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The Virgin Islands are arguably the
most popular cruising destination in the
Caribbean for Americans and many Europeans - the US VIs are busy, crowded and a
little run-down, the British VIs are a little
more laid-back and sophisticated. We liked them both.
Approach to the Charlotte Amalie harbor at night, without instruments or
radios was nerve wracking. We did not realize there were hundreds of
boats anchored in the port, with no anchor lights, nor that dinghies zipped back
and forth -with no lights, or that cruise boats plied the harbor all evening
with party-goers and loud bands. No depth
gauge meant dragging out a lead-line - we
were proud to have a back-up system, but had never used it. After
about 4 failed attempts to anchor, we finally found a spot, and crashed for the
night. We were awakened at dawn by a loud pilot boat telling us to MOVE -
we were in the cruise ship turning basin and a 1000 passenger ship was coming in
as we talked. We moved!
Lessons:
- Use all of your equipment before you need it.
- At night, navigation lights disappear into the city traffic lights.
St Thomas and St Johns
Warm, clear tropical waters at last! We anchored in Charlotte Amalie
harbor on St Thomas for about a month as we gathered our wits, met other
cruisers, and admired HUGE yachts from all over the world. We hauled the
boat at Independence Boat Yard on the south coast and
$7000 later the lightning damage to the boat was fixed (repairs to our
nerves took several months). 
Trips to Sapphire Beach to ogle the beach volleyball players and
listen to reggae occupied our weekends as parts were shipped and repairs
made. Our
introduction to real clear water snorkeling was at Christmas Cove on St.
Johns - absolutely amazing!! After repairs we joined an
impromptu Shannon rally in Maho Bay, St John's - we had Hull #1 and
the newest 50' 'Splendor' was there; a span of 20 years!
Jost Van Dyke
A little postage-stamp sized island with great beaches, natural
whirlpool on the north - the favorite of all islands for Christmas and New
Year's parties at Foxy's. They pack hundreds of charter boats into a
cove sized for 10 boats, dance late into the night, and listen to Foxy
play the guitar!
Tortola
Pusser's, in Soper's Hole, a cove on the west coast, is the quintessential
island bar - exotic drinks, view of the sunset over the anchored yachts,
and great atmosphere. A cruise to the north takes you to the Tortola
Yacht Club, another good watering hole.
Anegada
30 miles to the north of Tortola, Anegada has a protective reef that is a little
daunting to new cruisers, but the warm welcome at the Neptune resort and
walks on miles of undeveloped beaches on the north coast made it well
worth the trip.
We moved on to the Leeward
Islands in March.
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