Cruising with Ginger 2013 Part 1

Broken Valve cover bolt

After seeing Edi and Philipp off
at the airport I went to Road Town to clear out and also stopped by the diesel mechanic shop to find the M5 ss bolt that could replace the one that was broken on the engine. Upon 

Sailing pas the Ram's Head, St. John, USVI

returning to Wereda the new
bolt was installed. So here I am, on  March 1st, 2013 in Trellis Bay, Beef Island.
In 5 days Ginger arrives in
St Thomas and I am picking
her up. It is not far, but I better be there, engine woes 

Arriving in St. Thomas

or not. Luckily, I was happy
to have the Old Cranky running again and on March 2, Wereda sailed out of Beef Island. It was already dark when the anchor was dropped in the Emerald (Lindbergh) Bay, St. Thomas.

A Polish sailor from my home town in Poland
Capt. Jacek Rajch, visiting Wereda

Wereda at anchor in Emerald Bay, St Thomas

Next morning I was nicely surprised seeing s/v Ospray sailing by Wereda. I've met  Capt. Jacek Rajch  briefly last year while in Lodz with Ginger. After anchoring nearby, Jacek dinghied over and we had a nice drink. Later in the day I paid a visit to the Osprey and also met Jacek's wife - Ewa. Next day we had a wonderful dinner featuring fried conch caught by Jacek and expertly prepared by Ewa. The same day, another Polish yacht arrived. It was the s/v Aldebaran with Gosia and Chris Z. - the couple I've met during Thanksgiving in Trinidad, back in the 2011.

Visiting Jacek and Ewa on their yacht Osprey

My original dinghy was almost 
unusable. The floor needed
professional help to stay glued.
I was very lucky that the 
Aldebaran had a spare one and offered it to me at no cost. That helped a lot, since the following day Ginger was arriving and I had no idea if I'll be able to ferry her and her luggage from the  

Ginger arrived last night. First breakfast onboard

beach to Wereda. Chris and Gosia also went with me to the airport, just a short distance from the beach, to help.

Gosia and Chris from s/v Aldebaran visiting Wereda

The surf was quite moderate that night so pushing dinghy with its precious cargo off the beach went without a hitch and in a few minutes Ginger was safely 
aboard Wereda. It took a second 
trip ashore to pick up the rest of 

Visiting old friends Janusz and Danuta at their newly
acquired residence in St. Thomas

her luggage. Following days were spent on touring the island, visiting Polish Restaurant, shopping in Charlotte Amalie, provisioning in the Pueblo supermarket and lounging on the beach. We would swim ashore, order some refreshments from one of the two beach bars and avail ourselves of their lounge chairs. A special treat was a visit with Danuta and Janusz at their newly purchased home. They were my neighbors in Houston 

which included an excellent dinner and fantastic views
of the Magen's Bay from their terrace.

for many years and moved to St. Thomas in 2003 or so. The view from their terrace overlooking the Magens Bay, stretches all the way to Jost van Dyke in the BVI.

Could not pass up the lobster dinner at the Greenhouse
Restaurant

In fact, later on while in White Bay, one night they were able to see our green laser light as I pointed it from Wereda in the direction of their house.
On March 12, 2013 Wereda weighed her anchor and we left St. Thomas after a short stop at the Crown Bay fuel dock to top up on diesel and water and also to have our holding tank emptied. Our next destination: the White Bay on Jost van Dyke, BVI.
To view more pictures click HERE