Anegada Passage Take Two

It looks like we will finally be moving on this weekend.  We are back in North Sound Virgin Gorda and plan to make the passage to St. Martin Sunday night arriving Monday morning.  The weather forecast is much more benign this time with winds about 10 knots and seas 3 to 4 feet; significantly better than conditions on our last attempt.  No chance of sailing but since it’s due east there is seldom a good opportunity to sail with the trade winds blowing from the east.  Also, this time we are just going to St. Martin which is 80 miles from where we are while St. Lucia was a 300 mile journey.

Jeff flew to Puerto Rico this week for a checkup with his “Island” Cardiologist.  Happy to report the results were great, the echo cardiogram reports his heart is back to full operation and everything looks good.  We are still trying to get back to a heart healthy diet after getting side tracked to “vacation mode” while we had visitors.  There has been good access to fresh fruits and vegetables here in the Virgins and we expect that to continue as we head down island.  Also, we bought some new fishing lures and continue to work at fishing ~ hope it turns into catching at some point soon.

After saying goodbye to Sarah and Kristi we headed back to Francis Bay on St. John and began to use our new stand up paddle boards.  I have been intrigued with SUPs for quite a while and we finally made the purchase.  We bought two inflatable Tower boards a few weeks ago and are quite happy with them, they offer a good exercise opportunity and are a fun way to get around.  We were happy that true to what we had read about the boards they are very solid when inflated and fairly easy to stay up on for us beginners.  I just worry a bit about getting back to the boat when the wind kicks up – so far so good.

While in Francis Bay we reconnected with Rex and Dixie aboard Wonderland, a Dolphin 46 Catamaran.  We have to confess that we have been very intrigued with catamarans for some time and since Wonderland is being placed for sale we wanted to take a close look.  They were going to be in Charlotte Amalie for a few days then returning to Francis Bay so plans were made for us to meet up with them there and sail back.  They ended up inviting us to stay over night which was a great opportunity too.   Jeff has trouble sleeping in rolly anchorages on Echo and we wanted to see how it would feel in a rolly anchorage in a catamaran.   Unfortunately, although Charlotte Amalie is usually very rolly, it did settle down that evening.  Next day we sailed from Charlotte Amalie to Francis Bay in St. John.  It was a great sail.  We had a fun time with them and we really enjoyed being aboard Wonderland.

While anchored in Christmas Cove we met Hank and Seale on Flash. They had us over one evening to see their Catana 471 and were also a great resource on differences between monohulls and catamarans as they previously sailed a Tayana 54.  We are interested enough in catamarans that we have lined up seeing some boats with a broker in St. Martin.  Not sure how things will play out over time but there are many pluses for a multi hull when you live aboard full time, of course some negatives too… This type of decision is not unlike moving from the west side to the east side, a completely different world … One advantage to a catamaran is more accommodations for visitors which is a big plus in our minds.

In addition to Rex, Dixie, Hank and Seale we have met many great cruisers from all over the world.  Jeff’s use of the single side band radio has proven to be a good source meeting people.  One use of the ssb radio is to keep in touch with other cruisers via “nets.”  One net we participate in is called the Coconut Telegraph.  Each morning boats check in on the net and indicate their boat name, current location, and crew.  As we travel from place to place we often see boats we have “met’ on the net and get to say hi in person too.  It is a great resource.

We have been in the Virgins for just over two months and have truly enjoyed being here.  They offer protected waters, great sailing, hiking, snorkeling and swimming along with plenty of provisioning and restaurant opportunities. While we did not go to Anegada this time we did several years ago while chartering here, that too is a beautiful island to visit.  All in all a great place to visit but we are happy to be moving on down the island chain!

Jeff and Mary