We finally did it! We left the dock at Sapphire Beach Marina. As you know, we arrived at the marina on November 12. Jill was still working, however, through November 30 so we needed to stay where we were confident we would have good connectivity for her Webex meetings and work emails (without deploying our highly effective but also highly expensive satellite communication system). Our plan was to take our first cruise around the USVI, starting with St. John, right after Jill’s last day. Unfortunately, the cruising gods had other plans. That out of service refrigerator/freezer we mentioned in the epilogue to our first post was not repaired until December 14. (Well, it was fixed but failed again and then was fixed again. We are now keeping our fingers tightly crossed that this fix holds and that seems to be working!).
With our refrigerator/freezer back in service, we provisioned and took off for St. John on December 16. Our first stop was Maho Bay Beach, a bay with a beautiful white sandy beach, great snorkeling and a “pop-up” village where you can get a bite to eat, enjoy an island cocktail or beer and, for those intrepid souls, pet the wild donkeys that roam the beach. We spent most of our time in the water and had our first turtle sighting! How auspicious we thought — our excursion was off to a great start.
But then . . .
It was dinner time and Jill went down below to prepare her famous Pad Thai with Crispy Tofu. As she was cooking dinner she heard a loud crash. Apparently, Zack decided to raise the dinghy on the davits (in the dark!) and one end of the dinghy wasn’t attached securely so it came crashing down. Of course, it landed on a cotter pin on the swim ladder, making two separate gashes on one of the inflatable tubes causing it to deflate. That meant, after just day one, no dinghy for the rest of the trip. (Words were exchanged! Just a few.)
The good news is that, like most things, it can be repaired and thanks to the USVI Cruiser forum on FaceBook we had a recommendation for a guy that does these repairs by early the next morning. We were able to get in touch with him and arrange for him to meet us at Sapphire Marina upon our return there. What was funny about this though — and you have to find humor in these things if you are going to live on a boat — were all of the comments Jill receive to her post requesting recommendations. Our favorite response was from someone who said “Boat repairs in beautiful places. Welcome to the cruising life. Oh, and get ready for friends: “Must be so nice to have nothing to do all day.”” This is so true. As we said in our epilogue to our first post, on a boat some things work some of the time. We are already seeing that boat repairs, maintenance and cleaning will keep us busy!
After Maho Bay Beach we headed off to Leinster Bay which was absolutely magical. Leinster Bay is a very remote bay off national park land on St. John so very little light pollution. The stars were amazing. We were so tempted to stay there (and never ever leave) but were trying to do a potpourri this trip, visiting a variety of bays to scout out the best locations to take our kids when they come down for their visits — our first visitors (Stefan and his girlfriend Monique) arrive just after Christmas. So off we went to Lameshur Bay which was just as beautiful as Leinster Bay. We picked up a mooring in Little Lameshur Bay. Beautiful sandy beach surrounded by lush green hills due to the National park land. Another nice snorkeling spot and during the early evening a sea turtle entertained us with multiple appearances near our boat. Almost like he was checking to see if these intruders were still in his bay.
We planned to move the next day to continue our “sampling” plan but there was some excitement in Little Lameshur Bay. When Jill woke up in the morning she checked the USVI cruiser forum on FaceBook because there has been a ton of really useful information published there (like avoid the BVI unless you want your boat impounded). To our surprised someone posted that they had spent the night in Little Lameshur Bay and that when they woke up the Opti sailboat they had tied to the back of their sailboat was missing. There were only two other boats with us in Little Lameshur Bay and we had enjoyed watching their children take a twilight sail in their Opti while Jill was preparing dinner.
No one knows what happened — there had been some strong wind gusts during the night, perhaps the Opti came loose on its own?, did someone steal it? — but the ensuing investigation meant that we received a visit from the friendly US Park Bay Host for “questioning.” These Bay Hosts are volunteers who make sure that visiting boats understand and follow the rules (e.g., no anchoring, no loud music after 10 PM, no underwater lights, no discharging waste, etc.). They are also available to answer questions about the area (e.g., best snorkeling location, best hiking trails, etc.). As the name implies, each Bay Host is responsible for a specific bay and stays on his or her boat for a minimum of one month in the designated bay, visiting newcomers via their dinghy. Our Bay Host, Alistair, was a lovely youngish man from New Hampshire. We told him what we knew (which wasn’t much) and ended up engaging in a long conversation. By the time he departed it was mid afternoon and we threw our plans to visit another location out the window. It was time for more snorkeling!
We returned safely to Sapphire Beach Marina at 2 PM on Sunday. Though we were dreading the return because it meant maneuvering Che Figata into our oh so narrow slip without the help of our delivery skipper Dan, Zack handled Che Figata like a champ. All — Admiral Jill and our fellow cruisers who gathered on the dock to catch our lines — were impressed!
All in all, notwithstanding the deflated dinghy debacle, a successful first trip. Can’t wait to reprovision and take off for another 5 days on December 23.
4 Comments
Julie Schilz · February 6, 2021 at 9:48 pm
Wow! Talk about adventures. You should really share your Pad Thai recipe now. Call it Jill and Zack’s Excellent Pad Thai Adventure Can’t wait to hear from Zack-nudge nudge
Jillhummel · February 7, 2021 at 1:28 pm
This may be too long for a comment so I may need to do this as a post (I’, new to this) but here’s the Pad Thai recipe. It’s a crowd pleaser:
Thai Peanut Noodles with Crispy Tofu
Ingredients (for 4 large servings)
Peanut Sauce (makes 1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup Natural Peanut Butter unsweetened (I actually use Justin’s Honey Peanut Butter and think it works great!)
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Tamari (for gluten-free)
• 1 Tbsp Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup or firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 – 2 tsp Ginger finely grated (I go on the heavy side)
• 3 large Garlic clove finely grated
• 1 tsp sriracha or chili paste or pinch cayenne pepper
• Water as needed to adjust consistency
Tofu
• 2 tablespoons of avocado or grapeseed oil
• One package of firm or extra firm tofu – drained and dried with a towel (if you haven’t done this before I recommend you Google it! There are several good tips including placing the TOFU under something heavy.)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Vegetables and Noodles
• 2 Tbsp Avocado or grape seed oil
• 4 Green Onions thinly sliced; green and white separated
• 1 cup shredded carrots (I just buy shredded carrots in a bag)
• 1 large Red Bell Pepper very thinly sliced
• 2 cups Purple Cabbage thinly sliced
• 1 – 2 jalapeno peppers (thinly sliced) – seeds and all!
• Thai Kitchen brown rice noodles – there are 4 individual packets in each box and this recipe uses all 4
Instructions
Make the peanut sauce
1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together PEANUT BUTTER, SOY SAUCE, RICE VINEGAR, MAPLE SYRUP, GINGER, GARLIC, and SRIRACHA/CAYENNE until well-combined.
2. Set aside
Prepare the Crispy Tofu
1. Combine the cornstarch, salt and garlic powder in a baggie and shake well so that all ingredients are mixed well.
2. Cut the TOFU into small 1 inch cubes.
3. Hit the OIL in a non-stick skillet on a medium heat (I used a 10 inch skillet and cook the TOFU in two shifts)
4. Once the oil is warm add the TOFU and cook until the TOFU is crispy and the sides are a nice light golden color.
5. When the TOFU is ready set aside on a plate lined with paper towel
Cook the noodles and vegetables
1. Cooks the noodles per the box instructions, drain (reserving about ½ cup of the water) and immediately immerse in a bowl of cold water. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat OIL on medium-high heat. (I have used both an All-Clad wok and my Instant Pot using the sauté feature and both worked equally ell though the Instant Pot was less messy – not as much splatter!)
3. Add JALAPENOS, GREEN ONION (white part only) and BELL PEPPER; sauté a few minutes until tender.
4. Combine the CARROTS and CABBAGE and add then in stages to the skillet. (I find that there is too much to add all at once so I generally add half, let it get somewhat soft and then add the other half)
5. Drain the BROWN RICE NOODLES and slowly add to the vegetables using tongs to continually lift and separate so that the vegetables and noodles fully integrate and the noodles are arm. Turn off the heat.
6. Gently fold in PEANUT SAUCE in small amounts as desired for consistency – use the reserved pasta water to thin the PEANUT SAUCE if needed. (I always add a little – the starch helps with the consistency). Reserve a little of the PEANUT SAUCE for the TOFU.
7. Serve warm or chilled. Garnish options: green onion tops, crushed peanuts, roughly chopped cilantro, and squeezed lime (one wedge for each plate). (I don’t consider these garnishes optional – they make the dish!).
8. Top with the crispy Tofu and drizzle with the peanut sauce – add more of the reserved water, if necessary, to the PEANUT SAUCE for a nice drizzle. If serving the dish warm you can reheat in the TOFU in the microwave. 30 seconds does the trick!
9. ENJOY!
Jill Note: The crispy tofu is a great appetizer on its own. I prepare the tofu per the instructions and then use a sweet chili sauce for dipping. It is definitely a fan favorite!
Vic Turvey · February 7, 2021 at 3:03 am
A very entertaining blog and a great start to your adventures, despite the dinghy puncture. But of course that would not have occurred had Neptune been appeased by even a fraudulent “Dance of the Virgin” on the bow. Be warned and repent, sea nymph!
Lisa Turvey · February 7, 2021 at 3:25 am
Better to have a sea turtle entertain you while “in his hood” as opposed to a barracuda! That experience we had in Belize made my skin crawl – and made me swim faster than lightening.
It all sounds very fascinating and magical!!! One day we will join you:-). Be safe, be happy and FGS be healthy.