The four of us had so much fun sailing to Buck Island and we couldn’t wait for our sunset cruise the following day. I had booked the sunset cruise before we left with Lyric Sails, as they offered a sunset cruise with a live band. What a perfect way to soak up the Caribbean vibe!
The day started by relaxing by the pool and enjoying some time to read another great book. (all of the books I’ve read can be found on our book page). I finished “Off the Grid” during the trip and it is a must read! The author is hysterical and very down to earth.
Be careful around the beach
The Buccaneer Resort has two beaches and we were staying near the west beach. There is a section that is rocky and thank God it was low tide, as we could not only see the rocks but the sea urchins! Trust me, you do not want to step on these.
Looks like rain might ruin our sunset cruise
As the day went on, I couldn’t help but notice the skies were getting darker and gloomier. This wasn’t looking good for our sunset cruise.
We had reserved a driver to take us into Frederiksted that afternoon, so we headed in and hoped the weather would turn nice. Once we got into the van, it began to pour down rain – great, this is not looking good.
Dining in Frederiksted
Our captain the day before highly recommended that we grab a sandwich at the Turtle’s Deli. These were the best sandwiches we have had. It is a take out joint, but you can take your sandwich upstairs to Louie & Nacho’s Beach Bar. Just order a drink and grab a seat.
From there we headed to the infamous “The Fred” resort and lounge. Ben had wanted to stay there, so we had to check it out. It has a very 1950’s vibe and was pretty cool. Right as we were headed to the dock, we got a call cancelling the cruise and they moved it to the next day.
Unfortunately, we had no luck finding anything available for dinner in Frederiksted (be sure to call ahead and make your dinner reservations before you arrive to St. Croix).
Our only option for dinner was to head to the grocery store to pick up some wine, cheese and crackers and call it a night. The sunset was amazing though.
Point Udall
The next morning, we drove east to check out Point Udall, which was about a 20 minute drive.
Along the way, we came upon a huge Satellite! Turns out this is a Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) which is is a system of ten radio telescopes which are operated remotely from their Array Operations Center located in Socorro, New Mexico, as a part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). (per Wikipedia).
Point Udall is the eastern most point in the US which is marked by a giant sundial that was installed in January 2000 for the millennium. The views were stunning, but you definitely would not want to boat ashore to these beaches.
We were saddened to see so much litter thrown over the hillside and that the monument itself had graffiti on it. It makes no sense why people do this!
Shopping and Lunch in Christiansted
Originally we thought about visiting the infamous light house on St Croix and go for a hike. But we only had flip flops on, so we opted to head back into Christiansted to do some shopping. Christiansted is where everything is happening and you’ll find plenty of gift shops and restaurants along the boardwalk.
After a few hours of walking around we grabbed lunch at Rum Runners right on the boardwalk. Our server was fantastic and super friendly. The wall even has a Pike Brewing sign on it!
It’s a great spot to sit and soak up the scenery. I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw this dinghy!
Exploring a bit of Frederiksted
Later that afternoon, we headed into Frederiksted a few hours before our sunset cruise to do some shopping and explore. Along the boardwalk there is a beautiful military memorial park.
Five massive, eight-foot-tall black marble obelisks stand on the Frederiksted waterfront in the Verne I. Richards Veterans Memorial Park, representing the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and Air Force, and graven with the names of St. Croix soldiers who died serving their country.
We found a few shops that were open including a fun gift shop called Franklin’s.
Time for our sunset cruise around St. Croix
Finally it was time for us to head to the Anne Abramson Marine Facility for our much anticipated sunset cruise.
The sun was shining and our crew was so excited to get back on the water!
As we waited for the crew to set up, I couldn’t help notice more bad weather coming our way.
Seriously, this can’t be happening to us again!
I decided to check the radar and it didn’t look pretty.
Here comes the rain
Within a few minutes, the rain showed up in full force and all of the guests ran to under a porch for shelter. Here the crew made us some rum punches, while we waited out the squall.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and our sunset cruise was cancelled again. The crew was so gracious and in fact, refunded us that night! We’ll definitely rebook this tour when we visit St. Croix next time.
The rain continued to pour that we had to make a decision to make a run for it. We were absolutely soaked as we made our way to the Tap Deck Bar & Grill for some good food and fun drinks. The Aviator was awesome!
Guess that’s part of sailing life. The weather can change on you in a quick minute and you need to be able to adjust your plans. In the end, we had no complaints – I mean, we were in the Caribbean! Everything’s better in the Caribbean.
Next week, we fly back to St. Thomas and take a ferry ride over to St. John for a few days of fun.
As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and our YouTube channel (see video episode below) for future updates. You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. See you next week!
Cheers,
Scott and Ally
