A Frequently Asked Question: What's Our Favourite Island?

This is a question that gets asked not just by non-cruisers but by cruisers alike so we've been chatting about it recently and wracking our brains to try to pick one.  The conclusion we came to is that often the island we are currently on is our "favourite" but really it comes down to what we love about each island that makes them so unique.

We're talking about our travels in the Eastern Caribbean so far so we're really looking at the islands from The Dominican Republic to Grenada.  We haven't been to Trinidad & Tobago yet so won't include them.  These are of course only our impressions and opinions - your mileage may vary.

I'm going to break this answer into four parts just to make it more manageable:

• Greater Antilles (Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico) and The Virgins (Spanish, U.S. & British)
• the outer Leeward Islands (Anguilla to Dominica)
• the inner Leeward Islands (Saba to Montserrat)
• and finally the Windward Islands (Martinique to Grenada).

By no means do I intend to recreate a cruising guide, I'll leave that to the talents of Chris Doyle and others, this is just a brief compendium of our observations about the islands and what we like or dislike about each one.  Who knows, perhaps at the end we'll even figure out if we have a favourite.

So here goes with installment #1:

Dominican Republic
The DR is a huge island and is a total enigma to me.  We visited the south shore - limited to the La Romana to Bayahibe coast, had a spell of bad weather (worst at anchor we've ever experienced), a fabulous visit with friends on a resort and a great side-trip to the capital, Santo Domingo.  At the end of it we decided that we had no big desire to revisit this island due to the constant hustle / coercion, hassle / corruption with officials, and what we found to be very unfriendly locals.  We don't speak Spanish so that was a definite barrier and we've heard mixed reviews from other cruisers who have visited the north shore.  Some absolutely love  A lasting little reminder of our time on the island was the bottom paint job we had done in what we thought was a reputable marina there.  We don't feel that the job was at all well done and after six months we had very little bottom paint left in certain areas.  It is pretty obvious to us that they didn't put on a primer and possibly less paint than was reported.  Shame on us for not doing the job ourselves - we won't make that mistake again.

In just a few words words - Love/Hate:
     Love:  Santo Domingo old city
     Hate:  Constant hustle

Insane driving with motoconchos zipping in and out.

Quaint street scenes in the old city portion of Santo Domingo.

Enthusiasm and energy of young guys is the same everywhere.

Chess and dominos - on the pedestrian street in between rain showers.

Puerto Rico
Another big island - this one is American.  We traveled westward and eastward along the south shore to get to/from the DR.  We loved our time on Puerto Rico, the landscape is dramatic and the little fishing towns are quaint and charming.  The people are friendly and welcoming and although many don't speak English and we don't speak Spanish, it didn't seem to stop us from communicating (unlike the DR).  Heading eastward is difficult as you are heading straight into wind, wave and current which means that you'll try anything to make the miles, including sailing close to reef-strewn, fish-pot laden shores in the dark of night.  Not a fun endeavour.  We haven't ventured much inland on PR and will definitely spend more time there in the future.
     Love:  People
     Hate:  East-bound passage making

Stunning mountain range behind Salinas on the south shore of PR.

The Spanish Virgin Islands:  Culebra & Culebrita, Vieques
We've spent quite a bit of time on Culebra and Culebrita off the east end of Puerto Rico but only had one visit many years ago to Vieques.  These islands used to be the back-water cruising grounds, many saying they were like the British Virgins were 20 years ago.  I think that has changed a lot and Culebra/Culebrita are soundly into the 21st century now.  The island is a weekend getaway for Puerto Ricans coming over on the ferry and their own boats, little cantinas are scattered around the beaches and in the little town making eating/drinking a fun adventure.  Golf cart rentals are the way to see the tiny little island and Culebrita can only be reached by boat.  The inside anchorage at Ensenada Honda is chock-full of boats with sheltered waters and easy access to the shops and restaurants, the outside anchorage on the west side is quieter if you discount the regular ferry that goes in and out.  The best thing about Culebra is that it is a resting and gathering spot for cruisers from all over the place after completing the difficult easting along the shores of Puerto Rico - there's an audible sigh of relief heard with each arriving vessel.
     Love:  Laid back
     Hate:  Too far west from the Eastern Caribbean

Flamenco - the most beautiful beach on Culebra and a top beach of the Caribbean.

Feeding time at the Dinghy Dock bar - patrons, birds and fish all partake.

The morning market is open in Culebra - best chance to pick up some fresh veggies.

The U.S. Virgin Islands:  St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John
St. Thomas (the island of the Big Hurry), St. Croix (once an industrial island, now in decline) and St. John (the island of nature), along with a few smaller islands make up the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The three islands are quite distinctly different and we have spent most of our time on STT and STJ with a couple of short visits to STX.  We have friends on STT which makes it a special place for us after having Mowzer based there for five years of charter.  This is the island where people can easily fly in/out and from there disperse to the other islands.  Cruise ships disgorge thousands (sometimes 10s of thousands) of passengers here on a daily basis in high season so you have to keep your patience and your wits about you.  Keep your wits about you too if/when you drive here:  American cars (driver on the left) but drive on the left as in Britain.  Our favourite of the islands is St. John.  You are immediately transported to the white sand beaches and clear turquoise waters of your Caribbean dreams.  Nature trails abound with a good dose of plantation history.  In some bays on the south shore you cannot see a single light at night other than moon and stars, if you are lucky enough to be there by yourself.  On a short visit to the Virgins, we have been happy to spend our time on STJ and not bother crossing over to the BVIs.
     Love:  Entry to "the Caribbean"
     Hate:  Americanization of the Caribbean

Leinster Bay on the north shore of St. John.

Looking west to St. Thomas.

St. Thomas on a busy day.

The British Virgin Islands:  Jost van Dyke, Tortola, Norman Island, Peter Island, Salt Island, Cooper Island, Ginger Island, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and many other islets
Each island in the BVI does have a unique element or attraction but they are all similar topographically other than Anegada which is a low-lying limestone island.  The others are all old volcanic islands and all of the islands in this region tend to be quite dry and scrubby.  The BVI have become home to one of the largest charter fleets in the world.  There are probably thousands of bareboat and crewed charter boats plying these waters and with good reason.  The waters are protected, the islands are close together, there is entertainment provided in every major bay / anchorage.  The place has been filled up with expensive mooring balls ($35US / night), loud beach bars and plenty of people that probably shouldn't be trying to sail a boat.  However, these are all reasons (other than that last one) why we actually love the Virgins - the sailing is easy, the waters are lovely and clear and there's always something to do, even if it just means sitting back and watching the antics in the mooring field each afternoon.  This is really where we learned to sail and fell in love with the idea of living on the boat so these islands are rather like coming home to us.  Those who complain that it is too busy and the anchorages are too full, just have to spend a little more time with their charts and look for the quiet little bays where the charter boats won't go (no beach bar or mooring balls.)
     Love:  Easy sailing
     Hate:  Expensive

Overlooking Eustatia Sound on Virgin Gorda.

Hazy, relaxed afternoon overlooking Tortola.

Anegada - a world apart from her sister islands.

There we have it - what's your favourite of these islands?  Stay tuned for the next instalment as we move east and south through the islands.

Yo-Yo Cruising

This is what Henry has been calling it ... Our back-and-forth expeditions that seem to start and end in St. Thomas.

We arrived back in St. Thomas with the big boys.

Two days ago we completed the circuit we made to Dominican Republic which began on January 21st and put 590 miles under our keels. It was a circuit of highs - visiting with Ottawa friends in the DR and really discovering more of Puerto Rico, and lows - recurrent equipment problems and difficult weather, but we know that this last couple of months has really been what cruising is all about. The other noteworthy theme was that this has been a time of meeting up with other boats and getting to know some people that we will see over the next few months as we make our way down to Grenada for hurricane season. As we're all first timers on the way south, I've nicknamed us the class of 2015.

So, back on St. Thomas we were and wasn't it just fabulous to see everyone at the CYOA docks once more. We caught up on the happenings around the docks, visited with Erica and her dogs and even had a cuddle with an 8-week old puppy. Dinner out at Betsy's with Jay & Deb and then Bella Blu with Duane & Laura was fun but then we were ready to head off to the wilds of the National Park on St. John.

As is often the case we headed to the south shore and ended up in Lameshur Bay. In the park we pick up a mooring ball so as not to damage the seabed with the anchor and Mowzer & crew quite happily settled in for few days in this idyllic anchorage with a few other boats.

Not a building or street in site - just so peaceful.

We've been in this anchorage a number of times as a base for hiking on the island so we decided to set off this morning in a direction we haven't been before on land - over to Salt Pond Bay and Drunk Bay.

St. Thomas is off the chart to the left, we're the red chevron in Lameshur and we hiked to the bay just above Ram Head.

We set off nice and early to beat the heat and followed the road east with our first destination Salt Pond Bay and the trail over to Drunk Bay.

Salt Pond Bay in the background and the actual salt pond we walked around.

Back in January there was a wreck on the point just north of Drunk Bay and sure enough the beach was still full of debris from the broken boat. We met a couple of guys coming off the beach as we arrived carrying garbage bags - one of them commented that as his wife was searching for sea shells he was bored so he usually carried a bag with him to pick up what he could. What a great idea we thought and sure enough he had an extra bag he gave to us so we tried to do just a teensy little bit to help clear the beach of plastic waste.

Nanny Point where the boat went up on the rocks. Five people were rescued but the boat was destroyed.

You can just make out a couple of bigger pieces of white wreckage on the beach from far away.

Closer in, it's a mess. One garbage bag is not much but hopefully a few others will do the same.

As a direct reminder these two little guys waddled across our path on the beach. Not sure where they came from but they seemed pretty determined about where they were going.

We also found that at one end of the beach, people do the darnedest things.

Bits of coral and rock propped up on this outcropping.

This had the spookiest feeling, like a graveyard.

Reclining in the sun...

With his faithful pup nearby.

Leaving Salt Pond we passed this sign on the road. Not sure if this means that nothing is going on here on St. John, or if we're just so far down the road that culture just can't make it this far.

On our return to Lameshur, we turned off down the Tectite Trail which was a hot, dry hike out to the point. The views were certainly worth it.

Smokey the Bear say, "Please take care!" The whole area was dry as a tinder-box despite rain last night.

The view down to Ram Head at the end of the coast.

At the top of a 100' crag of rock, this has to be the most tenacious cactus ever!

And finally we finished up our morning stroll with a rocky scramble along the eastern shore of Lameshur Bay. We were hot and sweaty and the water felt oh so refreshing as we both jumped in as soon as we were back on the boat.

Westward Ho! ... A Teeny Bit

We returned to St. Thomas with a short list of items to complete at the dock and with today we saw the last check-mark on the list:

• Replaced our "borrowed" batteries with new ones and added one more for additional capacity. We now have four AGM batteries for a total of 500 amp hours in our house bank.
• Repaired the sticky throttle on our port engine. This turned out to be a easy one as the arm that connects the cable to the engine had been bent. A little straightening and all is moving fine now.
• Resoldered a corroded connection on our VHF radio so it now works better than our handheld radio and added the GPS linkage so that we can hit the Distress button on the radio and it will actually transmit our location with the distress call.
• While we were on the dock I pulled out the sewing machine and made a windshield for our helm. As an added bonus it helps to extend a bit more shade over anyone seated there, and with a velcro'd isinglass screen it will provide additional protection when there is rain or spray.

Looking back at photos on my camera, I had taken a few of the full cruise ship terminal at Yacht Haven Grande as we returned to Charlotte Amalie. Back to the hustle & bustle of St. Thomas!

Look carefully and you'll see the first boat is moving. The just radioed out that they are dropping their lines and leaving. Let's get out of the way!

So, now that all that has been completed and we said our goodbyes to all the good folks in Frenchtown, we headed round the corner to the Crown Bay fuel dock to fill up our main tank and jerry cans. Crown Bay was definitely a busy spot this afternoon with two cruiseships lined up beside each other and all sorts of other private and commercial traffic. Even the local ferry had to wait for us to finish at the dock before they could come in for room.

Given that it was almost 2pm by the time we finally set off, we decided that we wouldn't make it to Culebra before dark so we puttered around the end of the airport and into Brewer's Bay where we dropped anchor. We've now added a good dose of water to our tanks by running the water maker this afternoon and enjoyed the westward views as the sun set over Culebra and Vieques - our destinations for tomorrow.

Our destination for the evening, right under the flight path to STT airport.

Delta incoming.

As seen through our rigging.

Rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

Followed up by the sliver of the moon setting as well.

All Calm

We've been on the dock in St. Thomas for the weekend and just wanted to give an update on what it's been like, pretty much since we rolled in on Wednesday evening. What a difference a couple of days can make!

By comparison to the anchorage on Norman Island, this is a mill pond.

We came back to the dock to finish up the replacement of our house batteries and do a little trouble shooting with our VHF radio which has decided to once again go on the fritz. We always carry a hand-held radio as well so we had no issues but we'd like the big boat radio working before we move on. Once out on the water this is our main means of communication.



The plan now is to leave tomorrow or Wednesday and head west. We'll check into Puerto Rico at Culebra - yes, even though PR is an American territory we are required to check in as we move closer to the mainland. Funnily enough, they don't care if you leave, just when you arrive. Once we traverse the south shore of the big island, we'll pick up a good weather window and jump across the Mona Passage to the even bigger island of Hispaniola and the south east corner of Dominican Republic. Can't wait to get together with the curling/golf gang who will be joining us there!

And We're Off

It's been rather quiet on the blog recently, but with good reason. Boy have we been busy!

We kicked it into high gear last week and have finally knocked out the last of the boat jobs that held us to the CYOA docks.

Sunrise on another day at the dock.

Along with all the boat work we'll also admit that we've been having a lot of fun. The Sunday before U.S. Thanksgiving we went over to Honeymoon beach on Water Island and experienced a real local hangout with Jay & Deb, Paul and Laurie. We were treated to a ride over on one of the Sea Tow boats; much better than the bumpy ride it would have been in our little dinghy.

Captain Paul whisked us across the bay in the Sea Tow boat.

A lazy hang-out Sunday on the beach.

It was hot, so he dug a hole and lay in it - how creative.

Paul & I sat and chatted over a cold beer while ...

Henry chatted up Bubbles!

End of a perfect day. Now to get the boat...

Thanksgiving arrived on Thursday and John & Joanne very graciously invited us to their place up on the north side of the island for the feast. Erica gave us a ride and we joined Paul, Nancy, Jay & Deb for a wonderful meal of turkey with all the fixings. John & Joanne's house is perched on the cliffs overlooking Hans Lollick and the BVI with stunning views to the north-east. It was quite amazing looking down on the islands that we have sailed to many times and watching the winds and currents swirl through the channels.

John & Joanne dishing up appetizers on the deck.

Looking east to the BVI and overlooking the new house.

Jay, Paul & Henry swapping stories.

Deb seems to think its good to the last drop!

The boat work however has continued, the solar panels are all installed up on the bimini and pumping energy into our batteries throughout the day. So far, and it is early days yet, we find that by lunchtime our batteries are back to full and for the afternoon we just stay topped up until sunset. Obviously there will be cloudy days when we won't be able to capitalize on all that free sunshine, but we'll definitely take it when we can get it.

This morning we finally got to dress up Mowzer with her new graphics. Now, when we sit in an anchorage we won't look like other charter boats, we'll have a little distinction. Totally happy with how this little project turned out!

Now she's quite distinctive.

Now that we're done with these major projects it is time to start watching for a weather window to make our way to St. Martin, and it looks like the perfect one is coming our way this weekend. Along with that it will be a full-moon on Saturday so we are hoping for a relatively easy crossing. We will leave the dock on Wednesday, make our way up to the BVI and then continue to watch the weather for a period of calm in the winds. We're heading due east which is right into the trade-winds so we'd like either a shift in the winds to the north or a reduction to less than 10 knots to ease the 100 mile passage.

Woohoo!! Here we go!

A Great Blue Heron gets ready for an evening of hunting from the docks.