Cruising Plans

Yep, the crew is still bobbing around down here in St. Thomas. So why are we still here? And what are our cruising plans? Are we still heading north to Maine? South to Grenada? Good questions. Maybe we have some answers, finally!

St. Thomas – Our New Base?

We landed here in St. Thomas in the middle of November 2020. Then we somehow managed to purchase a catamaran from the BVI’s during Covid – and here we still sit.

St. Thomas is super convenient for outfitting this boat, I have to admit. There are marine supply stores like Budget, Island Marine Outfitters and Harbor Shoppers. We can order from Amazon and various other businesses (there are mail services in both Red Hook and Crown Bay Marina where you can rent a box at a monthly rate) and get just about anything our little hearts desire. We’re still pretty minimalistic, so we don’t go crazy. But when you need pot holders for the new boat, and there don’t seem to be ANY on island, well, Amazon is your friend.

Surrounded by Friends

Remember that house we remodeled/flipped to pay for this fancy new boat? What you may not remember is that we bought that house from friends who live on St. Thomas. And here we all are, 1.5 years later – hanging out again in the islands.

We also happen to be surrounded by boat friends. A mooring ball was waiting on us when we got here (thanks sv Smitty!) and we’ve met several other boats in our new ‘hood. Other boat friends’ cruising plans have them hitting the USVI’s as well – it’s one of the only open places to US residents at the moment. So every week or so we get to catch up with another old friend or two.

The USVI’s have also been great for people flying in from the States – again, one of the only tropical options for US travelers during Covid. So we have seen 5 people from Georgia, and have more on the way. It’s an easy flight, fairly straight forward entry process and the weather is hard to beat.

Back to the Grind

If you know Mark, you know he can’t really sit still and do nothing. And while we were waiting on crates of lifepo batteries, solar panels (👈🏼video here of a snazzy hard top he created for the helm) and a watermaker (Installation video here of the high output Sea Water Pro), he started working for a new marine services business. None of you are shocked, I’m sure.

I mean, if we are here in the USVI’s we can legally work. Soooo, why in the world not make a little money while we sit here, right? He’s doing things he loves, learning new stuff, and off-setting the cost of all the new systems we’re adding to Luna Sea.

In fact, he’s enjoying it so very much that he’s partnering up in the business. It’s still in it’s early stages, but the guys are all very knowledgeable and have fun together. And it definitely helps bridge the gap we have between our decision to retire early (👈🏼 blog post) and that magical age where we can actually receive those Corporate Life pensions etc that will kick in eventually.

So Much Sewing

What am I up to? Well, pretty much whatever I want. I don’t get bored easily. I’m painting again, learning the ropes to provisioning on St. Thomas (the Safari and I are best buds) and oh-so-much sewing. Mostly canvas, but I’m also delving into swimsuits.

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Before I could start on the fun swimsuits, I had to finish this canvas work. :/ Stack pack done! No more SunSail red and blue canvas on board! 😀

Seriously. How could I ever get bored? On top of sewing all the freaking time, I’m also paddle boarding, swimming over to that little reef RIGHT in front of the boat and playing with new recipes. While I will be thrilled when we get back to those cruising plans, I am also having a ball right here, um, on this (mooring) ball… 😬

Cruising Plans

So what exactly are our Cruising Plans? Are we even still cruising? We are! We are hanging here in St. Thomas because, well, not much else is open. Rumor has it we can get to the Dutch side of St. Martin, maybe Antigua. Puerto Rico is open – and I would LOVE to spend a month there…

But back to the Cruising Plans. With the marine services business booming, and a variety of guests coming to the boat while we are in an accessible location, we are just hanging here until it’s time to move… SOUTH!

Yes, we are heading south for this hurricane season. Off to Grenada, with the hope of an extended visit in the Grenadines (pending entrance requirements) at the end of May/early June. At least those are the current cruising plans… As usual these can change.

While I’m having a blast here, I cannot wait to get back to those beautiful southern waters. The Grenadines are calling! And from there, we will head a smidge further south, back to Carriacou. The plans there include a haul out, a trip back to the States, and then some work on our girl while she’s on the hard. From there – who knows?

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