Provisioning in St. Thomas

We are having our boat delivered to St. Thomas to eliminate the ferry headache. The only concern we have is around provisioning the boat. We have a small window for delivering our provisions in Red Hook so I need to make sure we have a precise delivery time. Does anyone have a company that they would recommend out of STT? The costs seem to be much lower in STT but I also don't want to spend a couple of hours at Cost U Less.

You can use a company called "Fine foods afloat" based in St Thomas. However we have self-provisioned a couple of times at Moe's Fresh Market. They have very good selection and maybe only a little more expensive than Cost U Less.... But we just make our list ahead of time and can completely provision the boat in a little over an hours time, the market is just across the street from the AYH marina. The guys at Moe's will also help you cart the provisions to the marina if you need a little help.

Thanks for the recommendation

What charter company are you using? I was not aware you could have a boat delivered to STT?

wondering that myself, why would you deliver a boat to STT?

I have 15 charters, all with Fine Foods Afloat, food and booze. You can't beat them

We are on a 48' Powercat with Marine Max. We mainly do it so we can avoid the ferry issues and spend the first night and as much of the last day as possible out on the water since we also have them meet us on the return trip. It really makes it very easy on our guests when Kevin picks us up at the airport and drops us off at the dock in Red Hook as opposed to fighting the crowds for the customs check-in with the ferry. I know this won't apply to the folks on sail boats but we also save quite a bit on fuel by filling up at American Yacht Harbor or St. John as opposed to Hodges Creek. I think we saved over a dollar a gallon the last time we did it. We tend to get moving pretty early so on a previous trip we were able to start the morning in the North Sound, Stop at Peter Island for breakfast, Clear customs to check out at West end, Clear customs to check in in St. John, and then having the charter company meet us in Red Hook all while catching a 2:00 PM flight. Our guests are able to pack on the ride back and get cleaned up which has worked out well. Some of our crew are on pretty short itineraries so we are able to maximize every minute with this approach.

Just curious, what is the cost of just the delivery of the boat and back? Thx

I think he is the owner. I don't think a BVI based company can originate a paid charter in the USVI without jumping through a bunch of hoops.
G

sounds like he has a hired skipper

My company does own the boat so we are considered owners but Marine Max offers the service to other customers. Not sure on the cost. The charter is still a BVI based charter as opposed to originating out of the USVI. It is basically like sail2wind descrbes we are basically paying a captain to pick-up and return the boat.

Your delivery logistics sound very attractive and creative. Congratulations!

The same reasons you should charter from St Thomas in the first place. It's just easier. Unfortunately we don't have any power cats any more. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />
Jay

Captain Jay summed it up perfectly. We love cruising the BVIs and the convenience of taking the boat out of STT. Not to mention managing to bypass most of the customs headaches. It is nice that Marine Max gives their customers this option. I know we get special treatment since we own the boat but there were 2 other Marine Max boats in Red Hook on our last trip. I also can't speak highly enough about the level of service from the folks at American Yacht Harbor.

Well said Jay <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

The reason I assumed the owner part was I have tried to get two different charter companies to deliver boats to the USVI. They both stated they had looked into it but it was not practical because of visa and qualification issues. Unless things have changed the delivery skipper would have to hold a green card or be a US citizen in addition to coast guard rules on hired skippers. I can't quite figure how the delivery skipper would clear the boat into the USVI.
It may be times have changed and there are reciprocal rules allowing this. My attempts were over 10 years ago. It would indeed ba a great service. I suspect CYOA might have a thing or two to say about it if more companies offer this. Love to see it happen however. If you have 8 on a charter you could save 800.00 in ferry fees. That would more then cover skipper charges on both ends.
G

Any chance you guys might remedy that in the future? It would definitely be an attractive option for us non-sailors.

I assume you mean power boats at CYOA? We had two power cats for a number of years. They both were very hi end Fountaine Pajot cats. They could not compete price wise with the purpose built power boats that Moorings and Marinemax have.

While we would not rule it out we are focused on our core business. Cats and Mono sail boats.

Jay

You actually had three. You had the smaller one for a year or so, I chartered all three. Best charters I ever had. Nest June I had to go with Moorings PC as you are out of that end of the business. I can only hope they are half as great as CYOA, that would make them very good:)

Moorings? don't hold your breath for CYOA service

Sorry, that's exactly what I meant. Thanks for the info though and I'll keep checking in to see if that changes someday.