On 20Mar, I got up a bit earlier because I wanted to have an underwater look at the underwater parts of our boat. Ask is ok. But this inspection was accompanied by a small who kept circling a few meets below me. It was my first encounter with a shark in the Caribbean. It is incredible to watch this fish with its speed optimized body shape and it’s fins for propulsion and direction control.

After breakfast we lifted the hook and salted in about 2 h nach to St Thomas. We sailed
broad reach, running, and at the end for about 1 1/2 NM a beam reach course. Very comfortable sailing in a swell a bit lower than 2 m.

In the eastern part of St Thomas harbor we set anchor about 0.2 NM from the Coast Guard station. Here I want to drop off the friend who sailed with me for a week and pick up my friend S. from Japan, who will sail with me all the way to Cuba.

21Mar, we dropped off our friends for their flight back home. S and I are preparing for the next leg to Puerto Rico. Yesterday we could already refill the empty propane gas bottle.

Yesterday we also got from Puerto Rico the information that in respect to COVID-19, we are considered as domestic travelers in the USA, this no special protocol is needed.

However, concerning sailing with our own boat to Puerto Rico, requires clearance via the ROAM app. The funny thing is that the change of the 2nd identification system, a phone number which can receive SMS, requires more than 24 h because my satellite phone number is not accepted and the Caribbean SIM card doesn’t work in the USVI anymore. So now I need to store a US phone number. Extremely efficient system if you are not a US citizen with a US mobile phone.

We hope we get clearance within today so we can depart tomorrow at dawn after doing last shopping today.

Some people say that sailing around the world is repairing the boat in the most beautiful bays of the world, I say now that it is fighting with entry permissions in the internet and getting always new locally working SIM cards.