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Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas #154821
02/11/2018 06:04 PM
02/11/2018 06:04 PM
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 74
NY
Thistle Offline OP
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Thistle  Offline OP
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NY
We booked our flights two months ago and got great fares ($463 roundtrip from RDU to STT). We arrive in St. Thomas early afternoon and will do a sleep aboard at CYOA (Frenchtown), ready to leave the first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, the options for 2 of our crew coming from SFO are dismal! Because of travel time and time change, they will have to overnight (or take redeye, not a great way to start 10 days on a boat) to STT. I thought that perhaps they could overnight in ATL or MIA and we could meet them our second day either in Tortola or somewhere moored/anchored off of St. Thomas. Thinking that our first day of sailing we could sail from Frenchtown to somewhere where a taxi could bring them. This is our first time starting in St. Thomas so haven't looked to see if there is a good first day of sailing/exploring so that crew can meet us mid-afternoon the day after we leave from Frenchtown. They could fly into Beef Island but again, the fares are ridiculous. Don't really want to give up a whole day waiting for them nor ask them to leave a day early or take the redeye from SFO. Any recommendations for a good sail from Frenchtown to a meeting spot on St. Thomas accessible by taxi from STT? Thanks!

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Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154822
02/11/2018 06:12 PM
02/11/2018 06:12 PM
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 735
Panama City Beach, Florida
xrayman67 Offline
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Panama City Beach, Florida
You could sail around through Pillsbury Sound and spend some time around St. John, then pick them up in Red Hook in the afternoon.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154823
02/11/2018 06:34 PM
02/11/2018 06:34 PM
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 559
Apex, NC
agrimsrud Offline
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Apex, NC
Been in pretty much that same position. First, it's not your job to wait for crew coming in late. They need to catch up. What we've done in the past is sail to Maho and spend the night there. The next day start a bit slow and take your time. Go to West End. Your friends can take the ferry when they get in and meet you there. Depends a little on what time they get there but a short sail over to Norman for the night. Everyone will be happy. Did this a couple of years ago and it worked out just fine.

Make sure you tell C&I that you have two crew coming on the ferry and that they will be coming with you on the boat back out (i.e., not leaving Tortola on the ferry). That's a little unusual so make sure they understand your plans.


Life's short - sail more!
Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154824
02/11/2018 07:27 PM
02/11/2018 07:27 PM
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 33
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SailNow Offline
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Good advice, except that I don't think there is a ferry to West End yet. No ferry dock. You would have to meet them in Road Town, unless they take a cab to West End or one of the marinas. Nanny Cay maybe?

If it was me I would take the red eye flight before I missed a day of sailing...

Last edited by SailNow; 02/11/2018 07:28 PM.
Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: agrimsrud] #154830
02/11/2018 08:03 PM
02/11/2018 08:03 PM
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 191
Kupe Offline
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Originally Posted by agrimsrud
Been in pretty much that same position. First, it's not your job to wait for crew coming in late. They need to catch up.


I have to agree. We here on the east coast always envy our West Coast friend's connections to Hawaii and French Polynesia. This is their turn to envy our connections to the Caribbean. wink

Last summer, some west coast friends left a day early and spent a night at the Emerald Beach resort in STT near the airport to meet us. Heck they wound up being the most rested of the whole group. I have to agree with SailNow...perhaps they don't realize what a disruption they are causing. A day early or the red eye sounds like the best plan.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Kupe] #154831
02/11/2018 08:54 PM
02/11/2018 08:54 PM
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 631
BaardJ Offline
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I would sail to north shore of St John, enjoy one of the beaches, then later in the afternoon grab a mooring ball as close to Lind Pt as possible. Have your crew taxi the ~45 minutes to Red Hook and take the St John ferry to Cruz Bay. The ferry to St John is now departing hourly, on the hour, til 10 pm.

It's a 10 minute dinghy ride from Lind Pt moorings to the ferry dock. Not sure if they have rebuilt the dinghy docks by the ferry dock. If not, pull your dinghy up on the beach on either side of the dock.

If they are arriving after dark, then I suggest you take an orientation trip with the dinghy to Cruz Bay while it''s light out. Lots of options now open in town for drinks and dinner.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Kupe] #154832
02/11/2018 09:27 PM
02/11/2018 09:27 PM
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 17,029
Tortola/ Sonoma, California
Manpot Offline
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Manpot  Offline
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Tortola/ Sonoma, California
We fly SFO to STT three times a year to stay at CRC..our home in Apple Bay. Sadly the redeye is the only way to go.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154833
02/11/2018 11:02 PM
02/11/2018 11:02 PM
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,720
Massachusetts
maytrix Offline
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I'd take the red eye in a second. I'd much rather travel when I'd be sleeping vs waste a day travelling. When we traveled prior to having our son, we'd take the red eye all the time. Got us in essentially a day earlier without having to take any added time off. Instead of arriving on Tortola end of the day, we'd get there the beginning of the day and spend that first night in an anchorage vs being on the dock.


Matt
Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154839
02/12/2018 09:30 AM
02/12/2018 09:30 AM
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 5,861
Bradenton, FL
Winterstale Offline
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Winterstale  Offline
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Bradenton, FL
Traveled from the Left Coast for years....almost always on red-eyes from LAX. If they can get to SJU, Intercaribbean's flights from SJU to Beef are really quite reasonable if you book far enough in advance.

One of the reasons we decided on moving to Florida was its proximity to our favorite place on earth....


[Linked Image]

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154844
02/12/2018 10:23 AM
02/12/2018 10:23 AM
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 74
NY
Thistle Offline OP
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Thistle  Offline OP
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Posts: 74
NY
Thanks everyone for confirming what I was able to find as well. Trying to coordinate meeting my friends once we've left the CYOA base seems like folly. As I've experienced for years not coming from direct flight city, the BVIs are not easy to reach especially from the West Coast and now post-hurricane with limited flights. I suspect my friends will bail once they take a look at the fares and the time it's going to take. A red-eye to a 3 1/2 hour layover in either ATL or MIA isn't that compelling considering the $1,300 roundtrip coach fare.

Last edited by Thistle; 02/12/2018 10:23 AM.
Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154854
02/12/2018 01:03 PM
02/12/2018 01:03 PM
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,647
Memphis, BVI, CT
R
RatmansWife Offline
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RatmansWife  Offline
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Memphis, BVI, CT
We’re going down this week for our third trip in as many months. Some flights we’ve used miles, others we’ve bought tickets to SJU on Southwest, then a second ticket on Seaborne (InterCaribbean would also work). That has been an easy and affordable option.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: RatmansWife] #154856
02/12/2018 01:18 PM
02/12/2018 01:18 PM
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 74
NY
Thistle Offline OP
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Thistle  Offline OP
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Posts: 74
NY
Yup, coming from the East Coast is relatively straightforward.... unfortunately, not a whole lot of relevance to someone trying to fly in from the West Coast..... there are no nonstop flights from the West Coast to SJU.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154859
02/12/2018 01:40 PM
02/12/2018 01:40 PM
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,647
Memphis, BVI, CT
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RatmansWife Offline
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Memphis, BVI, CT
We're not on the East Coast, and it takes us two flights on Southwest (or anyone else) to get to San Juan.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154861
02/12/2018 02:10 PM
02/12/2018 02:10 PM
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 33
S
SailNow Offline
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Sounds like it's more of a cost issue than a schedule issue. Tickets are expensive due to low capacity right now. Southwest does have better prices depending on the dates. If it's not a cost issue, tell them to GET ON the redeye and Sail Now! It won't be the flying they remember.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154872
02/12/2018 06:32 PM
02/12/2018 06:32 PM
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 2
A
airwolf Offline
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Hopefully this isn't redundant, since you've received many suggestions and comments.

They might be able to catch a ferry from Red Hook over to Jost. Pick them up in morning at Great Harbor dock. We did this with some family that were traveling separate so they could spend a couple nights on the charter boat while we were under way.

Not sure of ferry schedules, but did see ferry coming and going while in Jost last week.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #154874
02/12/2018 06:50 PM
02/12/2018 06:50 PM
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 631
BaardJ Offline
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BaardJ  Offline
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Originally Posted by airwolf
Hopefully this isn't redundant, since you've received many suggestions and comments.

They might be able to catch a ferry from Red Hook over to Jost. Pick them up in morning at Great Harbor dock. We did this with some family that were traveling separate so they could spend a couple nights on the charter boat while we were under way.

Not sure of ferry schedules, but did see ferry coming and going while in Jost last week.

The US C&I office is out of commission on St John so the Red Hook to JVD (via Cruz Bay) service is indefinitely suspended. All ferries to/from USVI to Tortola are currently via Charlotte Amalie.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: BaardJ] #154875
02/12/2018 07:04 PM
02/12/2018 07:04 PM
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 2
A
airwolf Offline
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Oh, understood...didn't realize that.

Somebody needs to create a SINGLE web page with a bunch of Red, Yellow and Green boxes on it...each box a restaurant, place, ferry or whatever.....a heat map of what's online. All the information is disjointed and in fifty different places.

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #155174
02/18/2018 12:02 PM
02/18/2018 12:02 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 4,266
Vero Beach, Fl and South Sound...
tpcook Offline
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Vero Beach, Fl and South Sound...
Jet Blue has very good fares from JFK $185 each way to STT


tpcook
Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: Thistle] #155206
02/18/2018 10:52 PM
02/18/2018 10:52 PM
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 375
now - or when ?
C
CGB Offline
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now - or when ?
wow, that's a great price today... sadly, not so, north of the 49th
such is the way it is

Re: Flights are a BEAR - Advice needed for meeting crew on Day 2 St. Thomas [Re: CGB] #155210
02/19/2018 04:20 AM
02/19/2018 04:20 AM
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 946
Toronto, Ontario
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Dreamer Offline
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Toronto, Ontario
Originally Posted by CGB
wow, that's a great price today... sadly, not so, north of the 49th
such is the way it is


Westjet yyz-anu IC anu-eis 450$ one way. Off by 9am on by Tbay hh.

Naw pablum


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