Monday 18 Mar, USVI day 2, St. John: Visit Caneel & Honeymoon Beaches and motor to Maho Bay.
We didn’t rock too badly, so it was a good call not to rush to another bay last evening. Which means this morning we can explore the beaches near us, before moving to another bay. Sun is back out and the rain clouds have cleared, perfect light to go ashore for some pictures.
So after breakfast, during which we debate whether to sail to St.Croix or not (which we still haven’t decided on), we lower the dinghy and go for a tootle.
The beach right next to us is Honeymoon Beach, which is very pretty. Its turquoise water and golden beach is backed by lush green vegetation and has lots of palm trees over hanging the sand making it feel like the ideal tropic beach as everyone imagines they are. There are quite a few people around. Most of them brought in by tripper catamarans, as they are lilly white and wear life vests even as they walk on the beach!
We beach the dinghy (not sure we are even allowed) and take our time to walk this beautiful scene from one end to the other. The usual, fine white sand and crystal clear turquoise sea. A delight to walk on and look at.
And at the far end of the beach we find two outlets, one selling souvenirs and renting water sports toys. The other one selling drinks and some yummy smelling rotis. But we came ashore empty handed (as in no purse) so we only smell the food:) A very friendly young Texan offers to buy us some drinks, but we politely decline. Only an American would be so considerate as this. Once this beach is walked enough, we move on to the next.
Caneel Beach is just as pretty, and it used to host a very nice resort which is now under reconstruction after the hurricanes. Works are in full swing, we see workers wearing full PPE gear. Not just shorts and flip flops. We don’t go ashore on this beach.
And then the third and last one in this bay, which also had a resort shaded by palm trees. Some of the palms still standing, but the cottages are all destroyed – all with roofs and windows blown off. And no sign of work or any clearance since the hurricane.
We venture ashore and walk the grounds. And can’t resist the temptation to explore the ruins too.
The rooms would have been idyllic, each with a veranda direct onto the beach with palms shading the rooms. Inside the rooms nothing is touched. The beds and furnishings are still there, strewn all over the rooms. Very sad to see. And 50m inland metal roofing panels are wrapped around trees and bushes. It’s a very similar scene to what we found on Barbuda.
On the way back we stopped by the mooring pay station to pickup the payment slip. So very well organized. The floating pontoon is about 2mx2m. It has a watertight box containing the paperwork and envelopes and a secure metal post box to deposit the envelope with money. We joke that in other islands these post boxes would have been chainsawed off (stolen) the moment they had any cash in them!
Back at Cloudy Bay we leave the mooring and head back east along the coast. It’s very windy today and there is a 3 kts current running against the wind which raises a real choppy see for us to motor into. By the time we reach the shelter of Frances Bay the boat is covered in salt spray. Damn, we’ll need rain again and start the salt rinse-off all over again!
We take another mooring buoy in Maho bay in 3m of bright blue sparkling water. Not many yachts in here and there is no swell.
The rest of the afternoon we just chill on the boat. And I go for a snorkel to do the usual barnacle clearing. It seems they are gripping to the bottom non stop now. Odd that last year we only got a thin film of slime and no barnacles. This year no slime and lots of barnies 🙁
After a quick drone flight over the bay (where the drone behaved impeccably today) we tootle ashore and walk the beach. Not as pretty as Honeymoon beach, but it’s very tranquil. At one end there is a funky bar set up among fruit trees with odd colourful chairs and seating in the sand and shade. Again we forgot to bring cash. It’s actually a good technique for saving money we decide! Maybe we visit again tomorrow, prepared.
Back on Cloudy Bay we eat and watch the sun set over St. Thomas in a totally cloudless sky, yielding a deep red glow 30 minutes later. Then a nearly full moon comes up. It’s so bright that in the late evening it feels like we are floating on glass as the shallow water is lit up.
We spend the evening working on the next video, St. Eustatius. It seems like hard work at first but we enjoy seeing the clips. Feels like months ago since we shot them … well, it was months ago! We are a bit behind on our editing!