Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited

4-3. We left for USVI after going through the toll bridge at 4. We planned to arrive around 10-2. It was a long night. Cale put on a patch and it made him super tired so I did a long shift during the night. It was a almost a full moon and really cool how we were sailing right into it. We also were the farthest from land we’ve been, which was a feeling I thought I’d be afraid of, but it was actually really peaceful. We got to Charlotte Amalie around 12. So, 18 hours total. I was wiped. It was blowing 20 knots when we came into the marina at Crown Bay. We were trying to dock stern in with our starboard side tied, but and getting blown off the the dock. There was also a big pilon on the opposite side sticking out that we had to worry about. The first attempt we started blowing off and Cale aborted and went back out. The 2nd time the same thing started to happen. We were able to throw our stern line to the dock hand and he got a wrap on it, but there was no one to take our bow so we started blowing over. Cale went forward on port to try and spring us in but the wind was so strong it didn’t work and our front port hit the pilon. Thankfully, it mostly hit the kayak and Kira was there with a fender so there was no damage. A guy from another boat came to grab the forward lines. It helped but it still took awhile to work ourselves to the dock. Cale and I walked over and checked into the marina. We came back and got the kids and took a cab to check in. It’s the 1st time all the kids had to be there. We got dropped off at Ace to get stuff to work on the other toilet which is now clogged. Our cab driver was really nice from Jordan but it cost 75 dollars. I was in shock. It was like a 5 minute drive. It looks like we will be walking from here on out. We came back and cleaned the boat. I helped Cale get up the mast to clean some rust. It was pretty windy so he didn’t last too long.

4-4
Cale went to get a different pipe for the bathroom clog and ask if we could leave a day early from the marina. The kids did homework but mostly cleaned rooms and the boat. We reviewed with the boys once again how to properly clean the bathrooms. Cale came back pretty mad. Not only would they not refund us if we left early but they were going to charge us almost double what we paid for the same slip last June. They said it was a 50 ft cat slip and so we had to pay for the full 50 feet instead of 46. The thing that was the worst to me was that she said “well if you are cost sensitive you should have asked” (which we did try and call and email to find out cost but they never responded) but what the heck does that mean, “cost sensitive.” It makes me think they just charge whatever they want and the big yachts pay it. So frustrating! I did some laundry in our small washer. I had the first 2 loads done and hanging to dry. I put the drying rack in the sun and was just grabbing a line to tie it to the boat when a gust came up and the whole rack and all the clothes went in the water. Thankfully, I was able to grab the whole thing out. Sadly, I had to start over with washing them all.
The kids and I went to get some groceries. I had 6 things on my list and we walked out with 6 bags of stuff, but at least I know we will have plenty of food. The food here is the most expensive we have seen. The driving here is also kind of crazy and more traffic.
We got back and Cale took a cab to the airport to meet the Boones. They got a cab back and arrived a shirt time later. It was so fun to see them. The kids quickly showed them around and they got settled and then we were off. The guys throwing lines took off the front a bit too soon but thankfully it was okay.
It was a little rough once we got out of the bay. We were beating right into the waves. The kids had fun jumping on the deck with waves. Cole in particular was getting some very big air. Sadly Marcus got sick. I’m sure being tired didn’t help. We tried to moor at Christmas Cove but it was full so we went on the Honeymoon/Caneel Bay on St. Johns. We got a mooring ball and the kids jumped in and swam. They all went to shore while Cale worked on de-clogging the poo and I made dinner. After an unsuccessful attempt from the top Cale decided to go in the water and try. I never thought I’d hear him say I hope I come back covered in poo. Sadly, no Poo. It’s still blocked.
The kids had a blast at the beach. Libby and Kira saw turtles and a sting ray when they snorkeled. The weather might turn a bit so we’ve been game planning.

4-5 Our night at Honeymoon/Caneel Bay wasn’t terrible but a bit rollie. It seems like it’s mostly from big boats coming by outside the bay. Cale and Marcus went to Cruz Bay to make sure it was okay if we didn’t check out from the USVI. While they were gone we had breakfast. A very informative and friendly park ranger came by and told us about paying and the rules of the park. It feels weird to be back in the US. Cole, Cade and Broxson wanted to go to the beach. I was hesitant because it looked like a storm was coming. They took the paddle board anyways and made it just fine. About 30 minutes later, a huge thunderstorm crack came out of know where. I glanced over to where the boys were and could see them scrambling to put their life jackets on and jumping on the paddle board. They paddled their fastest back. The storm passed quickly. We got a bunch more rain a little later. We left around 10. We thought about staying at Truck Bay to do the underwater path, but it was pretty windy so we came to Maho instead. We grabbed a ball between Frances and Maho Bay. The kids went to the small beach in the dinghy that is closest to the boat. Cale and I snorkeled over. On our way, we saw a huge turtle. The kids played at the beach for a while and then we went over to Maho. We saw the biggest turtle I’ve ever seen with 2 big remoras on it. We followed it around for quite a while. We also saw a ray and I saw a big round looking fish. Still not sure what it was. Cale, Libby and Marcus walked the beach to check on getting a taxi to town. It was 12 per person so we opted for dinner on the boat. We got back and the kids did more swimming. We discovered yet another new toilet issue. This time it was Kira’s toilet. It was leaking water out of the bottom. It was salt water and Cale figured out the pump needed replaced. Thankfully, as is often the case CAVU provided and we had a spare one on board. Now, if we could just clear out the lines on our side!
Libby helped me work on replacing the trampoline line. Hopefully, this time it will last. Marcus was nice enough to cook the chicken for us while I worked on the trampoline and Cale dealt with the toilet. I didn’t realize the chicken would take so long to cook, so we had a pretty late dinner. We’ve got a good plan mapped out and hoping for a fun week.

3-6 We didn’t stick to our original plan of getting up early and checking in at Spanish town. We decided to go to Sopers Hole instead and just as we were going to leave it started to pour down rain. We waited it out. We had lightening and thunder. It rained heavy, but in the bay next to us it was coming down even harder. Once it settled, we left for Sopers, which was 30 minutes. It was known for being a pirate hangout. We lucked out and got a mooring ball. Cale went in to check us in. While we waited, the wind blew Kelsey’s hat into the water, so we put the paddle board in and I went and got it. It stayed pretty drizzly and wet. We all went to town to check it out. It was cute, but small. There was a nice grocery store, pretty expensive. We left and headed east towards Road Town. It was really rough beating right into the waves and also the storm so we changed plans after about 20 minutes and decided to back track and go to the northwest side of the island. It was much calmer once we turned around and got on the north side. We ended up getting a mooring Cane Garden Bay. We got a great spot right in front of Elm Beach. We went to the beach. Kelsey’s front tooth has been loose for over a week. She bumped it just before we went to the beach. When we got to there she decided she had enough and she was ready to let me help her. I promised her if she told me to stop I would. As soon as she gave me the okay I just hurried and with one quick pull it was out. It didn’t even bleed. She was so happy to have it out. Her whole smile looks so different now. This is the 4th tooth we’ve lost on the boat so far. Cole-2 and Cade-1. It was close enough to paddle board back and forth to the boat. Kelsey felt very big to be able to paddle it. The weather cleared up and it was a beautiful beach day. Most of us went back while Cade and Broxson finished building a turtle out of sand. I went back to pick them up on the paddle board but they wouldn’t come until we got a picture so Libby went back and picked them up. On my way, a sting ray jumped out of the water in front of me and then I could see it in the water. Our mooring ended up belonging to Elm Beach restaurant. The owner came out to collect $40. We decided to eat dinner out. A guy named Jeff Ross was playing. It was loud, but he was so good. At first it was just us. Soon, it was a big group of 30 ish people for a ladies birthday. It got a little wild just before we left.

4-7 We didn’t get as early as a start as we hoped but we were on our way at 7:30 ish to Virgin Gorda to see The Baths. We had heard it can get very crowded. We were able to find a mooring ball. We took the dinghy and tied up to the dinghy line and then swam to shore. We brought shoes but ended up leaving them on the beach. We discovered we had to do a short hike to the start and them come out the other side where our stuff and dinghy were because its one way. The hike was nice. We saw so many lizards. It was sandy with some steps. We passed by the ranger station where we had to pay. The baths were very cool. Huge boulders and pools of water, some more hidden then others. We were so excited that we basically had it to ourselves when we were in the caves. We must have timed it just right. They were really worth seeing. Beautiful huge boulders that formed overhangs with beautiful water in them.

We swam back to the dingy and headed to Old Jerusalem Island, Fallen Jerusalem National Park. We moored and did some snorkeling. Libby and her boys took turns paddle boarding. The visibility was awesome. The rocks and formations under the water were very unique. I loved how they dropped off down to a sandy bottom. There were not a lot of fish, but some. Next we were off to hopefully anchor/moor at Cooper Island, but we couldn’t find a good spot. We tried Salt Island but there just wasn’t a lot of room. Our next spot we tried was Peter Island, Great Harbor. There were a lot of moorings available. We had hoped to anchor, but it was too deep. The kids swam and jumped off the boat and swam the lazy river. It’s quite windy here but the water is pretty calm. There was a big barge tied off in the bay. We saw the boat Mike and Muffy work on. They just finished their charters and another couple is on it now. Cale met them when he was here buying the boat so we tried calling them on the radio but didn’t get through.
4-8 We got up and going around 8. We stopped by and quickly said hi to the couple on Mike and Muffy’s boat. It was a short ride to look for another mooring. We found one at Privateer Beach, Norman Island. It was pretty overcast but not raining. The beach here is rocky. We decided to go check out the beach at the bay next to us called The Bight. There were a lot of boats there. There was about 20 Puerto Rican fishing boats backed up with stern lines all rafted up. Plus lots more throughout. They come here for the Easter holiday. The beach was nice but a bit rocky. The kids tried to cut down a coconut. They were somewhat successful. They even found one that had some milk in it. The kids played in the water, snorkeled around and played on the beach. Cale and I walked over and saw how the fishing boats were rafted. We thought about getting lunch. It was Marcus b-day but decided to come back to the boat for lunch. Then, we all went back to snorkel the caves. They were so awesome! There were 3. The second one you could go way back into and it was super dark. The fish swam right around you. It was pitch black when you looked down in your mask. It smelled like a cave. There was quite a bit of sargassum, which was weird to be swimming with in the dark. The snorkeling outside the caves was also great. The walls going down were cool to see under the water. There was some cool fish. We saw a ray. The water was super deep and the clarity was pretty good.
We came back for dinner and rested up. Cale and I finished the trampoline with the new line. Hopefully, it holds up. Kira, Cole, Cale and I went snorkeling at the Indians. It was similar to the caves but the walls were bigger and there was more fish. There was also a lot of beautiful corral.
We came back and had dinner and sang to Marcus with his cookie cake and toothpicks for candles.