April 2021 - St Thomas USVI

Mind blowing to see the last blog was dated July - September 2020 where we were dodging hurricanes in Grenada.

2020 departed without much fanfare, world wide it seems. In September/October we gave much deliberation to our situation and decided that we had no choice, our lives had to change. There were still no work prospects on any horizon, so we needed to sell MaxScene and take the next turn in the road.

Farewell and congrats with Paul & Tanya of Kiraku

Our buddy’s catamaran, Kiraku, had successfully and painlessly been sold in Grenada and we were hopeful we would be just as lucky, but the required quarantines and tests made it more and more difficult for prospective buyers to get to the Grenadines to view boats. We were put in contact with a broker operating out of the USVI who convinced us it would be easier to sell her there. Flying in and out for prospective buyers was easy and best of all, it’s a duty free Island, more incentive.

Rod and Kim paid us a final visit in Grenada, spending their first week in quarantine, watching us on the water from their beautiful hotel. Most helpful as they took some special things of ours back and into storage for us.

Back to pretty, who wouldn't 
want to buy that

Working in small
spaces....

Roux, Christine, Nelia & Johan
dragged us away from the boat yard
for a day of fun and sun

Life is easier with good friends

Back in the water and there is a
barracuda sticking it's tongue out
at us underneath our boat

In preparation for the sale, we hauled out one last time at Carriacou, replaced the geyser, repainted the anti-foul and spent quality time with really great friends.

Before leaving, whilst 
playing Mexican Train
Domino's one night, one
flew overboard....

Still my hero, he found it the 
next day

We bade farewell to Grenada, sailing straight to St Maarten as most islands in between remained closed or required lengthy quarantine periods. We arrived in time for Christmas lunch aboard the very beautiful catamaran Turquoise Turtle with Alison and Andre and a brief catch up with Nic and Uta, who informed us their intrepid son, Max, having just completed a mammoth and beautiful sailing trip to Greenland to find polar bears and puffins, was now managing a charter company in the USVI - we promised them we would look him up once there.

Christmas celebrations
at the Yacht Club

What a feast, lovely day

Interest was finally growing in MaXScene so it was time to get going. I bade Kevin farewell, as I flew overnight via Miami - on a British passport I had to enter on an ESTA visa and this may not be done by private vessel, he in the meantime sailed MaXScene, entering and clearing in at St John and picking up a mooring ball by himself, no mean feat when the mooring field is full of yachts, then on to Long Bay St Thomas where wonderful friends Bertie and Teresa were waiting to help him with the next ball. In the meantime Jenny met me in Miami, with Tyler a welcome surprise, both making the daunting experience of my first and solo visit to America much fun and they departed the next day with yet another suitcase of “things I want to keep” for me.

Cruz Bay, St John

Quiet Mon Irish
Pub, Cruz Bay

Irish Pub with local flair, Cruz Bay

Cruz Bay, St John

Charlotte Amali, St Thomas

Hotel still standing since 1829,
St Thomas

Many alleys hosting
little shops and pubs

French Town

We found the home

French Town, St Thomas

Watching the sea plane land
is a favourite past time

Water pumps being installed

In the land of Amazon/
USPS deliveries

Rising Sun @ Yacht Haven,
St Thomas

Yacht Haven Grande

One of our favorite vendors, 
adult alcoholic slushies, woo hoo
bonus - he likes and plays Johnny Clegg

We settled in to St Thomas, Bertie and Teresa made sure we knew where to go and who to ask for what within days. Finally we had a K-Mart (comparable to Game in RSA) and Home Depot (Builders Warehouse) and fresh vegetables of every shape, size and colour available everywhere. Safari buses run all over, at $1 or $2 per trip, depending on where you go and the friendliest people. Steve the broker was busy and we had 3 people view MaXScene, then finally along came Tim. Tim had seen the video online, spotted MaXScene in the bay and hunted us down to see if she was still on the market. After many viewings, organising of the survey, test sail, etc which she passed with more than flying colours (a fitting tribute to all our hard work), it was a done deal. He was uber impressed with MaXScene, rightfully so, the deal was concluded and he became the proud new owner as of end March.

Wandering around Water Island
St Thomas

Fort on Water Island

Honeymoon Beach Water Island

The road signs are hilarious

Peak hour traffic, Water Island

Sadly we have to report that she is no longer MaXScene, all decals have been removed and she is now a boat with no name, we wait to see what her new identity will be. It was a little sad to see her sailing without us and to see her identity removed but we hope and trust that she will continue to make great memories and experiences for Tim – the end of a huge chapter of our lives.

Maxscene whizzing past us on
one of our charters :-(

 And where does this leave us? Well, we did look up Max & Haily here in St Thomas, over beers we agreed to help them out with running a charter they were short on crew for. Then they had a special project that required “special people” and we agreed to be those people. So, now we crew Vivo, a 60ft Eluethera Fountaine Pajot Catamaran. She was on the hard in St Maarten having upgrades and repairs effected, so at the beginning of March we flew down to manage the end of the work, re-splashing and sailing back to USVI.

 This was no mean task and ended up taking a couple of weeks longer than planned. 

Everything piled on top of 
itself

Mess everywhere

Clutter

Is that a bed under there?

Into the crew cabin from above

Access to crew cabin, great
if you're a nimble circus dwarf

Starting to look regal

What we arrived to from the airport

Nearly ran away screaming

Great paint job

Manufacturing 2nd new
cockpit roof!

This support pole
fondly became
known as the dancing
pole

David & son Devan were 2 of the
real stars of this upgrade their
stainless work was par excellence

In the water, didn't sink

The genoa still 
usable, yay

Finding a dinghy that fitted was
a challenge, choices weren't huge

Sheer mess

Thank heavens for cruising friends Angela and Gary, who without hesitation, rolled up their collective sleeves and got stuck in to help. 

They both love 
the same stuff

A Sunday break to watch the planes @ Princess Julianna

Special friends, special times

We arrived back in USVI and have completed two charters on her, hard work as she is still a bit of a work in progress and charters by themselves are hard work, but we have never given up on a project yet (this one does try every ounce of patience and resolve that we have however).

Note, Springbokkies with
Appetizers :-)

Thanks to base and cleaning crew she scrubbed up pretty beautiful

So for now, we have a roof over our heads (Vivo is up for sale so this is fluid), employment that keeps us honest, paid and exhausted and we still get to enjoy the Caribbean beauty.

Is it permanent – probably not. We are seriously feeling waay too old to be doing charters for up to 8 guests at a time, week after week, so we keep all our options open. Our current status is 3 suitcases, willing and able to go anywhere, so lets see where and when anywhere takes us.

So, once again, our adventures change. The next blogs will be news of our journeys through the USVI, BVI, Grenada once more for hurricane season and probably the United States. If anyone no longer wishes to receive notifications of blog updates, please let me know, no offence taken.

 On a personal note :

What a great support system we have in family and friends near and far. In our hardest times many knew without having to be told, the mammoth support via messages, calls, caring, physical help and just check-ins have not gone unnoticed or un-appreciated. Know that we will always be there to reciprocate in any way possible. THE VERY BIGGEST HUGS AND THANK YOU TO YOU ALL xxx