The Last Commission:

St Thomas, US Virgin Islands

9-15 May 1978

The ship anchored off Charlotte Amalie, the main town of St Thomas at 1000 on Tuesday 9^th May. Once again we were subjected to a boats routine whenever we wanted to go ashore, but at least it was a little more pleasant on this occasion.

As usual there were the official reception but most of us did our own thing whenever we went ashore. As the Virgin Islands are a free port, the shops of Charlotte Amalie were full of goods at low prices from throughout the world and many of us bought something during our shopping expeditions. However the most popular places during the day were the clean beaches around the island with the cool, refreshing and clear seas. Just to spend a few hours relaxing in the sun was heaven for many.

Although there were no organised tours of the island, many visited Coral World on Cokie Beach on the north east coast. There were mixed feelings about the Underwater Observation Tower and its associated attractions,  from  “fascinating” and “interesting” to “it’s a rip off”. Of the organised activities, the most people popular was the two days of ship’s Banyans on Magens Bay Beach on the 11^th and 12^th May. A shuttle service of open sided “buses” took us from the water front at the USO to the beach on the north coast. Those of us who went on the Banyans agreed that they were good value and enjoyable time was had by all. The sea was inviting and the beach very picturesque with the trees forming a back drop to the overall scene, and giving the necessary shade as protection against the sun’s rays.

For those that had the time, the neighbouring island of St John was a popular attraction. Apparently St John was a quieter, more beautiful island and had better beaches than St. Thomas, and the inhabitants were just as friendly.

The Royal Marine Band of ARK ROYAL gave two performances for the locals of Charlotte Amalie in their Emancipation Park close to the island’s legislation Building. They were well received and the locals acknowledged the professionalism of the Band. In fact various types of music could be heard throughout the island from the Steel Bands, one of which gave a lunch time performance at the USO, to the pop music of the night clubs.

As usual in any foreign port, Ark attracts a lot of interest and St Thomas was no exception. Organised tours of the ship by numerous groups were very popular, and our Sports Teams put up good displays against local opposition.

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