St Croix; Christiansted; Buck Island Reef; Green Cay Marina

Could not wait to reach St Croix.  Christiansted has plenty of Danish architecture left (the Virgin Islands were Danish before they were bought over by the US in 1917) which makes the town very quaint.

We anchored right outside for 5 nights.  Spent some time at a beach on Protestant Cay.

Then we went to Buck Island Reef - a must see submerged land and coral reef system.  Off the east end of the island, a snorkel trail (!) with underwater signs meanders through coral grottoes out to the forereef.

To get there, we had to go via dinghy from the western anchorage area.  The ride was rough with head-on waves which soaked us completely, put 6 inches of water in the dinghy, and led poor Kehan close to hypothermia.

warming up wrapped in a big towel in the sun with the black wetsuits on top...

while we went to check out the snorkeling trail...

On the way back to Agave, feeling much better....

Before heading out to the eastern end, we enjoyed the morning on the beach on the western end of the island:

Next we will head out to St Lucia - a 3-day passage (4 at most).  Departure day planned for Sunday morning.  We love the little marina we found next to Buck Island, Green Cay Marina.  Hope to come back here late spring on our way back up the Caribbean.

A 12-Day Passage and Hi & Bye to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands

We made it from Spanish Wells, Bahamas to St Thomas in the USVI in 12 days/11 nights .  Winds and waves on our nose 11 days of that passage... it was bumpy, arduous, exhausting, wet, exhilarating and amazing all at the same time.

First we headed due East to reach the meridian 65 deg west.  Once there, "the plan" was to turn south and have a great sleigh ride down with winds perpendicular to us (beam reach).  Of course, it did not work out, and the winds kept on blowing from the south.  So it felt a bit like the road to nowhere... what to do?  go straight towards Africa? turn left towards Bermuda?  Obviously, we bit the bullet, and continued a bit east until we managed to turn south.  No beam reaching until the day of our arrival which made me forget all the difficulties of the passage: we entered the beautiful, gorgeous Virgin Islands with a perfect point of sail for Agave... it was just incredible...

The boys, on the other hands, adapted very well to the passage. Initially the 3 of us had severe seasickness for about 24-36 hours. Avi handled the boat and the 3 of us effortlessly - or at least it seemed like it! The boys then settled into long days of just quiet reading and fishing when the seas were not too boisterous.

We plotted our position regularly

Checking if all is well under the hulls... and everything was.

Before and..

... After.

Fish Identification

Boys spent days reading...

Crown Bay Marina - on St Thomas in  Charlotte-Amalie.

 

And we say bye to Carlos and Marc on s/catamaran Christina (L47) who helped bring Avi up the mast yet one more time to fix some stuff.

Goodbye Spanish Wells

Good thing a storm came and that we sought shelter in Spanish Wells.  It's a delightful place.

Some fun facts:
- the island is abt 2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide.
- favorite and main mode of transportation: golf carts!
- population: 1,500 or so
- 1st settlers: in 1647 - shipwrecked!
- then crown loyalists who left the US after the revolutionary war.
- main fishing center for crawfish/lobster in the Bahamas.

I loved this little town/island.

Taken by Avi up the mast - trying to fix the windvane... in vane

 

At the little museum... very interesting.

Notice the police car, I mean cart on the left !!!

 

Well I the minute I saw this cemetery, I thought about this quote: "How was culture born? It was born with the cult of the dead, with the religious worship of ancestors; that began with the pyramid and with the tumuli built by prehistoric men. All these things are vanishing and are even extinct. — Ernst Jünger  --- or are they?

Well we are off tomorrow morning, so we say or said goodbye to:
Michel & Isabelle on Woof (Wauquiez 41)
Ben (a singlehanded sailor!) on s/v Loon from Solomons, MD!
Carl&Sue on s/v WindRose from Solomons, MD as well!
and the staff at Yacht Haven Marina.