US and British Virgins Part 1

US and British Virgins Part 1  photos to come

Without USA waters, we left Puerto Rico and anchored off the airport in St Thomas, USVI.  This quiet spot in Brewer’s Bay is home to several boaters who work on the island. It is also convenient to Charlotte Amalie but away from the congestion of the harbor. We enjoyed several days on anchor there meeting other boaters, resupplying the boat and generally cleaning things up for our guests. (Between runs into the historic old town for touring and meals – plus a little sea glass hunting on nearby beaches!)

Before Paul and Amanda arrived, we headed over to the docks at Crown Bay which are close to the airport. While Brewer’s was the normal wet beach landing – it is much easier to schlep baggage when the boat is on a dock.  Much of the access to shore in the US Virgins has been via beach landings – this is damp and sandy at best.  However, we discovered a great dock in St Johns at the National Park Welcome Center in Cruz Bay and also in Charlotte Amalie Harbor’s Yacht Haven Grand next to the cruise ship dock – literally in the shadow of the massive ships that visit daily in the winter. Otherwise to reach terra fermi, we waded ashore – beached the dink – it had to be hauled out of the water and could not be anchored or tied to anything. Needless to say, the extra muscle power of the kids was appreciated.  When they left, we switched to beaching the kayak – a much easier vessel to haul up onto the beach! Since we had spent so long in Puerto Rico, we had not taken time to check out the options in the USVI – so with the kids we headed to the National Park on St Johns to check out what was what.  Much of this island neighbor to St Thomas is managed by the park service. (We were, however, surprised at how many small areas of private homes are encircled by the park holdings.)  While damage from the hurricanes of 2017 is still evident, much has returned to normal and the tourist business is booming. There is also an offshore marine preserve which extends the public lands here on the eastern end of the island.  We circumnavigated the island with the kids and explored on land with hikes and stops in Cruz Bay. The park controls anchoring – limiting it to preserve and protect the corals – much of them sadly damaged by the recent hurricanes.  We were happy to use their moorings which made life simple compared to dropping the hook, making sure it was set and then washing it off before departing. Since moorings are controlled by the park, we get the senior pass 50% off rate which makes them a great deal, too. 

When the kids left us, we headed over to St Croix – the largest island in the group but also the most isolated.  We traveled 40 miles south against a relentless easterly swell and were glad to finally get inside the reef in the harbor of Christiansted.  We anchored off the boardwalk for four nights and wandered this historic town. The fort was open again – thanks to the end of the US Government shutdown being lifted, but several of the other museums are not fully operational after the damages from hurricanes in 2017. The old part of town has a charming feel with softly pastel stucco buildings and narrow cobblestone streets.  The one-way system must drive people nuts, but is helps preserve the ambience of the colonial town. Must also mention the tiny sea planes that dropped from the sky next to our boat since we anchored just off the seaplane terminal.  Their arrival was generally stealth, but take off was more noticeable – Teddy took several days to realize they weren’t coming into the boat. He finally decided they were just one more entertaining facet of boating life.

Before leaving St Croix, we spent a night out at Buck Island – sadly the reef also suffered from the hurricanes, but the hike up the hill and views were worth the stop. Since special permits are needed to anchor at the island and stay overnight, we were there with only one other boat.  An interesting couple on a 50ft motor sailor with wild stories of their trip down from Florida. It was nice to see them smile and laugh about 3 to 4 days in 20-foot seas compounded by several equipment failures! Checking the weather for a return north, we took the opportunity to head back on a calm day and made much faster time with less rock and roll landing back in Salt Pond on the south side of St. Johns. While everyday Steve finds a reason or destination to dive or snorkel, the big adventure was a bus ride into the town of Grace Bay.  We had visited with the kids to try the famous Skinny Leggs restaurant, we returned by bus from Salt Pond to visit the Love Market.  The bus leaves the Salt Pond parking lot at 7 AM – this meant getting to shore and up steep trail to the parking area just after dawn.  We took the kayak to the beach before anyone else in the anchorage was awake and were in the bus shed when the bus arrived already full of people.  Salt Pond is the end of the route, but people get on we figured to avoid waiting for the bus to return?  The ride for us was only about 20 minutes, but full of twists, turns and STEEP ups and downs.  We stocked up in the market and had time for breakfast at the Pickles Deli before flagging the return bus.  Since the storms, this bus only runs from Salt Pond at 7 and 9 (we caught the 9 as it was returning)  then again twice in the late afternoon – which is why we had to get up so early.  Just this short run made us appreciate travel by boat. Visiting the grocery stores in Cruz Bay is easier – we could run the dinghy into the NPS dock or hike in on the Lind Point trail – after dragging the kayak up on the beach. Surprisingly these stores are all well stocked so no suffering here.

Steve had a date with a doctor in St Thomas so we spent a few days heading back – a memorable stop at Christmas Cove for some lunch from the Pizza Pi boat – they make pizza to order on the custom pizza kitchen boat.  Yummy as well as unique.

This time we anchored in the harbor with a view of the big boys – much entertainment is to be had watching the crowds come and go as well as the delicate ballet of docking and departures.  We were safely away from their channel but the precision and grace of the behemoths is something to behold up close. The dock at the Yacht Haven Grand was also a bonus as was the handy Pueblo Market, Kmart, and Fruit Basket. In spite of the congestion in town, this is a sweet stop!