Aaarrr, matey!  Now me know de life of a pirate!

Lora and I woke early yesterday morning to set sail on the caribbean blue.  Captain Bill met us in Coral Bay and we slowly made our way due west for Hassel Island off the southern coast of St. Thomas.  Unfortunately, no fish were caught from neither Bill’s 80 lb line with his heavy duty deep sea fishing rod nor my meager 15 lb with my 6 foot travel pole.  However, much rum was drunk and guacamole eaten.  Bill told us dramatic tales of being at sea in 40 foot waves.  We tried to compensate by sharing our own stories of peril at sea (which clearly paled in comparison).  I also finally learned how to sail with a compass rather than on autopilot.  How sailors survived without autopilot is quite astounding!

After 6 hours at sea, we made a safe mooring in the bay, where several other sailboats and at least five massive cruise ships were resting, and took the dinghy to visit Manfred Dietrich’s famous sail shop.  Having met him the previous evening and witnessing his local celebrity (upon walking into Island Blues the entire bar turned around and greeted him), Manfred is what locals call a true Caribbean Pirate and he is certainly one-of-a-kind.  The walkway leading up to his shop was like meandering through a shipping junkyard or a sailing eden.  It helped prepare us for the destination itself, which read at the entrance, “Davey Jones Locker”--a fitting welcome to this sailing mecca.  

We then took the dinghy to visit the fort and watch the cruise ships motor out of the small mouth of the bay.  We fished a bit more before sunset and then made our way to Water Island, where we met more hearty locals at the only “bar” on the island (more like a shack with an extra large igloo and horseshoes for entertainment).  We closed the bar down at the “wee” hour of 8 pm.  

Our evening was capped off by taking a dinghy to Charlotte Amalie, catching a cab to Red Hook, riding a ferry back to Cruz Bay, flagging another taxi to our stop on Centerline Road, and finally hiking by the sliver of moonlight up Ajax Peak Road to our comfy cottage by Orion’s Villa.  

What a day.  I must admit I’m a bit exhausted from role-playing “Peg Leg” as I have on a few occasions (the Appalachian Trail) in the past.  Not sure if it applies to me, but the motto certainly holds true for many here in the Caribbean: “It’s a pirate’s life for me.  Yo-ho!”