Sailing to the Spanish Virgin Islands - Feb. 1-12, 2015

We had been talking about sailing to the Spanish Virgin Islands for a long time.  So when Phil & Laura mentioned the subject to us while sailing Nantucket last July, we all agreed to that it was indeed a great IDEA!

The Spanish Virgin Islands have always been a well-kept secret, even back in the days of Bluebeard and other famous pirates who used the islands for hide-outs.  Once known as the Passage Islands, they are graced with white sandy beaches and crystal clear turquoise water loaded with barracuda, sea turtles, and deep purple sea fans.

We met up at the American Yacht Harbor at Redhook on the east end of St. Thomas, USVI and of course, we immediately set about to properly provision for the voyage.

The course took us 4 hours and 48 minutes cruising through the beautiful Caribbean and passing the "white-stained" SAILROCK off our starboard side.

We sailed into Ensenada Honda on Isla de Culebra and moored behind a beautiful protective shallow reef.  We watched this beautiful schooner sail pass as we also made a telephone call to customs to report our recent entry.

The sleepy little town of Dewey is comprised of a ragtag assortment of wooden lean-tos with only a handful of bars and stores that may or not-be open on any given day.  This is the only store we found that could supply us with a bit more rum and beer.

The next day found us sailing and anchoring at the little bay on the southwest side of the tiny island of Isla Culebrita.  No bars, no restaurants, no T-shirt shops, and basically no people - but great beaches and beautiful waters.

We walked across the island to Tortuga Beach, which is very possibly the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean.  The walk is a bit rough-going while wearing only beach sandals.

Phil and I spent some of the morning hours with coffee and nautical chart review.  It's best to plan your passage back and forth across to St. Thomas taking into account the wind speed, wind direction, and ground swell activity for this time of year.

And the locals did celebrate the success of our return voyage with song and libations here at Skinney Legs on St. John in Coral Bay.