We’d been watching for good weather to cruise over to Fredericksted, St. Croix and on Monday, 1/4/21 the weather was perfect. Our friends Nancy & Mike on Lost Loon decided to go as well. See Nancy’s blog here https://sailinglostloon.com. We had heard the SCUBA diving is great and we were all looking forward to doing some dives, walking on the beach and exploring the island.
We had a beautiful sail for the first part of the trip with Puerto Rico clearly visible to the west as we left Brewers Bay, St. Thomas. Nancy & Mike had left an hour or so ahead of us and unfortunately, were caught in a squall as they approached St. Croix. We could see them ahead of us until they disappeared into the dark, rainy, windy storm. They were soaked! By the time we neared St. Croix, the rain had ended. We got anchored on the north side of the cruise ship pier and several more squalls moved through the area the rest of the evening.
The next morning, we brought my regulator into one of the dive shops in Fredericksted for repairs as it was leaking. I had been using some hand-me-down gear and we ended up buying a whole new set - BCD, octopus, regulators and everything, including a really nice dive computer - an early birthday present! WOW! I was excited to try it out so we went back to the boats (Joli & Lost Loon), gathered up the dive gear and dove on the cruise ship pier. It was very interesting with a wide variety of corals growing on the pillars, some big puffer fish, brittle star starfish, eels, and cuttlefish. We were hoping to spot a seahorse, but no luck. We brought our tanks in to get them filled at the end of the day so that we would be ready for another dive.
During the week, we did 2 more dives, one at King’s Alley and the other at Sprat Hall. Basically, there is a reef that runs along the bay with dive buoys marking the various dives. It was all very fun and interesting and I’m getting better at equalizing and feeling comfortable with the dives after not having dove for quite some time.
On Tuesday, 1/6/21, we rented a car from Skyline. Bryan drove us through the rainforest (very beautiful) and into Christiansted, doing a great job navigating around the pot holes. We walked around Christiansted, had a few beers at a waterfront bar and found the Mitchell Larsen studio. Next, we drove to Point Udall and hiked around the Millennium Monument and on the trail in the Jack & Isaac Bay Preserve. There were spectacular views in every direction and we all thought the Millennium Monument was pretty cool. We had worked up a thirst so we headed for the Sion Farms Distillery where they make Mutiny Vodka from breadfruit. The vodka (Island, Smoked Hot Pepper, Puerto Rican Coffee, Roots) and appetizers (Korean BBQ Sliders, Avocado Bruschetta, Shrimp Cocktail) were delicious! Last stop was back in to Christiansted for carry-out rotis from Singh’s Fast Food. By this time it was dark and rainy and Bryan was having a hard time seeing as the windshield wipers were not the best. Also, the “Low Tire Pressure” light came on so were were worried about a flat. Oh boy! Bryan did a fine job driving on the left in spite of it all and we were back in Fredericksted by 7 pm. It was a fun-filled day!
We took the dinghies out to Sandy Point at the southern end of Fredericksted. It is the largest beach in the Virgin Islands and is a preserve. It was quite spectacular. We then had lunch at Polly’s on the Pier, followed by a walk through town. There is lots of interesting, old architecture but many buildings are in need of some care and some of the restaurants and stores are closed. I’m sure they have been hurt by the pandemic since there are no cruise ships coming in.
The sail back to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas on Sunday, 1/10/21 was a beautiful, beautiful sail - close reach, sunny skies, 15 - 18 knots apparent wind, 38 nautical miles with an average boat speed of 8 knots. The only thing that would have made it better is if we had caught a fish.
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