Day 6

Back to Christmas Cove! That’s one of the wonderful things about this trip….we didn’t mind revisiting this spot – it was beautiful. I can honestly say there is not one spot we wouldn’t want to go right back to! I wish we had had more time so we could have taken our time and done more (North side of St. John) but now we have something for the next trip!

We grabbed the exact same mooring ball we were on for our previous visit. We spent the day snorkeling and lounging, knowing our trip was winding down. Time to cook what we’ve got and start to pack things away….always a somewhat sad time. As tempting as Pizza Pi was? We made beef tenderloin on the grill.

Day 7

Pancakes and bacon for breakfast and then off to Water Island and we actually got in a sail…..but squalls rolled in just outside of Charlotte Amalie so we pulled everything in and motored the rest of the way. Jay was off that day and Debbie was able to take a break from work! We grabbed a free mooring ball right next to “Days Like This”, Jay and Debbie’s cat – lucky again to have buddies who know buddies who are off their mooring ball – lol. What a great day this was! Really our ONLY day hanging out at a beach bar! Jay and Debbie joined us and we had a great time eating and drinking at Dinghies Beach Bar for most of the day. We even grabbed Rick and Christine’s leftover Cruzan and swam it back from “Days”- LOL. We cooked an easy last meal on board – chicken Caesar salad and talked about how soon we could all get back…

Day 8

Last swim. Sadness abounds. Spent a little time on the swing on shore….swam back to the boat. This is just the worst day always……

We brought the boat over to the fuel dock at Crown Bay and got her ready to head back to CYOA. Make sure you radio ahead and let them know you are coming – another boat came in without contacting them first….they were less than pleased but still let them pull up and get fuel. We motored through Haulover Cut and picked up a ball so that CYOA could come out and do a sail check and bring us back in.

Check-out was very easy – the staff at CYOA is fantastic. We would charter with them again in a hot heartbeat – but it will be a cat with a watermaker and icemaker next time – LOL – luckily….Jay has quite a few VERY nice ones in the lineup!

We sent Barbara off tearfully in a taxi as her flight was earlier than ours. We wandered back down to Twisted Cork and had a DELICIOUS lunch. Booked a 2:30 taxi for our 5 pm flight and we were at the airport in plenty of time. Spent the money for a porter for our two checked bags and we were in the boarding lounge in 20 minutes. Masked flight home to reality…..

I have November charters booked in the BVI – one with friends who are getting married and celebrating down there….and one that has been rescheduled by us from May. I have to say….if there was a way to economically move them? I would. I would book again with CYOA and head straight back to St. John – and likely explore more of St. Thomas too.

We hope to move our own boat there next winter, post hurricane season….have a crew ready to go! So…for now? We have a land-based trip planned for January and will stay at Sapphire Beach and explore our relocation options. That should be an adventure too!

Thanks for listening, everybody! If you are considering a USVI charter because you can’t get to the BVI??? Do it!!! And go with CYOA!