crossing & recrossing Sir Francis Drake Channel

The next morning we motored across Sir Francis Drake Channel, through four foot seas to Cooper Island Beach for more snorkeling and a great restaurant for dinner.

happy diners

And then came The Baths, a place I was sorta reluctantly dragged to cause I had no idea but I had taken a shower Saturday like always and this was only Thursday so I didn’t really want a bath yet!  Let me tell you, if you can get to the Caribbean do not miss The Baths, it is the most awesome rock formations of house size granite boulders that were tossed into unbelievable piles that you thread your way through to the most tranquil pools of crystal clear water imaginable.  They don’t even have towels or soap, so don’t worry!  

After climbing over, around and through the rocks we hiked up a narrow trail lined with all types of cactus.   It is after all, a desert island!  The trail ended on top of the hill about 500’ asl and offered the views we have become accustomed to.

home is where the heart is

looking forward to something to drink at the top

guardian of the baths

From there we motored back across Sir Francis Drake Channel in four foot seas to Marina Cay to grab a mooring ball and rest up.  They have wonderful views (as does everywhere) ice, water & fuel,we opted for ice & views and much needed rest except Dave had to change mooring balls during the night cause the wind shifted and he was too close to his neighbor.

On the way  to Limerick Bay across Drake channel (I’m beginning to get my fill of Sir Francis & his 6’ seas) once again, we stopped at a place called the dogs, several little rock islands with protected coves where you can snorkel.  The pics of snorkeling will be added later.

It was like being in a huge aquarium except no big fish.  Then we went on to Limerick Bay to a slip that gave Sally 3 days of air conditioning, she was a whole new woman.  We rented a car to get an extension from immigration and then came back & picked up Dave & Rene went to Spanishtown shopping and then went to the first copper mine in the caribbean.  It was built by the Indians and the Spanish took it and really operated it.  Now it is being run by goats.

sorta happy campers

taking in the grandeur 

ancient copper mine

mine operators, I count 6

guardians

our boat is just behind the bush on the left four slips down from the big white boat

Dave & Rene left and the next morning we pulled out to St Maarten.

Renee's happy dance leaving

Chris Parker, weather guru, said this was the best day to go in two weeks.  He was two days off.  We had our usual 4-6 ft waves 4-6 seconds apart and winds 20 its gusting to 34 direct on our nose.  It took 17 hours to motor across and one of the 10th waves threw me across the deck banging my head on a rail leaving a goose egg the size of a golf ball that lasted a week.  Sally was sure I had a contusion or aneurism but it was just sore.  

into the BVi's Cinnamon Bay

The islands are similar to the pictures I’ve seen about the San Juan’s in Canada, just very warm.  

Islands in the sun

When I walked into the immigration office the manager asked if I needed help so I said I really need a surgeon to remove the smile off my face for finally getting to the BVI’s.  It was like skipping rocks on a pond so he started putting his surgical gloves on and proceeded to remove the smile.  I was lying by omission but when they asked point blank if I had firearms on board I told the truth.  Then two hours later & a trip back to the boat to retrieve the guns they finally allowed me to enter with the guns in a customs sealed container.    They reminded me of the experience I had in DMV when I first moved back to Mississippi, that memory lasted 26 years, hope this doesn’t.  

When they finally let me go(they had my passport), we all went to Cane Garden Bay on the north side of Tortola for another gorgeous beach, at each one you think it just can’t get any better than this, and then it does.Rene talked Sally into trying her inflatable paddle board, she had as much fun falling as we did watching.

short lived success

just cooling off

 At Happy 3 hour,  Dave was a little bored with the great music and people enjoying their dinner so he asked for “Mustang Sally”.  Just about every woman that could walk (some that couldn’t & others that should't  got on the dance floor together and had a ball, from then on the place was not the same.  I think that is his job, transformations. 

The next morning the beach was lined with hundreds of beach chairs and colored umbrellas which confused me cause their wasn’t 50 people on the boats.  By 10 am every chair was occupied, jet skis zooming, paddle boards & kayaks everywhere.

they built it and guess what?

littlest mermaid (4 yrs old)

 
Cruise ship was in on the other side of the island and the tourists were trucked over in safaris.

  

Then we crossed the bay to Jost Van Dyke Island,  just past “Pull and be Damned Point”  (I gotta look up the history) into White Bay, where Soggy Dollar Bar is located so Sally could get a T-shirt, but they were out of her size so we just sat on the beach and people watched the rest of the day.  You just about have to get into the water coming in to shore hence the bar’s name.   It is just a pretty little beach with 4 or 6 bars/restaurants catering to tourists.  They arrive in all sorts of charter boats from small bar boat to huge crewed monster catamarans with more than 20 people aboard, all ready for wild partying, which they did. 

St John

On May 1, we left to join Dave and Rene at Cinnamon Bay in St. John for even better snorkeling and beaching.  It is a national park and has cabins and campsites for rent.  There is a small convenience store, restaurant, and small museum.  We saw deer, land crabs and tons of birds including a black hummingbird, which was faster than a speeding camera.

Alegria in Cinnamon

rental cabins

hobie to go

bird watching?

ole blue

just itching to get atcha

bambi

tacos

threading thru the islands

We got up to a beautiful flat sea morning and followed Dave & Rene over to West End, Tortola to check into the BVI’s. 

heading into West End to Customs 

some of the BVI's

just a little TLC and . . .

Christmas Cove

When everyone saw how tired I looked they recommended we go to Christmas Cove and the SE end of St. Thomas.  We snorkeled with sea turtles (got an underwater camera but had the settings wrong),

nothing wrong with her back, it is wave breaking

gossiping over the fence

 ate pizza baked on a floating pizza kitchen, did nothing and then did nothing.  Christmas Cove is a beautiful quiet little mooring field that has very good snorkeling and lots a sea turtles that are not very afraid of snorkelers. They have a floating pizza bar that will even deliver a great pizza in their dinghy.

pizza pi

why the pizza costs $30

  I cleaned the bottom of the boat one afternoon and fish about a foot long swam between my face and the boat, eating the barnacles & algae as I scraped it off.  It was like working in an aquarium.  Many charter boats were bringing tons of tourists for a day of snorkeling and pizza.  

To Culebra and St. Thomas

We left Patillas into the sunrise to give us a great view of the country side and a light house on the east shore. 

I could live here

Lighthouse on eastern shore

 We left right behind a large blue catamaran, (circumnavigators) and they stayed in site till we got to Culebra where they continued on the St. Martin and we tucked in to anchor next to S/V Oden. 

We dinghied to  town for soon to be famous tacos which were very good despite the ground meat looking like what I imagined ground iguana  looks like.  The next day we walked along side the airport then over a steep hill

the airport at Culebra, Encore is just to the right of the pic

& down to a gorgeous beach

I said it was gorgeous

which had a dozen or so vendors selling, you guessed it, God only knows what kinda of meat pies, which again were delicious.  I think I saw where the God only knows meat comes from.

Supper

We pulled anchor and moved on over to St. Thomas 

Sail Rock, just sticking up out of the ocean between Culebra & St Thomas.  Probably has sirens at night!

and joined Carl & Carrie Butler where we anchored in a small mooring field.  A  Cessna 208 on floats had at least two flights per day which really messed up any work I was trying to do cause I had to stop & watch.

208 caravan doing splash & dash

another of the 208

We took Safaris (1 ton trucks that were converted to open air buses that carry about a dozen) shopping and just looking at the island which mostly caters to cruise ship tourists. 

safaris

 We met Jamie and Keith on S/V Kookaburra.  Dave & Rene Herrington, S/V Alegria came over along with Rick & Pam S/V Forever.  We went out to dinner or happy hour on our boats every night for a week, more excitement than I'm used to.  One of the cruise ship terminals was just across the inlet from us and we had to time our crossings when the ships were moving, it took my mighty 4hp a half hour to get across.

Oasis of the Seas

We also got to watch a yacht carrier off load motor yachts & load up with racing monohull sailboats.  Keith and Jamie, both charter captains took us to a lighted water fall and colored fountain display that one of the super rich put on for an hour several nights a week, even though he is not usually in town.  We were in dinghies so I did not have a camera but take my word for it, breathtaking.  They and the Butlers made sure our stay there was awesome and we really, really appreciate them.  (Keith is also a Civil Engineer & Jamie an HVAC Journeywoman and they charter & guide just to make people happy, which they did.

self explanatory