Stranded

 

The old winch

New winch and controls, hard to
see a difference!

We spend 5 days running wires and installing the electric winch for the main sheet and halyard. Then another day to replace the water maker high pressure pump, including a trip to the store to buy a stainless steel elbow that cost $85! 

Don and Debbie at Cruz Bay

We swim at Solomon Beach

Took a break, Thursday, to visit friends of ours, Debbie and Don, who are vacationing on St John, we hiked to Solomon and Honeymoon Beaches on St John, wandered around Mongoose Junction,  and had lunch at Woodys before we headed back to Redhook, and a Safari back to the boat.

Honeymoon Beach at St John

Looking out at Honeymoon

Wine and beer at Honeymoon Beach

Cruz Bay St John

Debbie and Don on our boat Frolic

Dinghys at Honeymoon Beach
Water Island, yes 2 Honeymoon
Beaches

We went to church on Sunday and just finished the normal weekly cleaning and maintenance when we got a call from Don and Debbie that their flight back to RI had been cancelled due to a big snow storm in the NE. They were stranded at the airport and could they come spend the night with us. We of course said, “Great, we will met you at the ferry!” Well after a lunch at Dinghys on Honeymoon Beach Water Island, they check their e-mail and discover their rebook for Monday was cancelled and a call resulted in them not being able to get a flight home until Wednesday!

On the lookout at Ft Segarra

One of the gun emplacements

Well we had a great time with them! We hiked Water Island to Fort Segarra, the lookout, and explored the tunnels finding old gun pits.

Heidi's on the other end of
Honeymoon Beach

Debbie and Don getting ready for
the movie

We went to Heidi’s Beach Movie and saw the movie Box Trolls. The movie wasn’t great, but the experience of sitting on a beach watching a movie through palm trees can’t be beat!

Movie on Honeymoon Beach Water Island

free rum at Bones in Charlotte Amelia

We also took The Safari to Charlotte Amelia and explored main street, after some rum at Bones, and when Wednesday came they relaxed on the beach until we had to bid them adu’.

A wrecked "dwelling" on the way up
to the caves

The caves we hiked to are on the
rock outcropping you see above about
2/3 the way up the hill

While they and Leslie relaxed on the beach I led Dan and Rose up the hill to the caves and rock look out. It was a 50 
minute hike up and 30 back. We ran into a couple of wasp nests and we all got a bite or two, but the view up there is spectacular!

Rose and Dan hiking up the trail

Dan and Rose at the top

Carl finishes the climb up the cliff

What a view from up there!

Wahoo!! we made it back!

Debbie and Don leave us

The Bay after the big rain!
It was brown as far as the eye could see

beach eroaded from the rain
It was nice and level!

Then Friday night we had the rain come in. A group of us went up to Island View for a pre Valentine dinner and it was drizzling rain, but when we returned it was pouring rain! It rained all night and all morning the next day. The airport reported 9” of rain, but a bucket left on deck was full of water and a friend who forgot to remove the plug from his dinghy had his divit bent leads us to believe we got more like 12” of rain. As a result the entire bay was brown and the beach had multiple gullies worn in it! No swimming or water making for a while. 

Sundowners on Exit Strategy

We did get together on Exit Strategy for sun downers though. You can’t stop a good party!

Rick and Nia arrive at Havensight
off the cruise ship

We took them to a restaurant on
St John, Skinny Legs

A few days later friends of ours, Rick and Nia, arrived on a cruise ship. So we met them and took them to St John and Coral Bay. We took the $1 bus to Coral Bay and checked out the bay. We then had lunch at Skinny Legs before heading back to Cruz Bay where we walked around before getting the ferry and taxi back to the ship where we, once again, had to say good bye to friends.

The Landings on St John

We stop at Woodys 

Ready to depart on the cruise ship

Time to continue with the repairs and projects on Frolic.

Back to the Boat and Cruising

With the New Year over, we flew back to the Virgins to put Frolic back in the water and start cruising again. We really worked hard for 5 days to get the boat ready for the water. There were many jobs to be done. We started with bleeding the fuel lines of the engines and starting them. This was made difficult by the start batteries being down to 9V. The house batteries were great as the solar panels kept them charged so I had to jump the house to the start batteries. Once started Carl put in the impellers and ran salt water into the strainer and started them again. This reveled to us that  the starboard engine fuel filter needed a new gasket and a new start relay. With those engines set Carl put fuel in the generator and got it started so we could run the battery charger for the batteries. Then he tried to pull the start cord on the outboard. It didn’t move so it went to the mechanic who was able to put a wrench on it and free it up and it ran. We also spent a day washing the decks as they were gray with soot and dirt. One washing would not be enough. Other equipment was tested and made ready and the dinghy inflated, patched, and put on the davits so the day before launching, when our friend Diane arrived we were ready for shopping and provisioning.

Jumbies at Leverick Bay

Lelsie and Diane at Leverick Bay

We launched, checked the thru hulls and bilges and all was dry so we motored into a 20 kt. wind to North Sound to put up sails and wash the deck again off Prickly Island. As we were going through Mosquito cut into North Sound Leslie checked the starboard bilge and the call came up, ”Carl there is water in the Starboard bilge!” Carl went down to check and it did as did the port bilge! This was nerve wracking as this is a very narrow, shallow channel. However we slide over the bar and once on a mooring Carl found the starboard bilge wasn’t water but fuel, but he couldn’t find the source! The Port side engine exhaust elbow had sprung a leak so that was the source of that water. We cleaned up the bilges and hanked on the sails, put up the deck hardware, washed the decks, and went for a swim. The next day we went onto the dock at Leverick resort and washed the decks again, this time with fresh water, filled the water tanks, got gas for the dinghy and put up the bimini and lights. 

Dancing at the Jumbies

Diane and Leslie with the Jumbies

Then it was time to relax! Massages one day, a pig roast, a Jumbies party, lunch at the Fat Virgin and swim and drinks at Bitter End and Saba Rock. Now we were ready to sail!

Jumbies dive into the pool

He survived the dive

Coopers Island Resort

The resort has been remodeled
and is very upscale

We left North Sound headed for the US Virgins, but stopped at Cooper Island, and Norman’s Cay.  Both have done much renovation and have up scaled. 

Real time video watching the reef
at Coopers Island

Leslie and Diane relax off the boat
eating ice cream, which was $15 off
Deliverance

Deliverance delivers food and drinks
to the boaters

Normans has added a new building

Tom and Lena and “the boy” are back on Normans as the manager, so good to see them after a few year hiatus.  Now Willie T’s is still the same and as much fun as ever.

Normans remodeled resturant

Drinks at Normans

Sunset from Normans Beach

Willie Ts is still at the Bight 

customers at Willie Ts

Diane overlooks the Willie T dock

A swim through at the Indians

Diane snorkeling at the Indians

We did a stop at the Indians for snorkeling on our way to Sopers Hole for checkout and lunch at Pusser’s.

Puffer fish hides under coral

We enter Sopers Hole 

Lunch at Pussers

sucker fish under the boat at Maho

Leslie reads at Maho

We checked in at St. John and spent a night at Maho Bay and Caneel Bay so we could shop at Cruz Bay and have drinks at Dave’s Driftwood, and Woodys. We also had dinner at Morgan’s Mangrove and ran into Bobbie! Bobbie was with us on the delivery of Midnight Rambler to Florida! It was good to see him and catch up!

The Pizza boat at Christmas Cove

Carl brings home the Pizza

On our way to Water Island Honeymoon Beach we stopped at Christmas Cove and visited the St. Thomas Yacht Club and had Pizza from a Pizza boat in Christmas Cove!

Sunset

Honeymoon Beach at Dinghys

Carl got fresh at Dinghys

The Dinghy Beach Bar in Honeymoon has a revised look with newly painted restrooms and new menu, but the same fun and friendly atmosphere.

Diane and Lelsie at Jenns Cafe

New paint on Honeymoon Rest rooms

Honeymoon Beach

Cruise ship goes out past Honeymoon

Diane left us and it was time to get the parts needed to put in a new electric winch for the main sail and install a new high pressure pump for the water maker, but now we are back into the cruising life so there is no rush, except the week of angst trying to contort to put in the power winch.  Amazing how small spaces are when you are trying to run wires and screw in 30lb motors!