We have my Auntie Kim, Uncle Andy and cousins Shannon and Connor coming from Vancouver, B.C. to visit us. They are flying into St.Thomas, in the USVIs (United States Virgin Islands), so we better get ‘a move on’ to meet them, because we are still in the BVIs.
Our cruisers permit, to stay in the BVIs, is also running out. So another reason to go.
We have a ‘sort of’ round about journey to do as we have to hit ports with a customs and immigration authority so we can check out of the BVIs and into the USVIs. The closest BVIs port we can check out of is Soper’s Hole, on the west end of Tortola. So we headed there first.
SOPER’S HOLE, TORTOLA-BVIs
We were told that the BVIs was the Disneyland of sailing, but this is going just a little too far. We have never had conditions like this since we came to the Caribbean!
It was a bit late to try to check out here and make it to the USVIs in time to check in there so we decided to stay in the area for the night.
We took a mooring ball for a couple of hours and picked up some fresh vegetables, bread and sent out propane tanks for filling.
It is free to take a mooring ball for a couple of hours in the afternoon, but you have to pay $30+ to stay on them for the night. We decided to head next door to the island of Great Thatch and anchor up there for the night.
GREAT THATCH ISLAND – BVIs
Now I must tell you that Great Thatch island, although recommended by Don Street, is not really a good anchorage.
The shallow shelf off the islands protected beach is covered in fabulous coral.
To avoid damaging the coral, you need to anchor well off the beach, the plateau, the slope and out in 12-13m of water. Here you find good sand and holding.
You are well protected here but it is a kayak through a maze of coral heads to get to the beach.
We doubt that many people visit this island as the coral and fish life is incredible.
The only trouble is the island is situated in one of the busiest channels in the Virgin Islands. You catch ‘a bit of wake’ from the constant stream of ferries until dusk.
SOPER’S HOLE, TORTOLA – BVIs
The ferry wake had us up early and we headed back to Soper’s Hole to pick up our propane tanks and check out of the BVIs.
The human’s almost ended up in the brig!
Turns out, despite the fact the boat had a 30 day cruising permit, immigration had stamped their passports with only a 28 day stay. They had not checked their passports and had ‘over stayed’. Jail and a $1000 fine was looming! Luckey the immigration officer let them off with a warning.
CRUZ BAY, ST.JOHN – USVIs
The sail to Cruz Bay was lovely. Unfortunately rain hit shortly after we took a mooring buoy outside the bay. We did not take any pictures.
Immigration in Cruz Bay were very thorough, taking finger prints and photos, but little was asked by customs, and we did not need to purchase a cruising permit. One of my human’s is dual citizenship, and she just presented her Canadian passport. Luckily my other human organised a 10 year VISA for the States in the UK before leaving. This all made the process fast and easy.
We did not fancy paying for a mooring buoy so we headed towards St. Thomas and an anchorage just off Great Saint James Island.
CHRISTMAS BAY, GREAT SAINT JAMES ISLAND – USVIs
After a busy two days, we were finally settled in the USVIs. Christmas Bay is just a short jump from St.Thomas and a free anchorage to stay in. They do ask you to take a mooring ball, close to shore, or anchor well out from the reef that surrounds the shore.
The anchorage is well protected and has some great snorkelling, but only a tiny sandy/swimming section to the beach ashore. But we came here to get some repairs done, before company comes, and not to enjoy ourselves.
Remember how I told you ‘cruising is just fixing your boat in exotic locations’, well we are well behind in repairs with all this company.
We need charging when the engine is running. We had replaced the alternator in St.Martin, but we needed to fit and rewire in the new regulator.
The dingy leaks have gotten worse and worse. We started calling it ‘the incredible deflatable’ and travelling with a pump.
We hoisted her aboard, removed her chaps, and deflated her. We were finally going to give the glue a good 48hours to cure on the patches this time.
Hopefully we have found all the holes this time and can rename the dingy ‘patches’ instead.
Remember the solar panels we fitted to the sides of the boat? Well we had not yet gotten around to wiring them in yet.
We removed all the walls inside the boat and ran wiring to the solar panel controller and the batteries. Like our nice neat deck clamp for the wiring?
Since we had all the walls off, we thought it was best to fit the new GPS aerial. Remember when that failed, months ago, on our way to Dominica. Well we finally got all the parts we needed.
This wiring was extra fun, as it also ran through the aluminium radar arch before going through the deck.
A bit of hard work and determination and we had it all done in the two days we set aside.
Next is to head to the capital of USVIs, Charlotte Amalie, and get laundry, food shopping and some organising done before company comes.
But before we go, how about a SUNDOWNER. Get out the rum.
