap between Mary Point and Whistling Cay, where we saw a Hawksbill Turtlefeeding on the grass.  There is an old customs house on Whistling Cay - can you imagine being posted there?  Lonely but lovely.  That evening we joined Donna and Steve and dinghied ashore for a meal.  It was about 6:30 by the time we got there, but they did still have some spicy chicken breast left, with steamed vegetables and a good salad bar. 

The next day we moved on to the next bay, Leinster Bay, and took a mooring behind Watermelon Cay. 

We had seen the ruins of the Annaberg Mill as we entered the bay, so after we were situated we went ashore and took the trail around the bay and up to the mill.  There were magnificent views.  The volunteer docent told us a great deal of the history of the mill, a sugar-factory that became un-economic after slavery was outlawed.  The steep hills would have made growing any crop difficult.  The construction was interesting in that all sorts of bricks stones and even coral were used to build the mill, boiling house and rum still.  There were also a few remains of the slaves' quarters.  After the mill was no longer functioning, and the estate had passed to different hands, a frame house was built on the old horse mill, that blew away one night while the family took refuge in the old wind-mill.  Our docent pointed out other ruins that we could see, and told us of some of the other trails around the bay.

Back aboard, we snorkeled around Waterlemon Cay, and saw lots of quite good coral.

Next morning, we decided to get some exercise before we shoved off, so we took the Johnny Horn Trail that the Annaberg docent had told us about. 

About half-way up the hill, we came to the first set of ruins.  Don't know what this used to be, but it was sheltered from the wind, so might have been quite warm.

The trail was not as well used as the one to Annaberg Mill, probably because we were a lot further from a road.  Once we got up to the top, again the view was magnificent.

These ruins were the "great house", the residence for the owners of the Annaberg Mill.  There were no rangers here, and it was not nearly as kempt as the sugar mill's ruins.  Even though it may have been unoccupied since the early  twentieth century, bougainvillea was blooming, so there must have been a lovely garden here at one time.

 

We had heard some animal noises as we trekked back down to the beach, and guessed that they were goats.  We were wrong.  This sweet little donkey came walking down the beach as we launched the dinghy.

During our swim before we left found another turtle, lots of the puffy Caribbean sea stars - I counted over sixty of them in the sandy area between the moorings and the beach - an octopus, a barracuda, and a small ray.

We departed Waterlemon about 1100, and sailed around the eastern end of St John, into Coral Harbor.  The harbor seems to be residence for many cruisers that have got stuck there.  We saw at least three boats without masts, others that needed to have their bottom cleaned years ago. 

We explored ashore and wound up at Skinny Legsfor a burger dinner.  Other cruisers had recommended a stop at that particular bar and grill.

The following day we picked up the anchor about 1000, and decided to motor around Hurricane Hole.  The Park Service does not allow overnight mooring, but they do have a few moorings available for day use.  We picked on up and went for a swim.  We had not swam around a mangrove shore before, and were surprised that the mangrove roots hanging in the water are growing corals on them.  The cove was deserted, so we had a naked lunch before spending the afternoon sailing around the south shore of Saint John and completing a circumnavigation of the island by picking up a mooring in Maho Bay once more.  We saw a nurse shark as we swam that afternoon. 

We spent the next few days in Francis Bay, moving from Maho because of some swells.  Summer Love had returned there after dropping their primary dinghy motor at St. Thomas for repairs, and Beckoningcame back from the USA and the USVIs and we had a jolly dinner party one night with Donna and Steve and Yvonne and Jim.  One day was cloudy and rainy and we didn't swim once.

Saturday we moved back to the BVIs, checking in at the customs office at Great Harbor on Jost Van Dyke.  Beckoning was already there, and we went to their boat for a wonderful italian dinner that night.

Sunday we came back to Nanny Cay.  Repair to the wind-speed was done Monday, and today it looks like the new backing plate will not be done my noon, so we will be here another night.  Laundry, provisioning and other kind of boring stuff are why there are no pictures!

If I don't get another post done before Christmas, Charlie and I want to wish all our friends the best of holidays.  Don't know what we will be doing particularly yet, but I bet in will involve food, friends, a beach, sunshine and turquoise water. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 
 
 
  

Trellis Bay Full Moon Party

Trellis Bay

December 1st to 2nd, 2009

My previous post about Trellis Bay was done remotely, using email, and I can not include pictures when I do that, so here are some of the other pictures of Trellis Bay.

We used the dinghy dock closest to the government dock, as there is a big dumpster near there for FREE trash disposal.  There are some small stores, including a grocery, a coffee shop, a couple of bars, a little clothing store and a lovely gallery that sells crafts from all over the Caribbean.  Along the shore are a number of metal balls, used to contain fires on the monthly celebration of the full moon.

There is also a shed containing some of the locally built boats.

And the promotion of the next party.

There was a lot of talk between the cruisers about the party, so we went in to the bay and picked up a mooring the day before the party, to make sure we had a spot.

It was entertaining to see other boats, charterers, trying to take a short-cut across the reef in the middle of the bay and running aground.

We went ashore for dinner with at De Loose Mongoose with Kate and Kurt from Myananda, and had fun.  There were a half-dozen Caribbean 1500 cruisers there in the anchorage waiting for the full-moon event.

The bay is next to the airport, where there is an ATM.  We have sadly discovered that Master Card charges us pretty hefty finance charges when we use our credit card in the BVIs, but with cash we just have to pay $2 or $3, so the two-minute walk to the airport was one of our destinations.  I was stunned to see such lovely water-lilies.

We rescued a couple of people who had arrived by plane and were unable to reach their charter boat friends, and had a nice swim, taking dinghy over to the shore near the entrance to the bay, and snorkeling around the rocks there. 

 After dinner aboard, we parked dinghy at De Loose Mongoose, and headed to the celebration.  The fire-balls had been lit, and people were enjoying caribbean food.

A rope walker put on a show, with members of the audience holding the frams that supported his rope, finishing with juggling flaming batons.

A great evening!  Lots of fun with cruising friends.

Bubbly Pool

Little Jost Van Dyke

November 30th to December 1st, 2009

We had great wind as we sailed away from Anegada. We noticed that the swells were building from the north, although the wind was easterly. We thought we would make a lunch stop at Monkey Point off Guana Island, but when we arrived, there were no boats and the waves were crashing on the shore. We found shelter enough to anchor for lunch in White Bay.

After lunch we headed west to Jost Van Dyke, hoping to swim off Sandy Spit by Green Cay, but the swells made anchoring there too uncomfortable so we found shelter behind Little Jost Van Dyke, just off Diamond Cay. The snorkeling there was quite good. There were about three million baby fish swimming around, with pelicans diving off the rocks to feed on them.

The next day we dinghied ashore early. People had told us about the Bubbly Pool, and it was mentioned in the guide book, but we had not seen nor heard of it in previous visits. We were greeted by goats, and after a couple of false starts found the trail along the shore and through the woods.

It was interesting to see cacti growing amongst the other vegetation. It was a scramble over rocks, quite steep at times, but the warm half-to-three-quarter-mile exercise of our legs rewarded us with the most wonderful cove with waves crashing through a narrow opening.

We had to keep our sandals on as we swam and cavorted around in the water for about half an hour. The sand exfoliated our backs and legs as the waves tossed us around. The northerly swells were still there, and it made all the moving water exciting with a little waterfall coming and going through the crevices as the big ones came in. Our camera will also take movies, but I can’t post them here, without putting them on You-Tube first, and that takes too much band-width to do from remote locations. It was loads of fun, and we were very thrilled that we had the cove to ourselves.

On the way back to the anchorage, we met two other groups, one of six Swedes, all headed the same place.

We stopped at the only store, Turnbull’s Bakery, and purchased guava pie slices and coconut bread to go with our lunch. Anchor up, and then back to Trellis Bay, to get ready for the Full Moon Party.

Anegada

Anegada – November 28th to November 30th

We left North Sound the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 28th).

There were a half-dozen charter boats hanging around the entrance, with a dinghy running around between them – the dinghy had the Yacht Shots name on it.  We guessed that perhaps this was a group charter from a sailing club, and that they were trying to get pictures of their fleet – pretty cool…until along came a cruise ship.  The cruise ship (Sea Dream II?) was determined to go through the entrance and take no prisoners. She saw a way through the fleet and took it.

It was a three-hour motor sail in light wind to get to Anegada.  The island is nick-named “The Drowned Virgin” – unlike the rest of the volcanic-based islands, Anegada was formed from an ancient reef; the highest point on the island is 30 feet, so you can’t see the island from any of the other islands (although once you’re there, you can see the hills of Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke across the sea).

Our chart-plotter’s electronic chart seemed to be a third to a half mile off from reality.  We were clearly at the entrance to the marked channel, but the chart-plotter showed us on the reef!  We followed the visual channel and soon were anchored off the mooring field behind our Kiwi friends Danny and Yvonne Simms on Ocean Pearl.

We headed ashore and checked out the restaurants in the anchorage area.  They all wanted at least $50 for lobster, so we made plans to eat on board.  I discovered why the entrance to the Anegada Reef Hotel had a cattle guard at their gate. (Somebody call the SPCA! - CAM)

The weather was rainy that afternoon, with beautiful rainbows as a reward.

Sunday we took the hotel’s shuttle across the island to Loblolly Bay, taking our fins, snorkels and masks with us.  We ordered lunch at the little restaurant (did NOT get the $30 half lobster), and headed out to the reef.

When we returned to the beach, our lunch was ready, and after that we spent more time on the beach, snorkeled out to the outer edge of the reef, and had a lovely day. 

After we returned to the anchorage area, we met up with a local gentleman, who took us in his pickup to see the Caribbean flamingoes in one of the salt ponds.  Eighteen of the birds were re-introduced to the area from the Bermuda Zoo in about 1995, and they have now successfully bred and there are over 300 of them now. (Now that the natives have stopped eating them. -CAM) They are quite pink, even though you may not be able to tell that from the picture.

Monday morning I was hanging out wet towels, when I noticed a brown booby perched on the bow.  She stayed for quite a while – long enough for me to get the camera and get a few pictures.  Then we left, and headed south.

Thanksgiving on the Beach

Off Prickly Pear Island, North Sound, Virgin Gorda, BVIs   18 30.26N 64 22.34W

November 25th to 28th, 2009

The early part of the week we were back in Nanny Cay trying to get some maintenance done.  Peter from Cay Electronics came by and determined that the radar had to go to his shop with him to be fixed.  Lincoln came by to try to see if the generator could run for more that half and hour.  Both issues are still outstanding, and we are also waiting on parts from Catalina to repair the rudder.

It was hot in the marina, but Lady's air conditioning works well when plugged in to shore power, and there's a lovely little beach with a reef that's nice for snorkeling.

Jim from Beckoning phoned to say that he and had picked up Yvonne from Saint Thomas, and had done all the Thanksgiving shopping.  We had heard over the SSB radio that a number of cruisers were getting together in North Sound, at the location we had already picked out, so Wednesday afternoon we headed that direction, dropping the anchor at about 1530.

Ashore we met up with Alice and Bob (Lucky Bird), who informed us that the Sandbox Bar and Grill was allowing our group to use their tables, chairs, etc. starting at about 1500 on Thursday. 

Thursday morning was busy.  The turkey gizzards came over from Beckoning, and I made stock for gravy with them, and also worked on other side dishes.  We took  a break mid-morning with the Beckoning crew to go ashore to The Bitter End Yacht Club for a mimosa on the beach.  Then at about 1430 we gathered up all our stuff, and headed ashore, along with a dozen other C1500 cruisers. 

As we were trying to find a place at the full dinghy dock, a couple came down the dock who were leaving, and we gratefully took their space - I was already clambering across their dinghy to try to get to the dock.  We exchanged greetings, and then they questioned us about our TX registration on the dinghy.

  "We're not really from Texas, were from Oklahoma"

"Where?"

 "Tulsa"

"So are we"

"Oh we know each other"

Dudley and Lisa Gibbs, former Grand Lake sailors and Tulsa Power Squadron members were there aboard Tara's Friendship.  They tied the dinghy back up and came up to the party with us.  They are presently living in Puerto Rico; we now have all their contact information, and hope to get together with them again when we are able to visit the Spanish Virgins.

People aboard boats can produce some amazing pot-luck meals - there were turkeys, dressings, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry, salad, beans corn, peas, breads, pies and cakes.  A wonderful feast.

Everybody had plenty to eat, and we were able to vacate the beach before the no-see-ums came out at dusk.

What a great day.  We have much to be thankful for.

We spent another day at anchor there, visited with Dudley and Lisa some more before they had to head back, and took Yvonne out to the reef on Eustatia Sound for some snorkelling, and then took off for Anegada.