Feb 17
Ponce, Puerto Rico

Today Kathleen and I rented a car and stocked up on provisions as the cost for food in the Virgin Islands is at least triple that of PR. We went to Wall Mart, Sams Club and the local cash and carry and we think we have enough to get us through at least a month in the Virgin Islands if we decided to stay that long. Tomorrow we will return the car and top of the fuel and water tanks and leave the harbor at about midnight.

Fe b 19 The weather was no problem as we took advantage of the night lee of Puerto Rico. The wind was under 17 knots most of the time and the seas were less than 2 feet. As we moved beyond the three mole limit the seas became a little rougher so we stayed about 2 moles off the coast as we moved to jobo. We arrived at our anchorage at about 05:30 and had the hook set and were able to get some sleep before the next leg. We plan next to go to Vieques which used to be ( still is?) a test range for the US Navy with certain areas off limits due to unexploded ordinance. Sun Bay where we will anchor is outside the zone so we should have no problem with the Navy.

Feb 21Since the next leg will be outside the lee of Puerto Rico we will leave at 0600 and arrive at Sun Bay at a bout 1430 with plenty of time to get snugged down on our anchor.

This morning some rain showers passed behind us and we witnessed a spectacular rainbow. At the terminus of the rainbow the sea took on the colors as if the rainbow continued below the surface of the water for a short distance. At times there were actually two rainbows in the sky.

There were a few boats anchored here in Sun Bay with us and several of their passengers took to the beach.

Tomorrow morning we will make the trip to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands and plan to anchor in Lindbergh Bay for a few days. It is about 40 nautical miles from here and should take us about 10 hours as we will be going into the wind and current and if lucky will be able to make bout 4 knots.

Feb 22

We arrived at Lindbergh Bay and set our anchor down at 16:30. The bay is situated out form the runway of the airport but the air traffic seemed to

die down in the evening and wasn't really too bad. The main port of Charlotte Amalie is the next bay over and is where all the cruise ships make port.

Feb 25

This morning we are moving to St Johns, Caneel Bay where we will stay for a few days. The state park provides mooring balls for 15.00 per day and dos not allow anchoring unless in 60 feet of water for boats over 60 feet in length. The moorings are right off the beach and just around a small cape is Cruz Bay with a small town and lots of bars. Kathleen and I have been indulging in swimming and relaxing and yesterday as we went in to Cruz Bay to check it out we saw a Hawksbill Sea turtle swimming along.

The weather is great with plenty of sun but the air temperature is moderated by the trade winds and at night we still need a blanket to keep warm as the temperature drops into the mid 60s, while the wind maintains 10 to 15 knots.