Arabella -- Sailing the Spanish Virgin Islands

ARABELLA -- SAILING THE SPANISH VIRGIN ISLANDS As we slipped off the boat into the water of Mosquito Bay we could see the water around our bodies begin to glow. I lifted my arm out of the water and it looked like diamonds glittering on my arm as the water trickled down. This phenomenon of bio-luminescence occurs throughout Caribbean waters, but is intensely concentrated here in Mosquito Bay. The glow is a result of a chemical reaction of a single-celled organism called a dyno-flagellate that soaks up the sun's rays during the day and emits a chemical reaction at night when touched. To get to the bay we had taken a rickety old school bus down a rough two-track road to meet with an electric- powered boat. The guide on the boat used a laser pointer to point out various stars, planets, and constellations. It was a dark quiet night, the stars bright in the sky above and our bodies creating bright splashes in the water below. It was a memorable event. Mosquito Bay is located on the island of Vieques (vee-a-kays), one of the so-called Spanish Virgin Islands ... which is the theme of this week's Arabella sailing in the Caribbean. I had never heard of the Spanish Virgin Islands, but there is indeed such a group of islands located off the coast of Puerto Rico that are a part of Puerto Rico. English is the official language, but Spanish is the preferred language. In addition to Vieques we visited Culebra and Culebrita in the Spanish Virgins. We also visited islands in both the British and US Virgin Islands. The Arabella is a modern 3-masted staysail schooner. It is 161 ft. long; the hull is aluminum. The ship was built in 1984, later in a 2000 refit, 60 ft. were added in the center of the ship. It carries 40 passengers and 8 crew, including the captain, who has been on the ship for 7 years. Our cruise had only 15 passengers onboard so there was plenty of room for everybody to spread out. Also we were able to get everyone on shore with only two Zodiac runs. The first thing you notice about the ship besides her sleek lines is the cleanliness and modern appointments. The feel of a classic ship is preserved with lots of mahogany and teak trim. The cabins are small but well laid out. Of the 15 passengers onboard there were 5 singles and 5 couples so it was a good social mix. The Arabella home staff keeps track of these things so in choosing a cruise you can find a mix you would like, for example you could ask for a cruise with a lot of singles. The cruise starts and ends in Red Hook, St Thomas, easily accessible by direct air from the states or through San Juan or Miami. I always like to arrive a day early to avoid flight cancellations and delays so the night before the cruise I stayed at the Island Beachcomber Hotel which is literally walking distance from the airport and yet sits on a quiet cove with a nice beach. Island Beachcomber offers special rates for Arabella passengers. The hotel is a long walk or a short taxi-ride to the main town of Charlotte Amalie where there are lots of shops catering to big-ship cruisers many of which are at dock on most days. It is a duty-free area so many people are looking for bargains. The next day I moved to Red Hook at the opposite side of the island about a 45-minute taxi ride where all the passengers met Kim, the shoreside representative for Arabella, who took our luggage which will meet us in our cabins. We tendered out to the ship at 4:00 and before getting into our cabins, filled out immigration documents and handed over our passports to Debbie, our First Mate, for our entry into BVI later in the week. After getting situated in our cabins we met on the aft deck for a briefing by Captain Sandy. Then we motored over to St. Johns and anchored outside Caneel Bay, a high-end resort built by the Rockefellers, who owned ¾ of St. Johns and donated it to be a nature reserve. We had dinner at one of their restaurants, the Equator, which is housed inside the remains of an old sugar mill. The dinner was a fine dining experience. I had an appetizer of fresh greens with cherry tomatoes and hearts of palm and a main dish of Cobia with balsamic-infused rice and cucumber salsa, and for dessert mango crisp topped with ice cream. That night we spent at anchor at St. Johns. Typically, breakfast and lunch are served aboard ship and dinner is done at a different restaurant on shore each night. Dinner is as a group in pre-selected restaurants except for one night when we were on our own. The food for the most part is very good for all the meals. A light breakfast is available starting around 6:30 AM each day, and a hot breakfast starts at 8 AM. Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style. The next morning we began sailing at 6:30. It was about a 4-hour run to the island of Vieques. For years Vieques housed a US military base in addition to a local population. Until 1973 parts of the island were used for bombing practice. Unexploded ordnance is still being found and detonated. In 2003 the military base was closed. We had lunch and then we started our activities. Some folks went snorkeling while others took to the kayaks. Some people went ashore to walk the town or go to the beach. At 6:00 we enjoyed a barbeque on the aft deck, the only dinner we had onboard the ship. After dinner we went to Mosquito Bay for the bio-luminescence tour. Snorkeling is one of the main activities every day and we are treated to some very special sights. In addition to loads of schooling and reef fish, we spotted several sea turtles, barracuda, an eel, and squid. From the ship we spotted a whale and dolphins. The following morning we had another 4-hour sail to reach Culabrita where we had lunch and did the usual assortment of water activities, beaching snorkeling and kayaking. At 4:00 we raised anchor and moved to Culebra where we tendered in for a quick look around the town. At 6:30 we tendered in again to enjoy a dinner at Club Seabourne consisting of either pork loin, tuna, or chicken. That night we spent overnight at anchor at Culebra. There are no large resorts, night clubs or casinos on these islands so the pace of life is very slow. Again we were sailing in the morning. This is a good time for reading, casual conversation, and sunbathing. The Arabella has a stern deck with covered seating area where most people congregate. Also here is the hot tub. On the bow is another lounging area which is uncovered and perfect for stretching out and soaking up some sun. Our next stop was Christmas Cove off of St. Thomas where we did some great snorkeling. We spotted schools of squid, an eel, and a sea turtle. That afternoon we moved over to St. Johns' Cruz Bay and headed into town. We picked up a safari cab (an open air canopy-topped pick-up truck) for an island tour that took about 2 hours. We stopped to view several beaches and saw the ruins of an old sugar mill. We negotiated the fare down from $25-$20 per person, a pretty good value. When we got back to town we stopped at an internet café to check e-mails. Then on to a waterfront bistro for cocktails and appetizers of conch fritters, calamari, and coconut shrimp with island music playing in the background. We stayed until the sun set over the water. We then walked the shops and spotted a small casino and tried our luck at the machines. Later we found that the restaurants had finished serving food so we found a small food stand and got some fish tacos. Live music was being played everywhere around town. We made it back to the tender dock in time for a 10:00 pick-up. We could have stayed longer. All-in-all it was a pretty full day. The next morning we set sail for the British Virgin Islands. At 9:00 AM we stopped to clear customs and immigration, then proceeded on to that day's destination -- Norman's Island. Our first stop was to anchor off The Caves where we snorkel. The Caves is a series of three caves carved into the island's edge. We snorkeled inside the caves, then took a zodiac ride to the Indian Rocks for more snorkeling. The reef here was very alive. We spotted barracuda and a sea turtle. We moved the ship a little ways down the island and tendered into the shore at the site of Pirates' Bight, a restaurant and bar and gift shop on the beach in a cove. We hiked up the hill to the top of the island where we had a spectacular view to the other side of the island and the Atlantic Ocean. We had dinner at Pirates' Bight, and after dinner some of us headed over to Willy T’s, a floating bar and night club. There was a steel drum band playing at Pirates' Bight. It was Saturday night and the cove was crowded with boats, mostly sail boats. The following morning we repositioned to Jost Van Dyke. Our first stop was White Bay where we did more watersports after lunch and toured the beachfront bistros including The Soggy Dollar. Mid-afternoon we moved around the corner to Great Bay, home of Foxy’s, where we enjoyed dinner. There was a donkey roaming the streets. On our last day we cruised to St. Thomas after clearing customs and immigration and headed for the airport and home. The Arabella cruises in New England, Maine, and Chesapeake Bay in the summer months. To read a report on Arabellas New England cruise see http://smallshipcruises.com/cruisereport/crusingnewenglandonthearabella.html For more information on the Arabella and her voyages, contact www.SmallShipCruises.com or see Arabella’s website at www.cruisearabella.com Information on Island Beachcomber Hotel is at www.islandbeachcomber.net by Scott Linde Photos by Scott Linde and Dave Clark.

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