18:26.466N 64:45.05W

Thursday 5^th April 2012

Distance run: 11 nmiles

Rather glad to slip the buoy and head out of the bay and around to Cruz Bay to check out of USVI.  This task is made more difficult by the fact that any boat with more than about 6 feet of draft has a problem getting into the bay, and therefore we anchored right outside, in the swell, so as to put down the rib and go ashore to do the paperwork.  Steve picked up Rob from Serafina which they had decided Sarah would just drive around rather than bother to anchor, and they headed ashore.  Ten minutes later they were back, and with Rob returned to Serafina, we set about lifting the rib back onto the davits.  The swell was quite nasty and it was a tricky business, during which the rib managed to bash hard enough against the boarding ladder to tear off one of the wooden steps.  Fortunately we saw it go and Steve managed to stretch out and retrieve it from the water, only narrowly escaping a ducking himself in the process.

Once the rib was safely back in place we lifted the anchor and set off for Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke to check in to the British Virgin Islands.  All a bit of a palaver really, but as we plan to leave from the BVI we only have to do one more check-out when we leave for St Martin.  We motored through the islands at the western end of Tortola and then had a pleasant sail across to Jost Van Dyke, arriving around lunchtime.  Once the anchor was down, Steve & Rob went ashore to check us in, and we then decided that rather than move on to Little Harbour, we may as well stay where we were. Which is exactly what we did!