June 11, 2010... St. John, USVI

First thing Friday we left Christmas Cove for Cruz Bay, St. John.  As there wasn't much room to anchor there, we headed around the corner to the north side of the island and picked up a mooring in Caneel Bay.  We dinghyed back to Cruz Bay to the National Park Service Visitor Center to get snorkeling info on St. John and to make sure we knew how to use the moorings in the Park.  We also walked up the hill to the Starfish Market (wow!) to get some fish to barbeque for dinner.  And we had lots of quality time at the post office while we waited to find out how to get a package delivered from Florida.  

Cruz Bay is a very cute town, but we were chomping at the bit to get out of town and into some natural paradise.  Back to Anhinga, we set out east and passed the beautiful beaches and coves of Caneel, Turtle, Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon, and Maho Bays, and finally picked up a mooring in Francis Bay.  With only 5 boats here there was plenty of room for everyone.  Once settled we took the dinghy to snorkel around Whistling Cay.  More turtles!  And millions of little fish swimming around the huge boulders under the clear water.

1st Stop:  Caneel Bay, St. John:  +18° 20' 19.74", -64° 47' 47.46"

2nd Stop:  Francis Bay, St. John:  +18° 21' 54.48", -64° 44' 54.66"