Notes
and memories of our first trip to the Virgin Islands
By
John Vollaro
This
will combine my memory of that trip (24 years ago), with the hand
written notes that I made while in the Virgin Islands in January of
1974.
We
had to overcome a number of obstacles to move our thoughts of sailing
in the Virgin Islands from a dream to reality. We had no experience
with chartering and had to choose a boat ( sight unseen ) and deal
with people we had never met. We had never sailed in the ocean and
had to convince the owner of the boat that we could handle it. We had
to study navigation charts, learn how to clear customs and sail in
British waters as well as American waters. We had to arrange for our
children’s care while we were gone and deal with a lot of
complicated logistics. Alice became pregnant during the planning
stage and was 2 month along when we were ready to leave.
When
our plans were all made and it was time to leave, Grandma Betty who
offered to watch the children got ill and could not make it. Grandma
Mary and Uncle Joe rose to the occasion at the last minute, and on
the evening of January 3, we drove through 4 inches of new snow to
drop them off in Westchester. At 5AM the next morning, we left for
the airport, and by 1PM we had arrived in St. Thomas. We planned to
spend Saturday and Sunday sight seeing on St. Thomas and checked into
the Villa Olga where we had reservations for the weekend. We could
see the main harbor of St. Thomas from our room, and could watch a
seaplane take off and land near by. We walked into Charlotte Amalie
and had dinner near the water front. There are a lot of expensive
stores there and the traffic is worse than down town in New York
City.
We
woke up Saturday mourning to pouring rain which lasted until about
10AM and then cleared. The day was spent shopping and driving around
the island. one place we went to was Tillets where they sell silk
screens, frames and doors decorated with shells, wood work and
pottery. We drove to the highest points on the island , enjoyed the
view, and had lunch at the Rusty Roost.
On
Sunday morning, we met Ed Pegram, the owner of the boat that we were
chartering. He showed us around the 26 foot Pearson called Jewel and
talked to us about the best places to sail and what to avoid. He was
very Thorough.
At
1PM, we met Alice’s friend Nancy and her husband who were living on
St. Thomas. They took us on a grand tour of the island. We had a nice
visit, a drink at the Mountain Top Hotel, (Home of the banana
daiquiri), and had lunch at Sapphire Beach.
Monday
mourning, we checked out of the Villa Olga, and began loading stores
onto the boat. By noon, we were on our way, sailing out of the harbor
and heading for Christmas Cove as our first anchorage. It took a
while for me to get used to the boat and I found to my disappointment
that it did not point into the wind very well and stalled easily. I
could not get the boat to come about without the aid of the motor in
a heavy wind. Motoring in heavy seas is difficult because the
outboard motor cavitates. We ran into a rain storm and had to anchor
until it had past. Meanwhile, time had flown by and we had no chance
of making Christmas Cove. It was too late to turn back so we headed
for the nearest satisfactory anchorage which was Mangrove Lagoon. Me
made the lagoon about an hour after dark. Fortunately there was a
full moon which was a big help. Even so, we would have run into a
reef if Alice had not studied the charts carefully by flash light and
argued with me about how to approach the entrance. All the while, we
were sailing in 5 - 7 foot swells and managed to break the first rule
of chartering which is, “ never sail at night”.
When
we finally made the calm waters of the lagoon, I spied several boats
anchored in a cove and decided that it would be a good idea to anchor
near them. I did not notice that they were catamarans which only draw
1 or 2 feet of water while our boat requires 6 feet or more. As I
cautiously approached, an irritated sailor with a strong calypso
twang came towards us in his dingy yelling at the top of his lungs.
“Your crazy to sail at night, you can’t anchor here, its too
shallow, you will be high and dry by morning”. I thanked him and
said we were sorry but had problems with the boat and had to come
into the lagoon. He obviously knew the waters so I asked him if he
would lead us to a safe place to anchor lest we run a muck in the
harbor. He seemed glad to oblige. Little did I know that he was a
Coast Guard auxiliary and that his help qualified as a rescue at sea!
He made great points, but put us in the dog house as we learned when
we returned the boat. Thus ended the first day of our adventure at
sea.
Tuesday,
January 8, 1974
We
learned from the weather report that we were in the midst of a “rare
tropical depression” that has caused a small craft advisory to be
posted for the past couple of weeks, and that was likely to last for
a few more weeks. This at least explained the high wind and heavy
seas we were experiencing. I filled our gas tank, and we set sail for
St. John. We motored through Current Cut and across Pillsbury Sound.
We experienced 25 knot winds and 8 foot swells. After very slow
traveling, we anchored in Caneel Bay on St. John and went ashore for
lunch. It was very pleasant here and we walked around the old sugar
plantation that was transformed into an expensive resort.
Wednesday,
January 9, 1974
We
left Caneel bay and sailed a short distance to Trunk Bay. This is a
beautiful Caribbean beach and very popular. We spent most of the day
here snorkeling and taking the sun. It was our first exposure to the
wild donkeys that roam the island. There is a snorkel trail here and
it was our first exposure to the clear Caribbean waters and the
beautiful world beneath the surface. We swam through large schools of
fish and explored the abundant coral and sea life. The water was so
clear that when we swam into 20 or 30 feet of water, Alice
experienced vertigo and had to head for shallow water.
We
finally left Trunk bay and sailed through the narrows to Sophers Hole
on the west end of Tortola. This brought us into the British Virgin
Islands and we had to clear customs. There was a small stone house on
the beach where the customs facility was housed. The woman who
checked us through customs was also baking bread and I managed to buy
a loaf from her. In later years, this place would develop into a
major marina and tourist attraction with a water front sports bar,
expensive shops, and a bureaucratic customs office. A far cry from
the little stone house and the lady who had time to bake bread while
running the customs office.
Thursday
January 10, 1974
Alice
awoke sick to her stomach. We were not surprised given that she was 2
months pregnant, and sailing in rough seas for the last two days. We
finally concluded that it was over exposure to the sun and not the
rough water that did her in. We laid low for the day and fortunately
she was better by evening. We decided to take a taxi to Rhode Town,
the major city and port on Tortola. We walked around and had chicken
and chips at one of the pubs.
Friday
January 11, 1974
By
now, we have figured out the idiosyncrasies of Jewel including her
motor that likes to stall at the most inopportune times, (like when
pulling into a pier). Alice has mastered the alcohol cooking stove
and is a first rate navigator even if a bit edgy. After taking on
food, fuel, and water, we set sail for Norman Island. The water is
still very rough but we had a good sail. After a short rain squall,
we sailed into the Bight and anchored there. We saw wild cattle on
the beach here too but took the dingy ashore and spent time exploring
for shells. Later we had dinner and enjoyed the rest of the evening
under the stars.
Saturday
January 12, 1974
Norman
Island is said to have inspired the story of Treasure Island. The
western end of the island has a number of caves (treasure caves) at
the waters edge. We sailed out of the Bight to the caves and
snorkeled there. We took the dingy in to shore and used it as a base
for our snorkeling. When we left the caves, we sailed down wind back
to St. John and anchored in Salt Pond bay. Although this is a very
popular spot today, we had the entire bay to ourselves then including
a mile of pristine white beach. We hiked up a hill at the end of the
beach and met a local fisherman who lived there all his life. Back at
the beach, we snorkeled and collected shells for the kids.
That
evening after dinner we experienced a light show in the water all
around the boat. The show was the result of phosphorescent worms or
fish that shined in the twilight as they came to the surface. It was
quite a show that only lasted for a few minutes.
Sunday
January 13, 1974
We
woke up early and spent more time on the beach hunting for shells. We
swam and snorkeled some more and then explored the salt pond at the
east end of the beach. It was noon when we left and sailed down wind
to Christmas Cove. Once again it was very rough in Pillsbury Sound
but we anchored in the cove at 3 in the afternoon.
We
swam and rested and began to pack things for the trip home tomorrow.
Monday
January 14, 1974
We
did our final packing and set sail for Charlotte Amalie to return the
boat. This was a pleasant down wind sail and Ed Pegram was at the
pier to meet us. He helped us secure the boat and then we all went to
lunch. After that, we did some final shopping in town and then went
to the airport. After a short flight to St. Croix, we left for New
York and arrived at 9PM and home by midnight. Although we did not
cover all of our ambitious itinerary, we had a great adventure that
we will never forget. In subsequent trips through the years, we added
to what we learned about sailing in those wonderful waters and
managed to visit all that we missed on this first trip. Later in the
year when our fourth child was born, we did not find it inappropriate
to have him share the name of the island where we began our first
adventure in paradise.
