We do love watching sunsets over the water.
We are in “lockdown” in Saint John (US Virgin Islands) much as you all are back in the states. Lockdown on a boat is a bit different than at home. We can’t walk around our neighborhood or work out in the yard or drive to a grocery store or do our laundry in a machine or exercise very easily due to the cramped quarters. To provide a bit of perspective: A rough estimate of the living space on our 38 foot sailboat is about 325 sq ft below deck with an additional 70 sq ft of outside space in the cockpit. There is also outside deck space, but it is cluttered with hatches, dorades (vents), cleats, rigging, blocks, etc and we don’t use it for much when living on the boat at anchor.
We’re on a mooring within the National Park boundary so we follow National Park Service (NPS) rules rather than Department of Natural Resources (DPNR) rules that boaters in the USVI who are outside the park on St John have to follow. To make it more confusing, not all of St. John is in the National Park. And of course the rules are different about how boaters are screened, where you can anchor, what paperwork and fees are required, how long you can stay in one place, etc depending on where your boat is located.
There has been endless confusion on rules for us boaters regarding the freedom to go ashore, use the beaches, get supplies, and walk on the trails and roads. The park service here does not have their act together and we (the boating community) have gotten conflicting information repeatedly. In the week that we have been here, we were first allowed beach and park trail access as long as we stayed properly socially distanced. A couple days later we were told no more beach access, and no walking on trails or the road. After much discussion and pleading on boater’s behalf, we were allowed to beach a dinghy to walk across the beach to walk on the road for exercise. We were not permitted to go in the water from the beach or sit on the beach – only to walk from our dinghy directly to the nearest road access. Yesterday two boaters who were returning to their dinghy after a walk were told by National Guardsmen who have been brought into patrol the beaches that no, we are not allowed any access to the beach, even if it is to just walk across the beach to the road. It has been very frustrating. We cruisers know that we are visitors and we want to respect the local rules, but when they are constantly changing and interpreted differently by different groups it becomes very hard.
Ok, enough whining. What’s the positive side of things?
One of the things we like so much about cruising is the feeling of community with pretty much anyone else on a boat. We are in a harbor with probably 50 other boats here in Francis Bay. Since we are mostly confined to our boats, there aren’t lots of opportunities to actually meet people face to face, but we can communicate using the VHF radio. Since we are all pretty much in the same predicament (the “same boat” you might say) we have to take a wait and watch approach and accept that will be here for a while. People have organized a VHF radio net each morning so information can be shared, and this is very helpful to us all. There are a couple people who have ties with the Park Service who have been helping to get clarification about rules and communicate some of the cruiser’s concerns. The Park Service, however, is only one of several authorities who think they set the policies. We have the Park Service, the local police, the local government and the National Guard all thinking they have the authority to set the rules. What a mess.
Various people have organized some support services like finding a couple guys to come around to the boats to collect trash ($5/bag) since trash collection in the park has been suspended. Someone else contacted a woman who will meet you on the beach, take your dirty laundry away and bring it back to the beach the following day for a fee (pretty high cost so we elected to do laundry in a bucket). This laundry service is probably prohibited now since it involves people meeting on the beach for the exchange. Someone else organized a pizza run-they took orders for 40 pizzas, and found a young local who was willing to go pick them up in his fastboat and bring them back to the harbor ($25 for a large cheese pizza and it was lukewarm by the time we got it but we so enjoyed real pizza!!!). A scavenger hunt was held on Easter Sunday for the kids. The 27 kids each had a list of about thirty-five items that different boats had on display and the kids had to go around in dinghies or paddle boards and find the items and write down the boat names where they found them. There’s a group of young boys who have started “Smooth Bottom” cleaning service and will go around to boats in the harbor and scrub boat bottoms for a very reasonable cost. Listening to them talk to their customers on the radio, we have been impressed with their professionalism and organization! David plays taps on his trumpet every night at sunset and people clap and whistle to show their appreciation. Someone offered up a roll aboard suitcase to anyone who wanted it. We snagged it and have given them a bunch of our food that we won’t be able to eat before we leave and don’t want to leave on the boat.
Bucket laundry drying on the line. It works surprisingly well with minimal water usage!
MB went to a noodle water aerobics class earlier this week that one of the cruisers organized and she got to meet a dozen or so people. The group met in deep water, spaced 10-15 feet apart and everyone had a noodle. A woman led us in all sorts of exercises while balancing on the noodle or using the noodle to add resistance to arm or leg movements. It was a great core workout and an added bonus is that sea turtles swam all around us while we were exercising! The noodle class has been cancelled due to new restrictions unfortunately.
Although we aren’t usually excited about being in a crowded anchorage, at times like these it is nice to feel like you are part of a fun loving, creative and caring community with everyone trying to make the best of a frustrating situation.
Anchorage in Francis Bay
We have had a couple nice walks (on the few days they were allowed!) and saw a bit of this beautiful island before new restrictions were put in place. We also went snorkeling with some friends one day. The coral has been badly damaged by the recent hurricanes, but we did see a good variety of fish. The water is beautiful and clear and a warm 80.6 degrees. It has been very hot so being able to swim has been a marriage-saver. You couldn’t ask for a prettier setting for an anchorage. High hills line the anchorage on three sides and we have long views to the west where we can watch sunsets over lots more islands.
Now the no good options part:
In deciding what to do from here we have been in a classic case of decision paralysis due to the inability to know enough about the consequences (intended and unintended) of our decisions. This has left us talking through options again, and again in the hope that a magic solution will suddenly appear. No such luck so far. Here are the three options:
1. We could stay in the islands through the summer living on the boat and roll right into the next season. There are only two cases of COVID in St John so far and we have almost no contact with people so we feel very safe. USVI is in the “hurricane box” though and would not be a safe place to be especially in August through October. We have no idea when the other islands will open up their borders again.
2. We could sail back to NC or somewhere else on the East Coast and then decide what to do about next year later. This would take us 10-11 days with no stops allowed at any islands between here and home and would be grueling for just two people. Most people have 3-4 people for this trip. Then we would have to do the same hard miles against prevailing winds to get back down to the Caribbean again next year.
3. We can leave the boat in a boat yard on St. Thomas and fly to Miami where we would rent a car and drive home. American Airlines is the only airline still flying out of St Thomas back to the states and within a couple weeks they will go to a much smaller aircraft that we can’t get Riggs on so we would have to come home soon with this option. There are all sorts of logistical issues with this option. Once the boat is hauled and all put away, we can’t stay on it. All hotels and B&Bs are shut down. The temperature must be below 85 degrees at both St Thomas and Miami for Riggs to be able to fly in cargo. We could get to the airport and find out he can’t fly that day. Then where do we go?
Riggs is tired of worrying about the future!
We have chosen the third option, and David’s sister Judy and her husband John have graciously agreed to put us up overnight in their home in Sebastian, FL so we can get some rest before the long drive to NC. We are scheduled to haul out on Wed 4/22 and
fly to Miami on Thurs 4/23, arriving home late on Friday 4/24.
So is this the best plan? There is no way of knowing. If we get sick from the plane/airport/rental car, oops – it wasn’t the best option. It will also be hard on Riggs to fly in cargo which stresses us out.
However, as you all know from your own experiences, there are many times in life where you just have to choose an option and move on knowing that it may or may not have the outcome desired. Our hopes are simple – get home in good health with Riggs intact. Is that too much to expect? Maybe, but probably it will be fine.
If you remember back to earlier blogs, this season has been challenging from the beginning. Bad weather, boat problems, and multiple quarantines (the DR, Puerto Rico, and the USVI , and soon NC}. Sigh.
We have been to many interesting and beautiful places. We’ve had some good sailing, and we have enjoyed being together on the journey. We have made new friends and we’ve shown resilience in adversity (we may have shown some frustration and whining in adversity too). There’s no question this has been a very challenging cruising season, and with a modicum of complaining and cursing we’ve found our way through it and created some lasting memories of new friends and new places. Now the focus is on getting the boat laid up for the off season and getting ourselves and Riggs home in good health and ready to go through yet another 2 week quarantine at home.
We expect that this will be the last blog for this cruising season. Thanks for coming along on the journey!
Full moon rising.
David and Mary Beth
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