Canadian Yachting October 2022 - 14

A secret anchorage near Coral Bay.
USVIs is less a comparison of apples and
oranges and more a comparison between
the winner and runner-up in a beauty
contest.
Both island chains are indescribably
beautiful.
Passages tend to be shorter on the
American side given the smaller number
of islands and the fact most itineraries for
USVI limit themselves to St. John circumnavigations
and a taste of St. Thomas for
good measure. With anchorages scattered
across close to forty islands, the BVIs
offer more variety from that standpoint.
But St. John provides more unspoiled
options than most anchorages we've done
in the BVIs and St. Thomas offers much
to the crew off the boat.
Having given the most space in our
own float plan to St. John itself, I was
struck by a comment made by noted boating
writer John Kretschmer. According to
Kretschmer, " Even devotees of the BVI
admit that St. John is the most beautiful of
all the Virgin Islands. "
BVIs or USVIs? Apples and oranges?
More like lobster and filet mignon.
Today I'm happy to be sailing the other
Virgin Islands.
PASSAGES TO PARADISE
The passage we make that day out of
Francis Bay is one reason, though hardly
the only one.
Don't forget to dine ashore - maybe on scrumptious lobster at Morgans Mango in Cruz Bay.
We pass protected coves and islands
clad in every shade of green, slicing diamond-studded
waters boasting five or sixfoot
waves.
The next waypoint will be Coral Bay,
one of only two settlements on St. John.
Rhumbline isn't big, but tack after tack
once clear of St. John itself, impacts
velocity made good.
But no one seems to care. A couple of
crew lounge on the foredeck. The guys
jockey for turns at the helm.
I relinquish control, going forward.
" Powerboaters are happy because they're
going somewhere special, " I holler over
the howling winds. " We're already there! "
Now we pass great stone cliffs hundreds
of metres high, lonely beaches devoid of
civilization, battered by pounding white
surf.
On our next to last day, we traverse St.
John's south coast, sometimes clocking
ten knots as we surf the waves. We cut
through Pillsbury Sound and make for
Magens Bay through the leeward passage,
Hans Lollick Island to starboard and
14 CANADIAN YACHTING | OCTOBER 2022
IDYLLIC ANCHORAGES
But Magens was hardly the only worthy
waypoint, nor was it the most idyllic
anchorage we visited.
The unspoiled character of St. John
itself is due to great expanses of almost
unbroken vegetation with relatively few
signs of civilization.
One spot seemingly free of humanity is
Lameshur Bay on St. John's south coast.
" One of my favourites, " assistant base
manager Brent Gildea told me during our
Dream Yacht Charter chart briefing.
Mine too. Guarded by some of the tallest
mountains in the Virgin Islands, hard
by an unoccupied amber beach, fringed
by surreal rock formations and boasting
some excellent snorkelling), Lameshur
now replaces Francis as my favourite
USVI anchorage. Might be one of my
favourites in the whole wide world.
elegant St. Thomas villas to port.
Achieving that bay, we glance shoreward
toward the most beautiful beach
on St.
Thomas, one that National
Geographic's reputedly rated among the
world's best.
The best part about passages through
paradise?
They end in idyllic anchorages just like
this one.
Canadian Yachting October 2022

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