Daily Life in Paradise

Thursday, December 1, 2016

After pre-checking out of the BVIs with Customs, we went to Foxy's for a delicious Asian Calamari Salad and a burger and talked to Skip from Peacekeeper.  Later Tom and Susan from Nomad came in with Charlie, the ER doc, and so we chatted with them for a while.  Then, we bought baked bread, a turnover, and ice and went back to the boat.

Around 4:00, we saw Kinship come in and invited them over for a drink.  While we were waiting for them, Jean and Yolene dinghied up, but couldn't stay because they were meeting Maryse and Merrill at Foxy's.  Matthew and Kathleen came for appetizers and a Margarita, and then they left to join the others at Foxy's. We stayed put and had a quiet evening.



Friday, December 2, 2016

We are going to Cruz Bay on St. John, USVI, today.  We lifted anchor at 9:10 and put up the sails for a close reach. We are getting 11 knots of wind, so it's a perfect sail.  We are running the engine, too, to recharge the batteries.  Once again, we got a low battery alarm through the night, which means the fridge turned off. We'll have to start charging to 100 percent each time.
We arrived in Cruz Bay at 11:00 and anchored in their 3-hour anchorage area for Customs clear in.  We cleared in, then dinghied to the dinghy dock.  First, we walked up and down the hills to the Starfish Market and the St. John Hardware. We were looking for dinghy locks and cables, which we bought from the hardware.  Then, we went into the market.  Beautiful!  Really lovely vegetables and fruits.  So nice compared to the overripe and rotting produce we had seen so far in the BVIs.  We bought a few things and walked back to The Lumber Yard (a big blue building) where they have a few different businesses.

Then, I did something very brave today...or stupid, depending on your perspective.  I found an island beauty salon and asked 'Shani' to cut my hair.  Can you say "pixie cut"?  Haha. Not exactly a great style, but to be fair, I told her that she could go ahead and cut it and I didn't care if it was too short.  I told her I'd like about three quarters of an inch cut off.  Well, she cut off three quarters of an inch, and then she cut off a half inch, and then she cut off another quarter inch.  Gulp!  Voila, pixie cut!  I look like a boy.  (My sister, Diny, says earrings would help.  Haha, not likely.). Oh, well, it's definitely cooler!

We got back to the boat around 2:30, ate a yoghurt and banana and headed out to go to St. Thomas by 3:00.

We had an uneventful trip across to St James Bay and snuggled into Christmas Cove by 4:00. From here, we can see the condos that we stayed at when we vacationed on St. Thomas a couple of years ago.

We ate an early pork souvlaki dinner (since we missed lunch), and then relaxed in the cockpit while we watched the US Virgin Island Yacht Club kids put through their Sailing School paces until sunset.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

This anchorage at Christmas Cove was very rolly.  Even when the ferries aren't roaring by, there is a constant swell rocking our boat.

After breakfast, we decided to go to Magen's Bay on the north coast of St. Thomas. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches on St. Thomas and one that the cruise ships bring their passengers to on a regular basis.

Although we sailed, we also kept the engine running.  Our batteries are not holding a charge as well as they should. We have charged them up to 80% and 90% overnight, and both result in a low battery alarm in the morning under any load.  Not good. We will try 100% overnight tonight to see if that helps.

We had a wind mostly on the stern, so we only put out the jib.  We did try the Code Zero at one point, but that didn't last long.

Once we arrived, we anchored in about 40 feet of water.  We had lunch and then I did some laundry by putting soap, water and golf balls in a large dry bag, then adding clothes and agitating.  The 'agitating' was me shaking it around.  This is truly a manual washing machine.  I feel like a pioneer lady.  Then, I rinsed them out in fresh water and hung them to dry in the sun.  It did work, but it was labour and time-intensive. Not to mention using our fresh water (which we have to pay for down here).

Later, we dinghied into the beach, hoping to find a trash can and to check out what was there.  Well, we did find a trash can, but that's about it besides a bar.  A wedding reception seemed to be going on in one of the picnic areas.  The beach is beautiful, and not crowded at all today (it's a Saturday, so mostly just locals), but after a short walk we dinghied back to the boat.

There are turtles here and a ton of fish jumping around us.  Always something to see.

Our fresh water is down to a quarter tank, so we are rationing water.  However, showers were imperative if we were going to be able to sleep tonight.

We had chicken fajitas for dinner, charged the batteries to 100%, had really quick showers, and went to bed early.


Sunday, December 4, 2016

This morning the batteries were down to 11.7 again, and an alarm went off when we flushed the electric toilet.  Aaaarrrrrggghhhh!  The batteries are not holding a charge.  Today, we are going to equalize them to see if that helps.  If it doesn't, we're going to have to replace all four of the domestic batteries.  A big expense.  There's always something.  We think the best place to do that is in Red Hook on St. Thomas.  There is a full service marina there.  We're hoping it's a little less expensive than Tortola and that they have them in stock. Let's hope.  Better yet, let's hope the equalization process helps our batteries to hold a charge!

So, today the plan is: equalize batteries, go to either Sapphire Bay or Red Hook to refill water tanks, OR, if needed, go to Red Hook to buy new batteries.   I'm hoping for the first option.

At 10:30, we started the equalization process.  Carey had taken the plastic lids off of the batteries to allow them to vent and removed the black negative cable from the starter battery so that it wasn't effected.

The equalization never started.  We think the batteries are just too depleted to go through the process. I called Island Marine Services to ask about new batteries.  They have them in stock, at a decent price, but they close in an hour, and there is no way we can get there by then. We'll anchor out nearby tonight and go in first thing in the morning.

We lifted anchor at 2:10 and headed for Muller Bay right near Red Hook. We will anchor here tonight and, in the morning, go to American Yacht Harbor, where we can get a slip so that we can buy and install the batteries.  On the way, we went by a place called Tutu Bay.  I'm sure it was named in honour of Carey's mom.

We pulled up to the fuel dock at American Yacht Harbor, filled the fuel and both water tanks, and headed for the anchorage at Muller Bay nearby.  We dropped the anchor at 4:40.


Monday, December 5, 2016

We got up to the rolling of the boat this morning. This is a nice anchorage, except between 5 am and 7 pm when the ferries run. They roar in and out of here and leave a huge wake, which, when it hits us broadside, really makes us roll. Unfortunately, the orange juice I put on the breakfast table went flying during one of those rolls, so we had to clean up the sticky wet mess from our white seat cushions and floor before breakfast.  Ugh.  It wouldn't have been so bad if we were eating breakfast in the cockpit like usual, because we could just hose it down out there. It was raining, though, so we were setting up inside.  Figures.

Today, we have to get a slip at American Yacht Harbor and buy some batteries.  Docking here was a challenge. There is a huge spile to get around, and then the dock is only about 20 feet long.  We are 44 feet long.  That means I couldn't step out of our gate to tie us up to the dock.  I clamoured over the lifelines and got some docklines on (by lassoing a cleat), while a nearby boater tied on our bow line.  It took us a while to get tied up to Carey's satisfaction, but we eventually managed it.  The next hurtle was connecting to shore power.  They only have 50 amp breakers here and we need 30 amps.  Nope, they don't provide the adaptors, either. Grrrrr.  Luckily, a young guy who was working on a nearby Island Packet sailboat offered to see if his company had one that we could borrow. He looked like a corn-fed Iowa boy, but was actually from Vermont.  He found one for us!  Yippee, what a nice young man.

We had a delicious burger and fries at the Bar and Still for lunch.  Then, it was time for shopping for batteries.  We bought four from Island Marine at $160 US a piece, which was a pretty good price, and they have a higher cranking rate than our old ones, but it still hurt.  We truly believe that B.O.A.T. means "Bring On Another Thousand" and we've proven it many times over.  (There's always a snake in Paradise.)

Carey got them installed very quickly and we found a guy to dispose of the old ones. To celebrate, we had a long luxurious shower in the marina, and then we went for dinner at XO Bistro across the street. Sooooo delicious.  Good thing we got reservations--that place was hopping!  Their special on Mondays and Thursdays is Prime Rib, so we'll have to bring Craig there.  Carey ordered big fluffy scallops and I ordered the Garlic Grouper. The chef displayed both the seafood and the vegetables beautifully, so we asked to speak to him to express our delight.  He was delighted that we were delighted.


Tuesday, December 6, 2016

We got up early, ate breakfast, and then ran over to the Island Marine chandlery for some rust fighting products.  Around 10:45, we left the dock and headed for Trunk Bay on the north side of St. John Island.  However, as we got closer we could see that the north swell was going to make that an uncomfortable anchorage.  Almost everywhere on St. John you have to pick up a mooring ball instead of anchoring, because they are trying to save the coral.  That means we have to pay for a mooring ball.  It's usually between 15 and 30 dollars.  We prefer free anchorages.  We arrived in a Maho Bay at 11:45 am and picked up a mooring ball. We're getting good at it!  Yahoo!

After lunch, we went snorkelling and saw lots of fish. Really, they're just like the fish we used to have in our aquariums growing up-- angel fish, black mollies, zebra fish, etc.  Very pretty and varied.  Later, while I was getting dinner ready, Carey saw two large fish under our boat and pointed them out to me.  They were big like a tarpon, but with a flatter head.  We looked it up in our Caribbean Marine Life book and we think they were barracuda.  We could only see the top of them, so we didn't see the teeth.  Yikes, just as well!  It says in the book that barracudas don't attack unless provoked, so we did no provoking.


Wednesday, December 7, 2016

This turned out to be a rolly anchorage, so I didn't sleep very well. We were debating whether to stay another night, but this morning we decided to move on. We headed toward the western end of St. John Island, near Cruz Bay.  We sailed all the way today.  Lovely!

Great Cruz Bay looked very crowded, so we kept going and found a tiny little bay called Chocolate Hole.  It has to be a good place with a name like that, right?  We dropped anchor in one place, but lifted and dropped in a slightly less rolly spot on the other side of the small bay.  We were hoping for a comfortable night.

Well, after snorkelling and checking out the bottom, we decided that this was a little too close to a coral bed.  While the other boats looked like they were anchored, they were actually moored to a set of lines. We lifted anchor and headed east toward Lameshure Bay, arriving at 4:50 pm.  This was cutting it a little closer to sunset than I like, it we didn't have a choice. We picked up a mooring ball at Lameshure, way into the bay, close to the beach.  Looks like a very peaceful bay.  The turtle that popped his head up right beside us thinks so, too!  We are getting gusts of 16 knots here, so I hope the mooring ball is secure!

Wow, Carey has found his spot.  We saw two deer on the stone beach quite near our boat.  They are quite small here.


Thursday, December 8, 2016

We had a very windy night, but felt secure on this mooring.  It's bright, sunny, hot and gusty today.  We had a pancake breakfast and watched the turtles swimming around looking for their breakfast.  This looks like a good place to swim with the turtles. Carey has seen a number of turtles while snorkelling, but I haven't seen any when I've been in the water yet.  I only see them when I'm in the boat.  If I'm ever going to swim with the turtles, it should be here.

This morning, Susan and Tom, from Nomad, dinghied over to invite us for a cocktail this afternoon.  It's so nice that we have this cadre of friends from the ARC Rally.

In the meantime, Carey is working on eradicating the new rust on the boat (a losing battle), while I update the blog and communicate with family and friends.  Soon, we will launch the dinghy and go snorkelling. It's another beautiful day in paradise.