HONEYMOON BAY. ST THOMAS. USVI
31 January 2014 | 27TH DECEMBER 2013 UNTIL 9th FEBRUARY 2014
WARM CARIBBEAN SUNSHINE
IMAGE: SUE AND PATTI – HAVING FUN!
We sailed into St Thomas on the morning of 27th December... a few days later than planned – but safe and sound. We phoned Sue on our Sat Phone as we sailing past Cockroach & Cricket islands and asked them to look out from their deck at home and see us sailing in. Great to be back!
Within an hour of our arrival and taking up residency again in Honeymoon Bay off Water Island Christopher delivering our Christmas gifts. Shortly after Abrie came across to check we were all OK and discuss our passage – he had been following the weather all through our trip and understood just how tough it had been out there. Sue sent a message – we were invited to the Offshore Christmas Party on tonight at 6pm at Heidi’s on the beach at Honeymoon - the first of many parties! It was good to see all the familiar faces of the Offshore staff and their families again , we both enjoyed a excellent BBQ steak and a few painkillers(drinks) to help get over our passage. Sues Mum, sister and niece we all down from Florida for the holidays – so great to see the Mason family again, and have this opportunity to spend time together. Wow what a great 1st night – we feel like we are ‘home’ again. It was FULL ON for the next week whilst Sues family were visiting – on the 28th we had a day out on the water in the Offshore big yellow rib – zipping around coastal St John & St Thomas. 29th was an evening Charades and Margarita party at Sues lovely home, and then on Saturday it was a girls day out at the Book Swap and Jumble sale at Humane society. On New Years Eve late afternoon we headed up to the lookout to toast out the year and watch the last sunset of 2013 – just beautiful and then a wonderful New Years Eve mother Mason food feast – a traditional German style meal with all the trimmings. We all just managed to see the New Year in watching the New York festivities in Times Square on the TV. During the next week we went for a Night dive at Buck Island with Christopher and a few of his mates – not too successful for us as we have not dived for far too long and needed some extra weights (which we didn’t have) for our weight belts to keep us down! We had a mini Africa reunion, Sue & Abrie, Harry & Betsy and James & I enjoyed a great night with lots of ‘stories’ and wonderful meal at the local 17 Restaurant. The next weekend was busy – Saturday night was the Fishing Club Dinner at Red Hook – and we were part of the 10 strong gang in the Offshore Marine Group. The nightlife in Red Hook kicks off after 10pm – so we were all up of it – until we ran into the kids out having fun too – very embarrassing for the parents to be in the same bar as their children! We met up for Sunday Brunch at Crown Bay Marina with Harry & Betsy for more Africa chat and looking through each others photos –a great time had by all. Both Christopher and Abrie enjoy a Roast Lamb dinner, especially with roast potatoes! - and Sue gets to have a night off from the stove too! so James & I took the opportunity to cook up at their house and have a lovely meal together before Christopher’s return to college on Sunday 19th . Sue and I did a 3 mile Charity Jog (we walked) on Sunday 26th and managed to not only finish and improve our time from last year – but we were in the event photo on the front page of the local paper too! After the Jog we met up with another one of our African trip friends Boel for a cool off swim at the beautiful Hull Bay and then an excellent BBQ evening meal at home with S & A . Monday 27th was a Public Holiday so I enjoyed a girls day out with Sue, Amy and Felicia on a Golf Cart tour around Water Island and then the evening movie night on Honeymoon Beach. After the Jogger Jam both Sue and I decided we could do with getting a bit more exercise - so 3 of us (not Abrie) met up every afternoon at 5pm for an hours walk around various parts of the island – excellent exercise and a good chance to see some more parts of this beautiful island. Sue, Boel, Amy & I were participants at another charity event on Saturday 1st February – a 1 mile swim (we waded) across Magens Bay – a great event in a splendid location – and we all received a medal for our efforts. Sunday 2nd was James Birthday and Superbowl Sunday – so we started the day with Bruch with Griz and Dee and later a combined Birthday cake and Tex-Mex evening whilst watching the Seattle Seahawks absolutely defeat the Denver Broncos. It was great to spend that evening also with Boel and Cody. Wednesday 5th February was my birthday and Sue decided to try to kill me... on a steep 1 mile uphill walk up above Brewers Bay – but the swim, champagne and cake on the beach later was well deserved. I received a wonderful gift from Sue and Boel – an amazing 1 hour massage with hot stones given by Boel – thanks girls, it was just wonderful. Our last ‘party event’ before finally leaving was the Millionaires Watch Party hosted by Hal & Amy at their watch and jewellery outlet in downtown Charlotte Amalie. The VIP after-party was held high up in the hills overlooking the beautiful harbour – a very dramatic sight at night. Despite all the parties and various get-togethers we managed to do some boat maintenance jobs and watched a variety of Monday night movies each week at Honeymoon Bay. Hanging-out at Honeymoon Bay suites us very well – the Bar has Sport TV, perfect for James to follow the English football and his beloved Arsenal team who are doing very well this season, and a good internet service for our entertainment downloads. We are just a short dingy ride away of the Offshore Marine office and workshop – so could easily keep in touch with Sue and Abrie.
With just SO MUCH going on we thought we would never leave!! Finally, after filling with fuel and water at Crown Bay Marina on Sunday 9th February we sailed away from St Thomas to explore the British Virgin Islands and further down the Leeward Islands chain.