A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skilled Sailor

Not sure if I precisely agree with this quote, but it does epitomize the type of sailing we've been doing lately.

Unfortunately, we are always sailing on a set time schedule.  We always seem to have to be here or there by a certain time and then back in time for work on a particular day.  If we were full time cruisers this wouldn't be an issue as we would wait for those nice weather windows in which to sail, but alas, we are not full time cruisers or retired so we always seem to be on a time crunch.  This thus puts us in line for crummy sailing weather at times.  

Every year we look forward to our Regional Convention in St. Croix which is 40 miles south of St. John.  And every year we hold our breath hoping for no tropical storms or boat breakdowns that would necessitate flying over and staying in a hotel.  Thankfully, once again we were able to sail and stay at Green Caye Marina. Our friends, Mike and Tina sailed over and back with us.  It was nice having the company as well as the extra set of hands since coming back we encountered a nasty little squall which blew out (read: ripped) our main sail even with a double reef in it.  There were reports of gusts of upwards of 35 mph, plus lightening.

Nice.

 Real nice.

I was feeling pretty nervous until a pod of about 40 dolphin escorted us for a bit.

Somehow dolphins always make everything better.

I couldn't find my phone, but thankfully Tina and Mike got some great photos and video!  

You kind of forget the near peril you felt yourself in just a few minutes previously.  Instead, mesmerized at each dolphin you see.

The convention itself was amazing (of course :). We thoroughly enjoyed the program and seeing and meeting friends old and new from all over the islands.  (No worries, I won't spoil it for you if you haven't gone yet. :) We had a smaller convention this year since they sent some congregations the weekend before for reasons of transportation, hotels and comfort level at the facility.

So below are a few happy photos of our weekend.  We truly didn't want to leave.

Green Caye Marina, the calm BEFORE the storm. :)

Green Caye Marina located on the north side of St. Croix was just as we remembered it, clean, friendly, reasonable slip prices and very quiet.  We arrived a couple of days early so it was nice this time to enjoy some snorkeling off of the adjacent Tamarind Beach Resort.  (better than average shore snorkeling I would say. )

How do you like our new underwater lights?  They are Terry's favorite thing.  He's always wanted them. 

It was so great to reconnect with so many friends from all over the islands.  We had St. Thomas, Tortola, and some from Puerto Rico along with our congregation from St. John.  

Lots of smiling happy faces!

A person has to eat of course, especially after all this heavy duty paying attention and learning.  And St. Croix has some lovely restaurants.

Savant, located in Christiansted is one of my favorites.  They have an eclectic menu and the most beautiful outside courtyard. 

Don't worry about a rain shower as they have a clever covering for the courtyard.  The first sign of a sprinkle and they have a pulley system that unfurls an upcycled sail across the courtyard.  I did not get any photos of the food as I was too busy enjoying it.  Needless to say, Terry's lamb chops with horseradish mashed potatoes was amazing.  And my chicken enchilada's were wonderful.  Interesting choices, right?  

If you go to Savant you must try their coffee.  It's Costa Rican and they bring it out with this nifty contraption.  I'm now hooked on single drip brew coffee.  Had to buy myself something similar when I got home.  It's now my favorite way to brew coffee on the boat,

Now, back to fixing that sail . . . . and the rigging and the dinghy and the . . .