The Rest of St John

April 5th - 12th, 2014

A - Great Lameshur Bay,  B - Saltpond Bay,  C - Coral Bay,  D- Hansen Bay,  E - Francis Bay,
F - Waterlemon Cay

I'm not sure you can see the dramatic difference from bright blue sky to gray with rain.

We moved to Hansen Bay on Friday to get protection from the wind.  The next four days were the first gray ones since November.  We have come to expect every day to be perfect.  The temperatures remain in the mid 80's.  Gusty winds have delayed our exploration of the north shore. 

 After three days on board, it was time to get off and get a little exercise.  The dingy was in the water so we headed to Coral Bay looking for a grocery, mail box and dumpster.  On the way to the dingy dock the waves were behind us so we didn't notice their size.  After taking care of everything and having lunch we made our way back to Gotta Smile.  Now we were going against the waves.  The swells were mostly 2-3 feet, but periodically they would build to 6.  They look pretty big when you are in a dingy!  We would see them coming, hold our breath and float over the top.  Quite a sensation.

                                                                      Free range goats, sheep, donkeys and chickens.

 About dusk Brian decided that the dingy should be connected to the boat with the chain instead of the dock line.  I was busy in the galley.  I heard a big splash, but wasn't concerned.  Shortly after the splash I heard, "Could you get the ladder, Jackie?"  Yes, I finally got to prove that I would save him if he fell overboard.  For years he has claimed that if he went over, I wouldn't look for him for at least four days.  The rescue went fine.  Unlike Captain Ron, I didn't drop the ladder on him as I installed it.  Hopefully, it never gets trickier than this.  

The mountains of St John give each bay a different personality. Some have good TV reception, some have WiFi and others have good phone reception.  Of course, the weather is also influenced, but since it is mostly blue sky and sunny we are more concerned with our creature comforts! 

Tuesday dawned with the blue sky we love.  We have been anchoring more than we anticipated.  That means using the generator to keep our batteries charged so we can use the washer, dryer, water maker, coffee pot, microwave/convection oven, hair dryer, etc, etc.  And, that means we need more fuel to complete the trip.  Called the Red Hook marina.  Diesel was $5.25/gallon.  Second call was to Charlotte Amalie where we found diesel for $4.75.  Since we were getting 315 gallons, it was worth traveling an extra 12 miles.      

When we finally made it to the north side of St John, we stayed in Francis Bay and loved it!  A day long dingy ride took us to Moha Beach and Cinnamon Beach.  It was great to walk each of them from one end to the other.  We sampled the snorkeling, but it was disappointing.  Maybe we just didn’t find the best spot. 

Local artists gift to the tourists.....

Happy tourists enjoying the local art and another one of God's masterpieces. 

Our last night in the US Virgin Islands was in Waterlemon Bay.  It will definitely be a revisit.  We arrived with strong gusts that challenged our mooring skills.  Rain and strong wind continued most of the afternoon.  By the time we launched the dingy it was dusk.  Just enough time for a quick tour of the bay.  

Looking along Sir Francis Drake Channel.  Island on right is St John.  The other islands are BVI.

We have been in the US Virgin Islands for three weeks and it has been all that we had hoped.  Tomorrow we will cross Sir Francis Drake Channel and begin our exploration of the British Virgin Islands.  So excited! 

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!