We arrived at Maho Bay, St John after a particular nasty 14 mile passage.  Anne, from Blue Runner, had warned us the seas outside the harbor at St Thomas were bad, but we waited for the best of the bad weather windows.  This one called for waves 7 to 9 feet, which normally we wouldn’t have gone near, but we were sure that meant way outside, not right next to the coast where we would be.  Boy were we wrong!!!  We were less than a mile offshore and we took a pounding!!  Combine the waves with nearly 30 knot winds and you know 14 miles is an awfully long way!!!  The waves weren’t only high, they were close together.  Hitting them straight on wasn’t as bad as having one pontoon start to fall off one side of the wave!  I went inside to check on the kids and noticed a hatch was open. Someone was watching over us, as no sooner did I shut the hatch above the dining table, then a huge wave buried both bows, shooting water all the way back to the cockpit.  There was so much water going over the side windows that it reminded the kids and I of going through a car wash!! If I hadn’t shut the window when I did, all that would have been in the cabin. The bright side was we only had to endure this less than 2 hours.  As soon as we made the turn to at the end of St Thomas, the island of St James blocked the waves, and all we had to deal with was the wind.  That and the boat traffic.  I don’t remember seeing that many boats heading in different directions at one time. You really needed to pay close attention.  Soon we arrived at Maho Bay and picked up the required mooring ball.  St John is really so beautiful!!!  We’ve spent a lot of time in the British Virgin Islands, and once a long time ago, on a charter, we spent a night at St John, but I really don’t remember it being this beautiful!!  It feels so good here, it’ll be hard to leave!!