Passage to St John, USVI

Passage to St John, USVI

Monday 13th - Tuesday 14th January 2025

On Monday morning there was a steady stream of boats leaving the anchorage in Ballast Bay, St Kitts. We all look at similar weather forecasts and know that a prolonged period of strong trade-winds is on its way. We all needed to make a decision on whether to stay in St Kitts and wait for more benign conditions to return, or to move on before the seas became too gnarly. Some boats looked like they were heading north to St Martin or St Barts, A couple of boats, including ourselves, were headed to the Virgin Islands, and our friends Dean and Kris opted to stay put.

For our passage, the forecast turned out to be accurate. We needed to use the motor a little bit whilst in the shadow of St Kitts and St Eustatia, but once clear of the islands we had good wind. We had 10-15 knots more or less out of the north-east and our route was heading north-west so it was a good beam reach (occasionally a little forward of the beam, sometimes a little behind). Once we passed the island of Saba we opted to put a reef in the main and also in the Genoa. It wasn’t that we were so much overpowered, but we were going much faster than anticipated ( > 7 knots) and we didn’t want to arrive in the US Virgin Islands whilst it was still dark. Even with both sails reefed we were making great speed, and the seas, whilst a little bumpy, weren’t too bad. In the end it took us 22 hours to complete the 140 nautical mile passage. We slowed right down for the last 10 miles just so we didn’t arrive too early.

On passage we ate pate, cheese, crackers and vegetables for lunch, then African chicken and peanut stew for dinner. We pre-made the stew the day before, which was a smart move, and it was really delicious. Once the sun set Gloria and I alternated 2 hour watches, whilst the other person was resting / sleeping on bench in the cockpit. Everything went well, but it’s still an exhausting experience because you really don’t get much sleep.

Once we arrived at St John we found that all the National Park moorings in Great Lameshur Bay were already taken, so we moved a couple of miles eastwards (just to the west of the park) and anchored in Rendezvous Bay. I have to say that it is quite lovely here. We used the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP Roam) App for the first time, to check-in. Initially, it was a little cumbersome to figure out, partly because we needed to set up a purchasing account on the US government website in order to buy a “decal” for the boat. This is like a fee for taking your boat, plane or car across the border and we have never heard of it before. However, once that was sorted and the forms filled in on CBP-Roam, it was just a click of a button to submit our arrival application. We got an immediate response to say it had been received and evaluation was pending, then 30 minutes later a second message (and email) to confirm our entry had been approved. This is a great system that will allow us to tour the Spanish Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and return to the USA without having to show up in person at an official port of entry.

So now we have some time to explore the USVI before our friends arrive on February 1st.

Mike

18 18.939 N, 64 46.103 W

The marina buildings atChristophe Harbor, St Kitts

On Sunday, our final day in St Kitts, we took a short walk over to the east side of the island and walked around this lovely bay and out to the headland on the right hand side

We were stunned to see a troop of monkeys - clearly wild, but presumably not native originally

Saba from our closest point of approach (5 miles). This is wild and weird looking place. There appears to be no well protected harbor or all-weather dock, and yet people live on the precipitous slopes of the island

The sun sets as we make our way north-west and St John.

The view across the deckas we sail through the night. It was a full moon, so incredibly bright. Nonetheless this and photo below are ~ 60 second exposures. Just holding the tripod steady in the bouncy conditions was a challenge

The cockpit at night - you can see Gloria trying to get some rest on the port side bench. The chart plotter (left) and autopilot control (right) are both lit up on the pedestal and you can see the reef in the main sail

The moon reflecting on the water was beautiful. You can really only capture these abstract stryle shots because the exposures are long and even though the camera is on a tripod there is so much boat motion.

!

Sunset the evening before the passage ... "orange" sky at night, sailors delight