Winter Cruise Continued
We set off from Peter Island ready to run the gauntlet of checking in to the BVI.. We tied Avventura to a mooring ball near the customs office in Road Town, Tortola and took the dinghy to shore. Rob's last check in here, late on a Friday afternoon, was very stressful, so we were pleasantly surprised when we were declared legally present with only a few trips back and forth between offices.
We spent one night at Village Cay Marina which was half empty and featured several half sunken boats piled up at one end. The elcetricity is still not working on their docks 18 months after the hurricane! We walked to dinner at Pussers Pub and immediately ran in to Theresa and Greg Moirer from Kansas City who bought our lake boat Grace last summer! They had chartered a boat with their friend Stephen, we enjoyed a lively conversation over Painkillers and salads.
Next day we moved over to Nanny Cay, a much larger marina where we had chartered boats in prior years. They were still rebuilding from the hurricanes but we enjoyed the pool, small beach and spacious showers. We trekked to the excellent grocery store one day to stock up for Becca and family's visit.
3 days later we set out for Leverick Bay on Virgin Gorda where daughter Becca and her family would be joining us for a week. This is a very popular stop for charter boats, and we watched the mooring field empty out most mornings and fill back up by mid afternoon. However it was not as busy as previous times we have visited even though the facilities were almost fully restored. This is proving to be the case throughout the Caribbean this year. There are wrecked boats up on beaches and although the hills are green again, everywhere you see evidence of the hurricane in downed trees and shells of buildings that have not been rebuilt.
We met Ben, Sid and Frankie at the Virgin Gorda ferry port when they arrived on Feb. 16. Becca came the next evening after attending a wedding in Chicago. Sid and Frankie stayed on the boat with Gramma and Grampa while Mom and Dad had a room in the resort. We enjoyed presweetened cereal and morning movies with the grands while Becca and Ben got to sleep in a little. They got their exercise hiking up several flights of stairs to their room but they had a gorgeous view over the North Sound.
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| Here they come on the ferry! |
At Leverick Bay we spent a lot of time in the pool learning to snorkel, collecting shells on the beach and following the resident cat around the complex. We decided she should be named Irma since she just showed up after the hurricane.
On Monday night we attended the Michael Beans Pirate Show which involved shaking rythym instruments and singing, bad pirate jokes, and a conch blowing contests. Grampa was very disappointed he did not win this year, but he took a close second place!
We went to the Baths twice, enjoying a great lunch and drinks at the top before hiking down and climbing through the caves. This is one of the most spectacular sites in the BVI and we were fortunate to be there on days when there were no cruise ships in town.
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| 3 Generations at the Top of the Baths |
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| View from the top of the Baths |
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| Lunch at the top |
One day we took a hike up to the high point of the island. The observation deck had been destroyed by the hurricane and the trees blocked our view, but we were surprised to find several crabs on the path and we were able to climb up on a boulder at the top via a ladder provided. The kids enjoyed the scramble! Afterwards we had a BBQ lunch at nearby Hog Heaven which has a gorgeous view over the Bay.
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| Gramma and Sid at the top of the trail |
Another day we took a sporty dinghy ride across to Prickly Pear Beach, a national park. The beach bar/restaurant was still under repair but the beach was as beautiful as we remembered. Sid and Gramma completed a "room" on the beach outlined with rocks, we found a starfish on the beach and two more in the water and we met another family from DC. This apparently happens everywhere they go!
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| Construction Chief Frankie |
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| Grampa flying a kite at Prickly Pear Beach |
The last night we attended the Friday Hog Roast buffet which was delicious - Frankie was especially happy to devour four corn coblets! After dinner there was a live band and at 8:00 they were joined by the Moko Jumbies, traditional performers in Carnival type costumes who dance on high stilts. They reached down to dance with the crowd and Sid was picked up by one of them! At the end one of them jumped into the pool. A very fun way to end our visit.
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| Gramma and Sid with the Moko Jumbies |
Next morning the Norris family left in an early taxi to catch the ferry back to St. Thomas where they would fly home. We loved having them visit us in our sailing life, it's something we dreamt of when we bought the boat.
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| Frankie watching our morning movies from under the table |
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| Fierce Uno competition |
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| Love this family! |
We moved back to Nanny Cay on Tortola to wait for a good weather window for our sail. to St. Croix, a much less frequently visited island. Cindy's great grandfather was born and lived there until age 10 when his family immigrated to NYC. She wanted to do some genealogical research and we both wanted to see more of the island we had visited briefly 23 yrs ago on the Blues Cruise.
We arrived at Green Cay Marina after a rolly 5 hour sail. The entrance was narrow and shallow and we ended up doing a "bottom check". Fortunately Captain Rob got very good at spinning off sand bars when we brought Avventura down the ICW in 2016, so we were quickly freed and at the dock where we were immediately greeted by a fellow Hylas owner. Tom helped us get tied up, his wife Sharon handed us some tourist info and they invited us to join them for pizza and live music the next night. This kind of instant friendliness is one of the joys of cruising and seems to happen especially when you have the same make of boat! We also made quick friends of several other couples on the dock, 2 of whom were younger, living full time on their boats and still working. Hard for me to imagine but they seemed quite happy.
We stayed a week on St. Croix and rented a car we were able to see most of the island. They drive on the left hand side of the road in the US Virgin Islands, so Rob had a challenge driving but soon got the hang of it. We went in to Christiansted the first day and were able to get inside the Anglican church where my Great Grandfather was baptized and my double great grandparents were married. It looked derelict on the outside with trees growing through some parts of the building, but the inside was beautiful with lots of mahogany, a steel band set up in the choir loft and the only working pipe organ on the island..
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| Steel band in the choir loft |
We drove to the place we believe was the estate owned by my double great grandfather at the time they left the island. There was a crumbling great stone house but no signage to tell us what it was. I like to think I stood where my forbears had lived and worked..
Another day we drove out to the Whim Estate, an old sugar plantation which is now a museum and also houses the Landmarks Society. They were the ones who could help me find family records but, as is so often the case in the Caribbean, their website was not updated and they were not open as expected. So we returned on Saturday and Cindy spent a couple of hours with a volunteer historian who searched their online archives to help me find that my triple great grandfather was buried in the Anglican churchyard, his son was actually born on St. John, and the marriage record of my double great grandparents. When we couldn't find it in the online images he took me into the library which was actually closed and in some disarray, but he found the handwritten ledgers for the years in question (mid 1800's) and copied the record for me.
While I was doing this research Rob sat with a volunteer who was doing some African drumming and learned a few tips. They played a duet together. Then he sat with some older lady volunteers who regaled him with stories about the island and the proper way to brew bush tea. One of the ladies made candy in a small shop on site and gave him a couple of pieces. A delightful afternoon.
Since we were on that side of the island we drove out to the Sandy Point National Preserve, a spectacular beach that is a protected turtle habitat. No services at all, and only open on the weekends for a few months/year to protect the turtles. 2 miles of gorgeous white sand and beautiful water in shades of aqua and blue. I put this beach right up with Loblolly Bay on Anegada as one of the most spectacular we've seen.
Sunday brunch was at Ziggy's gas and express shop. Fabulous brisket hash with fried eggs, enjoyed again with our dock friends Tom and Sharon.. The next night they hosted a happy hour on their boat to introduce us to the other Hylas owners in the marina. So fun!
We returned to Christiansted to search the churchyard for my ancestor's grave. It was not well tended, with many crumbling graves and lots of toppled stones, many illegible. We did not find the grave. It was moving to be there anyway and I have a line on some possible info about exactly where he might be buried. For now, I can say I was in the vicinity!.
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| This grave marker was made with conch shells |
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| We were surprised to see this poster when we had lunch at the Bombay Club. We attended this Festival 23 years ago when we visited St. Croix on the Blues Cruise. |
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| Anyone need a Caribbean kidney?? |
Our time on St. Croix included visits to the Home Depot, K Mart and Wendy's, since we were back in the US of A! Next up: St. Thomas where we will be joined by Drew, April, Mila and Robbie.
