May 12, 2022and a
Bright and early on Sunday, May 8, we left “party cove” after two loud nights. Our goal for this day was the island of St. Thomas, a part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a passage of only 22 miles. Under normal conditions this would take about four hours, but with the seas and winds on our nose, it turned out to be more like six hours. But we made it into the bustling harbor of Charlotte Amalie, the island’s capital.
We got Slow Dancer anchored and used the CBP Roam app on our phone to check in to the country. Since this is a US territory, the check-in process is not quite as difficult as some other countries. After we were settled into our new anchorage, we dropped the dinghy and headed to a dock near downtown.
After two bouncy, busy days and nights of watching boats racing, seaplanes landing and taking off from the water, and a number of mega yachts we left St. Thomas. We were bound for the island of St. John, 12 miles away. The majority of St. John is a national park with the land donated by Lawrence Rockefeller in 1956. The land and sea life on this island are heavily protected. The sea creatures are full of life and color and don’t seem to be very afraid of humans. Lots of hiking trails have been established and maintained in the park. Our hike to the petroglyphs was seven miles round trip with an elevation change of 600 feet.
