A Short Move Inside

Capt Chris
01/29/2009, Honeymoon Beach Water Island St Thomas USVI

Honeymoon Bay is not all that big and can get crowed so when I arrived a week or two ago I set the hook on the outside. The outside has some advantages such as not being on the inside and the wind blows more steady giving max support of the wind gen. But the outside does have some downsides. For starters it is not the inside, it is pretty deep at 32 feet, you can be subject to some swell and the buzz of many dingys going into and out of Crown Bay Marina. So yesterday when some room opened up I fired the Yanmar and hauled up on my 160 feet of chain/rode to stake my claim on the inside. As I approached my spot I could see the Burton's on Wandering Dolphin "hanging out" watching all the comings and goings. I got the anchor down in a relatively tight spot and moments later a squall came ripping through. I quickly acknowledged that it's "just a little squall" and hunkered down. The nice thing is now I know my anchor is well set after a couple of 30 plus knot gusts. Thus far I'm liking it on the inside. Just a tad less roll and a tad less wind. To top it all off, Susan and Hale from SV Cayuga delivered my new canvas splash shields for the cockpit. They look great! They now will start working on my new dodger and mainsail cover. I am changing all the canvas to an off white color and will have "Christa" sewed into the mainsail cover. Pics to follow upon delivery.

Another nice addition to my week is running. Susan from Cayuga is a runner as well and have gone together a couple of times. As I have mentioned before the hills in the Virgins are a killer. Water Island is no exceptions, but the route is beautiful and the quality of the workout is fantastic. I'll try and remember to bring the camera next time and get the money shot of the Honey Moon anchorage as seen through the eyes of runners. So as you can see I have been dreadfully busy since my arrival back in St Thomas. Boats tend to deliver an endless worklist and Christa is no exception. Each day I try to tackle something. Up coming projects include resurfacing the caprails with Cetol, drilling holes to mount the new (old oars for the dink) servicing the outboard, pickling the watermaker, mounting the tillerpilot for use with the monitor, changing the engine oil and it goes on and on. But that is how we roll!

Capt Chris