What a great island! After the bustle (and endless beach bars!) of the BVI, we headed over to St John, stopping first at Francis Bay. For a US registered boat and all-US crew, check-in was all on-line and it was a relief not to have the hassle of going down to Cruz Bay to Customs and Immigration. Much of this island is a national park, and they do a fantastic job with it. There were plenty of moorings in great spots, the water is pristine, the beaches clean and sandy, and the snorkeling is good. Moorings are cheap, only $26 a night, with an interesting system where you put payment in an envelope on a floating pay station.

At Francis Bay we went ashore and took a short trail around a mangrove swamp and over to a ruined plantation house. We snorkeled under the cliffs and then went to neighboring Maho Bay. Back on board, we enjoyed sunset over St Thomas.

Next day we moved round to the south side of the island, going past Cruz Bay on our way. We came into Great Lameshur Bay and discovered one of the best anchorages of our trip: quiet, unspoiled, great swimming and hiking, and no signs of houses or roads. We spent three nights here, again on a National Parks mooring. On the first afternoon, a volunteer park ranger came over and recommended a hike, which I did the next day (Jeremy had to work). The Lameshur Bay Trail took me past several different bays, had great views, and ended at a ruined plantation house. Not far beyond that point there are petroglyphs in the cliffs; however I didn’t have a good map or much water, and have a history of pushing to go just a little too much further on my hikes, so I turned around without seeing them. If I’d known just how close I’d got I would have gone. Oh well, will just have to come back!

It was time to move, so we came back round to Francis Bay, completing our circumnavigation of St John. The winds were strong, 20 gusting 30, with big seas off the East End of the island, and we were a little worried about our dinghy, but it bravely made it through! We are now planning to check out and head back to the BVI to prepare for a passage back East. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time on this island and would highly recommend that friends cruising down here try to spend some time in the US as well as British VI.