Aunt Louise and Pam visit us!

The Ruby Princess entering the Crown Bay Marina

Our 1st visitors in the Caribbean arrived on the Ruby Princess. Aunt Louise (older sister of Karen's mother) and her friend, Pam came to St. Thomas and were anxious to go sailing. We arrived in the harbor the previous night and watched the ship come into Crown Bay Marina in the morning. Of course, we met them right near where the passengers disembarked the ship. Then, they experienced their 1st dinghy ride!

Sailing south of Water Island, towards Buck Island

Aunt Louise got the "hang of it" right away, as we sailed out of the harbor for Buck Island...3 miles south. She has that relaxed boater look...with beer in hand.

The girls look like they're having fun....Pam taking the "high side, Karen peeking a look, and Aunt Louise "staying low"!

Pam snorkling

Pam, Karen, and I snorkled around the bay between Buck and Capella Islands. Aunt Louise stayed aboard to enjoy the sun and the music. I would have to say the water was clearer than what I've seen in other places and the schools of fish were everywhere. We even found the remnants of a ship wreck near the shoreline.

A school of Blue Tang

At 70, Aunt Louise is still a "hottie"!

We returned to the boat from our snorkling, enjoying snacks/lunch with a light rain shower to cool things off. Then, it was time to head back to shore. The sailing out and the return was really nice...15 knots of wind off of the beam, allowing us to sail on one tack to and from the island.

I couldn't get Aunt Louise to stand on the railing with her arms extended...like in the movie "Titanic"

We decided to spend some time on shore having a cocktail before their return to the ship. It really rained hard for a short time after we got  to shore, but we stayed under the canopy at our table and watched all of the tourists get soaked. This is the time of the season when daytime showers are more frequent, so keep that in mind if you choose to visit us next year. We like the rain, as it tends to wash off the dried salt on the boat....plus it sure cools things down a bit.

Standing on shore between the rain showers

Pam and Aunt Louise, on their balcony (middle row, right side), waving goodbye to us.

We took our dinghy over to the ship before it left, hoping to see them one last time...and to slap the bull too!