St. John, US Virgin Islands in December 2016

One of our favorite places is Francis Bay in St. John, USVI.  The beaches are calm and quiet, the waters are crystal clear blue, the snorkeling is awesome, the quiet is welcoming, and the scenery is tropical with rainbows now and then.  We spent almost a week here relaxing and enjoying nature.  A pelican took the time to relax on our bow and spot his next fish dinner.  This was a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of St. Thomas and our many boat problems.  Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the experience.

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands in December 2016

We arrived in Charlotte Amalie harbor in St. Thomas after a 4 ½ hour, 25 mile trip from Culebra.  We like to anchor in this harbor because it is close to everything and full of activity (sometimes too much)!  The view from Paradise Point overlooking the harbor is beautiful especially at night with the many cruise ships.  The cruise ships come in so close to our boat that it seems like a skyscraper just jutted out of the water.   Free Wi-Fi here is almost non-existent unless you are at Hooters, but they do have a Happy Hour with $2 beers!  We take the safari bus to Red Hook to frequent the marine store, dive shop, restaurants and stores.  While here, the 2016 Women’s International Match Racing Series took place on the waterfront, fun to watch.  Check out the helicopter on the back deck of the yacht anchored near us – okay so they are a little bigger than us!   Christmas tree lighting was a big party at the Havensight Mall and we joined in by adding lights strung to the top of our mast.  Our final night here was celebrated at Island View with a few local friends, it is quite a view and hard to say goodbye (again)!