Holiday happenings ...

St John / Waterlemon Bay

the mysterious 'ricochet' bird ... 

The Christmas Winds continue to be a factor, going from dead calm to well over 20 knots roaring down the mountain at no predictable intervals.  The anchorage is mostly calm where we tucked in until one of the large cruisers motor past leaving a wake.  Today we saw a FIVE masted cruise ship pass by then anchor in an adjacent harbor  / island Tortola, BVI’s.  It’s mast could be seen above the mountain top…  

Maho Bay

We spent some time snorkeling, this time we took the dink to a special mooring field installed for the purpose of snorkeling the reef by small boat.  There was a bit of a current so we made sure to keep our sites on the dinghy as well as the life below.  Again, the corals seem to be suffering from bleaching, a world wide epidemic due to warming seawater temps.  We did see a good number of fish, rays and one conch.  Jim was happy to FINALLY learn the proper name of the ‘ricochet’ bird.  He has admired this bird since our arrival in the Islands.  Graceful and beautiful.  It has a white chest and yellow feet with a brown body and wings.  It swoops down and skims just under the water to catch fish.  Using the I-phone bird ID app, it’s called the Brown Booby.   

He also identified the Magnificent Frigate Bird as well, one of our daily sights.  

rainbows everyday 

After having spent a few days in one spot / bay we headed a few miles away to Maho Bay, St John’s.  It is a large bay with several separate beach areas as well as places to land the dinghies. On a trip ashore we were greeted by a tourist who kindly warned us of the ticket writing park officer.  Upon inspection of the offending dinghy we discovered they had broken several rules: using an unregistered dinghy and chaining it to a tree.  We pulled our dinghy far on shore (no locking to vegetation) and went for a stroll.  The beach was lovely white powder sand, filled with beach goers, easily accessible by car for landlubbers.  There are Safari’s to catch an ride to town… 6 bucks a piece, one way.  We enjoyed the beach scene for a while then went home.

Cruz Bat visitors cent

We were greeted in the late afternoon by the mooring field ‘hosts’, Jack and Nancy.  They welcome new boats and provide local information;  like their counterparts on land at state and national parks… a camp ground host.  They are working with the local municipalities to find a mutually agreeably method to secure / lock  dinghies on shore while protecting the trees.  They have made some progress but as yet no solution.

A few more projects ticked off the list then Jim headed to bed.  I tried to read a bit before turning in myself, but I was plagued by a ‘smell’ that continued to grow stronger as the evening wore on.  A solvent of some sort.  I had tried to locate the source earlier in the day but no luck.  Finally I narrowed it down to the sink / galley area.  I began methodically removing every can and bottle until the culprit was in hand.  Our galley sinks sweat and accumulate condensation which has been dripping into the bins under the sink.   A small pool of liquid had been slowly rusting the can bottoms until today, one finally sprung a leak.  It took a good hour to remove and clean the sink area and bins.  We then had to find new homes for the metal cans, rearranging metal for glass and plastic.  It was nearing the  12  midnight by the time we had cleaned enough to both turn in for the night.  Everyday problems in a not so everyday place…   

Christmas Day

We hope your holiday passed with good cheer.

We spoke to our kids and several family / friends to wish everyone a great holiday.  It’s our first holiday alone, no other family, just the 2 of us.  Bitter sweet.  My attempt to bring our family aboard for the holiday was through our holiday menu… Making dishes inspired and shared with family and friends: rosemary / cranberry biscuits, fresh mangos, mashed rosemary / garlic potatoes and Bob’s moms cheese cake…  

The day passed relatively uneventful, napping, reading, rain showers and sipping cool drinks.  We were paid a visit by a fellow cruiser, Jack, who was out meeting other cruisers and wishing a merry Christmas to all.  He and his wife have been up and down the chain of islands many times and will starting heading toward Grenada again soon.  Later we met yet another cruiser, Mark.  He recently moved here for the winter from Seattle.   He is living on a day charter boat taking clients to snorkel and sail the St. Jonh’s area.  He too is alone for the Holidays and was glad to find someone to share a portion of the evening with.  

Today we decided to head to Cruz Bay, the largest city on St. John.  Following the advice of the park host’s we went ashore and stuck our finger out… pointer finger… to hitchhike. (Using your thumb is a very rude, offensive gesture among the locals) The problem was nearly every car was heading to the beach, not to town, so we figured we’d start walking.  Up, up and up some more.  Then, a ride!  We hopped in the back of a pickup truck and continued the climb.  The driver pulled over a couple of miles later, his destination Cinnamon Bay.  Walking again, we were quickly picked up by a young family on vacation who drove us a few more miles… then another ride.  2 guys.  It turns out they are from Michigan not to far from our home town!  They even know some people Jim use to work with.  They were heading to Cruz Bay… score!  

We thanked them (and all of our drivers) profusely as we (I) could not have walked the 6+ miles up and over mountains even with the well pave / maintained roads.  We wandered about town.  Checked out the Visitors Center.  Strolled past numerous shop geared toward tourists: ice cream, souvenirs, tee shirts, etc.  We checked out a dive shop for an upgrade to our snorkel gear then on to the auto parts store for yet another part.  The directions were good and after a short 15 minute walk (nearly all up hill) we found it.  What we didn't factor in to the journey was Boxing Day… a national Holiday for the British which the UCVI’s have adopted.  ???  What the heck is Boxing ???  It’s the day after Christmas when you return your decorations to their boxes.  Seriously.  So there we stood thinking we could have been in a nice cool pub having a cold one when someone pulls up, and begins unloading boxes… him: “Can I help you?”  us: thanks, but we needed a part from the auto store but didn't realize it would be closed”  him: “yup, Boxing Day”  Then someone from the store front says, “What’d you need?’  Jim told him and he says “ come on up…” so he opens the store, finds us something that will work for our part needs.  Happy Boxing Day!  The right place at just the right time… The proprietor was there waiting for the other guy out from to deliver his order.

We then headed back to the water front for lunch. then stuck out our finger again… and nearly immediately got a ride all the way to Cinnamon Bay.  Before sticking out our finger again, we crossed the road to explore the Cinnamon Bay Factory Ruins, another former sugar mill.  Many more buildings / foundations than the Annaberg Ruins to wander through.  Heavily over grown with vegetation.  Back on the road we were again picked up almost immediately, a local ex pat, going to Maho Bay to pick up a friend.  What Luck!  

As we reached the dinghy our friends Jim and Cindy / Splash entered the bay.  Unfortunately their dinghy motor was on the fritz.  My Jim said he’d happily help if possible.  While the guys tinkered with the motor Cindy and I had a great catch up session.   The guys managed to get the outboard running although it still has a glitch with the choke.  We then all shared stories over anchor beverages.  Later we enjoyed dessert,: fried, ripe plantains! and cheese cake and more stories.  We chatted till nearly boaters midnight (9pm).  

Question of the day:  When does running aground turn out to be not the worst part of your day?  

The ‘plan’ was to get up, have a leisurely morning then head to Charlotte Amalie so we could be close to Crown Bay Marina to make the most of the time we planned to be there installing the NEW wind vane (thank you Santa) and glueing the rub guard  back on the dinghy.  We left the mooring field on the island of St John and made the passage to Charlotte Amalie.  We were fishtailing a lot as approached the harbor, it being on the open Atlantic side.  We circled the anchorage looking for a not too rolling spot and since it was still before noon we decided to try the anchorage / mooring field  right next to the marina in Crown Bay.  Crown Bay Marina is adjacent to a ship yard where cargo is on / off loaded.  The ships use a pilot boat when coming  and going, the main purpose to guide the ships in and out of harbors, sometimes providing them with a local captain who goes aboard the ship).  They also to keep other boats away from the ship.  I wanted to stay well away from the ship exiting the harbor and the pilot boat was crowding me to the north into the mooring field which is where we were heading anyway… when ka-thunck… ka-thunck… SHIT! ….we bounced over a shoal IN the mooring field… heart pounding, we turned tail and headed for the channel. (FYI: the chart said I should have had 11 feet).  The pilot boat quickly came over to see it we were OK… “there’s a shoal over there”… that would have been good information 5 minutes ago.  Jim took over steering while I dashed below to look for leaks… check the engine compartment, under floor boards… no leaks!  whew!  We went back to Charlotte Amalie to drop the hook.  Selected a spot, Jim released the anchor… nothing.  ?  It wont budge  ??  a trip to the chain locker to free up the chain.  Back on deck, another go at the anchor chain… still nothing.  ???  He dug out the manual windlass handle, freed up the ‘frozen’ chain and finally we were at anchor…

Open mic night at Tickles...

Jim then went to get out the grease gun from under the V-berth to grease the windlass (salt corrosion)  and discovered there was water (yikes) on the grease gun container… OK… so everything off the bunk, mattress, pillows, blankets… pull off the locker board cover … Oh F*^@“…. Water, LOTS of water.  ???? LOTS and LOTS of sea water!!!!! Salty sea water!  We then we started removing the locker contents.  Pulling it out through the overhead hatch.  Spares hoses, a drenched cardboard box, all of the spare oil drip sheets… two spares duffel bags… a down sleeping bag… a few small bins with stuff;  All dripping with ‘funky’ salty sea water.   It’s OLD water.  Not new… I had NOT breached the hull in the grounding.  So why all the water… We hauled dozens of buckets of water out of the locker.  Finally having bailed most off the water out, we could assess the 3 compartments in the locker.  One for the deck wash down pump, one for the battery, and one general storage.  It seems the wash down pump has been leaking for a VERY long time.  

our new wind generator 

We were thoroughly exhausted. Lunch:  gatorade and fish cheese crackers…  Catch our breath… evaluate situation.  

We called to Crown Bay to get a slip a day early… Jim had to use the manual windlass handle to haul up the chain.  Back past the dreaded shoal and into a slip.  Now: major clean up.  We were able to get the bunk back in order for sleeping.  We threw away the  ‘can't be salvaged’ items.  BTW: my Seal-a-Meal more than paid for itself.  I have sealed a number of small things, batteries, etc to prevent moisture intrusion … NONE of those things items were compromised! 

piecing things together 

So, back to answer the question… When does running around turnout to be not the worst part of your day?  When you discover another problem that needed your attention, now … 

To put it in perspective, it’s like driving on icy, snowy roads.  You sometimes get stuck in snow bank.  Or blow a tire.  Or have a fender bender.  You fix what needs fixing, maybe try a different approach to driving in certain conditions. But you don't quit driving or riding in cars. 

New day:  more cleaning and sorting.  Jim off to the metal shop to get them going on the Wind Generator tubing and parts needed for the installation.   On top of all this, my back got a ‘kink’ and I had limited mobility… We did laundry, 6 BIG loads… Nearly 30 dollars! … Jim continued picking away at projects as best he could while waiting on the tubing.  Living in paradise is not all fun and games, sipping little umbrella drinks.  It’s often hard work, really hard work; mental and physical.  But there are no snow storms to battle, no icy windows to scrape.  Still loving  livin’ the dream, most of it anyway.    

up and running 

With the tubing on board we got to work on the installation of the wind generator.  It took us an entire day to secure, wire and raise the generator into place.  It looks pretty awesome.  Time will tell what effect it has on our energy needs.  

We had dinner the went to ‘Tickles’ the Restaurant / bar at the marina to catch open mic night. There was a band playing when we sat down.  They played a few more tunes then took a break, allowing the audience an opportunity to perform.  One young lady sang a few song, then another played a mandolin and sang.  Feeling very tired, we called it a night.

New Years Eve…. 2015

Next morning we topped off the water tanks and headed for groceries.  My back took a turn for the worst and I had to guard every step.  grrr.  Back aboard, groceries stowed, Jim recruited help to cast off the lines, the wind wanting to push us onto the dock.  The plan was to have the recruit keep the bow line secure till we were free from obstructions.  Jim hit reverse, I pulled in the port dock line, looked up and saw the bow swinging into the dock… “hold the bow off the dock!”, but it was too late.  The recruit had released the line to soon… which lead to the anchor snagging on the dock cleat which is imbedded  in the cement dock.  ca-rack!  …  

Pizza boat... order and pick up your pi hot and fresh 

Jim had to drive forward so we could get the anchor free from the cleat, then back in reverse scraping along the dock… the recruit threw the line aboard, we exited the marina and circled the harbor to evaluate the damages.  A few bent metal fittings, Jim can fix later.  We try to do all the line handling but I didn't think I could help much with my back acting up… We were both ready to find a quiet place to set the hook and relax after all the miss haps and work.

yellow tail snapper

We headed for Christmas Cove, the wind generator cranking out the amps as we motored along, the wind on the nose.  Our friends Jim and Cindy were ‘saving’ us a mooring ball, which turned into  bit of an ordeal for them.  Jim (Splash) rowed their dink to the last morning ball and was tying their dinghy to it when a catamaran ran into him.  The guy on the bow calls back to the captain… ‘you just hit a guy in a boat’… the captain comes forward and says… ‘Oh, I didn't see you’… REALLY?  Jim and his dinghy were not injured.  It’s a bit daunting 

thinking about the unskilled captains maneuvering vessels sometimes.  One of the chapter companies told Jim (Splash) the only requirement to charter a boat is a card… a VISA or Master Card… 

We hooked up to the mooring ball and could finally relax for a while.   Jim and Cindy popped over and to wish us a Happy New Year.  I headed below to rest my aching back.  Jim was hailed by a passing dinghy, ‘would we like a fresh fish?”… sure!  Anchor neighbors Thomas and Stephan have been out spearing fish and had a few to spare.  They gave us a Yellow Tail Snapper, quite tasty!  

Cindy, being a wonderful friend, made us dinner and delivered it to our boat.  It was the first thing I had eaten all day and it was fantastic!   Thank you soooo much.  Pasta and shrimp.  I managed to sit up for the entire meal and even started feeling better.  We didn't make to Atlantic Time Zone midnight, New Years Eve, but it was after boaters midnight when we called it a night.

getting the dive gear in the water 

prepping to the dive

New years day.  I was feeling so much better.  Jim dove under the boat to assess what the grounding had done to Inishnee’s bottom.  A small flap of fiberglass had been peeled back.  We had patch putty aboard for this sort of thing but it would be difficult to apply with out a dive tank… Our neighbor boat, S/v Vesper with Thomas and Stephan were divers.  Jim went over to see if they would consider helping.  Stephan grabbed his gear and was soon underwater applying the patch material to the divot.  Thomas, the owner of Vesper, had been ashore and came over on his return.  They would take to payment for their services but agreed to come to dinner.  We invited Jim and Cindy as well to make it a full blown party.  I was feeling much better and was happy to be almost back to normal.  

Jim popping a bottle of champagne for New Year's eve

We spent a festive evening with our new friends.  Thomas sailed his boat Vesper single handed from North Carolina the day after we left.  He unfortunately got caught in the tropical wave we were all trying to avoid.  He had to heave-to for a day then headed for Puerto Rico where Stephan met him.  Stephan, a professor of Psychology in London,  will be leaving to begin another semester.  Thomas is on a 2 year hiatus from his neurological research job in New York City.  He analyze’s patient’s brain, which have surgically implanted electrodes, then reports to the neurosurgeon as to the best surgical approach to relieve the patients symptoms…  You’ve herd the term brainiac… these two really are.   

I counted 27 bodies  !!

Another night up past boaters midnight, we all headed to our respective bunks.

Dinner on Splash tonight!  Cindy prepare a lovely meal for the four of us.  Their company is always a delight.  Tomorrow we all head to Charlotte Amalie where we each will welcome new crew on Monday.  Jim’s awesome sister Marianne will travel about with us for a week in the island.  

Wind Generator up date.  While in an anchorage, we want / need the boat to be tucked in and protected from the open water / waves, etc… which means you chose a spot where the mountain or hillside blocks the wind / waves …The problem, we don't produce much power under those circumstances.  Underway we see huge gains.  We will be at anchor in the Charlotte Amalie harbor for a couple of days where there is lots of wind funneling through the mountain valley.  Charge baby charge!

another fantastic sunset
Christmas Bay