This summer, Scott and I participated with the debut of the brand new 2022 Sea Ray Sundancer 370 OB in the Pacific Northwest. I work forUnion Marine and this event was hosted at our Lake Union showroom.
photo courtesy of Sea Ray Boats
We have toured a number of Sea Ray models, including an L590, 55, 550 and a 350. What makes this brand new Sundancer unique, is it comes with three Mercury 300hp outboard motors. There are a lot of advantages to having outboards, including maintenance, fuel cost, more storage, and access to shallow waters to name a few. It’s certainly much easier to change the oil on these outboards, than it is climbing down into a tight engine room.
Cruising through the Montlake Cut to Lake Washington
The weather was warm and sunny, so that meant there were boaters everywhere and the Montlake cut was like a whirlpool when we went through it.
Once we got out onto Lake Washington, we had a chase boat following us to take some footage of the boat. This photographer did a fantastic job on this photo shoot!
photo courtesy of Sea Ray Boatsphoto courtesy of Sea Ray Boats
Offering the latest in intelligent command, the helm is equipped with a Digital Dash™ featuring standard dual 12″ Simrad® GO12 touchscreen displays.
At the end of the day, our crew took another cruise to unwind and enjoy the evening. It was so nice spending the day back on the water.
The Sundancer 370 Outboard is propelled by standard triple Mercury® 300 Verado® outboard engines with Joystick Piloting and optional Dynamic Running Surface. As we cruised Lake Washington, our top speed 41kph. Our crew circled around Mercer Island and then passed by Andrews Bay. I couldn’t believe how crowed it was!
Great entertaining space on deck
We had nine people on our cruise and still had plenty of room to move around. The bow offers comfy seats for a prime view and to access the bow, you simply walk thru on the port side (verses climbing over the dashboard!)
At the stern, you will find two tables with seating. The cockpit is equipped with a grill, sink, fridge, trash compartment and a flat screen tv. This Sea Ray Sundancer 370 also comes with heat and air conditioning and we were loving the a/c on this hot day!
photo courtesy of Sea Rayphoto courtesy of Sea Ray
Salon of the 2022 Sea Ray Sundancer 370 OB
The interior on this Sea Ray Sundancer 370 OB is very nicely appointed . I loved the amount of head room; in fact, Scott who is 6’1″ still had plenty of room standing in the galley. The main sleeping berth, is a hydraulic bed that converts into a seating area. There is no table down below, which allows for plenty of seating.
photo courtesy of Sea Rayphoto courtesy of Sea Rayphoto courtesy of Sea Ray
The head has a separate shower, which we love.
photo courtesy of Sea Ray
There is an aft berth, can be converted from a bed to another sitting area. Both sleeping quarters have a flat screen tv. In fact, in the aft berth, it pops up, keeping the counter clean.
photo courtesy of Sea Rayphoto courtesy of Sea Ray
Scott and I had such a great day cruising on Lake Washington with my team. It was so nice to be out on the water and other boaters were definitely noticing the “stealth” looking boat! Since our boats have always been moored on salt water, we have not spent much time on Lake Washington or Lake Union, so it was fun to see all of the activity.
Watch our YouTube episode below and we’ll also take you on a full tour in a few weeks.
As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog for updates and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. See you next time!
Brand new to Seattle, Scott and I sailed on Seattle’s Tall Ship, “Lady Bay” a few weekends ago. We left Bell Harbor Marina around 1p and set out for a two hour cruise towards Bainbridge Island.
Yes, they have a typo on their sign – do you see it?
About “Bay Lady” Tall Ship
This tall ship, is a schooner and at 85′ long , it is the largest public sailing vessel on Puget Sound. “Bay Lady” was built in 1989 and has a 87′ mast with over 2500 sq ft of sailing area. It was built as a charter boat on the east coast and then was transported by truck to the Bay Area of Northern California. When their lease expired for their slip, they eventually found one at Bell Harbor Marina and moved her up here this summer. This is a much different sailing experience from Sailing Seattle. On that boat, you stay seated where you are and don’t move about the boat. On “Bay Lady”, there is seating in the center, but you can not only walk around, but they encourage you to help with the lines.
There is a forward cabin that has two heads, storage lockers and prep area for food.
What does this Sailing Tall Ship Offer?
Not having a boat and wanting to get back on the water, I checked out a number of different cocktail cruise tours. Some were pretty pricey at $125/pp for a few hours and that didn’t include alcohol. Seattle Sailing Ship offers a number of different sailing times, including a sunset cruise. We chose the afternoon cruise, which was only $40/pp. They have a chest with ice and you can bring your own snacks and beverages (including cocktails and wine). What a great way to get out on the water for a few hours! The captain (so sorry we forgot his name!), was super friendly and very knowledgeable.
The views were amazing from every angle. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much wind and the water was like glass!
Elliott Bay on Seattle’s Sailing Tall Ship
When we moored our boats at Elliott Bay Marina, we always ran into a patch of area between the marina and Alki that had algae and lots of logs. Today was no different.
Aside from a little algae, the water was beautiful, the sun was warm and Scott and I really enjoyed ourselves.
Scott and I are planning to go back on the ship again before the end of summer and hoping we get to sail this time. This is a really cool vessel and a great way to enjoy Elliott Bay and Puget Sound.
As always, thank you for following our blog and vlog. Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel (video below) to find out what’s next for us! You can also follow us on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.
Last month (before covid went rampant again), Scott surprised me with a quick trip to Fort Lauderdale. Other than passing through on our way to the Keys, I had never been to Fort Lauderdale, so I was excited to see what it was all about.
Fort Lauderdale is referred to as the “Venice” of Florida. After our visit, I can see why. All of the blue you see below is water!!
We’re definitely in a different boat world
Scott and I stayed at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Marina, located right on a canal. We arrived in the evening and after grabbing a bite to eat, we decided to walk around and check things out. Immediately, it was obvious that we were in a different type of “boating world” compared to the Pacific Northwest. Across from the hotel was a business center and most of the businesses were yacht groups and brokerages.
As we walked down the street, we stumbled upon the big guys!
Check out this open air indoor Ferretti Group showroom that is under construction! This is absolutely beautiful!
A few blocks down, we came upon an indoor boat launch under construction. Turns out this is a luxury indoor storage facility with access directly on the water. Check out F3 Marina for more information. This is such a cool project!
Scott and I proceeded to walk down a random street to see what the neighborhood looked like. Boat life is very different in Fort Lauderdale compared to the Pacific Northwest. Granted, we have some very large yachts on Lake Washington and a few marinas, but there were huge yachts in Fort Lauderdale everywhere you went.
Exploring Fort Lauderdale
With only a few days to check things out, we did our best to try a few nice restaurants and go visit the recommended spots. Most of the time, we found ourselves on another canal. Their canals are basically like our roads.
The only difference is these water “roads” have some serious luxury yachts parked along side them.
Looking at this dock, it appears they also can have accidents along their water roadways – yikes!
The following morning, we found a quirky diner, called Joe’s Diner in the middle of a shopping center, about four blocks from the hotel. The food was good and the service was great!
Looking for a public marina to walk around
Since we have public marinas here in Seattle that you can walk around and check out boats, we wanted to know where those were in Fort Lauderdale. I texted a broker I know and he said to go to Bahia Mar or Harbour Towne. Since he was showing his boat at Harbour Towne, we decided to go their first.
Bobby had a gorgeous Manhattan at the dock that he was showing. We could have gotten a quick tour, but he had a full day and we didn’t want to intrude on him.
Hoping to find a boat we might be able to board, we walked up and down a few docks, but unfortunately there wasn’t much to see.
Ironically, Charles & Jess from Folsom Ocean Views had just had their catamaran worked on in Harbour Towne on this dock and we missed them by just a few weeks.
As we were waiting for our Uber, I was excited to see this Intrepid 47 that had just arrived. You can do some serious fishing on this beauty!
Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale
Since this is Fort Lauderdale, there has to be a huge public marina we can walk around. Right? Well, taking Bobby’s advice, Scott and I headed to Bahia Mar Marina. This marina is home to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show held every October. The Uber driver dropped us off at the hotel and we decided to first grab a drink and a snack at Bo’s Beach Bar.
From Bo’s, we walked back towards the Double Tree hotel, hoping to find some boats we could check out. Looking at where we walked, we managed to miss the brokerage docks. However, we did get to see some mega yachts, up close!
Even the Restaurants are Boat Themed
That evening, we walked across the street and grabbed dinner at the Boatyard. We had tried making reservations online, but they were full. Luckily, we walked right on in!
The food was fantastic! This is a definite stop if you are in Fort Lauderdale.
Touring a 1980 Hatteras 53 in Fort Lauderdale
The following morning we met with a local broker (she is also the owner of Luxury Yachts Int’l), to tour a 1980 Hatteras 53 liveaboard. The oldest yacht we have toured (for purchase) would be a 1995, so we were curious to see this particular boat. It was located on a canal and was a current liveaboard. She stated that the owners of the dock were willing to negotiate another liveaboard contract if we were interested in making an offer.
This yacht has a beautiful profile, one that will never go out of style. As we boarded, she had warned us that it was not tidy and man, she was not kidding! As a clean freak AND a marketer in the marine business, I had a hard time looking past the mess. Then Scott reminded me that is all cosmetic and to look at the architecture of the boat.
The Interior
The salon offered the comforts of home and the covered aft deck offered plenty of entertaining space. From the salon, we headed down to see the galley and staterooms. The galley was a bit tight and I was shocked to find a dishwasher under the stovetop!
The front V berth offered bunk bends and is currently being used for storage and as a work shop. It had a large hanging locker too.
Walking down the hall, you’ll find engine access on both sides, allowing you to easily work on them. This yacht is equipped with twin Detroit diesel 871-TI engines and each engine has 2500 hours.
Moving down the hall, you’ll find another guest stateroom with twin beds. There was also a washer and dryer located in the hallway.
The guest bath had plenty of counter space, storage and a separate shower.
This Hatteras has a nice large master aft cabin with plenty of storage, a makeup vanity and a hanging locker that is larger than some apartments!
In the galley, there was a hatch for battery and tank access.
Since we couldn’t do an official tour with proper photos (because the broker and her assistant were with us), I ended up not going up to the fly bridge. However, Scott did a full tour in the YouTube episode, so be sure to watch the complete tour below.
Overall, this was a great layout and could be an awesome project boat. However, we live in Seattle – not Florida, so this was not an option for us today. We certainly appreciated Linda for taking time to meet with us and let us tour the boat. It was an interesting three days in Fort Lauderdale and surely not to be our last. We had planned on attending the Tampa Boat Show in September, but due to the fact that the virus is now rampant again in Florida, we’ve decided to cancel and figure out a different adventure – so stay tuned.
As always, thank you for following our journey! Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and vlog to stay updated on our search. In the meantime, we’ll continue to bring you adventures on the water. Check out our social pages @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.
With only one day left of our epic USVI tour, Scott and I hired a taxi to tour the island and explore the ruins of St. John. This is a great way to see the sites, without having to join a tour . What we weren’t expecting was an open air safari bus for this tour!
Our tour guide was very friendly and knew just about everyone on the island. He wanted to make sure we stopped and saw everything and he almost literally did. We scheduled him for four hours @$75/hour and he was worth it. Since the truck is open air, you want to make sure you hang on tight!
First stop the Bethany Moravian Mission Church
Tony took us to the Bethany Moravian Church and his parents are actually laid to rest in the cemetery there. The first Moravians came to St. John in 1741. This building was erected in 1919 and the sanctuary was restored after the storms of 2017. It is still an active church today and it has a beautiful view.
Neptune’s Lookout
Our next stop was the Susannaberg sugar mill at Neptune’s Lookout which was built in the 1700’s. The windmill tower of Estate Susannaberg was erected between 1780 and 1800 and is the second oldest windmill on the island of St. John. The estate is owned by the Neptune Richards family since they purchased it in the 1950s and they still live in the house which is on the grounds. The estate is now used for weddings, special events and camping.
The views are amazing from every vantage point, which look down at Caneel Bay (where we were the day before). At the top of the hill, there is The Windmill Bar, which was currently closed due to covid.
We also got a peak a view site of country singer Kenney Chesney‘s home at the top of the hill. Sadly, his home was nearly destroyed by hurricane Irma and he’s now rebuilding.
Catherineberg Sugar Mill Ruins
Heading northeast, we entered the Virgin Islands National Park to check out the Catherineberg Sugar Mill Ruins. The ruins are an example of an 18th-century sugar and rumfactory. The “most impressive” ruin is that of an unusual windmill tower and the very large cistern. It was amazing to see how intact the ruins still are.
One very interesting thing we discovered was the sugar mills were constructed using coral! Could you imagine?! We can’t even step on coral, let alone dig it up for building materials.
Along the way, we saw wild donkeys and all kinds of fruit trees.
We came upon tons of soursop trees too. With an aroma similar to pineapple, the flavor of the fruit has been described as a combination of strawberries and apple with sour citrus flavor notes, contrasting with an underlying thick creamy texture reminiscent of banana.
As we drove down the windy narrow highway, Tony took time to pull over and share the views with us.
At this viewpoint is was awesome to see how close Tortola & Jost Van Dyke of the BVI were to us.
Francis Bay
Our next stop was the Francis Bay walking trail and home of George Francis.
In 1863, the Annaberg Plantation was purchased by Thomas Letsom Lloyd of Tortola from the James Murphy heirs (one of the original owners). For a time, Lloyd struggled to keep the estate in operation, but in 1867 a violent hurricane, followed by a series of devastating earthquakes, finally put an end to sugar production at Annaberg.
With his factory in ruin, in the spring of 1871 Thomas Lloyd sold Annaberg to his property overseer, George Francis, and returned to Tortola. George Francis was born enslaved on the Annaberg plantation. His name first appears in the earliest existing census for the property compiled in 1835, in which he was recorded as a thirteen-year-old field laborer.
Over the course of his life, George Francis encountered opportunities that in his youth must have seemed wholly unimaginable. By 1860, he had gained the position of estate overseer, and two years later he received outright title to a 2-acre parcel of land on the Annaberg property from the will of his former owner, Hans H. Berg.
In 1871, George Francis acquirred the entire Annaberg estate from Thomas Lloyd and immediately set out to renew sugar production on the property. At the time of his death in 1875, Francis had recently completed the construction of a new sugar-boiling house and horse mill on the isthmus between Mary’s Creek and Francis Bay. It was the last facility ever to produce sugar on the Annaberg property. [credit US Parks Online].
Once again, you’ll notice all of the coral used to construct the buildings!
From Francis Bay, we headed to the Annaberg Ruins passing by Mary Creek. The water was amazing, but the sewer smell was horrid!
Annaberg Plantation Ruins
As with looking at churches in Europe, this was now our third sugar mill ruin we visited in two hours. Had it been our first one of the day, we might have spent more time exploring the ruins. Annaberg Plantation, as of 1780, was one of 25 active sugar producing factories on St. John. Other products produced at Annaberg were molasses and rum. Annaberg was named after William Gottschalk’s daughter and translates to Anna’s Hill. Gottschalk was the plantation owner.
The windmill at the Annaberg ruins, one of focal points of the site, was built possibly between 1810 and 1830, and was one of the largest in the islands.
When the windmill wouldn’t churn due to lack of winds, they then used horses and mules instead.
Today the plantation ruins are protected by the Virgin Islands National Park and are open to the public. Trees have reclaimed the hillsides around Annaberg.
In the 17th to 19th centuries, boiling rooms were used to convert sugarcane juice into raw sugar.
What was super cool to see from the plantation was how close we were to Tortola and the BVI. I’m literally pointing at Road Town, where we will pick up our bare boat charter next February!
Heading back to Cruz Bay
After three hours, it was time to head back to Cruz Bay. It was interesting to pass by Maho Beach, Caneel Beach and Honeymoon Beach by car this time. Both Maho and Honeymoon were packed and cars were parked everywhere along the street.
Tony was fantastic and we’re so glad that the concierge at Gallows Point Resort booked him for us!
Since Tony dropped us off at the market, we decided to do a little shopping and support the locals.
After a full day of walking and exploring, we were hungry and thirsty! We stopped at The Taproom for a quick snack and cocktail.
Right across the street is the dinghy dock! How convenient.
On our walk back, we noticed another boat rental company at Cruz Bay called Ocean Runner and you can rent Boston Whalers!
We finished our amazing day, enjoying the sunset and a beautiful dinner at Ocean 3-6-2 at our hotel. This was a highly recommended restaurant and we were very happy we spent our last night there.
Goodbye St John – Until we meet again
Scott and I had a wonderful time in St. John and we can’t wait to return and explore more. Out of the three US Virgin Islands, St. John was our favorite. As we were enjoying our last morning, we had a new visitor who tried to come into the condo. He (she?) was a very friendly and curious peacock.
Of course our neighborly iguana had to come say goodbye too.
We headed to the ferry terminal around 1pm and enjoyed another quick boat ride across the bay.
As soon as the plane started down the runway, it began to rain again. We timed it perfectly. Until we meet again US Virgin Islands – see you next February, when we fly in for our bareboat charter in the BVI.
As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and our YouTube Channel. You can follow us on social @BoatingJourney on FB, IG, TW and TikTok!
Scott and I decided to rent a dinghy for the day and explore the northern beaches of St. John, including Caneel Beach. The dinghy rentals were very affordable and you had the freedom to go where ever you chose (following their guidelines of course).
We started the morning having breakfast at The Landing, which was very busy. They also have a deli counter, so we purchased sandwiches for our journey.
Wharfside Watersports Dinghy Rentals
Surprisingly, we went on-line to Wharfside Watersports the night before and were able to book a 12′ dinghy for $249/full day. They also offered larger Zodiak inflatables, but they were around $750/day. If you want anything extra, like a cooler or snorkel gear, you can rent that too.
Once you arrive, they have you do an online registration about yourself and experience, which takes about 5 min.
From there they give you a map and recommended beaches. Since the beaches we could visit were on the northern end of the island, they did have a few cautions for us. We were allowed to go all the way to Maho Beach (where the turtles were abundant), but they warned us that the northern winds could easily make for rough seas and landing at the beach. More on that later.
Their shop also offers lots of gift items and beach accessories.
The staff was super helpful at the beach. They give you a quick rundown on the motor and then they push you off.
Scott and I left Cruz Bay and headed to what we thought was Hawksnest Beach. We pulled up and it was just a nice quiet sandy beach, with no one around.
The first beach we landed, was gorgeous, but it was ALL sand, so we knew the snorkeling wouldn’t have any marine life.
After checking things out, we decided to hop back into the dinghy and head east towards Maho. As we entered the channel, the seas were getting a bit rough and I was sitting on the bow. Within a few minutes cruising fast, the dinghy caught some air and we slammed down hard. This wreaked havoc on my already bad back. Great. I told Scott I didn’t feel comfortable cruising into large waves in a 12′ dinghy, so we headed to Caneel Beach instead.
Wharfide had recommended Caneel Beach, but now looking at Google, I wonder if we were at the wrong beach, yet again? Either way, we loved where we ended up for the day.
Caneel Beach
As we pulled up to the beach, we immediately saw the abandoned Caneel Bay Resort. Sadly the resort was destroyed by Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017. The owners only have two years left on their lease, so they are waiting until then to find out if they will renew their lease before they invest money into rebuilding it. The restaurant (ZoZo’s) did survive and they only serve lunch. You can only access it by dinghy or small boat.
Walking around the property, it was pretty sad to see all of the abandoned buildings. It had to be an amazing resort. They did still have a security guard on the property, watching our every move.
Scott would normally have gotten some drone footage, but this resort was located inside the National Park, where drones are prohibited. I was amazed to how clear and blue the water was everywhere we went.
Honeymoon Beach
There was a good size anchorage in Caneel Bay with about twenty boats anchored. Notice the power cat below – that’s what we are chartering next February in the BVIs.
We had a small picnic lunch, then did some snorkeling (be sure to check out ourYouTube video below) and then headed back to Cruz Bay after about four hours.
One thing I noticed during our entire trip, was this long line of clouds. It was really cool.
Finishing the Day
Before we returned the dinghy, we decided to head towards our resort at Gallows Bay and check out the Lagoon 77 that was anchored outside our room. It was gorgeous. It’s available for rent by Chillaxinaxin’ Charters.
For dinner, we decided to head into town towards Mongoose Junction. This is a small retail complex, about 4 blocks from the center of Cruz Bay. It was built of stone and surrounded by trees, so it reminded us of a treehouse.
Inside, there were a number of great restaurants and shops. After checking everything out, we had dinner at 1864, which was outstanding.
We did make dinner reservations the day we arrived, so we recommend doing that when you visit. Mongoose Junction offers so many cool places, so be sure to check it out when you visit St. John.
Tomorrow we tour St. John by land
Tune in next week, as we hire a taxi for the day (and that is a story!) and tour the island by safari-like taxi. As always, thank you for following our journey. Be sure to subscribe to our blog and vlog to stay updated on our adventures. Follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Until next time!
After five days on St Croix, Scott and I said goodbye to Ben and Maria and headed to St John for a few days. We arrived very early at the airport terminal, to ensure our bags would make it on the plane (see our previous blog about weight). While we waited for our flight, we walked along the boardwalk in Christiansted and enjoyed the views.
We flew back to St Thomas on Seaborne Air and we had a great view of St Croix and sail boats cruising along the way.
I was shocked when we came into Charlotte Amalie, as the plane did not fly directly into the bay. Instead, it flew OVER the CITY and then into the bay, it scared the living daylights out of me.
St John Ferry Terminal
Before we left St Thomas, we made arrangements with a taxi driver for a pickup upon our return. Interestingly, he drove along the shoreline to Red Hook, which was the first time we had ever gone that way. We’re still not sure why the navigation kept sending us up and over the island during our previous trips?
Scott and I didn’t know what to expect when we arrived at the ferry terminal. Would it be like the Washington State ferries, or more like a charter boat? Turns out it was pretty straight forward. Reminded me a little bit of a train terminal.
The St John Ferry Terminal is decently sized and you don’t need to make reservations in advance. Simply walk up to the ticket window and buy your one way ticket. You can buy them three days in advance, but we chose to buy our return on our departure day.
If you have a large suit case, you leave it on the dock and the staff will place it on the ferry at the stern. No, you don’t get any kind of claim ticket for it! We hopped on and Scott went to sit down inside and I said, “don’t you want to be upstairs and enjoy the ride?” He didn’t realize they had an outdoor upper deck.
I was surprised to see so many boats moored in the bay. With the ferries coming and going, it had to be a very rolly bay.
That was a quick trip!
The entire trip from Red Hook to Cruz Bay took only about 13 minutes. We were guessing we were traveling about 25 knots.
Arriving in Cruz Bay there were a lot of boats. Sadly, a few had seen better days. On our starboard side, we got a great view of the Gallows Point Resort, where we were staying.
Disembarking the ferry took about five minutes and our luggage was waiting for us on the dock. Outside the terminal, it was a bit hectic with taxis and lots of cars. We called the hotel for pickup and within 10 minutes we were checking in!
Just like the ferries, all of the hotels we stayed at in the USVI didn’t really have luggage storage. Since our room wasn’t ready, they simply left it at the end of this hall, next to the plant. That would never happen here on mainland!
Time to check out Cruz Bay
Our hotel was literally a 5 minute walk to “town”. Along the way are two cemeteries, one on either side of the road. Word of CAUTION: if you are susceptible to bug bites, be sure to slather yourself in bug spray. I got eaten alive from the minute we started walking and the entire time I was having lunch!
Scott and I walked into the first bar we saw and ironically it was called “The Beach Bar”. The food was great, including the Reuben Egg Rolls!
After lunch, we headed to the center of town where a farmer’s market was set up. We chatted with a couple of the locals and bought a few gift items. Everyone was so incredibly friendly and happy!
The streets were lined with lots of cute stores and we were told to find the Lime Inn bar and inside we would find a really cool gift shop called the Pink Papaya. It’s a definite must see when you are in St John.
Gallows Point Resort
Just a few minutes by foot to the center of town, Gallows Point Resort is the ideal location. Scott and I were pleasantly surprised when we checked in and saw what an awesome room we had. We were in 7A, on the bottom floor, right in the middle of the resort. Each building has four units- two upstairs and two downstairs.
From our room, we could walk right out onto the lawn, down the stairs to the beach and then over to the pool! Just watch out for large reptiles!
There were lots of small lizards and I loved them as they were really cute!
Our room was actually a condo owned by a couple in Michigan and they have owned it for the past fourteen years. It was nicely appointed and the a/c was nice and cold. It was definitely the best room we stayed in during our vacation! For a full tour, be sure to watch the YouTube episode below.
Off of the bedroom, was a sunroom with a sky light where you could relax and unwind.
The shower was huge AND it had this shelf (sitting area?) adorned with shells.
Another cool feature of the resort, was they had a water purification station. I never drink the water in the hotels we stay at, so this was comforting to see. In fact each condo had pitchers in the fridge for the water.
The weather was nice and hot the entire time we were in St John and we were glad to be near the pool. We managed to grab a chair every time, but not necessarily an umbrella. From our room, you can take the stairs down to the beach or you can walk out on the dock and go snorkeling (they call this the “outdoor pool”. Since we didn’t have snorkel gear, we didn’t get the chance to do that.
Our first night in St John
Traveling by plane, taxi and ferry Scott and I were exhausted by the end of the day. We enjoyed the sunset and then headed into Cruz Bay for dinner. We didn’t have reservations and we hoped we wouldn’t run into the same problem we had on St Croix.
Luckily we were able to get a table at the High Tide restaurant, which is themed around “Livin the Dream”.
The food was good, but unfortunately the service was super slow. We talked to a number of restaurants and they currently have a shortage of labor, due to the pandemic. Now that things are back in full swing, they just don’t have enough people.
After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel. The restaurants and bars were packed with people (nice to see, but we’re not quite used to that yet).
The following day we rented a dinghy and spent the day exploring around St John. Be sure to tune in next week and see what we discovered. As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe for future blogs and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Check out the latest episode below. Please also subscribe to our channel and leave any comments below.
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.
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!
With five days onSt. Croix, our group had plenty of time to explore Fort Christiansvaernand get in some sailing around Buck Island. After we grabbed lunch in Christiansted, we headed over to Fort Christiansvaern to check it out.
This fort is part of a national historical site, founded in 1952 in order to preserve the history and story of the Danish heritage and culture. It is made up of numerous buildings including Fort Christiansvaern (1738), the Danish West India & Guinea Company Warehouse (1749), the Steeple Building (1753), Danish Custom House (1844), and the Scale House (1856).
St Croix has done a great job of adding legends for each of the buildings and telling the story of what happened in the 17th & 18th centuries at Fort Christiansvaern.
Fort Christiansvaern
It was really hot and humid the day we toured the Fort, so it was nice to get out of the sun for a bit. There is a visitor’s center as you approach the Fort, then you are free to roam the grounds.
The first thing you come upon, are the prison cells. Perhaps these were temporary holding cells, as there were more in the dungeon, but I wouldn’t want to be in one. These prison cells can’t be taller than four feet! Could you imagine?
The Officers’ Quarters were rather nice and they certainly couldn’t beat the view they had!
The Arsenal was right around the corner from the officer quarters.
The view from the upper deck was gorgeous and with the trade winds, you stayed nice and cool.
The four of us decided to explore the dungeon and I can’t believe how cruel and horrific this must have been for the slaves and prisoners! Not only was it pitch dark with no light, but again it was only four feet tall.
As you come around the other side of the Fort, you enter into the latrines and the officers sleeping quarters.
In the visitor’s center, you can stamp your passport with the official National Park stamp, which we did! It was a very cool tour and really put perspective into how things were back then. For more detailed information, be sure to visit theirwebsite.
What was interesting, is these two sail boats remain under water and abandoned in the port. You would think this would be a hazard to the marine life.
Time to go sailing to Buck Island!
I had booked our snorkeling excursion before we left Seattle. With a little research on Tripadvisor.com, I felt confident with Caribbean Sea Adventures. Somehow, I didn’t realize how small the boat actually was, until the night before when we saw it at the boardwalk!
Our excursion was the full day 9am to 4pm sailing trip for about 12 people. We checked in 15 minutes early and waited for the rest of the guests to arrive.
Our captain Kendall and his first mate Bethany were fantastic and you couldn’t have asked for a better crew. We had light winds at about 8 knots, so we raised the sails and headed to Buck Island.
The sail took about 40 minutes. We had squalls all around us and Kendall was trying to avoid them. When you arrive to the island, it’s important to stay inside the reef. Once inside, we headed to the underwater trail for some snorkeling.
The underwater trail is pretty cool and very well marked. I’m a “struggling snorkeler” and it takes me a bit to get calm. Once my mask felt good, I followed our group along the trail.
As you go around the trail, you come upon a sign that says “Enter Grotto Here” on your left. We didn’t go into the grotto, but instead headed towards the boat. The current is pretty fast on the far east of the island, so they recommend that you stay clear of there. Be sure to check out our YouTube episode for all of the footage from our DJI Action. As I was following a beautiful blue fish, a lemon shark decided to surprise me and swim by. Not expecting him, I freaked out and swam to the surface screaming “SHARK!!”. LOL
photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Exploring Buck Island
The group snorkeled for about an hour and then we headed over to the beach for some fun in the sun. There the sand is so white and the surf is crystal clear; it’s magical.
The island is part of the National Park and there are many rules you must follow when visiting the island. Overnight anchoring is not allowed inside the lagoon, you must pack out all of your trash and you cannot take anything from the island off (shells, sand, etc). For all of the rules, visit here. In addition, their turtles were laying eggs near the shrubbery, so we were told that the trails were off-limits. Instead, the four of us walked along the sandy beach exploring.
Along our walk we came upon trees that had shells in them. Not sure why, so if you know, please leave your comment down below.
There are restrooms which are “out-houses” on the island. We didn’t use them, so we don’t know what condition they were in.
As you approach the northwest corner of the island, it’s solid rock and is a bit dangerous if you are in the surf.
Time to head back
Scott and I jumped back onboard to sit down with Captain Kendall and get some insight from him on sailing here in the USVI and how he got here. Be sure to watch our interview on our channel for all of the scoop. This was not a party cruise, but they did offer rum punches. There were no snacks, so bring your own if you want any.
We had squalls all around us, we were ready to head back (we had no Bimini top, so if it rained, we would be soaked!) And yes, it rained on us!
A big thank you to the crew of Caribbean Sea Adventures, Kendall and Bethany for an awesome day sailing around Buck Island! We had such a great time and you guys made it all worth it.
Another day in paradise
We had just enough time to rinse off and relax before getting ready for dinner when we got back. On our end of the resort, our beach was a bit rocky and had lots of sea urchins, so you have to be very careful!
Not to mention our scaly four legged friends that roamed the property!
Make sure if you are visiting St. Croix that you make dinner reservations in advance, as they fill up fast. The four of us were lucky enough to get into Too Chez! The food, service and wine were amazing and I highly recommend them for dinner. They don’t have a website, but they do have a Facebook Page.
As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and our channel for future stories. You can follow us on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.
Tune in next week, as we explore the island a bit more and take a sunset sailing cruise!
In our last blogwe took a flight on Seabourne Air from St Thomas to St Croix. This was not a large float plane and if you have followed our blog for awhile, you know how I hate seaplanes. (See my first trip toRoche Harbor).
One thing to note about seaplanes is weight (of your bags) determines if they make it or not. Once the plane reaches its maximum weight (bags and passengers), then it’s done taking on any more luggage (and yes, they ask you for your weight!). So our group checked in at the airport, two hours early, to ensure we got our bags on. They did weigh more than they allowed, so we had to pay an extra $60 for the two bags. Keep that in mind if you are flying on Seaborne Air. The airport is literally one hallway with a few benches.
Since we had a few hours to kill, we walked next door to the Petite Pump Room Bar and Restaurant for some bloody mary’s before our flight.
Flying over turquoise waters
While I was extremely nervous, our pilot was very friendly and our flight only took about 15 minutes. Remember, St. Croix is about 42 nautical miles south of St. Thomas, so it’s a quick trip. I kept looking for boats cruising below us, but I didn’t see any. You are required to wear your mask during the flight.
Interestingly enough, we only flew at about 2500 ft. This seemed to make the flight to St. Croix a little better for me (less of a distance to fall into the water!)
Within a few minutes, I spotted St. Croix and before you knew it, we taxi’d into the port! I couldn’t believe how clear the water was below us!
Arriving in St. Croix
The airport in St. Croix, is basically a small metal building. We called for a taxi and waited for it’s arrival, as we needed a ride to the Int’l Airport to pick up our Hertz Rental Car.
What we didn’t know at the time, is the boardwalk that is next to the airport, continues into the heart of Christiansted!
Why that is ironic is because we ended up back at the Christiansted boardwalk after picking up our car, which was located on the other side of the island at the main airport. In hindsight, we would have rented a car closer to the Seaplane base.
Ben rented a Jeep Wrangler and it turns out there are a lot of them on St. Croix! I still can’t get over how well he drove around the islands on the left side of the road AND had the steering on the left side of the vehicle.
Staying at the Buccaneer Resort
The four us went back and forth, as to where to stay on St. Croix. At the top of the list was the Buccaneer and the Fred which was located in Frederiksted. Turns out we picked the right location, as most of the “action” was happening in Christiansted, not Frederiksted. We were just 10 minutes from town and we stopped at the local grocery store to grab a few things on our way to the hotel.
The Buccaneer Resort is gorgeous and very welcoming. The resort also has a large golf course with beautiful ocean views and an old sugar mill on the property.
The golf course was toally brown when we arrived, but after a few days of rain, it turned green!
Everything in the lobby was open air, including the restaurant we ate breakfast in each day.
Getting settled into our room on St Croix
If you recall from the beginning of this trip, our room on St Thomas was not very nice. We were pleasantly surprised at The Buccaneer to get upgraded to a larger suite with a view. I will say, however, that upon close inspection, the room was pretty run down. For the price we paid ($407/night), it should have been in better shape.
Our veranda was awesome and so was the view. Unfortunately, we didn’t really use it.
Checking out Christiansted
After getting unpacked, we headed back into Christiansted to grab a bite to eat, as we were all starving. We parked at Fort Christiansvaern (you can park there from 8:30am to 4:30pm for free) and walked along the boardwalk to find food. There, we also stumbled upon our Caribbean Sea Adventure catamaran we had scheduled for later that week. You will find lots of cute shops and great restaurants along the boardwalk.
You’ll also find plenty of chickens running around here too!
The town is very cute with lots of historical buildings and legends to guide you along the way.
We did check out Fort Christiansvaern which we’ll cover in our next blog as it was a pretty cool tour! Scott and I wish we had visited a few more during our trip, as we love this kind of history!
Long day of travel to St. Croix
Scott and I finished the day, by enjoying an amazing sunset with a cocktail and took in the views.
Since we had all been traveling all day, we had decided to stay at the resort for dinner and we ate at their beach side restaurant called the Mermaid. If we had to do it again, we would have passed on this. While they did have a fire dancer, the atmosphere was a bit bright and the food and service were mediocre for the price.
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel (video below) for the full tour and to our blog for other updates. Next week, we’ll take you on a tour of the Fort and a few other sites! As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to follow us on social @BoatingJourney and use #boatingjourney.
Scott and I had one full day left to relax and enjoy St. Thomas and our group decided to check out Coki Beach, which was a 5 minute walk from our hotel. We headed out early in the morning around 9am and already the sun was heating up and we were breaking a sweat. Along the beach in front of the hotel, workers were working hard to remove a seasonal algae called Sargassum. From the air, we could see miles of the algae, which is a major nuisance to Caribbean beaches and is threatening tourism.
Located on the other side of the peninsula, Coki Beach is well known for snorkeling. It is generally considered the best shore snorkel on the island, so we couldn’t wait to check it out.
As you approach the Coki Beach entrance, you’ll find a cemetery and many wild chickens running around. At first, I wasn’t sure if we had entered at the right location, but there was a very large sign at the entrance.
What made me question this? To be honest, it was a dirt lot and trash was everywhere.
Is this really the famous beach?
As Maria and I walked towards the beach, we passed so much garbage plus some extremely gross items that I can’t even mention publicly. We were both horrified to say the least. The blue water caught my eye immediately, but then so did all of the trash along the beach. The beach was filthy and unsafe. With bottle caps, broken bottles and other sharp objects, this was not a place to hang out for the day.
The four of us looked pretty defeated and sad, as this was not what we expected at all. We made the decision to head back to the hotel and spend the day there.
I’ve thought about that day a lot, because it wasn’t the only place we came upon so much trash. There was garbage on all three islands we visited.
I have to ask, what is the answer and how can we help? Being 6000 miles away, we can’t jump in our car and do a beach clean-up. However, there has to be something we CAN do. If you have suggestions or know of ways, please leave your comments for us. We know there are organizations like 4ocean and ocean conservancy who are working hard every day to help clean our planet, but is there a specific organization that is concentrating on the Virgin Islands? I found a Facebook Clean up page, but there was not much action on it. Please let us know – we want to help!
What a beautiful spot to relax
Our friends were staying on the opposite end of the resort, next to the hilltop infinity pool. After our trek back from Coki Beach, we headed up that way to spend the day by the pool. Instead of taking the golf cart, we opted to climb over 200 steps to get to the pool! Be sure to watch the video of Scott climbing!
The pool overlooked Water Bay and Thatch Cay (pronounced “key”) island. From the pool deck, the views of Water Bay are gorgeous and in the distance you can see Thatch Cay, which is an uninhabited 230 acre private island that is actually for sale. For information, click here.
Due to covid, you still had to wear your mask when you ordered drinks from the patio side, but if you swam up to the bar, you didn’t need to wear one. Needless to say, we spent a huge amount of our time in the water. Even with plenty of sunscreen, I got a bit sunburned, so don’t let being in the water fool you.
Staying in for dinner
Since we were flying out the next morning, we opted to hang around the hotel for dinner and take it easy. The hotel has one bar/restaurant, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville which sits right on the beach. The food was good and the drinks were perfect. Our only complaint was everything shut down at 9pm, including the bar. Strange. So we called it an early night and headed back to our rooms to pack.
Be sure to tune in to our next blog and episode, as we take a sea plane to St. Croix, which is about 42 nautical miles south of St. Thomas.
As always, thank you for following our journey! Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and our YouTube channel, and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney
Cheers, Scott and Ally
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