St Thomas USVI

 After a wonderful week in Culebra, we decided to get a move on, so we had time to see all the other islands.  Next stop...St Thomas, United States Virgin Islands.  We actually got a chance to put the jib up (small front sail) and arrived in about 6 hours.  We anchored just outside of the cruise ships on an island called Water Island, in Honeymoon Harbor.   I guess I shouldn't say near...it was at least a 20 minute dinghy ride in, when it was calm. 

This is the main cruise ship dock and center is Charlotte Amalie.  There is two pieces of land, one you can see here is Hassell Island.  The other just like it is Water Island.

Larry has a book of the top 100 Megayachts and he has been crossing them off as we see them.  Check out all those windows!  And we saw him later on in St Martin, so he does sail the thing.

The dinghy dock.  We should have just parked under one of the big ships stern and wouldn't have even got a drop on the dink if it rained!

                                        Our neighbors...and that cat is twice as big as ours!

I didn't think I would like this town because of the cruise ships, but it was cool to be right next to the big ships!  On cruise ship days, the town was crowded and this is where you want to buy jewelry, cameras, watches, etc. because it is duty free.  I got an underwater camera and I love it.

                                         I had to take a picture of the pirate ship for Rayne!

We did a few repairs here, shopping and seeing the town and then moved on to Christmas Cove, Great St James Island.

St Thomas history:
In 1917, the Danes sold their virgin islands to the US, the US was eager to have a military outpost in the Caribbean.  St Thomas had long been a useful coaling station and harbor for steamships and was well positioned to defend the approaches to the Panama Canal.  A major seaport and the capital of St Thomas, Charlotte Amalie was named after a Danish Queen.  The town still has many of the original buildings and mansions.  This town was used extensively over the century as a haunt for pirates and privateers, because it was declared a free port by the Danes, enabling the sale of goods, livestock, and ships aquired in honest trade or under the flag of piracy.