Saint Thomas

We spent quite a bit of time in Saint Thomas. And while there are a lot of touristy things to do, we opted for a more “real life” rather than “vacation mode” stay. We anchored in the bay of Charlotte Amelie, the capital, and largest city in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The island was founded by the Danish in the 1600’s, and then purchased by the U.S. from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million in gold coin. Saint Thomas has a wealth of history that is worth looking into. Just pulling up to our anchorage made us feel like we were in the Mediterranean, with European-style homes, shops, and eateries peppering the hillsides.

Charlotte Amelie is a bustling city and cruise-ship port. And, while it can get a little noisy during the day with traffic and cruise ship patrons, it was a nice change of pace. We enjoyed watching the cruise ships coming and going, and seaplanes taking off and landing several times a day in our harbor. There was a lot of activity and excitement going on.

We particularly enjoyed having brightly-colored Danish colonial architecture as our backdrop. It was also delightful to hear carillon bells chiming out hymns every day from the nearby St. Thomas Apostle Church. The bells are rung daily as a reminder that God’s voice is calling us!

We found everything we needed in Saint Thomas to make us feel like we were at home, from grocery stores, shops, restaurants, and boat repair facilities, to pharmacies, nail salons, and ATM machines.

We can’t say that St. Thomas is our favorite island, namely because it is so touristy, catering mostly to cruise ships, countless charter operations, and mega yachts. But, it was nice for a change to have so many practical amenities all in one convenient spot and to experience the island’s beauty. The local yacht club, Yacht Haven Grande, offered a free dinghy dock with trash disposal, nearby shops, and a good spot to pick up a taxi or local bus.

In addition to the dinghy dock at Yacht Haven Grande, there was a free dinghy dock near downtown Charlotte Amelie which put us close to Kory’s favorite food truck with some of the best jerk chicken skewers we’ve ever had. The homemade Mac n’ cheese, red beans and rice, and blackened salmon was awfully delicious too!

Although St. Thomas is known for its beaches and snorkeling spots, we didn’t spend time participating in these activities during our stay. We hope to do that on another visit since we hear that the shorelines have some of the clearest snorkeling waters outside of Hawaii. We would have snorkeled, but the best spots were either too crowded, too difficult to anchor nearby, too rolly, or not good enough protection from the prevailing winds. I suppose if we had rented a car for a couple of days, we could have driven to the islands’ beaches to check out all the good snorkeling spots, but the crowds and winds kind of turned us off to this activity on this visit.

We did, however, spend ample time walking around town, seeing some of the historic buildings like the 1679 watchtower called Blackbeard’s Castle that was “rumored” to be the pirate’s lookout, and the museum which was once the 17th century Fort Christian. There is a gondola ride that goes 700 feet up the mountain to an observation area with scenic views of the bay and a restaurant/bar. While the views would be spectacular from the top, the bar scene is not our thing, it was full of tourists, and the $25 per person fee made us decide it wasn’t worth it. The images from Google will have to suffice for now.

Our friends, Ken and Lynn, on a beautiful 54-foot Hylas monohull, made their way from the U.S., through The Bahamas, around Puerto Rico, and to Saint Thomas. We were able to spend quality time with them at Charlotte Amelie. We enjoyed gathering on each other’s boats. They treated us to a delicious dinner at their place, and then we had them over for dinner and good conversations on Hope. Ken and Lynn are heading to Saint Martin and we hope to meet them there. In May, they are going to be sailing to the Mediterranean with A.R.C. (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). They’ve been preparing for this big crossing for the past year. We will miss them, but hope to see them before they leave.

On a couple of occasions, we strolled through town with Ken and Lynn. We went to the historic post office, saw the plaza, tried to find the Synagogue (the second-oldest in the Western Hemisphere), went to a farmer’s market, ate at a few good restaurants (Rancho Latina being tasty local food), and observed some of the good and bad of the city.

While the guys went to pick up a boat part, Lynn and I browsed the shops and ended up in the most interesting spot, the St. Thomas Historical Trust Museum. This is where Wil (or “Doc”), the historian, gave us a much more factual and comprehensive understanding of the history and culture of Saint Thomas. He was passionate about St. Thomas and loved to share his knowledge. He and his wife run this non-profit and also do guided tours around the island. This is more than a job to him; it is is a calling. His enthusiasm for history and factual reporting is astounding.

Charlotte Amelie was a great place for us to hide out from heavy winds. We stayed in this anchorage for about ten days while we waited for the sea state to improve so we could make our way south to Saint Croix. The waters were a little rolly in the anchorage, but it was as much from the wake from all the boats, seaplanes, and dinghies, as it was from the wind. Come evening, the waters and noises typically stilled, and that made for a peaceful place to rest.

We experienced a few heavy rains/thunderstorms during our stay and were glad for the protection in this anchorage. We were also happy to get a good boat washing.

For the most part, Charlotte Amelie is a fine anchorage. It is quite spacious, and can probably fit 50 boats in the bay. There are other anchorage around Saint Thomas, but none that provided the protection from the winds that we needed, nor the ease of access to the shore that we enjoy. All in all, it was a great place to settle down for a bit while we shopped, worked on boat projects, caught up on work, read good books, and spent quality time with our friends and one another!