We arrived in Puerto Rico on Dec 3, 2017 to begin the preparation for launch and for motoring our boat over to St. Thomas for shipping back to Florida for our repairs and mast replacement. Today, it is Dec 31, 2017, Happy New Year as we are sitting off of Foxy’s at Jost van Dyke. We have been dealing with many situations few weeks and add in the fact that our ship has been delayed one month really threw us off our plan. But, as with most cruising situations, you need to learn to monitor and adjust and deal with whatever is handed to you as you cruise. After busting our tails to launch, and prep the boat for travel, we found out the day we arrived at the shipping dock that our ship was delayed one month because none of the other 22 yachts could make it on time,. We were the only yacht ready for shipping, so they delayed the ship. At first, we were really frustrated and we wanted to cancel our deal. Guess what? You can’t, all you can do is wait for the ship. So, after a few seconds of disappointment we realized HEY, we are “Stuck” in the United States Virgin Islands, the USVI, and that is really not so bad. So we began our partial commissioning of our boat making it livable for the next month. This required getting a dinghy launched and rigged so we could get off the $100/day dock. Then we added canvas and the enclosure for shade and rain protection. Then we moved off the dock and anchored out in St. Thomas. NOW WHAT? Live the Island Life, that’s what.
What a life it has been. First off our buddy boats are here so we all gathered up for a swim off Honeymoon Beach, the site of our first Caribbean swim last year when we arrived. Next, we moved into town and dropped the hook right off the cruise ship docks because the Christmas Winds were kicking in at 25 knots, gusting 30. The great aspect of being on anchor in the Caribbean Sea is that the Tradewinds are ALWAYS from the East or NE or SE, always, always EAST. The fronts and squalls are always from the East. There are no fronts that spin you around to the SE, S, SW, W, NW, N and then NE like in the entire East Coast and the Bahamas. WOW, what a joy to be on anchor here in the Caribbean. So the stage was set, we will stay here in STT, St. Thomas until the winds die down and enjoy Christmas on the hook and tour town and the island with our buddies. That is exactly what we did and it was wonderful.
When the winds calmed down, we made a motor run out to Buck Island and then to St. James Island to Christmas Cove where the famous Pizza Pi Boat serves great homemade pizza for $20. We took the $1 bus (was actually $2) to Red Hook to see Island Yacht Charters and Skip and Andrea, the Island Packet Dealer. Their fleet of 15 Island Packet Yachts all have damages with 5 needing new masts and with every boat in need of fiberglass hull repair. They have full support from the Island Packet Yachts factory who will be sending a team of 3 people down from Largo, Florida to repair all the yachts. It will take most of the season to make repairs and they hope to have their fleet back up and running by April/May timeframe. This was difficult to see as we toured the area and saw just how destructive the hurricane was to so many places. This makes our damages very minor as we still have a boat that floats and we still have a full mast, just with damages. We are so lucky.
Now, after a few weeks in STT, we have cleared into the British Virgin Islands, the BVIs as we all call them. We motored over to Jost van Dyke where we cleared into the country and we are on a mooring ball off the world famous FOXYS where we will take in the wild fun New Year’s Eve party. We hear it is THE PLACE to be. As the new year begins, we will motor up to Leverick Bay in North Sound and reconnect with Michael Beans and his fun Pirate Show. We have helped him with some website work and we want to see the area and maybe even the Bitter End Yacht Club.
As for our nonprofit work, we have been giving away LUCI solar lights to many people in Puerto Rico who are without power. We have 5 left and we plan to give them away here on Jost. We can see so much damage to the structures and the landscaping, and we see yachts up on the rocks and beaches. These storms IRMA and MARIA have done so much damage, but the people are so strong and so positive that we are reminded of just how kind and wonderful the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are. They are rebuilding and they are survivors and the tourists are coming back. It will simply take years to rebuild all that was damaged.
Enjoy this photo essay of our time from Puerto Rico to BVIs.
CLICK IMAGE for screen size image.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Happy New Year Cochrans!
It is far better to be waiting for a boat in the Caribbean, than wishing you had a boat in Pennsylvania.
I must have missed something… You still have the mast. I would have thought you would have it removed. Are you using it till you can replace it? Just have it for its stabilizing effect? Or had no choice and couldn’t get it removed in PR?
All the best to you two for 2018. I know that whatever gets thrown in your way… The Cochranes turn lemons into lemonaide!
Happy New Year, Radeen and Hayden! You maintain your joie de vivre through thick and thin. But, yeah, Foxy’s on New Year’s Eve works for sure; the ‘painkillers’ there are almost as good as the originals at the Soggy Dollar. Smooth sailing in 2018.