Culebra to St. John, USVI

Getting the boat ready to head to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Here's Jim changing the oil. People don't believe us when we tell them he has to hang up side down to do it!

Two good things about changing the oil, the engine runs better and you get increased oxygen to the brain!

Here's Bailey trying to ignore all the swearing coming from the engine compartment.

The Dinghy Dock Bar, Packer headquarters in Culebra. Unfortunately we had to watch the Pack lose in overtime.

Oceanfront property that is still reasonably priced. Two stories with a front and back porch!

Approaching Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. We've been here many times before and it's always fun to come back. But it seems new again when you come by sailboat. You look for different things in a location when you're cruising vs vacationing.

The anchorage in Charlotte Amalie, busy and crowded.

The 99 steps.

Blackbeard's Castle above the waterfront.

Nightfall over St. Thomas.

After leaving Charlotte Amalie, we headed to an anchorage at Christmas Cove. As we were approaching the bay, our friends Hans & Kristin on Whisper hailed us on the radio. They were less then a mile off our starboard side, heading to St. Thomas. We hadn't seen each other for awhile. We'd been hanging out in Culebra and they'd just returned from St. Croix. They changed course and joined us in Christmas Cove. The four of us went snorkling (saw a Reef Shark) and then had drinks and dinner on Merengue. It's such fun when a new landfall reunites you with friends.

This turned out to be a beautiful but uncomfortable anchorage. We rolled all night and slept very little. The next morning Whisper headed to St. Thomas and we moved on to St. John.

Everyone at home think we're doing something so unusual but there are lots of cruisers out here. This boat, Time n Time hails from Racine, WI. We met the owners while hiking on St. John.

The island of St. John is only 9 miles long by 5 miles wide and about two-thirds of it is National Park. We hiked for 5 hours on this day and saw plantation house ruins, petroglyphs that are believed to be the work of Taino Indians and the ruins of a rum factory. The landscape is beautiful! Afterwards, you return to the boat for a swim in clean, clear water.
The overgrown ruins of a manor house.

Petroglyphs, carved into rock above a reflecting pool.

Ruins of a rum factory.



By the late 1700's almost the entire island was deforested and planted with sugar cane. This factory became steam-driven when slavery was abolished.

Today we are in Coral Bay, the small, bohemian town on the east end of St. John. We headed in to get some ice, fresh groceries and to update this blog. Internet is not always available so we grab it when we can to let you know where we're at. Later today we'll head back over to one of the anchorages on the south-side of St. John. Life is good!