Back in St. Thomas

FRANCIS BAY ABOVE

We left here and spent the night on an island called St. James in a lovely bay called Christmas Cove, then stopped by Francis Bay (also beautiful), then over to Tortola - checked in at customs at West End/Soper's Hole (cost us $23 for a one month stay), then problems with the boat (inline blowers broke - not surprising after the thumping Delphinus has had on her way down here) - had to go to Road Town in Tortola for parts. Not expecting much, but found a good chandlers called Golden Hind - unfortunately they were out of inline blowers but recommended Parts and Power - FANTASTIC place - www.partsandpower.com Tel: 284 494 2830 - has just about every part you could wish for and the owner, Tom, will do his best to get parts to you wherever you are. Phillip (Captain Ron to some people) fixed the boat and we headed to Leinster Bay in St. John (USVI) which was outstanding - what a lovely bay. LEINSTER BAY PICTURED TO THE RIGHT

One night moored there, then off to Christmas FRANCIS BAY PHOTO ABOVE


Cove again - best snorkeling around for miles. We anchored there but there were very strong winds which blew all the boats around. When the tide started going out, we found ourselves scraping the bottom and adjusted our position a couple of times. Then about 2.30 am, we were woken by more bumping and scraping - and thank goodness because when we went above deck, we saw one of the catamarans had blown free and was just drifting, literally 40 feet from us. We watched him get closer - then P leapt into the dinghy and pounded on his hull, woke him up - by this time the boat was 20 feet from us. By the time the owner had woken up and was on deck - the boat was literally 10 feet from us and getting closer. P got on his boat and they started his engine and pulled forward, but he was literally about 6 feet from us when they started pulling away - not a nice feeling. P went and helped him anchor again, we managed to reposition ourselves in deeper water but it was a pretty disturbed night. Then back to St. Thomas yesterday. Lovely hour long sail with the wind behind us. Will be here for a few days - so if you need to email us, now is the time. Otherwise, don't know when we'll be back on the internet.

For the last three or four nights, there have been very strong winds - up to 30 miles an hour. Apparently they're called the Christmas Winds - and when our wind generator catches them, it sounds like a freight train. Or if you have seen Crocodile Dundee II, where he calls for help (in the outback), he puts something on a rope and winds it up in the air making a really loud sound - hard to describe, but that's what our wind generator sounds like in these winds.

Wednesday - leaving tomorrow for St. John

Hope to leave tomorrow for St. John - look at this link for more details http://www.virginislandsmap.com/ but we hope to be there a few days enjoying turquoise waters, flat seas and lots of fish and turtles. Here's a shot of Delphi in Charlotte Amalie, and another of a grey day in St. Thomas. We won't have internet access for a few days (we don't think) but will be on our cellphones.

Charlotte Amalie - St. Thomas

I arrived on 14th January, and joined Phillip on Delphinus (coordinates: 18 20 343N, 64 55 71W). We're anchored in Charlotte Amalie which is very convenient to the internet cafe, post office, Kmart, Pueblo (local supermarket) and transport. For $2, you can take a local bus to Home Depot and CostULess (like Costco). Lots of turtles in the bay. We're waiting for a part for the water filter, and when it comes, we'll leave for St. John and the BVI's. This is more or less where we are anchored, although the photo isn't mine - I got that somewhere on the internet.

Sunday 11 January - arrival in St. Thomas

They finally made it - with east winds hitting them on the nose and a really hard windward slog, it took them 14 days. The steering chain broke just off Puerto Rico, so they had to go ashore to fix it, as well as a water leak (one of the pipes) but this afternoon they called from just outside Charlotte Amalie, to say they were just about to enter. PHEW!!!!!!