Motored to Leverick. When we arrived a squall came up very quickly. We were glad we were in place.
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squall, looking toward Mosquito Island (Richard Branson's new island) |
leaving Leverick
Necker Island, new buildings after the fire
Sunset on open seas to St. Martin
Crossing was uneventful weather wise but we ended up putting a rip in the main sail. Peter was great, he did not sleep; however, I could not keep my eyes open any longer and had a few cat naps. This was my first crossing and I have decided that it is not one of my fav things to do. Luckly weather was fairly decent and because there was an almost full moon, it was bright on the water.
January 22...Plans for Peter Island were nixed....no pins available and any available anchorage spots were too deep. Decided to go to Fat Hog's as that's what the plans were anyway. No problem getting anything here...lots of available pins either through Penns Marina or through Pro Valor Charters. Got on to a PVC pin as it was going to be a bit cheaper but when the nice young man came along to collect the money, he said the government had raised the prices so Penns and PVC were the same amount...$30.Up early this a.m. to the sounds of barking dogs and roosters crowing and able to take in the sunrise.
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Sunrise at Fat Hog's looking out to Red Rock and Ginger and Cooper Islands |
Arrived in Soper's Hole today along with many others. Very difficult to get a pin and who knows if we are on the right one. Checked into the BVIs again and said goodbye to the USVIs. Plans are to go to Peter Island today, Fat Hogs for Canadian night, then wait for weather window to St. Martin. Weather looks a bit iffy for this weekend but will just have to wait and see. We will stay put for a bit and hopefully I will be able to load pics.
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Sunset at Christmas Cove |
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Sunset at Francis Bay, St. John |
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Lindbergh Bay, St.Thomas |
January 10...Company left today, sad to see her go. Great time was had by all. Lots of rummy, shanghai and Farkle as well as reading, swimming, etc. Took the local $2 bus to the big KMart and did some necessary and new shopping, stopped by the Fat Turtle at Yacht Haven Grande for a few happy hour drinks and apps.
January 9...Had a somewhat lumpy, lovely sail this morning from Salt Pond to Crown Bay with following seas. Arrived without incident, fueled up and pulled into the narrow slip fantastically. The two women went shopping as there was a large cruise ship in....Allure of the Sea. Now we sit and wait for the "hour" to arrive.
January 8...The captain and visitor read all day! The crew member cleaned and swam back to and from shore several times and power walked the beach.
January 7...Spent the day in Salt Pond swimming, snorkeling, sunning, beaching and moving to a closer pin to avoid the swells. Planned to take the dollar bus tomorrow into Cruz Bay but we all agreed we wanted to spend another quiet day here. A good night of sleep was had by all.
January 6
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View from top of St. John looking into Coral Bay with Norman Island in background |
January 5...Arrived at Soper’s Hole, primarily to check emails and update blog. Unfortunately their entire system was down. We figure it has to do with CCT….cell phone doesn’t work either. Sailed over to Norman Island, boarded the Willy T but just were not in the mood for the partying going on. Dinghied over to Pirate Bay to try their Internet and again no go. However, Pirate Bay Bar is beautiful, all redone, rebuilt and refurbished.
Farkle
game continues along with Shanghai.
Consensus is there is too much to think about in the latter game and
Farkle and/or rummy seems to win out as games of choice. Plans for tomorrow are to sail on to Salt
Pond, St. John’s, take the bus Cruz Bay to check in to the US. Hopefully the buses run on a Sunday.
January 2- 4
January 2- 4
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Bubbly Pool, Jost Van Dyke |
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Foxy's Taboo, Jost Van Dyke |
January 2, 2013...First thing to mention and to view is Peter's Christmas present to us….can anyone see just what it is? Also received a brand new boat hook which works very well.
After a lengthy and arduous journey from Collingwood, arrived in St.Thomas at 10:20, loss of one bag for Marie who arrived safely as well. Champagne to bring in the arrival of the new year and the first day was spent basically resting (for me especially in trying to get rid of this damn whatever, that's what I get for visiting the cold north). Provision shopping and for some football at Tickles. Leaving today for Francis Bay and the itinerary as yet has not been set in stone.
December 22...Upgrades done, launch videos not able to post. Too bad. They are quite good if I say so myself.
Merry Christmas to all and have a great December 31. Best wishes for the New Year 2013!
And where would you rather be?? This is Collingwood after last night's wild wind and snow storm |
December 15, 16...Arrived in Salt Pond without incident….only one other boat
was here. It left the next day and two
more boats arrived and spent the night.
We walked up to Concordia sans camera and found out there is a brunch on
Sunday which we both decided we wanted to try.
It doesn’t take too long to walk up through a rough trail. Noseeums were bad again last night but put on
some trusty bug spray. Finally was able
to swim to shore…twice…rib/muscle feeling better.
Looking from Ram's Head Trail to Salt Pond and Concordia |
the hiker and shopper
Spent the day cleaning, swimming, lounging, reading and are expecting friends to arrive tomorrow. We are the only boat in the bay tonight! Nice breeze, there should be no bugs tonight and sleep should be rest full.
View from Concordia to Salt Pond. Can you tell which one is Mistress?
December 14, 15...Another day at the beach after a morning of rain. Decided to go to Tent City for dinner as the swells didn't look too bad. However, it will be my last time there....there were some type of noseeums that felt like needles pricking me. Peter got them as well. In the middle of the night, I woke up itchy as all get out and spread vinegar all over me....that's one way to get the salt off! This morning welts again after I had gotten rid of whatever I had in the early weeks. Don't understand, Peter is not affected by the itching.
We are presently sitting in Coral Bay having lunch (home of the original hippy). The harbour is filled with boats that have been sitting since the 60's. Hard to tell from the picture. We plan to go to LoveCity for a few groceries and then head on to Salt Pond Bay or Little Lameshur. We will be there probably until Wednesday when we head into Charlotte Amalie.
Coral Bay |
December 11...This a.m. took the taxi from Maho Bay Camps into Cruz
Bay. What a ride! Didn’t think the taxi was going to make
it……brakes were certainly iffy on the windy, narrow, downhill road. However, as with everything else down here,
we did make it but the police would not allow the driver to back in to the
ferry docks. They kept pointing on the
left side of the taxi and saying “see, didn’t you notice”. Checked in so now we are legally in the
States again, walked around and had lunch on the water. Taxi ride back was uneventful and the driver
stopped to let us take pictures from the lookouts.
Francis Bay
Trunk Bay