Month: March 2019

March 24

This island caught between two countries is interesting. Owned by the French on one end and the Dutch on the other makes it fun. If you are in a boat and go to both sides you must clear customs and immigration at each entry point. If you are in a car you can drive wherever you like, no problem.

Our first night we anchored in Sint Marteen on the Dutch side, just outside the lagoon. The lagoon is controlled by bridges on both ends that open sporadically. We didn’t want to get inside and not be able to get back out without seeing what it was like. We had been advised that anchor holding was not that great and as we wouldn’t be at a marina that was a key issue.

We took the dinghy inside for dinner at a quirky little restaurant called Snoopy’s and to check out said lagoon. There really wasn’t a good place to anchor as there are so many derelicts leftover from Irma. Add to that our anchorage outside was really rolly and the next morning we decided to move north to the French side into a more protected area.

You guessed it. We had to clear in and out of customs and immigration at both ends with associated fees. Oh well. The new anchorage was much better and we stayed a few days. Had a wonderful dinner at a cute little French restaurant one night.

The storm damage is much more prevalent on the French side than the Dutch. Either way it continues to be heartbreaking seeing destroyed buildings and homes, damaged boats everywhere.

March 14

We’ve boated in BVI several times so were looking forward to coming back again. It’s a little different doing it in a 64’ boat rather than a 38’ catamaran tho.

For starters these islands are steep and the water is deep right up to the shoreline sometimes. There are lots of mooring balls to tie up to but if your boat is longer then 50’ you’re out of luck. So we have to be careful where we anchor since we don’t have enouh anchor chain for more than 40’ of depth.

Another challenge is that BVI must be the charter boat capital of the world. We came thru a channel today, one big power boat in a sea of sailboats zigging and zagging as they tacked from side to side. If you are a sailboat under sail you have the right of way. So we zigged and zagged trying to avoid about 50 sailboats. It was an adventure!

BVI is still recovering from the hurricane 18 months ago.  Rebuilding is going on everywhere and lots of places still aren’t open. That really hit home today when we arrived at Soper Hole, the second largest harbor on Tortolla only to find that the market and dive shops hadn’t reopened yet. From now on we will call ahead to make sure things are operational before showing up.

We have found some great anchorages and some not so great anchorages. If you don’t choose wisely according to the prevailing wind and wave direction it can get quite “rolly”. Not comfortable and when your cat looks at you as if to say “please make it stop!” you know it’s time to move on. The issue was that all the neat diving sites we wanted to visit were no where near a decent anchorage. Because it’s so crowded with boats (charter boat capital of the world), if you don’t anchor by lunch time you will not find space.

We’ve managed to get a few dives in but one of the best experiences was a snorkel at the “Baths” on Virgin Gorda. I could have stayed there for hours meandering in and out of large boulders. Depths ranged from 3-30 feet so snorkeling was perfect. Although the coral has taken a hit from the hurricane the fish were out in abundance.

Our last night was at Bitterend on Virgin Gorda. This was a place we had visited before and loved. This time it was like a ghost town. Where there were marinas, mooring fields, restaurants and a thriving community now there was….the beginnings of a new marina and a few mooring balls. It was a bit eerie and again brought home that it will take quite awhile for these islands to recover from Irma. The devastation is enormous and recovery will take years.

Just outside of Bitterend is Nekker Island owned by Richard Branson. It was also flattened by Irma but is being rebuilt rapidly. Money really does help.

 

March 10

We enjoyed our stay at Culebra, PR and from there moved over to Culebrita to dive/snorkel. Moved to a quiet anchorage for the night and tucked in with the turtle that welcomed us.

The next day we aborted our plan to dive as the water was too rough at the dive site so on to US Virgin Islands.

It only took a couple hours to get to St Thomas where we anchored outside the main harbor. At least until we almost got run over by a ferry boat. They cut it close enough and fast enough that the wake put our boat over on a 45 degree angle. Things that were not nailed down went flying inside the boat. Not a pleasant experience. So at 5:30 in the evening we upped anchor and moved to a pretty anchorage we had passd on the way in by the airport. Actually not BY the airport but at the end of the runway and off to the side. Seems like it should have been noisy but in reality the airport isn’t a busy one and the planes didn’t go over the boat so it really wasn’t a big issue.  The real upside was that we literally had a reef at the back of the boat so could dive from the LaaDeeDah instead of the dinghy.

So after an early morning dive we dinghyed into the big harbor and hit up the local dive shop where Gary got a new bc as his was acting up, had lunch, and stopped at the local market. We had been told the day before to stop at customs and immigration to check out so we could move on to British Virgin Islands the next day. Once we actually got to the office they said “Oh no. We have an agreement with BVI and you just need to check in with them.” Like everywhere, ask three different people a customs/immigration question,  get three different answers!

St Thomas is a bustling island with anything you could want. Really big cruise ships come into the harbor and offload passengers for day excursions and shopping. The interesting thing we noted was the prices for things were very reasonable. A 10 minute cab ride cost $4 a piece instead of $40-50 as in the Bahamas. Groceries were also more in relation to what you would spend in the states.

We decided to skip St John’s and go directly to BVI. Just west of St John’s is a really cool island called Little St. James Island. It stood out because buildings weren’t missing and construction had obviously been completed. A google search revealed it’s privately owned by American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Wikipedia. Seriously, that’s what it said.

March 9, 2019

Culebra is a pretty island of about 2000 permanent residents. The only town is Dewey as in “Admiral”. We anchored in the protected harbor and have been using the dinghy to get around to snorkeling/dive sites and the Dinghy Dock for lunch. It’s been a nice change from the country club vibe of Palmas Del Mar.

From the harbor there is a little cut thru under a lift bridge that doesn’t lift anymore that takes you to the commercial dock and the fast ferry to the big island. On the outside you’re greeted by Hector the Protector. Quite a sight.

Tomorrow we move on to another anchorage at Culebrita for more/better diving. Starting to get back into it although diving from a dinghy is a lot more work than when we used to do the live aboard dive trips. Still, it’s fun and there seem to be lots of day moorings we can hook the dinghy up to while we’re in the water.

 

 

 

Before we left Palmas Del Mar we got some golf in on a pretty oceanside course called the Palms. We decided to rename it the Iguana course because of all the iguanas everywhere. They like to burrow into the sand and especially like the forward tee boxes that don’t get used as much. I got the side-eye from a couple of them that thought I was getting a little too close.