Culebra to St Croix

As usual, we leave a tad later than Mike plans due to my inability to drag myself from my comfortable bed. The weather forecast is supposed to be good but it is difficult to tell from our relatively protected position inside the reef at Dewey.

Once outside, Mike sets up to fishing line and we head southeast. The waves are all over the place, really choppy, not big, just … well choppy and uncomfortable.

The winds vary on the crossing. We have two reefs in the mainsail and a full genoa and we still get 7 knots out of Jeannius. This is too fast for the fishing lure and Mike brings it in for a while, putting it back out when we slow down a bit. Again, we catch nothing and the hook from our lure mysteriously disappears.

I decide to get my mat out and do some yoga. Bad idea. Ever tried to do yoga on a moving surface? I persevere for about 20 minutes, only doing stuff that involves me lying down but even this is impossible as I am thrown from side to side, looking more like a weeble with every new pose. Mike, miraculously, keeps a straight face but my language turns blue and I give up. Yoga is supposed to be relaxing and this is anything but! So I put my mat away and nod off on the cockpit cushions instead, leaving Mike to do all the work. This involves much sitting and looking and the occasional minor adjustment to the genoa so I don’t feel too guilty.

The passage takes us over 6 hours. Approaching Christiansted, we are confused by the appearance of many large, red inflated buoys that are not marked on the pages of the cruising guide. We shrug, ignore them, and enter the extremely crowded bay looking for a spot to anchor. Most of the boats seem to be on private moorings or at permanent anchor (judging from the green gunk on their hulls) and space is very limited. We weave our way through the boats and eventually squeeze ourselves into a spot at the edge of the channel. The catamaran that comes in behind us gives up and leaves.

Photo: Christiansted Harbour

Within a few minutes of setting the anchor, and Mike just having started his Dark and Stormy, we hear a loud roar and, turning round, discover that we have anchored just near the runway for the local seaplane service. This service turns out to be quite frequent but we soon get used to the noise!

Photo: Seaplane landing next to Jeannius

We manage to establish internet connection and spend the evening trying to talk to Johanne and Steve, Victoria and Laura but although the connection is strong, Skype doesn’t play ball – the sound is terrible and we give up.

Dinner is that old favourite, Halibut Catalan, but done with grouper – fresh out of the freezer!