Traveling the World

March 13, 2011

St. Martin to the U.S. Virgin Islands

Everyone seems to have their favorite islands. St. Martin is the place to get and order all your boat parts because they don't charge sales tax. I heard that St. Lucia was a favorite for good restaurants and meeting boats from Europe. Martinique is great for meeting French boats. Antiqua is good for race week at the end of April and of the sailing season. St. John is wonderful if you like quiet, natural anchorages.

Map shows southern arrow is Antigua, middle arrow is St. Martin, St. Thomas/St. John on top.

Because of the imminent hurricane season approaching, this is the time of year when boats have to make a decision to go either south to Granada or Trinidad, which are located north of Venezuela; or they can choose to go north of South Carolina all the way up to Maine and Canada. The people who head south can spend more time in the Caribbean because they have less distance to go. Going north to South Carolina and farther north takes more time.

I was hearing stories of how hot the summers were in Grenada / Trinidad so I decided to head north. Now seemed like a good time to find a boat as many boats were beginning to leave. I took a ride with George on Silver Bullet going from St. Martin to St. Thomas/St. John in the US Virgin Islands. From there I could take a 2.5 hr. flight to Ft. Lauderdale or a 7 day sailing trip to cover the same distance. I choose the air route.

George's 50' custom steel boat called Silver Bullet because he likes to race it.

The voyage from St. Martin to St. Thomas took about a day and a half. We left in the evening and arrived in the late morning. Passing cruise ships in the night is always entertaining. There are so many of them. They leave port in the early evening and then sit out in the water until day break. It only takes them a short time to get from one island to the next and they don't want to arrive until daybreak. Maybe they have to pay an extra day for the dockage if they arrive earlier, or maybe the passengers want the experience of being at sea even though they are just sitting out on the water. But, they are fun to watch as the big balls of light approaches in the water.

Since George had time until his next crew arrived, we went island hopping around St. John in the US Virgin Islands. It's so pristine, peaceful and beautiful and the snorkeling was great. 60% of the island is a preserve with many of the beaches also included. We visited some of the sugar ruins and walking paths along the way while visiting Caneel Bay, Francis Bay, Hurricane Hole, Coral Bay, Salt Pond. Then we headed back to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas for my flight out. Then it was back to my second home in Ft. Lauderdale.