Capt Chris, 80's breezy
12/02/2008, Coral Bay St. John USVI

As of yesterday the official hurricane season ended. Christa and I made it through thankfully but not without significant stress and worry. As I mentioned before, I just don't think I possess the type of personality that belongs in the belt during the season. In the graphic you can see a pretty fair number of storms. But what you don't see are all the disturbed weather that popped up everywhere that never really developed but are wear on you mentally nearly as much as a named storm.

It was one for the record books. The 10th busiest ever recorded. First time ever a major hurricane was recorded in five separate months. Hurricane Paloma was the second strongest hurricane ever recorded in November at 145 MPH. And of course we had Omar which went the opposite direction of the vast majority of hurricanes. So all in all I am lucky, but not feeling stoked about it.

Wonder where I'll be next season?

Capt Chris

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Capt Chris, 80's breezy
12/02/2008, Hawksnest Cove North Coast St John

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Capt Chris, 80 degree's, wind calm
11/27/2008, Coral Bay St. John USVI

On this Thanksgiving I have much to be thankful for. Take yesterday, the day I snapped this picture from Christa's spreader. It was such a beautiful day. The wind has eased up allowing the water to be less stirred and even clearer. During normal easterly trades a ground swell can develop but over the last days the wind has been northeast preventing any kind of ground swell. I arise with the sun, crack on a pot of coffee and watch the sun rise. As the temperature warms into the low 80's I take the dingy ashore and make the 5-minute stroll along the beach and round up onto the path and catch the bus, which is on time. I step off a few minutes later to dine at the Donkey Diner and check the weather and email. I quickly gather the local news from the staff, power was out.......came back on.......could be off later.......T-Day fiesta at Skinny Legs....blah blah blah. I love it. I hitch a ride back to the beach and retrace my path back to Christa. But wait, a new boat anchored off Christa quarter? It's Lori aboard Sill who I met in Culebra who knows Jeff and Susan the owners of the mooring I'm swing on. Lori pilots a 25 foot Hunter with no engine, a hardy sailor no doubt. She is in town for the Coral Bay Regatta. After polite chit chat I take a long snorkel trip out to the reef and spend a few moments scrubbing Christa's bottom. I spent the rest of the day reading and eating Spanish rice from Trader Joe's.

But really what Thanksgiving is all about is gratitude toward the folks aboard the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria whose arduous trip across the Atlantic started the whole shooting match. We owe an awful lot to those settlers. Unfortunately many contempory historians like to sling mud at those folks for shortcomings in community relations. The way I see it is Dutch and English settlers got together with a bunch of Indians to give thanks. A ground breaking ceremony of multiculturalism. Lets not forget that just prior to the revolution Britain passed a law stipulating that British Soldiers would be housed in the colonist's homes and the colonists would have to pick up the tab! Think about that! So I feel fortunate I won't have to share Christa with any Redcoats.

Thanksgiving is also about gratitude in general. So I am pretty grateful. Although I do have to say that just because I'm living what could be seen as this dreamy type life and it is great, don't be confused. But everyone has a happiness set point and as long as the basics in life are covered one's over all disposition doesn't change much. I find myself pretty much the same guy I was yesterday and the day before and the year before and on we go. Happiness is a top priority for me. I study the topic and try with all my might to make decision with this goal in mind. When I tack poorly life usually lets me know straight away and I try not to repeat. I'm not successful all the time, but a least I have a plan.

I am bummed I'm not with the family this Thanksgiving, but these are the rigors of my life style. I hope to improve on that aspect of my life. In any event happy Thanksgiving to all hands.

Capt Chris

Comments [6]

Capt Chris, 80's, light NE breeze
11/22/2008, St. John U.S. Virgin Islands

I took a job as a charter boat captain aboard the Sadie Sea making runs out of Cruz Bay St John. It will be nice to put my license to good use. Please take the time and surf on over to Sadie Sea's website by clicking on Sadie Sea above.

Many moons ago in Luperon I met a fellow named Casey who lives here on St John. You may recall Casey really came through in the clutch to help me out with my rear transmission seal. Well Case had told me about his buddy Ben who owns the Sadie Sea and that they could use a relief captain from time to time. You see many people hold six pack licenses on the island which means they can carry only six or less passengers where my license allows me any number of passengers only limited by the number of passengers the boat itself is certified to hold. So Sadie can run up to 37 passengers. So after meeting up with Casey the other day he made the introduction to Ben and off we went. On Thursday I sailed with Sadie on a run along the south coast to pick up hikers who hiked to the waters edge from the Reef Bay Trail. We lash Sadie up to a National Parks Mooring, run ashore in the ships tender pick up the hikers and transport back to the mother ship. Then it is about a 40 minute run back to Cruz Bay. Sadie Sea also does all manner of charter work from parties to dive and snorkel trips.

Ben and I hit it off just swimmingly. He is only 24 and bought the business from his mom who started it in 1989. He is a real business man and I love that. So on Monday I'll do a run with Ben and if I'm comfortable and can remember my safety spiel I give to the tourists the boat's all mine on Thursday. At present it looks like I'll do two runs a week and once the season really kicks in I may be running the boat five days a week.

Now this does beg the question of where do I stand in terms of my sailing adventure. No worries. It's on. Once Janina arrives we shall come up with a game plan for sailing for the rest of the season. We may stay here in St John for a month or two and make some quick bank and move on. I want to remain flexible. Like many my portfolio has taken a real beating and even though I am able to live off my pension, It would be tough for me to pass up the chance to make some extra cash along the way. Not to mention being a charter boat skipper in the Caribbean during the winter does sounds appealing now doesn't it?


Capt Chris....live from the Donkey Diner

Comments [5]

Capt Chris, 80's, light NE breeze
11/22/2008, St. John U.S. Virgin Islands

I took this photo from the road as I walked into Coral Bay proper. It is the picture of Johnson's Bay and Johnson's reef where Christa's currently swings on her mooring. In the distance you can see the east end of St John and further out you can gander at Norman's Island part of the British Virgin Islands which is on Christa itinerary someday. It is starting to sink in about how nice it will be to have the next destination just a few miles away or just over the horizon.

I have been sleeping like a rock and usually lights out just after 9pm. The moon is now going into its darker phase so I'm just starting to experience the Johnson's Bay in total darkness. With no backscatter of any sort the stars are a true delight, right in your face. Since the Virgin Islands are small and scattered the concept of a night lee doesn't really wash here. So the trades have been blowing, even at night keeping air flowing down the hatches and the wind generator producing electricity. Good thing as I have been having to run the water maker for three hours or so per day. Since leaving Salinas I've found no shower facilities to speak of ashore so I've had to shower aboard which adds to the consumption matrix. For the curious, Christa really doesn't have a decent shower per say. But I did buy one of those solar shower deals which has been working great. It is a black plastic bag that holds 4 gallons of water that heats up in the sun nicely. In the evening I hoist it from the main halyard and take a shower out on deck. Since I am surrounded by clear clean ocean sometimes I rinse in the 84 degree ocean and then rinse again with the fresh water. It can be a real scene when the boat starts rolling which gets the bag swing which complicates this picture I've painted. It would be best to have a shower partner.

I have found and others have confirmed that the U.S. Virgin Islands are really not cruiser friendly. Word on the street is that the BVI's are much more geared toward people like me. Just take Coral Bay as an example, you cannot obtain or purchase water from anywhere unless you have a car. Just this fact alone would chase off a substantial number of cruisers. Surely you could not have a congregation of cruisers in the vain of a Luperon DR. Even though Coral Bay has a substantial number of boats on the hook, all of them are based out of St John. Cruisers need to have at least some things that are close to being easily gathered. St John has no marina facility and very limited anchoring. Now there are very good reasons for this, but the net result is USVI's are not cruiser friendly. The bays along the north coast are truly breath taking and to protect the reefs no anchoring is aloud. The National Park Service has put in a number of moorings which are great. But at $15 dollars a night the majority of takers are the charter boat crowd that comes over from BVI's. Most cruisers can't afford $15 a night for any length of time and again getting back and forth to the store could cost twice as much as the mooring itself. It is what it is.

However St John may be just fine without us cruisers. Not every island should be cruiser friendly. I have noticed that the people who do come to St John on vacation and then simply never leave are very hard working for the most part. Many hold three or four jobs and are constantly manuvering to make ends meet, but they love their island home. They also love their booze and bars. Just because it is not cruiser friendly doesn't mean a cruiser can't make it here, you can, just depends on your physical condition. Most cruisers are older and simply could not sustain the demands it takes to make things work here. I have been walking 3 to 5 miles a day, sometimes with groceries and a backpack on in the heat. I like the exercise especially since it is to dangerous to run on the roads. As I get to know people I am getting more and more rides. I also use the bus, but the bus has its own issues that maybe I'll write about some other day. In the end, I do love it here whether it caters to my needs or not.


Capt Chris

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