Gustavia 3-31

This is our last day here on St. Barths, so we spend the morning getting the boat ready, then we head in to clear out. Clearing out goes smoothly, with no fees involved, and soon we are walking the harbor taking a last look at some of the super yachts docked here and getting our last couple of souvenir t-shirts and bracelets. We have lunch at one of the french cafe’s along the edge of the water. I should be immune by now, but I’m still shocked at Delaina’s $25 hamburger and fries. We need one final stop at the grocery and then make the final trip back across the harbor to the boat. I try to get a little nap in before leaving for the night, but that doesn’t go too well. By 3:00 we have a cluster of boats circling trying to drop anchor next to us and over our anchor. Either there is a sign on the boat that says “Anchor here” or people see us and think “if they can anchor here it must be ok”. We just seem to be a magnet for boats to anchor close. So by 3:30 we have the anchor up and start heading west.

The forecast has held, and we are hoping to be able to sail the whole way. We are off to a good start, with the main up and reefed (just in case) and the head sail rolled out. We sail past Ile Fourchue and then just south of the Groupers, sailing just off the rhumb line towards St. Johns with wind behind us and blowing about 8-9 knots. Going past the Dutch side of St. Maarten we can see 7 huge cruise ships docked/anchored at Phillipsburg. That place must have been a madhouse today. Delaina finally gets to see some flying fish before it gets too dark, of course it is like pulling teeth to get them to stay on deck and watch for them. Unfortunately the wind does not hold, and soon drops down to 5-6 knots and we are forced to start the engines to keep the pace. with 120 miles for the trip, we are already looking at 20 hours if we go 6 knots, anything less would make the trip way too long. As the sun is setting the cruise ships start pulling out of St. Maarten, most of them moving west past us, but a couple moving to the south. The night is very uneventful, and we only passed a couple of boats all night long. The moon is full and it has the sky and water brightly lit. Its completely different out on the water compared to our first crossing where there was no moon and complete darkness. We can’t see as many stars, but its still a nice contrast to the first trip. At dawn we are still about 30 miles south east of St. Johns and we put out the trolling lines. We see a hard strike on one line and start pulling in a fish. Noah and Delaina pull the other line in to keep it out of the way, and soon realize there is a fish on that one too.  The first fish is in the boat and we bring in the second one. While pulling it in, another fish decides to try to have it for lunch, judging from the large bites taken out of the back half of the fish.  They are both small black fin tuna. Should be great eating!

By the time the fish (and boat, and galley) are cleaned we are approaching the cut between St. Thomas and St. Johns. This is a high traffic area, with a lot of boats moving through in all directions. We sail past Cruz Bay, the port where we need to clear in to the US, and drop sail outside of Caneel Bay around noon. We are close enough that we can dinghy back to Cruz. On the way to the ball we see the biggest turtle we have ever encountered. This one must be 6 feet long.  While cleaning the deck, a couple pieces of fish get tossed in the water, and within a couple of minutes we have a big barracuda prowling around the back of the boat. (kids decide swimming will wait) After a quick grilled tuna snack, we head into Cruz Bay to check in. US requires all crew to come in with passports. There’s a long form to fill in, but we eventually manage to get all the info they need  and clear in. We stroll around Cruz Bay for a while, but its busy with lots of cabs picking up the tourists getting off the ferry from St. Thomas. We check out a few shops, but its hot and crowded and we are ready for a swim. Back at the boat, the traffic has increase and the waves are rolling in non-stop. There are more balls further up the coast bay that are tucked in closer to shore and look more protected from the traffic, so we move over there for a more comfortable night. Noah takes the kayak and we dinghy in to a small beach in front of the caneel bay resort. After a short stroll, the resort police come and politely tell us to leave. There are no dinghies allowed on the beach. So we move over a couple of beaches where the paying guests don’t have to be exposed to the riff raff. After a long night and day of sailing, we are all tired and make an early night of it.