Awaiting our Next Jump-off

Since I last wrote we have been sailing with our dear friends (and hopefully someday co-owning live-boards) Betty and Byrle Raper to St. Thomas, St. Croix, Vieques, and back to Fajardo and SunBay Marina.  St. Croix was the most fun.  We sailed down on a beam reach (wind blowing on our Port (left side looking forward) with winds gusting to 26 kph and seas 3-5’…”we be smoking!”... averaging over 8 knots the whole way.  The weather helm (tendency for the sails to turn us into the wind) was strong so we put in a reef (made the sail shorter) and still flew.

Sea plane

Cops at Frederiksted parade

Christiansted was lovely and we went into a marina, (Jones Maritime for $55/night) just across from the seaplane commuter terminal.  There are multiple flights daily between Christiansted and Charlotte Amalie, St. John.  We rented a car and toured the island absorbing its Danish heritage.  We went to the Estate Whim Plantation (museum) and were regaled as to the sugar/rum history of the island.  We visited the Cruzan Rum distillery and found some Danes we had befriended on the way to the car rental agency on Centerline Rd. who told us to forget the tour and just see if we could have a rum drink instead.  Low and behold, for a dollar less ($4) we could drink all day sampling their various rums: banana, pineapple, cream, amngo black cherry, etc., a great deal without the walk. 

Christiansted Marina from fort

Christiansted Government

 Frederiksted was holding the last of the Christmas parades consisting of two flatbed 16-wheelers decked out in huge boom-boxes and dancing people plus crowds of marchers also dancing fore and aft of each truck.  We stayed as long as possible (about 45 minutes) and had to turn the car back in. 

St. Croix rain forest

Los Palominos

From there we motor/sailed to Puerto Ferro, Vieques in calm seas with light winds.  This “luminescent” bay turned out to be a bust even on a night with no moon.  Very few luminescent critters even in the toilets (we flush with salt water): quite disappointing for all of us.  From there we sailed back to Fajardo and took the Rapers back to the aero Puerto via El Junque, the PR rainforest.

Los Palominitos

From there we took Kūhela back to Salinas on the south coast to rent a car to go back to the aero Puerto to pick up Steve Pinhey who had taken us there when we returned to Florida at Thanksgiving.  On the way to pick him up we stopped not only at Fuddruckers and COSTCO, but also at the Arecibo Observatory.  Wow, what an interesting place.  Their Visitors’ Center is a two story affair that is spell bindingly full of fascinating displays of the planets, solar system, galaxy and beyond.  Well worth the hike up from the parking lot to the rim of the huge sink hole they constructed it over.  It’s a definite “Don’t miss”.  I finally got Volvo aboard to fix the oil leak from the oil sensor when we got back to SunBay.  It took them 5 days to do a one day job, but at least they did it right.  Also had the zipper replaced on the sail cover as it had slipped a tooth and broken off trying to re-seat it.

Linda and Betty at Los Palominos

We are back in Culebra, Spanish Virgin Islands waiting for the playoff football games this afternoon (nah, really the weather).  Our plan is to head for St. Maarten (the French side as they have their entry procedures down pat compared to the Dutch side) to catch up with Arita on her way down islands to carnival at Trinidad in the first week of March.  After that we will probably come back up the islands to Antigua for Classic Race week where classic wooden sail boats congregate in April to race each other.