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Sailing from BVI's the St John? #102141
07/06/2016 12:18 PM
07/06/2016 12:18 PM
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 38
Charleston, SC
S
SCMPSC Offline OP
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SCMPSC  Offline OP
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 38
Charleston, SC
We've sailed in the BVI's many times, but have never sailed to St John.

We'll be on a Moorings boat, and would appreciate any thoughts on if it would be worth spending a day/night there on the way from Jost to Norman towards the end of our trip. If not we'd probably go to Cooper or Peter, but some of us have been to both of those.

I'm just not sure how much time we'd tie up going thru Customs. If we do so, where is it best to go thru Customs considering our route?

Is it worth the effort?

Thanks!!!!

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Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: SCMPSC] #102142
07/06/2016 01:48 PM
07/06/2016 01:48 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347
USVI
LocalSailor Offline
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LocalSailor  Offline
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USVI
Clear out on Jost - clear in at Cruz Bay STJ - move to your desired anchorage for a day or 2 - clear back in at West End to go to Norman Is from STJ.
Get the proper info and forms from Moorings office before you leave.
Time spent in clearing - out-in -in - depends on busyness of C&I plus the time spent getting to Cruz Bay - a few hours combined I guess.
Few services of any kind available in the STJ National Park so plan provisioning accordingly.

Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: LocalSailor] #102143
07/06/2016 04:36 PM
07/06/2016 04:36 PM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
RickG Offline
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RickG  Offline
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St. John, USVI
We think St. John is always worth the effort. We just spent a night in Salt Pond, St. John on the way back from STM via Virgin Gorda and had a pristine bay to ourselves while surrounded by national park. It will be quite a contrast to most BVI anchorages, with no more than a parking lot, beach and hiking trails. Trunk Bay does have a snack bar and Cinnamon Bay has a small camp store and restaurant.

Customs are pretty straightforward. You need to make certain that Moorings provides you the proper documentation. We see Moorings/Sunsail boats around St. John all the time, so the charter company knows what to provide.

If you draw less than 6' you can anchor in Cruz Bay Creek near the customs dock and dinghy to the NPS dinghy dock. Do not pull up to the customs wharf. If you draw more than 6' than you can moor at the Lind Point/Caneel Bay mooring field and dinghy in.

Cruz Bay is a great harbor village, so do budget some walking around time. We prefer to spend the night at Francis/Maho Bay or Leinster Bay. NPS moorings are $26 per night.

Cheers, RickG


S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423
Grenada
Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: RickG] #102144
07/06/2016 04:46 PM
07/06/2016 04:46 PM
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 381
dayhiker Offline
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dayhiker  Offline
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Posts: 381
edit - I found my answer.

Last edited by dayhiker; 07/06/2016 05:25 PM.
Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: dayhiker] #102145
07/06/2016 05:22 PM
07/06/2016 05:22 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,213
GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
sail2wind Offline
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sail2wind  Offline
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WOW, Rick, the moorings went from $15- 26? Quite an increase, so the "old man" rate is now $13? We love St.John, there is a very nice market right up the hill

Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: sail2wind] #102146
07/06/2016 10:40 PM
07/06/2016 10:40 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347
USVI
LocalSailor Offline
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LocalSailor  Offline
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Posts: 1,347
USVI
Quote
sail2wind said:
WOW, Rick, the moorings went from $15- 26? Quite an increase, so the "old man" rate is now $13? We love St.John, there is a very nice market right up the hill


Right up the hill from where? What anchorage/mooring are you referring to? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: LocalSailor] #102147
07/07/2016 08:04 AM
07/07/2016 08:04 AM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 91
The Blue Mountains
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macpete Offline
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The Blue Mountains
Coupla things...this Canadian old man pays full pop, unfair, but hey whatya gonna do?
The market referred to may be Starfish market, up the hill from Cruz Bay.
And to the OP, yes St John is well worth the effort, Waterlemon Cay, Francis Bay, Leinster, all really nice places. Provision accordingly as was posted.

Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: macpete] #102148
07/07/2016 09:54 AM
07/07/2016 09:54 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 969
NC, USA
capndar Offline
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capndar  Offline
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We're big fans of STJ


Capndar
Masters 50 GT Sail/Power/Towing
3rd generation sailor
Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: capndar] #102149
07/07/2016 12:32 PM
07/07/2016 12:32 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,213
GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
sail2wind Offline
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sail2wind  Offline
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Dolphin Market up the hill from STJ customs

Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: sail2wind] #102150
07/07/2016 12:49 PM
07/07/2016 12:49 PM
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 38
Charleston, SC
S
SCMPSC Offline OP
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SCMPSC  Offline OP
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 38
Charleston, SC
Thanks everyone, great advice!

Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: SCMPSC] #102151
07/07/2016 05:10 PM
07/07/2016 05:10 PM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
RickG Offline
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RickG  Offline
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St. John, USVI
We shop Dolphin Market, as sail2wind mentioned, in Cruz Bay up the hill past the Lumberyard from the NPS dinghy dock. Starfish Market is a bit of a walk, but they have some more fancy bits.

In Coral Bay there is another Dolphin Market on the west side of the harbor. No dinghy dock, but there is a dinghy line. You can walk about a half mile from the Skinny Legs dinghy dock to the market.

Cheers, RickG


S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423
Grenada
Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: RickG] #102152
07/07/2016 07:39 PM
07/07/2016 07:39 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,213
GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
sail2wind Offline
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good to know Rick, can you get there from Salt Pond? Pretty cool anchorage, great snorkeling.

Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: sail2wind] #102153
07/08/2016 07:00 AM
07/08/2016 07:00 AM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
RickG Offline
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RickG  Offline
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St. John, USVI
Well, you can get to Dolphin Market from Salt Pond, but not by walking. There is a bus stop at the Salt Pond parking lot and the bus runs from there through Coral Bay to Cruz Bay. I would treat it more as a $1 ticket to adventure than public transportation. If you needed to get to Cruz Bay to pickup a boat part its a reasonable option.

http://www.vinow.com/stjohn/getting_around_stj/

Department of Public Works: 1-340-774-0828

Concordia Eco-Resort is walkable/hikeable, run by the former Maho Campground group, has a camp store and a decent cafe.

http://www.concordiaeco-resort.com/

Cheers, RickG


S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423
Grenada
Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: RickG] #102154
04/21/2017 10:41 AM
04/21/2017 10:41 AM
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 41
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mg3355 Offline
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Is there a place to fill up water tanks in Cruz Bay?

Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: mg3355] #102155
04/21/2017 10:58 AM
04/21/2017 10:58 AM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
RickG Offline
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RickG  Offline
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St. John, USVI
The Caneel fuel dock in the Cruz Bay creek across from customs has water. Be mindful of depths. Our 6'5" is too deep to try. Sail2wind has done it with is 5' keel. I see cats pulled up frequently. Red Hook is just across the Sound with deep water at their very busy fuel dock.

Cheers, RickG


S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423
Grenada
Re: Sailing from BVI's the St John? [Re: RickG] #102156
04/21/2017 12:43 PM
04/21/2017 12:43 PM
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,675
An island state of mind
tradewinds Offline
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tradewinds  Offline
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An island state of mind
If you're gonna check out at West End, I would just top off the tanks there.


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