FAREWELL TO FRIENDS

After meeting in Rodney Bay, St.Lucia and spending time on Bonaire and Curacao last year, we met Eva and Jean-Luc Raynal again in Cruz, St.John. We sailed a short distance to the Christmas Cove on St.Thomas and spent three days together sharing sundowners, dinners, domino games and experiences.
We parted, Polde and I sailing US and British Virgin Islands, while Eva and Jean-Luc were off to a long sail around the world on their Amel 'Reve de Lune IV'.
Bon voyage, dear friends!

BAYS AND TRAILS ON ST.JOHN

Caneel Bay

Trail from Caneel Bay to Cruz

Sugar mill decorated with a poinciana tree

Sugar mill ruins, Leinster Bay in the background



Mexican creeper

Air plant

Our Nina and Maya

Francis and Maho Bay, papaya tree reaching for the sun

Our Rok and Alex

Rok with his catch of the day

Waterlemon Cay

Coral Harbour





Moravian church in the Coral Harbour, built 1719

Gallery

Saltpond Bay

On the Saltpond Bay mooring.
Barracuda found shade under our boat

Saltpond Bay beach

Lizzard in a tree

Cacti field

The view of the BVIs from St.John

Captain on dry





 






 



ST.JOHN

With the abolition of slavery and a drop of population came a decline of sugar cane plantations, that covered nearly all of St.John. Now the island depends on tourism and rightfully so. It's green hills are cascading toward many white beaches, surrounded with coral reefs. The turquoise water in shallows is reflecting on birds flying low for the catch.

In 1956 Rockefeller interests bought the land and donated it to the federal government for a national park, that was later enlarged to include offshore marine habitat.
Many trails across the island lead to spectacular views of the bays and nearby islands.
In most bays the park management installed mooring buoys to prevent the coral damage by anchoring. The moorings also give us a security in strong winds. Sometimes it is good to be a senior. Being National Park members, we pay half the price.

We have never sailed to St.John until now. We were surprised by it's peaceful beauty and marine life.

Busy Cruz Bay

A walk through St.John's port Cruz:

The art place

St.John Inn

The eternity view

WATER ISLAND

Sailing to St.Thomas Harbour late in the day, you might want to stop on Water Island first. It has a couple of pleasant anchorages protected from east winds with sandy beaches and coral reefs for snorkeling. We spent two days in Druif Bay, also called the Honeymoon Bay and had a nice hike to the east side views and to other anchorages. The ferry runs between the Phyllips Landing and Crown Bay on St.Thomas.

Druif (Honeymoon) Bay



A short walk up the hill from a bay we found a pizza restaurant, opened Fridays only, and since it was Friday, I was spared from cooking

 

 

 

A stroll over the island:

Phyllips Landing ferry dock and the anchorage

Post office boxes for the islanders and a library for the residents and the sailors: take a book, leave a book. It works on all the islands, the shelves with books are usually in the ports' bars and restaurants




Blooming aloe

Pink Casia

A giant (or two)

Termites nest

Hurricane leftovers

Flamingo Bay





ST.THOMAS

Approaching St.Thomas

We left Culebra February 4th in a 15kn wind, making long tacks toward St.Thomas and motoring the last stretch. Approaching Charlotte Amalie the sea traffic thickened with sailboats, power boats and ferries, but in a large St.Thomas Harbour anchoring was no problem. We found a spot close to the shore and that made it easy for us to visit Charlotte Amalie, provision there and find a marine supply store, as we do in every larger port.

Charlotte Amalie is flourishing once again, as it did in the year of 1840, when it was the headquarters of the shipping lines for ships running between North and South America. It was owned by Denmark then and sold to the US in 1917 after the downhill from prosperity and natural disasters.

Charlotte Amalie deserves the tittle of being the Capitol of all US Virgin Islands. Everything is there, three or four cruise ships a day, mega yachts, sailboats, ferries, hydroplanes in a bay, on the shore hotels, shops of all kinds, restaurants. We have not seen as many jewelry stores yet, not even in Gibraltar, what we thought was the Capitol of trading diamonds.

 

The jewelry street

 

Yacht Haven Grande

Giant leaving the port



Hydroplanes leaving and coming every daylight hour

 

The main road with fast traffic runs along the shore, taxis and safaris, convenient and inexpensive transportation on the island, $1 or $2 anywhere you want to go. Also fun, if you like racing on the two way road, guessing, weather the open wagon will make the curve without turning over. A challenge for those, who like to drive themselves and rent a car. Driving is on the left side of the road.

 

Houses within the town are the mix of well maintained and falling apart, the sign of well to do and barely sirviving, built next to each other, but nice homes isolating themselves with with high fences. Hi up in the hills the homes with the magnificent view are seeded in a forest, green after the rainy season.

 

After the sunset, the sounds dissapear into the night, the lights on the surrounding hills meet with the stars. We are small in this overwhelming view.

 

One of the beautiful passages leading to the harbour

 

 

 

 

Abandoned powder room 

 

The steps to the Governer's house and the Bluebeard's castle

 

 

Bluebeard's castle

The areal view of Charlotte Amalie