Christmas in the Caribbean

Christmas came and went and it was very different spending Christmas down here.  This was the first Christmas that I have ever spent away from Colorado and away from Amanda so it was a bit difficult.  It didn’t even really feel like Christmas.  I mean there was Christmas music and decorations everywhere but it just wasn't the same.  Then of course it snowed on Christmas day back in Colorado which is a rarity.  Amanda said the chances of snow on Christmas day in Colorado is 14%.

Don’t get me wrong, we are having a great time down here and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything but it’s just that sometimes you do miss home, family and friends.  

Wes and I both got a bit down on Christmas day but I think it was a combination of a lot of things.  First the boat hasn't been running as good as we would like, in fact it was probably the worst it has been since we bought it and it seemed like every time Wes tried to fix something, something else would break (very frustrating).  Then it hit me that my dad won’t be around anymore to talk to and get advice from.  Then just not being home at Christmas.  But it will get better and we will be spending Christmas back in Colorado at some point.  

The couple on the boat next to us invited us to have a traditional turkey dinner on another couples boat.  There was actually 8 of us that all got together and had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy and all the fixins.  It was a lot of fun.  

Once we get everything working right, we plan on taking a trip over to St Croix which will be nice because neither of us have ever been there.  We have seen so many very cool places and have met some really great people.

This was our Christmas tree that Amanda brought for us.  It has shells and starfish on it.  It is pretty cool

This is the boat next to us that had some cool Christmas lights strung 

The James Gang Visit

My sister Elizabeth and her family were down here for 5 days. There are five of them and two of us plus the dogs. We though having the dogs on board would be a little too much so we decided to board them for 6 days. We can sleep 6 on this boat very easily but we had to put one kid outside because there were 7 of us. Turned out they didn’t mind at all and they traded off sleeping outside during their visit 

Since it was the week before Christmas I figured the BVI’s would be too crowded, so we took them to Culebra, which is a Spanish Virgin Island. Culebra is great because it has the best snorkeling around here. They have reefs that are not visited everyday and we had a great time snorkeling.

We also took them to a bay just off Culebra and they loved it. We hiked to the oldest light house in the Caribbean. We went to the town on Culebra and also to a bay on the north end of St Thomas, Megans bay, which was pretty awesome.

All in all it was a good week. Elizabeth and her family are all used to the water and they love to swim and play in it. The kids in her family are 15, 15 and 19 so they do not need much supervision either in or out of the water.

We will be spending Christmas, just the 4 of us (Lexie and Max) on the boat so it will be pretty different this year.  We will be having dinner with 4 other couples on one of their boats with turkey and all the fix ins’.

Hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas

 Here are some pictures.

Elizabeth on the paddle board

Elizabeth falling off the paddle board

Thomas on top of the light house

Jeff driving the boat

The James family at Megans Bay

Thomas getting some skiing in

It got a little rough on the way back but the kids made the most of it.

Steve and Sandra are leaving

Today is the day Steve and Sandra go back to Puerto Rico. I think they had a good time. Sandra did some diving while she was staying with us. We dove the caves and the Wreck of the Rhone.

On the Wreck of the Rhone we got down to 75 feet. It was a pretty awesome dive. There were a lot of fish. We saw some big groupers, some turtles and about 100 different kinds of fish.

We to the baths on Virgin Gorda with them and the Willy T off Norman Island.  It was a pretty good week in general. 

The only problem I’m having now is with the electrical system on the starboard engine. I think I need to re wire the whole thing because what I have now seems possessed. Things will work one minute and then the guages will be spinning about the next minute. The starboard engine is the one that got the lighting strike back in Florida and has never been all the way correct since. 

Steve and Sandra at the baths

The Famous Willy T

Sandra relaxing with the dogs

A rather nice sun set

Steve and Sandra are Visiting

Steve and Sandra got here yesterday and we took them from the airport to Sugar Bay Resort. I think they had a pretty good time sailing. They didn’t get sick so I guess they had a good time.

We stopped over at Red Hook last night. Red Hook is a happening place. They have about 12 bars right near the water. So we might look to stay close to Red Hook when no one is down here. Tonight we are staying in the bay right below the Sugar Bay Resort where Steve and Sandra are staying. We found a nice anchorage and I think this will be a great spot to stay the night. 

Steve and Sandra's Hotel

Our Anchorage.