Frederiksted St Croix USVIs

BVat anchor off Frederiksted

By the time that we got ashore at Frederiksted on the afternoon of Saturday 28 April, it was getting late and most of the shops were closing up for the day/weekend if they had not already done so.

Frederiksted’s main square close to the root of the cruise-ship pier

So it was a very quiet town that we wandered around, looking for signs of a food store (for perishables, like bread) and a bar.  In comparison to Christiansted, Frederiksted struck us as a real sleepy-hollow, with little to see, but because it has the deep-water pier it is the entry point to St Croix for cruise-ship passengers.  It seemed a little odd to us, but I guess most of the passengers are bussed into the interior of the island [Ed: or to Christiansted!] or jump immediately into dive boats for a spot of diving or snorkelling.

Frederiksted’s main street – a bustling hive of activity for a Saturday late afternoon!

We had a pleasant wander around the town and made a note of the bus stop and the tourist office.  On the Monday we would need to clear out of the USVIs and one of us probably needed to get to the airport to do so.  We hoped that we would be able to catch a bus or a public taxi to the airport, rather than an expensive private hire cab but our biggest hope was that a Customs official would visit the port to clear in the cruise-ship that we knew was due in on Monday and that we would therefore be able to clear out with them.

Views of Frederiksted.  Top left:  Nicky with the pier behind her.  Top right:  tourist office in one of the older buildings in the town.  Bottom:  The old Customs House

Fort Frederik.  A National Historic Landmark in need of some TLC

Frederiksted from the pier

On Sunday we dinghied across to Frederiksted pier and joined the several other snorkelers and divers around the pilings.

Snorkelling between the legs of the pier.  There’s a profusion of sponges and corals growing on the uprights.  Even though a vast amount of damage was done to the flora and fauna by Hurricane Irma the dive-shop staff members we spoke to said that the ecosystem is making a good recovery

Patrolling barracuda

Very soon after entering the water we spotted 2 patrolling barracuda that loitered around for the duration of our swim.  Happily, for once, they didn’t decide to spend the whole time following Nicky! Despite their presence we saw many large schools of fish in and around the pier’s legs.

Left:  Smooth trunkfish.  And to think that for months now we have thought that this was a Pufferfish! Thanks to our new Pocket Guide to Corals and Fishes (Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean), purchased in Christiansted, we might do better with underwater identification

Left:  Fire sponge (reddish-orange) Right:  Square fire coral

The pilings are all hugely encrusted with corals and sponges, apparently much depleted since Hurricane Irma’s ravaging in 2017, but still very impressive and, by all accounts, recovering well.

We had great fun swimming up and down the legs, joining the shoaling fish and taking a close-up look at the various creatures on display.

Left: azure vase sponges?  Top right:  yellow tube sponges developing

Close to the surface the colours were spectacular.  Lower down, where the water filters the colour from the sunlight , everything was much bluer but still the variety was impressive.

Top:  Christmas tree worms with mustard hill coral. 
Bottom:  Finger coral and barrel sponges?

We must have been in the water for well over an hour and still we felt we could have stayed longer but we had jobs to do back on board and so, reluctantly, we returned to BV.

A small school of sergeant majors

One of those jobs was cleaning BV’s hull something we hadn’t done for a few weeks.  It’s usually quite a fun chore as frequently lots of fish join us for a free feeding session as we scrape weed and slime off the hull.  This time, however, few fish came our way, probably all intent on eating from the pier.  Nicky was feeling somewhat dizzy from so much descending and ascending in the morning and got out of the water much sooner than usual, so I rather had my work cut out.  But the job was done in the end and BV will sail a bit faster for it too I am sure!

Monday and the cruise-ship is in. No diving on the pier today!

Nicky got up early on Monday morning to call Customs to see if they would be sending anyone down to the pier to meet the incoming cruise-ship.  Unfortunately for us, it was on a domestic itinerary and so did not need to clear in or out.  So Nicky went ashore with the ship’s documents to visit the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) post at the airport.  Having asked at the Tourist Office she was informed that there is no public bus or taxi service to the airport but one of the ladies in the office took pity on her and ran her out to the airport herself.  Customs paperwork complete, Nicky took a long walk to the main road and caught a public taxi back to the town; only $2.50 as opposed to $20 in a private hire cab.  In previous years CBP have manned an office in Gallows Bay at Christiansted but it was wrecked by Hurricane Irma and has not yet been reopened.  But the lady in the airport office said that it was only temporarily closed and should be reopened for winter 2018/9.  We have our fingers crossed that is the case as it’s a far more convenient place to get to, even allowing for an 18nm passage there from Frederiksted, most of which is to windward.  With our check-out paperwork stamped we had 24 hours to get BV clear of the USVIs.  Our next planned stop was Culebra in the Spanish Virgin Islands (Puerto Rico) where we would be able to complete BV’s customs clearance for entry to the USA.

Frederiksted, St Croix, USVIs