01/19/2010 BVIs with the Allens

11/23/2009 Richard, Leslie and Taylor flew in last night and stayed at a local hotel. This is a good thing to do when you have had to travel all day and a good night’s rest and hot shower in the morning is called for. We met up this morning and prepared for a week on the boat. We made the trip to Pueblo grocery store and stocked up. We had so much that we needed to push the shopping cart to the dock with all of the food. This is a first for me. It took several trips from the dinghy dock to the boat to load the groceries and bring everyone out the boat. After all was put away, we took off for an afternoon sail. We had some choppy water on the south side of St Thomas. Not always a good way to start out the trip, but we all did good.
We anchored in Christmas Cove for the night. I decided this is a good place to start each trip as it is a good anchorage and a place for everyone to get acclimated to the water and snorkeling. As I have written in the past, it is a great anchorage with a couple of good reefs with plenty of fish and the water depth is less than 15 feet throughout most of the cove.
11/24/2009 This morning Richard went to the top of the mast for me. The anchor light went out again after I just replaced it when I was in St Martin. It appears that it was not fitting properly within the plastic cover. Richard was able to fix it and we have a proper working anchor light.
Afterwards we then set off for Trunk Bay and Beach. Trunk bay is a popular beach on St John. We took the snorkel gear and swam a couple of the reefs. The brochures push an underwater snorkel trail here. I decided to try the trail. They have put stone markers on the bottom and they point out different reef structures and fish. This area is where most of the tourists snorkel and is very busy there. The park service is working to bring back living reef, but there is a way to go. After walking the beach they snorkeled the west end of the bay. I like this area much more and recommend it. I have seen a Hawks Bill Turtle here. It is the only time I have seen one of them.
Afterwards we motored down to Francis Bay. This is in my top five anchorages in the Caribbean. It is a quiet area due to the hills that protect you from just about any weather in this area.
11/25/2009 Happy 15th birthday to Taylor. This has been her second birthday on No Rush. We took off for West End on Tortola today. This is my first time checking in at West End. I usually go out to Jost Van Dyke. This is a lot easier. You can pick up any open mooring for the afternoon at no charge. We then went in and visited with Customs and Immigration.
Afterwards we walked around the boardwalk. There are many shops here for the needs of visitors including a full grocery store, many clothing shops, a place to pick up ice, drop off garbage, get fuel and of course, a Pusser’s Store, restaurant and bar. We stopped there for lunch and a couple of drinks. For dessert we had their famous coconut shell filled with ice cream.
We then loaded back into the boat and had a great sail over to Norman’s Island. The weather brought in some choppy seas so we by-passed the Indians for the time being and snorkeled the caves. I started to play with the video option on my underwater camera here. There are three caves you can swim into along with a good reef that runs along the wall between the caves.
Afterwards we took a mooring for the night in The Bight. Richard took Leslie and Taylor ashore and cruised the shoreline with the dinghy. Happy birthday Taylor!!
11/26/2009 Happy Thanksgiving!! Today we took off for a long sail with a stop along the way at the Indians. It paid off by waiting until today to swim the Indians. The wind chop was down quite a bit and made for a good swim. We swam along the wall and then to the back side. It is amazing how one area can be so different from one side to the other. On the ocean side there is a wall that drops straight to about thirty feet the whole length of the Indians. There is plenty of coral growth and small fish along the wall. When you swim around the corner, due to the currents there are usually a couple large schools of fish and then the water gets shallow onto a large reef that extends all the way to a close by island. There are many different kinds of fish to be seen here. There is also a tunnel that you can swim down about ten feet, through the tunnel and back up to the other side.
We then sailed up the length of Francis Drake Channel and into Trellis Bay. This bay is located at the end of the airport runway on Beef Island. It is a good place to pick up friends when they fly into the BVIs. There are several bars and restaurants and an artist there. The artist has made sculptures out of metal that are in the shape of a large ball. He has then cut out designs in the ball. These balls are used for full moon parties every month. They are filled with wood and when light make a contained bonfire. There are several along the beach. I hope to make it there for a full moon party before I leave.
For dinner tonight we made a pork tenderloin along with baked yams and a salad. Not nearly as festive as last year’s jambalaya and key lime pie.
11/27/2009 This morning we motored over to The Baths. We had the wind directly on our nose I decided to motor and make good way instead of long slow tacks all the way over there. We had a great time swimming in amongst the rocks. I have a set way now of swimming south along and through the rocks and then take the trail back up the beach through the rocks. There is a good path and some locals have put in steps and stairs to make it around the rocks much easier. I noticed the crowds are building with the holidays coming.
During the afternoon we sailed north into Gorda Sound. We had a chance to fly the spinnaker a little bit and did some fishing. Taylor caught a Bonita and landed it.
We then went and spent a couple of hours checking out the Bitter End Yacht Club. It is a full service resort with plenty of water sports. They also have a restaurant/bar, a pub, couple of clothing stores and a small market.
From there we sailed up to Leverick Bay. When you pay for a mooring there you also receive a tank of water and a bag of ice. These are two things you want to keep an eye on when sailing on a boat this size. We went ashore and decided to have dinner there. It was a wonderful barbeque buffet with salads, pastas, fish, steak, chicken, some of the best ribs I have ever had, prime rib and ham, along with desserts. For entertainment that night they have a troop of Jumbies come down and dance for the crowd. Jumbies are people dressed up in bright clothing walking on tall stilts. They are popular at carnival throughout the islands.
11/28/2009 Now it is that time of the week to start heading west again. After tanking up the water and grabbing a bag of ice we are sailing in light winds again. I am glad we had the good winds on Thursday as it was the only really good sailing we got in the whole trip. I have been warned about the Christmas winds that are suppose to arrive in late November, but alas, light winds. It is like most of my trip with not normal weather conditions. That has been a good thing.
We sailed over to Guana Cay to swim with millions of small bait fish and the Tarpons. We were not disappointed. Leslie and Richard spotted a small shark. I have yet to see a shark since getting back on the boat in September. While sitting in the bay I watched a couple of small dolphins doing back flips off of the wake from a power boat.
We then motored towards Cane Garden Bay. On our way we spotted a small pod of dolphin and passed through them twice. We could stand on the bow and watch them swimming under our bows. There really isn’t any sight on the ocean like that. The dolphins are so inquisitive, just like us.
We then made our way into Cane Garden bay and dropped the anchor for the night. We took the dinghy ashore and hung out on the beach. It is a beautiful beach with nice gentle waves washing ashore. Being we arrived late in the afternoon it was real quiet after the cruise ship tourists left. We walked the length of the beach and then waded in the water or hung out on the beach. Cane Garden is also the area for another full moon party. I am told it is one of the wildest places for a full moon anywhere.
11/29/2009 This morning we tried sailing out of the bay and head back to St Thomas. The winds were so light that I gave up and started the motors. It amazes me how little wind there has been. We did not need to clear out of customs and immigration on this trip because the agents pre-cleared us when we arrived. We motored past St John and into Charlotte Amalie by early afternoon. We needed to clear in with US Customs and Immigration. We needed to pay an overtime fee of $35.00 for Sunday support.
We then went and had lunch just in time as it started to rain. It rained heavy for a couple of hours and we enjoyed a good lunch at a restaurant in the marina. Afterwards we brought the luggage back to the dock and we said our good-byes for this trip. It was another wonderful time together.

01/04/2010 St. Martin to St. Thomas

01/10/2010 It has been quite awhile for me updating the blog. I have not made it the habit it was for me when I was traveling down island. I believe because everything was so new for me. I am no revisiting old haunts and hanging out in areas for weeks on end. I sometimes find this uninteresting to write about for myself, but others enjoy reading of my daily life that is so different from the life I left a year and a half ago. As I catch up on my writings, there may be little detail, but more the highs and lows of this part of the trip. The one thing I will be able to offer is plenty of pictures including underwater pictures. A friend of mine, Harold Fritts, asked me about the wild life I have seen since taking this trip. I had to tell him that most of the wild life I have seen and enjoyed has been below the water line. So here we go in trying to catch you all up with what has been going on for the last couple of months.
11/02/2009 I have spent the last couple of days in St Martin readying the boat for the next crossing from St Martin to St Thomas. I was planning on sailing into the BVIs but decided against it as I have a couple of boat problems that I need work on. One of them being the pump-out for the holding tank. I don’t want to be dumping raw waste into the water, especially co close to the reef structures in the BVIs.
I took a trip into Philipsburg one day. Philipsburg is the capital of the Dutch side of the island and where the cruise ships come into. I had a good time walking around and doing some shopping. I was able to pick up a couple of Christmas gifts while there. I got a kick out of the competition for renting beach chairs on the boardwalk along the beach. And the answer has been finally answered, size does matter.
I weighed anchor just as the sun was setting and sailed for St Thomas. I crossed with a full moon and clear skies. It was a picture perfect downwind sail with no issues. I wasn’t making good time, but the seas were easy and the auto-pilot did just fine. I made it into Charlotte Amalie at 11:30 on the morning of 11/03.
11/04 It turned out to be a good move to sail into the USVIs for a couple of reasons. The first was that I had an attack from my kidney stones. I have the issue once in a while, but I can usually apply some pain control with a couple of ibuprofen and plenty of water. This time it just didn’t seem to want to stop and caused me some concerns. I went and visited a local doctor in the marina and he ran a few tests. He did confirm it appeared to be a blockage by kidney stones and of course the pain went away right after the doctor visit. He ran some tests and we discussed visiting a local hospital for some x-rays after a second visit with him.
The second was with the holding tank. I decided to try and have the holding tank emptied using the pump-out at the local marina. There are not many pump-outs after you leave the US. What I found out was that I had a blockage in pump-out line coming from my holding tank. This was going to require major surgery. I went to a local hardware store and bought a snake. I then needed to disconnect to output hose to run the snake in. The problem was the holding tank was under pressure. I needed to relief the pressure before disconnecting the hose. To do this I needed to remove the toilet form the head and then, with patience, back pressure the tank through the input hose into a bucket. You talk about a crappy job!!!!! Yughhh!!!! I was able to relieve the pressure and then disconnect the hose and run the snake through. Afterwards I took the boat offshore out of Charlotte Amalie and pump-out the head. New rules, no paper allowed in the holding tank. I have heard of other boats doing this and I am sure it is a rule that is applied after clearing a plumbing issue like this.
11/06/2009 I then decided to get away from Charlotte Amalie for a few days. I sailed over to St John and picked up a mooring ball in Caneel Bay. Caneel is a famous bay on St John and there is one of John Rockefeller’s estates on the water edge. It is now used as a resort.
11/07/2009 Today I sailed over to Trunk Bay and Beach. This is a popular beach and there are many visitors here. It appears many people from the cruise ships that tie up in Charlotte Amalie take ferries over to St John and visit this beach for the day. I enjoy walking the beach and people watch here. I then went snorkeling off of the west end of the beach. I saw my first Hawksbill Turtle here.
Later that day I sailed back to Francis Bay. This is in my top 3-5 anchorages in the Caribbean. It is a large quiet anchorage. There is usually good wind that comes through a cut in the hills and the same hills block any large waves from building.
11/08/2009 I went hiking today. The two primary activities on St John, besides doing nothing and relaxing, is hiking and snorkeling. It is mostly US National Park. I hiked over to the Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins and then over to Leinster Bay. In the sugar days, Leinster bay was used as the anchorage for loading the unrefined sugar syrup onto the ships for travel back to Europe. I later found out that the Danish did not manage their own mills here and the best way to protect their profits was to refine the sugar in Europe in a controlled environment.
I took my snorkeling mask with me and snorkeled part of the bay along the shoreline. There are some interesting fish and the water is real clear.
After the swim, on my way back to Francis Bay, I decided to take a detour and hiked up to the camp ground on Maho Bay. This is a camp ground run by the National park Service. There are what they call tent cabins built on the hill side with wooded decking sidewalks built between each of the cabins and to the cafeteria and steps down to the beach. It reminds me a lot of Boy Scout summer camp, with the difference of the tent cabins. The tent cabins are built of wooden decks and have two rooms. There is a sleeping area that has two spring cots with a pad, just like the old boy scout days. This room is completely enclosed with screening and the second room is a sitting area with an igloo ice box and propane camp stove. There is flaps that can be let down for privacy or to keep out the weather, or the flaps can be left up all night if you want to allow breeze to blow through.
Sometimes when I have too many things going, the cooking goes awry. This would be over cooked sausages at any level. I chalked this one off as a total loss.
11/13/2009 I spent the last few days back in Charlotte Amalie. I had problems with the holding tank again. This time the hand pump started to act up. It was not as messy a problem this time. I had to take the pump out and inspect it. The problem is in the output rubber valve. The rubber has dried out and would not allow a good suction when pumping the valve. I cannot get replacement parts in St Thomas. I have friends coming down in a couple of weeks, so I ordered them up from West Marine and Richard will deliver them to me when he and his family come down. In the mean time, as a back-up, I took the pump out that is used as the emergency bilge pump. It is the same pump and I was able to re-configure it for pumping out the head.
11/14/2009 Today I sailed over to Christmas Cove. The weather has been very unstable. As I was leaving Charlotte Amalie, I caught a picture of this tail coming from the clouds. It never did form a tornado, or waterspout. The next day it rained all day. You don’t see that down here too often. If the rain lasts longer than 15 minutes, it must be a major storm. The fresh water is good for cleaning off the boat though.
This cove is in my top three anchorages in the Caribbean. It is located on the west edge of Great St James Island on the southeast coast of St Thomas. It provides protection from all weather except west-southwest weather, which is very rare here. I plan on staying here for the week before The Allen’s arrive for Thanksgiving trip. My plan is to do nothing. A lot of people talk about doing nothing and it takes a lot of concentration to do nothing. There is a thin line between doing nothing and being lazy.
While I was here I did a lot of snorkeling. There are two small reefs here in the cove that attracts many fish. There would be sometimes up to three charter boats bringing people in to snorkel. It is a great place for beginners. The water is typically less than 12 feet and it is real clear. When I snorkeled the reef along the shore, there was a school of Spadefish. They swarm around me and follow me as I swim along the reef. Also on the reef is a Porcupine fish and in the bay are many Southern Stingrays, three Spotted Eagle Rays and a barracuda.
I also spent three days building a jigsaw puzzle. This is the second puzzle I have done that is of New York City and lost a piece. As I say, it takes a lot to do nothing for a week. I will say I enjoyed it. When thinking of the future, I can see how vacations will be finding a place to just hang out. No need for sightseeing or taking in attractions. It is very restful, even when I am on an extended vacation as it is.
11/20/2009 I sailed back into Charlotte Amalie today to get ready for my first guests of the season. Richard, Leslie and Taylor are arriving for their second annual Thanksgiving trip to spend it on No Rush.