Christmas in the Caribbean

Hello to all once again from St. Thomas, USVI. As I suspect will be common, much has changed since my last update. After working on the boat in Puerto Rico, we relaxed in Culebra for a few days. Then we made our way to St Croix, USVI. This is the least touristy of the USVI and we met a man named Ben (age 26) who had heard of our plans to sail around the world. He invited us on to his boat and we shared stories for an evening. The next day, with John and I feeling less that stellar, Ben invited us to crew on the Roseway. This is a famous 130 Ft schooner and we felt honored to be called crew members for a day. On that ship we met a woman named Emmy who Ben knew. She invited all of us to her "house" for dinner. Since it had been over a month since John or I had a home-cooked meal, we both anxiously agreed, and were we glad we did. She and her husband's house over looks Christenstead Bay and is on the leeward side of one of the tallest mountains in St Croix. We had homemade pasta and Star Fruit. It was a great meal and they are some of the most hospitable people we have met on the trip so far. They even offered to drive us around the island and pick up whatever supplies we needed. After a few more stories and beers we headed back to our boat with renewed spirits and full bellies. The next few days were a blur of working on the boat and meeting more people. As far as the boat is concerned we unsuccessfully tried to make the mail sail reef-able (able to be brought down) from the cockpit, but we did manage to strip all the wood to the bar teak and painted the deck with new non-skid. For those of you who came down to see the boat with a red cockpit and white decks, you will have to check out some pictures of what LongShot looks like now. I haven't taken any pictures of her yet, but I will soon. On our last day in St. Croix we invited some of the crew of Roseway over to our boat- which pales in comparison. We had a few drinks and got offered more advice. We even had a few crew who we considering jumping ship and coming with us… After a short day sail to Buck Island—where we made sand castles—we made our sail to St. Thomas. On this trip we learned another lesson, always check the weather the morning you leave. We had listened to the VHF forecast the night before and they were calling for slightly rough seas, but nothing major. The next morning the tropical storm Olga had grown considerable and what was supposed to be an easy sail turned into 12-15 ft seas and 35-40 knot winds. Although Olga had passed us, she was leaving a churned-up sea behind her, and this made the sail less than fun… But alas, we made it to St. Thomas, averaging just over 6 knots, which is very fast for our boat. We are now at anchor in a large bay near the airport. There also happens to be another smaller educational schooner in this bay. We have made friends with their crew of 5 and they have invited us for dinner and drinks a few nights. A group of us even went to a free street fair downtown and had a really fun night. I have a few pictures of the fair. All in all, life is good and the wisdom we are gaining is invaluable, yet there is rarely a day when John and I don't talk about how lucky we are to have so many people who care so much about us, and are so supportive. As I set here at Beach Combers Bar, looking out at the ocean and our boat, it isn't the beautiful view I am most thankful for, but the outpouring of support that we have received from those who are following us. Please keep the encouragement coming it is always appreciated. Until next time, I send my warmest regards and a happy holiday season. Keith