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Trip Report #7: The US Virgin IslandsFiled from Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands18 26. 0 N 64 45.0 WMarch 6, 2006
Photo: St. John, US Virgin Islands After taking a side trip through Gorda Sound, we sailed down the Francis Drake Channel, past the Baths, the Dog Islands, Peter, Cooper, Salt Island, Norman Island and then around St. John, a distance of more than 30 miles. By the time we rounded the southwestern tip of St. John, we were too late to check in with U.S. Customs at Cruz Bay. We anchored for the night in Christmas Cove on St. James Island, and planned to check in first thing in the morning at Cruz Bay, four miles away. We had been hearing from other cruisers, who had sailed the 100 miles from St. Martin to Virgin Gorda, that British Virgin Islands Customs was assessing stiff fines for failing to report to Customs in a timely manner. Had we not heard this, we probably would have stopped in Gorda Sound for the night. Checking in was a breeze. We tied to the dock in front of Customs and were finished with the procedure and on our way within 10 minutes. New rules since 9/11 require cruisers to check in every time they go between U.S. and British islands, somewhat cumbersome, but required by Homeland Security. Officials on both sides try to make the procedure as brief and as painless as possible, but it does mean that more planning is required when cruising the islands. We took a slip at the American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook on St. Thomas to clean the boat, provision, and check on our son's booking into the Sapphire Beach Resort. American Yacht Harbor is a very nice marina, with wi-fi internet connection that works well. We paid $1.20 per foot plus water and electricity, about $50 a day for us. There is a self-serve laundry on the premises and a wonderful, well-stocked Marina Market across the street that has good produce, meat, wine, bread and deli. And best of all, there is a Cold Stone Creamery store that Tom thinks is the best thing since hot fudge sundaes were invented. While there we had our autohelm repaired by Tropicomm (reset the potentiometer), our hydraulic backstay and vang (rebuilt the hydraulic seals on the pump and the cylinder) repaired by Island Rigging, and our windlass motor rebuilt by Bradford Aviation and Marine - all within the two weeks that we spent in St. Thomas. All very quickly and very competently -although not very cheaply.
Photo: Rob, Anastasia & Alex at Sapphire Beach Resort We moved from American Yacht Harbor to the Sapphire Beach Marina, which was only possible because a "dock-a-minium" owner there agreed to rent us his slip for a week. It worked out well for us because it was within walking distance of the condo where Rob & his family would be staying.
Photo: Anastasia, 20 months old Rob, Alex and Anastasia arrived and settled into the condo, which was right on the beach. When Anastasia got up the next morning, she ran to the glass door of the condo and said, "Wawa!" She is from Albuquerque and has not seen water like this.
Photo: Anastasia, ready for the beach
Photo: Rob, Anastasia & Alex Anastasia had a great time gradually getting used to the waves on the edge of the beach. Photo: Anastasia at the beach She (and the rest of us, too) were fascinated by the iguanas that walked the beach and the docks and climbed the trees to nibble on the leaves. One was rather tame and allowed people to pet him.
Photo: Iguana monitors the dock at Sapphire Beach We were amazed at how verbal Anastasia has become. She learns, perhaps, 30 new words a day. What a great age! She tells little stories, using her repertoire to develop short noun-verb-object sentences and is beginning to use her skills to engage other people. She made several friends while here - Julia, Mika, and her special friend, Megan.
Photo: Anastasia's friend, Mika, and her parents An excursion to Coral World, within a few miles of Sapphire Beach, provided education and fascinating entertainment. Coral World was so much more interesting than we imagined it would be. There was an undersea observatory where a natural coral reef and unrestricted marine life could be viewed. There was a stingray pool and a shark pool, where juvenile sharks were fed and could be petted with the help of an aquarist. There was a touch pool, where starfish and other gently touchable sea creatures could be closely observed and touch by youngsters. There was a deep reef tank, with sea horses, moray eels and so many other sea creatures. Anastasia particularly liked the green sea turtles.
Photo: Anastasia and her parents observe the turtles
Photo: Sea Turtle at Coral World We had a wonderful dinner at the Agave Terrace Restaurant at the Point Pleasant Resort. The food was delicious and Anastasia had perfect restaurant manners. We had fresh grilled fish with tasty sauces and she had grilled hot dog and fries with ketchup.
Photo: Rob, Anastasia & Alex ready for dinner out
Photo: At the Agave Terrace overlooking Sapphire Bay Rob & Alex were able to take a day away to go to the Baths for snorkeling and swimming there. They thought it was awesome. And it gave us a wonderful day with Anastasia.
Photo: Peg (Nana) & Anastasia, while Rob & Alex check out the Baths The next day, we sailed over to Cruz Bay on St. John, walked through the town and the shops at Mongoose Junction, and had a nice lunch there before sailing back. We even found a playground there.
Photo: Found: 1 playground at Cruz Bay We returned to Sapphire Beach with Rob at the wheel and Anastasia wanting to crew.
Photo: Rob at the helm
Photo: Anastasia & Turtle as crew They left on Saturday morning at the crack of dawn and we missed them the moment they drove away. We knew how tiring the trip back to Albuquerque would be, especially with the need to entertain a sweet little girl every moment, but we were so glad they came. It was a great week. We plan now to spend a few days in the British Virgin Islands before pushing off to the Turks & Caicos. 73s, 88s, Love & Hugs - Peg & Tom Maynard aboard s/v Starboard Home
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Grand Daughters' web pages: Anna's Home Page, Anastasia's Home Page Isabelle's Home Page
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