US Virgin Islands – Dec. 19-30, 2012

Shortly after our arrival in Francis Bay, St. John, USVI, we had an extended period of high swells sweeping into the northeast Caribbean. We were well protected from the weather, but we paid a price for our location: we could not get a useable connection on the unprotected wifi that we had used the year before. So we hitched into Cruz Bay and purchased a Choice 3G/4G cell modem/router that we hoped would solve our problem. Alas, no joy.  Friends Devi and Hunter (Arctic Tern) had acceptable reception on their 3G AT&T router, but our vendor’s signal was not visible in Francis Bay – at least from our extreme NE corner.  We were not totally isolated, however, since our iPads could receive AT&T 3G signals.  Marvelous instruments those iPads, but there are certain functions that cannot be performed on them, or that are awkward.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our stay in Francis Bay.  We got down the kayaks from the upper deck and did some paddling in the bay.  We went for walks on the island.  We had a number of sessions of Spades with the Terns, during which the women unaccountably mostly won.  There was a repeat of last year’s dinghy float on Christmas Eve, and a large contingent of cruisers attended dinner at Maho Resort on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day there was a cruiser-initiated ugly T-shirt contest on the beach.  Barb attended (getting ashore via kayak), but I stayed on board and completed the nth rebuild of our water maker “energy transfer device”, known to Sea Recovery owners as the ETD, of course.  How did that go?  Well, the rebuild improved considerably the production rate, but there is still evidence of malfunction.  My guess is that there is a seal that looks ok but that is really not working properly.  I think Sea Recovery is a fine water maker, but I must repeat something I have said before:  if one is considering purchasing a water maker, do install a modular unit; DO NOT install a “compact” unit that is totally encased in a frame, at least not if the frame is then tucked away into an inaccessible location.  Pickling should be easy, but the attachment points are not accessible if the water maker is inside a “compact” frame.  Removing the ETD should be easy, but it is not easy if the water maker is inside a “compact” frame.   Attaching/unattaching the power and control wires should be easy, but it is not if the water maker is inside a “compact” frame.  Go modular; eschew “compact”.

On Dec. 28 we moved from Francis Bay to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.  Our 4G modem could see a signal, but kept going blank.  We took it in to the local Choice shop, expecting to be told that there was a problem with the power connection. Nope.  The young clerk took the unit to a back room, and returned in about ten minutes with same, but with a firmware update.  Did that help?  Yes!  Hurray!   We now have super-fast wifi on our boat!

As we were returning toward our dinghy from our visit to Choice, we ran into a large group of cruisers heading over to Shipwreck Tavern to take advantage of “hamburger night”. We reversed direction and joined them.  Huge burgers at reduced price.  Barb, ever faithful to her almost-totally vegan diet, had a veggie burger.  I didn’t.  (Her diet has been a tremendous success, by the way.  She has lost a bunch of weight and has reduced her cholesterol by 100 points to a now-acceptable level.  She is pleased and proud, and so am I.)

Next day (Dec. 29) we caught a bus and saw a movie at Caribbean Theatres.  Django Unchained.  Afterward, Barb asked me to remind her next time to never see another Tarantino movie.  The movie was done well, but extremely violent and bloody.  Is it any wonder that the USA is so plagued by massacres.

3 thoughts on “US Virgin Islands – Dec. 19-30, 2012

  1. Kathy Reager

    Glad to see you are still playing cards and having fun.We miss you guys and hope to meet up with you in the next few months.Happy and Healthy New Year.
    Kathy & John

  2. Clearwater SEO

    I do not know whether it’s just me or if everybody else experiencing issues
    with your blog. It looks like some of the written text in your content are running off the screen.
    Can somebody else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them as well?
    This could be a problem with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen before.

    Many thanks

Comments are closed.