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Current Location: Crown Bay Marina, St. Thomas, USVI
Miles Traveled: 9 Weather: Mostly sunny, breezy (10-15), low-80s Highlights: Mark and Terry went snorkeling first thing this morning around the small island in Christmas Cove. Saw a couple of sand rays, one eagle ray, and a nasty-looking barracuda, but not many fish, and coral was mostly dead. Breakfast back on the boat, then dropped the mooring ball around 10AM and motor-sailed over to Buck Island to find some turtles. Grabbed a mooring ball around 11, then Mark and Diana went snorkeling while the rest of us had some lunch and relaxed. Saw lots of turtles, a couple of rays, and quite a few day-charters in and out of the mooring field. We hung around until about 2:30, then headed over to Crown Bay Marina on St. Thomas, last stop for the Kingsley clan. Docked and secured by 3:30, relaxed on the boat for a bit, then headed over to the local pub (Tickles) for drinks, dinner, and to watch some of the NCAA basketball games. Back to the boat around 7PM to relax, reminisce, and celebrate a wonderful week together in the Virgin Islands.
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Current Location: Christmas Cove Mooring, St. Thomas, USVI
Miles Traveled: 10 Weather: Mostly sunny, breezy (10-15), low-80s Highlights: Early morning hike back up the Johnny Horn trail for some pictures, then off to Christmas Cove, arriving around 2:30, where we grabbed the last available mooring. Relaxed and read during the afternoon, then over to the famous Pizza Pi boat to pick up pizzas for dinner. Played dominos again after supper, where revenge was achieved by the old folks. Watched tarpon gather in the blue lights under the boat, and enjoyed the last super moon of 2019 before turning in for the night. Current Location: American Yacht Harbor Marina, Red Hook, St. Thomas, USVI
Miles Traveled: 4 Weather: Mostly sunny, calm (5-10), low-80s Highlights: Finished cleaning and organizing the boat this morning to get ready for our next guests, then dropped the mooring ball at 1PM and motored over to the marina. Arrived around 1:30, but our assigned slip was still occupied, so we had to circle around outside the harbor for awhile until they cleared out. Finally backed into the slip at 2PM, with Diana, Tom, and Mark arriving just in time to catch our lines for us. Got the boat secured, luggage aboard, guests settled in and oriented with drinks in hand, checked into the marina, then relaxed and enjoyed the weather on the boat. Quick trip to Moe's (grocery store) before dinner, then Amy (with Diana's help) fixed us a fabulous dinner of sweet sausage, peppers, and onions over pasta. Terry and Tom did a quick trip to Moe's to pick up some ice cream to top off brownies for desert, then a game of 3-13 (where the youngster beat up on the old folks) before turning in for the night. Current Location: Magens Bay Anchorage, St. Thomas, USVI
Miles Traveled: 0 Weather: Mostly sunny, breezy (15-20), low-80s Highlights: Ran the watermaker for a couple of hours this morning, did a load of laundry, and caught up on emails, reading, and other chores the rest of the day. Crab salad sandwiches with avacado/mango salad on the side for dinner, then watched The Butterfly Effect on DVD before turning in for the night. Current Location: Christmas Cove Mooring, St. Thomas, USVI Miles Traveled: 8 Weather: Mostly sunny, breezy (15-20), low-80s Highlights: Leisurely breakfast, then took the dinghy into the beach and hiked (more of a walk, really) the Johnny Horn trail up the hill overlooking the bay, then across to the next bay. Some beautiful views of the islands, plus two interesting ruins to explore, but nothing too challenging or exciting, and we were back to the boat around 11AM. Had a light lunch before dropping the mooring ball and motor sailing under full genoa around the NW coast of St. Johns and across to Christmas Cove, picking up the last remaining mooring ball around 3PM. Read and relaxed the rest of the afternoon, then picked up a couple of pizzas from the Pizza Pi boat for dinner. Played one game of dominoes after dinner, watch the tarpon play in the UW lights under the boat, then turned in early after a beautiful last day of vacation for David and Helen. Current Location: American Yacht Harbor Marina, Red Hook, St. Thomas, USVI
Miles Traveled: 3 Weather: Mostly sunny, breezy (10-15), low-80s Highlights: Dropped the mooring ball late morning and motored around the point into Red Hook, arriving at AYH around noon. First slip they assigned to us was too narrow, which caused a bit of stress for us, but no harm done, and we settled into our 2nd assigned slip around 1PM. Got secured, connected, and checked in, then walked over to the grocery store (Buddy's) to stock up for the week. Back to the boat around 3:30, just in time to welcome David and Helen aboard from their long trip from Maryland. Got them settled in, unpacked, and comfortable with drinks and snacks, then relaxed on the boat until dinner time. Walked over to the Brew and Tap for take-out burgers and fries, then back to the boat to eat, relax, and get caught up on family and friends. Early bedtime for everyone after a long travel day. Current Location: Christmas Cove Mooring, St. Thomas, USVI
Miles Traveled: 15 Weather: Mostly sunny, breezy (10-20), low-80s Highlights: We were running low on water, so hauled out the watermaker and added about 50 gallons to our tanks. With the generator fixed, watermaker seems to be working fine also, so that's a relief. Raised anchor around 10:30 and headed over to Christmas Cove, with a scheduled "touch and go" along the way to drop a bathroom key off at Crown Bay marina. Arrived at Christmas Cove around 1PM, grabbed one of the last mooring balls available, then ordered lunch from the famous Pizza Pi boat that resides here in the cove. Pizza wasn't the best we've ever had, but was pretty cool doing a pick-up by dinghy (yes, they also deliver). While we were enjoying lunch, Captain Tim on Meow motored in with a boat full of partiers and dropped anchor nearby. We took the dinghy over to say hello and catch up, but he had his hands full, so we didn't stay. He and Judy are still together, but she's currently in Boston visiting with a new grandbaby. We defrosted the fridge this afternoon (didn't really need it, but figured with guests on board the next few weeks, we should get it done), then lazed around the rest of the afternoon and evening. Tomorrow we'll head over to AYH marina to provision and pick up David and Helen. Current Location: Brewer's Bay Anchorage, St. Thomas, USVI
Miles Traveled: 0 Weather: Mostly sunny, breezy (10-15), low-80s Highlights: Cleaned out some closets and cupboards today, did a load of laundry and some spot cleaning on the deck, and continued the never-ending job of polishing the stainless steel. David and Helen will be visiting us for a week, so we're trying to get the boat ready before they arrive this Sunday. Napped and read during the afternoon, then Amy fixed beef stroganoff over pasta for dinner tonight. Read and watched a bit of TV before bedtime. Tomorrow, we'll head over to Christmas Cove and see if we can find a free mooring ball for the night - we stayed there a couple of nights back in November 2016 when we chartered with Captain Tim on Meow. Current Location: Brewer's Bay Anchorage, St. Thomas, USVI
Miles Traveled: 15 Weather: Mostly sunny, occasional showers, windy (15-25), high-70s Highlights: Decided after breakfast that it was time to go exploring and lobster hunting, so pulled up anchor and headed out the bay and sailed west along the north shore of St. Thomas. We were looking for a calm bay where we could drop anchor and snorkel, but winds were too strong and seas were pretty high. Checked out Santa Maria Bay, Little Bordeaux Bay, and Botany Bay, but waves were breaking all the way into shore, so we finally went all the way around Botany Bay Point and found a quiet spot on the south side of West Cay. Dropped anchor and snorkeled around the boat; saw clear water, lots of fish and some cool rock formations, but no lobster to be found. Had some lunch, raised anchor, then motored into strong headwinds into Brewers Bay, dropping anchor again around 4PM. Beef and veggie shish kabobs on the grill with rice and apple sauce for dinner tonight, then light reading and watched some TV before turning in early. Current Location: American Yacht Harbor Marina, Red Hook, St. Thomas, USVI Miles Traveled: 8 Weather: Partly cloudy, showers, windy (15-25), mid-70s Highlights: Last vacation day for Karen and Steve today. We're booked at the AYH marina tonight, but couldn't check in until 2PM, so lazed around the boat until around noon. Dropped the mooring ball, raised the sails, and headed over to St. Thomas. Wind was directly behind us, and we were trying to sail wing-and-wing, but a rain shower with very gusty winds caught us flat-footed, and we had a few dicey minutes trying to get control of flapping sails. Pulled in the jib, and for a bit we motor-sailed with just the main, but even that seemed very unstable, so finally dropped the main and motored the rest of the way over. Arrived at the marina around 2:30 and topped off the fuel tanks before finding our slip. Spent the rest of the afternoon filling the water tanks, doing laundry, and getting Karen and Steve packed up before dinner. Pizza night at the Island Girl Pub for dinner, with ice cream back at the boat for dessert before turning in.  |
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