Phillipsburg, St.Maarten to St. Croix

    We came back to Phillipsburg to shop and have lunch. Last time the local tavern was out of curry goat and I really wanted to try it!  THIS time - I ordered it (delicious)!!  The proprietress even remembered us!!! We are living a life Mike would enjoy - every trip a field trip, every meal a banquet! To get here, we take a local bus. Last time, there had been an earthquake here and the whole bus was buzzing about how strong the tremor had been. This is very much a tourist stop - more than some of the islands we visit. 
    We waited out some strong winds to depart St. Martin. We left on Monday about noon. We parted company of Wayward Wind - ;.(.  They fly back to the US for the holidays next week. I am guaranteed to see them up island, though. We are making a new genoa cover and a new helm cover while they are gone and while we are waiting on the visit from Jessica, Craig, and Lyric. 
    A pleasant overnight sail of 19 hours - 100 miles. Much of it with our gennaker and going seven knots downwind.  We anchored Tuesday morning and low and behold, we are almost IN the airport runway. Yes, St. Croix uses seaplanes for air service. Interesting to watch and a busy place!  Weather dictated a short stay in St. Croix. 
    We left Thursday for Culebra. Had a wonderful beam reach for 9 hours to get here!  I think Christmas in Culebra sounds great - we were considering Christmas Cove but the northerly swells didn't sound great for that location.  We are here with Celtic Rover and hope to see Azaya, Kolibrie, and Plane to Sea while we are here. Also have some boat projects to tend to. 
    Happy Holidays to ALL!