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St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company #127106
04/11/2017 08:15 PM
04/11/2017 08:15 PM
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 86
Minnesota, USA
mhdonohue Offline OP
Traveler
mhdonohue  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 86
Minnesota, USA
I want to provide a quick travel summary of our recent trip to St. John (March 12th - 20th) and also comment on our experience with CYOA. I cannot say enough good things about CYOA. I was a bit nervous for a number of reasons 1.) We have chartered often out of BVI but never St. Thomas. 2.) We have never experienced St. John other than the too often sail by on our way from Jost to Norman. 3.) Although we have chartered well over 50 times, we have never done so short-handed (meaning just my wife and I). Long story short -- we had, in my mind, the best trip of our lives (although my wife might put Paris on top).

CYOA - I cannot thank them enough for so many reasons. Whether it be during our charter arrangements, during our briefing or during our check-out -- CYOA proved to have exceptional service. Since it was just the 2 of us we chartered Island Angel (a Hunter e36 monohull). She was very well maintained, handled well both under sail and power. At 36’ she might be small but was more than enough room for the two of us and large enough cut through the Pillsbury Sound swells with ease. Both Chip and Jay from CYOA were professional and a fun to work with.

To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about having to go through a checkout since I have some good experience in my background. In retrospect, I believe more charter companies should go through mandatory checkouts to ensure the comfort of their charterers from the get-go. In addition, if I were an owner I would very much appreciate this service to help reduce risk of harm to the vessel. Actually it is really not a check-out but more of CYOA showing you the ropes (so to speak). It was especially fortunate in our situation since Chip, who performed our checkout, had discovered that the tack in the main roller furling had become unattached. He had it reattached within 5 minutes where I know we would have struggled it for awhile.

CYOA is based in St. Thomas and the Marina is small but we really liked the fact it is located in Frenchtown. There were many small friendly restaurants a few minutes walking distance. Provisioning was a bit of a hassle since there is really not an option like Bobbie's in the BVI. Nevertheless we rented a jeep and had it all completed within 2-3 hours. In fact, we were able to drop the jeep of within walking distance from the marina the next morning.

We loved St. John. We had originally planned to spend a good amount of time in St. John then eventually cross over to Jost. However we loved St. John so much -- we never left. The beaches are the most spectacular that I have ever seen -- absolutely incredible! This is coming from someone who has been to many locations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Hawaii. The beaches are pristine, calm, lush... The colors are extraordinary: every shade of blue the ocean has to offer, lush deep green vegetation spread across the rolling hills and lava produced black boulders edging the sides of the perfect white powdered beaches. This all exists within its own natural splendor due to the national park designation over most of St. John. We hiked some excellent trails allowing some very memorable views. We especially enjoyed the hike to the Sugar plantation on via Maho Bay which had spectacular views and was also educational (self guided tours).

St. John beaches are very secluded. In fact, there were a few times late in the afternoon where we had the entire beach to ourselves (cruise shippers typically scatter by 2-3). Better yet there were no commercial buildings around the beaches we visited due to national park regulations. Don't get me wrong, I love a good beach bar and enjoy a party but there was something about this experience that was so different and enjoyable. It simply felt great to be there with just my bride, moving at our pace to a different anchorage each day where each anchorage only seemed to become more and more beautiful the further we sailed East. We made it as far as Leinster (my favorite). We did spend our last night on Great St. James which is a good mid-point back to St. Thomas and makes for an easy morning sail. Get there early though as morning balls go fast. It was the only place we had to anchor during our trip. Great St. James is nothing like St. John however the dinghy up Pizza boat was a one of a kind experience.

I am not sure when we will be back but we most definitely will be back. Thanks for reading.

BVI Sponsors
Re: St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company [Re: mhdonohue] #127107
04/11/2017 09:51 PM
04/11/2017 09:51 PM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,884
St. Thomas, USVI
Nutmeg Offline
Traveler
Nutmeg  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,884
St. Thomas, USVI
Quit it! The USVI is ugly and people should stay in the BVI. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />


[color:"red"]NUTMEG[/color]
Today is the tomorrow you talked about yesterday.
Re: St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company [Re: Nutmeg] #127108
04/12/2017 08:53 AM
04/12/2017 08:53 AM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
RickG Offline
Traveler
RickG  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
Thanks for the fun writeup. We sailed Island Angel twice and really enjoyed her. St. Thomas to Anegada and back was not a problem on this big 36' boat. The Hunter's big cockpit and roomy salon were nice. Just a great boat for a couple of family.

St. John <sigh>. We spent a week circumnavigating St. John in January. The south shore is even more secluded and dramatic than the north shore. We have been spending more time in the USVIs due to the crowding and expense of the BVIs.

Cheers, RickG


S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423
Grenada
St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company #127109
04/12/2017 09:02 AM
04/12/2017 09:02 AM
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,003
S
sail445 Offline
Traveler
sail445  Offline
Traveler
S
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,003
I agree, St John is the most beautiful Island in the Caribbean
The beaches and the mountains are addictive.
They have an excellent selection of restaurants that actually have waitstaff with a smile on their faces unlike the BVI.

Re: St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company [Re: sail445] #127110
04/12/2017 10:09 AM
04/12/2017 10:09 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 969
NC, USA
capndar Offline
Traveler
capndar  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 969
NC, USA
We are big fans of CYOA (Chip, Jay, Nancy and all) and really big fans of St John. Glad you had a good experience.

Big Papa Lulu is a great boat - we have chartered it 3x?


Capndar
Masters 50 GT Sail/Power/Towing
3rd generation sailor
Re: St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company [Re: capndar] #127111
04/12/2017 04:15 PM
04/12/2017 04:15 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347
USVI
LocalSailor Offline
Traveler
LocalSailor  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347
USVI
Another thumbs up <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> for CYOA and staff and the well kept vessels!

Re: St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company [Re: LocalSailor] #127112
04/12/2017 05:16 PM
04/12/2017 05:16 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 925
Michigan
rhans Offline
Traveler
rhans  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 925
Michigan
Quote
LocalSailor said:
Another thumbs up <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> for CYOA and staff and the well kept vessels!


I'll see yer 2 <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> and raise ya 3 <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Re: St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company [Re: mhdonohue] #127113
05/26/2017 05:46 AM
05/26/2017 05:46 AM
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 14
Nalu Offline
Traveler
Nalu  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 14
Sounds great I'm guessing you went counter clockwise from Cruz bay ? What were your stops ? Thinking about it next month thanks in advance <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />


Live the Life to Live, Aloha Ola (Love Life)
Re: St. John Trip summary and CYOA Charter Company [Re: Nalu] #127114
05/26/2017 08:35 AM
05/26/2017 08:35 AM
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 507
Florida
RobT Offline
Traveler
RobT  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 507
Florida
I have not been to St John since they closed the Maho Bay Campground. your report brought back many good memories.


Beach Hunter

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