The Virgin Islands

I re-discovered the Virgin islands and fell in love with them this time. It's amazing how weather conditions can impact our experience as cruisers. Exactly an year ago, in March, we got to the Virgin Islands. That time we had strong winds and north swells during our stay in the virgin islands. Finding good anchorages wasn't easy and we were rolling like crazy. This year, however, the conditions were much mellower and and our experience improved considerably.

This time, we stopped in Virgin Gorda for one night and then moved to Norman's Island to spend another night in The Bight. After that, we sailed 35 miles south to visit St. Croix for the first time and meet with friends. We had a wonderful day of sailing with calm seas and light winds that enabled us to fly the spinnaker all the way there. What a joy!

St. Croix, being the one US Virgin island that it's further south from all the others, doesn't see a lot of traffic in terms of charters and even cruisers, setting this island apart from all the rest.. The town is very quiet compared to the rest of the other islands and it even feels more authentic. We met up with our friends from So What, whom we last saw in August in Grenada. We spent a few great days with them and then sailed to Gorda Sound, in Virgin Gorda, our favourite place in the BVIs. 

Boardwalk in Christiansted, St. Croix

The old customs House.

Entrance to the fort.

Inside the fort.

The government house. This building still being used by the current government and, therefore, the 3 floor is not accessible to visitors.

Another view of the Government House.

The kids dancing in the ballroom, Government House.

We spent several days anchored behind New Eustatia island, the island rumoured to be owned by Google's co-founder Larry Page. The crystal clear water with sandy bottom and the protection of the reef makes this a great spot for anchoring. We had a beautiful beach close-by (thanks Larry for letting us used the beach!) and it was the perfect spot for kayaking and kite surfing.

New Eustatia Island.

Hike up Prickly Pear. View of Bitter End Yatch Club.

We saw the Michael Beans' Happy Arrrrr! Show again this year. And again, the kids won the conch blowing contest :)

After a few days anchored in New Eustatia, we decided to leave to go to Anegada with Wind Whisper, Korrigan and Nordic Belle II. Anegada is a pretty island with some beautiful beaches. The island is so flat that you barely see it until you're a few miles out. We rented a car and drove to the north part of the island, where we explored the two most famous beaches. The island is known for its flamingoes but we couldn't see a single one.

Walking around the town in Setting Pt., Anegada.

Matias and Elea building a fort.

The whole gang driving around in Anegada. I'm sure we looked as locals.

Playing soccer with a ball we found at the beach.

Bonfire time! Korrigan and Taia at the background.

After that we went to the north side of Tortola, to explore a few bays we haven't visited last year. We found a few very nice spots but finding a good anchoring spot proved to be difficult in most parts: we had trouble getting our anchor set or there were too many mooring balls and not enough spaces to anchor.

Next we decided to go to St. John and spend a couple of days in Cinnamon Bay. This is a beautiful bay, with crystal clear water, nice snorkelling and a great beach. It even has a nice camping space and small cabins for rent.