1/17/14 - From Water Island, St. Thomas

Time to catch y'all up on what's been going on......Our first stop visiting St. Martin - Marigot where we anchored with about 50 other boats.  The yellow "Q" flag was displayed on the flag pennant of "Daydream" noting we had not cleared in yet.  We put the dinghy in the water and headed to shore.  After a 10 minute visit to Customs and Immigration we were officially cleared into St. Martin.  Back to the boat to haul the anchor and sail to the south side of the island where there is an entrance to a lagoon on the inside.  It's a great place to anchor protected from ocean waves and convenient to the French and Dutch sides of St. Martin.  To arrive in Simpson Bay Lagoon we had to wait for the scheduled bridge opening and pass through with all of the other yachts waiting.  We were surprised to find a new bridge within the lagoon!  There are now two bridges to go through to anchor on the French side of the lagoon - Simpson Bay Bridge and the new Causeway Bridge.  St. Martin is a popular place to bring a yacht and the marinas we motored past were full of 100 - 200 foot motor and sailing yachts. 
We were tourists visiting Marigot and Ft. Louis on the French side.  And then to Phillipsburg on the Dutch side.  Marigot is full of narrow streets and shops.  We stopped to have lunch and enjoyed conversing with our waiter who spoke very little English.  Ft. Louis is at the top of a hill overlooking Marigot, the ocean with a view of neighboring island Anguilla, and the lagoon.  We also bought a loaf of bread from one of the bakeries in Marigot.
Phillipsburg is where the cruise ships come in and a short bus ride from the dinghy dock on the Dutch side of the lagoon.  Gerald was in  search of a roti such as he used to have in Venezuela.  We were directed to Adelias food shack where we watched Adelia roll out the roti wraps and make fresh boneless chicken rotis (you can also order chicken with the bone in).  They were excellent leaving tingling lips from the curry.  Not too spicy and lots of flavor.  After seeing some sights, visiting with friends we hadn't seen in many years, and enjoying full nights of rest we planned our departure.  In order to leave around midnight for the 100 miles to St. Thomas we had to haul anchor from the lagoon, transit the 2 bridges on their schedules and anchor in Simpson Bay outside of the lagoon.  The winds were forecast for 20-25 for the next week to ten days.  It was more like 25-30 for most of the trip and we made good time arriving at Virgin Gorda and the north sound area by noon.  As we sailed through the British Virgin Islands and St. John we used up as much water as we could.  When we arrived in St. Thomas the water tanks should be empty to start fresh.  How many buckets of laundry did we do?  Lots with an extra rinse or two with all of the rain showers that passed us leaving a rainbow in their wake.  There are new moorings at Great St. James Island next to St. Thomas and we stopped for the night.  The next day off to downtown Charlotte Amalie to check in with customs, go to the marina for water and fuel, and then to Water Island to anchor.  We had a nice reunion with Ryan and Kari on "Valkyrie" who have been anchored at Water Island for some time awaiting our arrival and the burgers from Shipwreck Tavern that Gerald promised!  So, we are anchored here at Water Island for some time.  We took Captain Jerry to the airport who is going back home for a couple weeks.  We're enjoying the people, sights, and sun here in St. Thomas.  Feels like we're back home.

Here we are in the line-up to go through the Simpson Bay Bridge into the lagoon in St. Martin.

Another shot of the boats lined up and the Simpson Bay Bridge in the background.

Land Ho!  After 21 days at sea St. Martin in the distance.

The new Causeway Bridge through the lagoon in St. Martin.

Not in order - but - sailing and having lunch at the same time heading to Simpson Bay.

The view from Ft. Louis looking over Marigot and the lagoon in the distance.

Ft. Louis and Jerry L.

Jerry and Gerald enjoy the view from Ft. Louis, St. Martin.

On the top of a plant at Ft. Louis.

Adelia's in Phillipsburg, St. Martin.

Adelia making our rotis for lunch.

Yum!

A view of the bay at Phillipsburg, St. Martin.

Sailing into the BVI from St. Martin - Necker Island.

Sailing through the BVI - rainbows and sunshine.

St. John to the left.

Karen's important tools for cooking underway include binoculars.

Daydream anchored in the distance at Water Island.

Honeymoon Beach at Water Island.

Jerry watches one of the cruise ships pass into Crown Bay, St. Thomas from our anchorage at Water Island.

Kari on the bow of Valkyrie anchored behind us at Water Island.

We visit Manfrid's sail loft on Hassel Island in St. Thomas.

Manfrid, who has been making sails for 60 years, inspects a repair brought in.

A view of the movie sheets set up for Monday night's movie on the beach.  Malu in front.

Here we are (Karen, Gerald, Jerry, Shawn, Ryan, Kari, and Haley) at the Shipwreck Tavern waiting for the burgers.