Just as predicted (for
once) the winds came round from the east at about 15 knots which made
for a fabulous day of sailing from St. Croix to St. John. We upped
anchor 8:45am and by 3:30pm dropped it in Hansen Bay in Hurricane
Hole at the east end of St. John.
Excitement for the
passage was minimal although we got caught in one squall that dumped
an incredible amount of water on us and had us wishing there was some
way we could funnel it into our water tanks – for a free fillup!
We also kept an eye on one freighter that appeared to constantly be
on a collision path with us and as we got closer we could see that he
was really just drifting westward with the current, obviously
awaiting the appropriate time to head into port. Unfortunately as we
came up to the point where we needed to deviate our course to avoid
him, there was a particularly nasty squall – what do you call it
when it is bigger than just a little squall? - running down onto him.
We decided to divert considerably behind both him and the rain/wind
and managed to avoid both very nicely.
Our other excitement was an escort of 5 dolphins running ahead of our bows.
Our other excitement was an escort of 5 dolphins running ahead of our bows.
As we approached the
east end of St. John, we were particularly happy with our destination
since the rest of the island and all of St. Thomas were almost
invisible in rainfall and clouds. Hansen Bay made a peaceful
anchorage for the night with only a few other boats around. By late
afternoon we were sitting contemplating the state of our stomachs
when the folks from the boat in front of us popped over. Karl and
Gail who have been making their way down from Maryland since early in
the year made our acquaintance and then returned after an exploration
of the bay to enjoy a couple of bottles of wine and snacks into the
evening. This is definitely a fun component of being out here –
you never know who your neighbours will be and the fun and
interesting stories they will tell.
