St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.204N
64.55.523W

Have you ever done something so many times that one day you do it without thinking but totally screw it up?

DocNoMore and MTNest hoisted anchor and pulled out about an hour before us and motored the entire way to St. Thomas. However, I had managed to pinch the sail in the mast by pulling the out furler more than I pulled the out haul, essentially unrolling it in the mast before pulling it out far enough first. Dale ended up standing on the boom and pushing the sail in an inch at a time so that we could tighten it back up and pull it out correctly. As a result of this delay, we caught the change in direction of wind and were able to sail from Culebrita to St. Thomas under blue skies, fair winds and extremely calm seas on a single tack.

(Note: this was the first time we used the windless after Dale replaced the motor and thankfully, it worked beautifully. Patience only goes so far and I‘m sure I used most of his up today.)

We arrived at St. Thomas about 4 pm and were amazed by how much the harbor town had grown and changed. We knew that the Charlotte Amalie’s Yacht Haven had been destroyed in a hurricane and was in the process of being rebuilt. Yet again, knowing and seeing are two different things. There is absolutely nothing remaining of the old Yacht Haven buildings. The only evidence of their prior existence are the concrete piers that are still standing. It appears that the new Yacht Haven will be bigger and better and I'm sure, more expensive.

One little interesting note, the buildings in town that have been standing on this island since the 1600’s are still standing with no noticeable damage. I wonder what that says about our new, improved, bigger and better technology.

We joined the others when they returned from exploring and shopping and have decided to head to town tomorrow to see what other changes have taken place.