The Virgin Islands I

April 29^th 2013

Position 18° 17.444’ N
                65° 16.848’ W

Culebra, Spanish Virgin Islands


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Leaving Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico

Culebra on the horizon

Approaching Ensenada Honda

Moose & Mofungo my sailing companions!

After arriving in Culebra we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, enjoyed happy hour, ate dinner and had a good night’s sleep. Bill & Ann on ‘Ann Louise’ had planned to travel overnight from Salinas to Culebra, I had speculated about the timing of their arrival thinking that they would cruise in around 11:00. At 08:00 Bill called us on the cell phone to ask “Where are you anchored?”, after talking for a few minutes HT and I went outside to look for them and sure enough there they were entering the main channel. It was good to see them again as it had been two weeks since we were in Salinas. They were able to pick up the mooring ball next to us and once again we were companions. We made Bloody Marys on board ‘Partners’ for all. Bill & Ann needed some sleep and returned to ‘Ann Louise’ we went into town to buy some groceries at Milka the local store and also try to find a diver to take care of the barnacles on ‘Partners’ bottom and running gear.   

The tranquility of Dakity

We ate dinner while watching this...

Culebra is part of Puerto Rico and is small with only a population of 2,000 people, it is relatively unspoiled and it is known for its diving sites and Flamenco Beach, the worlds #5 best beach. The population, as described in the cruising guide, is made up of dropouts, eccentrics’ and tourist entrepreneurs’. Being only an hour away from Puerto Rico, by fast ferry, Culebra is a ‘get away’ destination for many so the economy revolves around catering to the many visitors that come. The weekends are big, Latin’s love their weekends; weekends mean party, loud music, food and are generally lived to the full. We have found out that on Culebra things are, however, much tamer than on the mainland of Puerto Rico and the weekends, unlike the mainland, are actually much quieter with the exception of Flamenco Beach where it is party central. In Ensenada Honda and Dakity where we are moored, yes there are a few more fast runabouts which come for the weekend but generally life actually slows down and most of the shops are closed too.  

Downtown Culebra

Downtown Culebra

Culebra is a sleepy place where most of the population doesn’t seem to want to work or for one reason or another doesn’t have to! We need our bottom and running gear cleaned; the rudder actually has seaweed growing on it that waives at us as the current flows past it! I have stopped at three places now to employ a diver and no one wants the job, it isn’t because of the money as a price was not even discussed with any of the three, they just didn’t need or want the work! The town of Dewey has all the staples, three grocery stores and a fresh fruit and vegetable market, two hardware stores and an abundance of restaurants and bars, oh, and a baseball stadium, quite a big one. Before the following comment I must say that we have met some great people here mostly young energetic ones who often have two jobs and are doing well for themselves enjoying this beautiful island and its lifestyle. Alternatively, it is easy to see why the lifestyle here appeals to those with a bent on being lazy and aspiring to having even less accomplishment in their lives. Life here requires very little, the climate means one needs few clothes, housing seems basic and affordable; those people who live on their boats, as we do, don’t even have to pay for the Department of Natural Resources mooring balls, they are provided free as is the parking in town for ones dinghy!  

A dinghy ride in the Luis Pena channel

We have done plenty of exploring in our dinghy we have crossed to Luis Pena Island on Culebra’s west side, the largest of the many surrounding smaller islands, have explored some of the beaches around the island, most though have live coral reefs guarding them which make it difficult to land although at many of them moorings are provided so it is possible to snorkel the reefs and swim ashore. As we approach the reef protected shorelines we could see the many different coloured fan corals waiving above the surface of the water as the waves gently pass over them, we get to see so much and something new almost every day. A large part of the NE side of Culebra is a nature reserve giving total protection to the native flora and fauna.
 

The ‘Dinghy Dock’ is the Cruisers waterfront bar and restaurant also providing free dinghy dockage as an alternative to the town dock. All four of us soon adopted this venue as ‘home base’!  

Moon explosion!

May 1^st The next ‘episode’ in our lives as cruisers was not good…our generator had been sounding strained and as I was making my morning cup of tea and charging our batteries, my morning routine, the electrical panel went ‘dark’ and everything shut down. I could smell an electrical burning smell, definitely not a good sign and immediately knew something had suffered a severe problem. Initially I thought that it was the inverter/charger but before too long diagnosed that it was more serious and it was the electrical side of the generator. The generator was running fine but was not transferring any volts! I immediately made the decision to set sail for St. Thomas; we needed a marina and some skilled help. With the generator problem we had to have our 110v power cords ‘plugged in’ as we had no alternative, other than running the main engine, of charging the batteries. We were cruising in some pretty heavy seas toward St. Thomas but ‘Partners’ was behaving well, I called Yacht Haven Grande Marina to reserve a berth and asked them for a suggestion of a marine electrician to fix our problem. Gradually as we approached St. Thomas the seas relented and the lee protection from the land to our east was welcomed. We entered Yacht Haven Grande Marina at Midday. As we had arrived from Culebra, another US protectorate, we did not have to clear in at Charlotte Amalie, the capital of St. Thomas. YHG is one of, if not, the premier marina facility in the Caribbean and is adjacent to the cruise ship docks and right by the upscale shopping centre in Charlotte Amalie, very posh! You may think that I am joking, I’m not, but we are the smallest boat here, most are mega yachts of between 100’-200’ with smartly dress crews who are constantly cleaning and polishing.

'Ann Louise'

 

Together in Dakity, Culebra

More from St. Thomas and the USVI’s in the next issue...