June 7th trip repot

Did things a bit different this time. Did a Tuesday to Tuesday charter. The airport on St Thomas was soooo much easier people wise than on Saturdays. Even the ferry to Road Town was hassle free (no lines).

Got to Sea Cow Bay, stocked Island Fun (Leopard 42) and spent a nice quite night on the boat. In the morning headed over to CGB. Our plans were to head over to St John on Thursday. Had a great time at CGB. Mooring balls were full by 2. Took my four guests over to Callwood Distillery had a few shots and stocked up on a few bottles of great rum. After a great happy hour, headed back to the boat to swim and kayak before grilling shrimp on the grill.

Port engine needed a little attention which we knew and arranged to be attended to while moored there in the morning. We had planned on heading over to Great Harbor by noon but we weren't really to leave til 2:30. Again, all the balls were taken at CGB and I didn't want to give up a ball knowing the same thing was happening at Great Harbor. So Thursday at 7 AM headed over.

There was one boat that left GH by 7:30 so we grabbed their ball. When customs opened up at 8:30, we checked out of the BVI and headed for St John. Grabbed a mooring ball outside of Cruz Bay and took the dingy into Cruz. After checking in, a few drinks, food and shopping,We found a guy selling freshly caught fish out of a cooler. Bought a nice triggerfish and tuna for dinner.

Got back on the boat and headed over to Francis Bay for some great snorkeling and more kayaking. Painkillers and that wonderful fish made for a perfect night watching the sun set.

Next day after an early snorkel, moved onward to Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay. We hiked over to Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins (highly recommend it) followed by some of the best snorkeling on St John at Waterlemon Cay. Another wonderful night with diner on the boat.

Next day, after one more snorkel around waterlemon we headed over to the West End to go though customs again. Too many day charter captains were there checking in their passengers to it took awhile. Once cleared we ate Sunday brunch at Pussers and after a bit of shipping headed over to Norman Island. Rest of the day was hiking swimming and YES, Willy Ts had a topless contest jumping off the second floor going on til 3 PM.

Monday morning we were the first at the Indians. (I loved swimming though the tunnel. Next we headed over to the Wreck of the Rhome for more snorkeling. Then headed over to Cooper Island for lunch and some home brewed beer. When we left at 2, all the mooring balls were full and 3 boats were fighting for ours as we left.

Got back to Sea Cow Bay to stow our gear, do some washing and get ready for an early morning for the first ferry back to St Thomas for breakfast and shopping before heading to the airport. Now to plan November's trip!!!!

Sounds like you had another great time !!! We'll be on Island Fun in 21 days and we can't wait !!!

It was a great time. As I noted the boat had "minor" engine issues which was a totaled transmission. Brent at Captain's Compass addressed the issue immediately as he does for all his boats. The transmission went out a couple days before our charter. There were no replacements to be found in the BVI, St Thomas or St Martin. Brent however located one in the states and had it on the Island the day we set sail. Brent arranged to have the new transmission installed in only a couple hours while we were in Cane Garden Bay. We were enjoying ourselves so much we ended up spending a second night there before heading over to St John. Brent works harder than any charter company keeping his boats in perfect condition, so much that if/when an issue happens while under way, he makes sure it gets taken care of there and there. All I can say is thanks, BRENT!!!!
As my post stated, we had a great trip. Planned a slightly different route this time and Captain's Compass saw to it Island Fun was it's normal perfect sailing cat. St John is a great place to snorkel but to work it in means forgoing places like Leverick Bay and the baths,,,,I've found out it's not hard to get though customs both in and out of the BVI so if you want to try out some new stops visit St John. The other nice note about that is while most of the bays in the BVI filled up every night, over in St John there were only a couple other boats sharing the bays with us. That's why it's great to keep coming back, there's so much to do and see.

Hi. Thanks for the report! I added some returns to make the report a little easier to read. Any pictures??

Great report! Has me thinking about sailing to the USVI for a couple of nights.

Because of the STJ National Park controlling many of the bays there are few or none bars/restarants on the beaches and the anchorages are so much quieter - you spend a lot more time on the boat or in the water and exploring on land during the daylight and then really kicking back to a great boat dinner and refreshments and conversation. Plenty to see and do on STJ but at a much different pace of vacation. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Well said! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />
A nice change of pace. Of coarse, it's all good!

Surprised to hear there is still "pressure" on mooring balls at this time of year. I know Cooper field is small and the Indians popular... but was hoping that we could take our time on the water when we visit in a few weeks. Any thoughts about what kind of traffic we can anticipate when we visit in mid July?

Hi, We are chartering with Captain's Compass in about 3 weeks. Can you tell me what is near the charter base with regard to restaurants, groceries, etc. We are planning for delivery of provisions but it would be nice if there is a nearby store to pick up anything we might forget.
How was the sleep aboard at the dock? Are the boats situated in a direction that will allow some wind to blow through at night? I've had some pretty hot, miserable dockside sleepaboards before.
Thanks for the info.
Rick

When we go down, we place an order with Rightway ( they now require orders to be made 3 days ahead of delivery date). It saves time having them deliver. What's also great is there's a grocery store in the marina just steps away from Captain's Compass. Great for ice, water and anything else you forgot to order or Rightway was out of. They open at 8 so there's no problem making sure you're fully stocked before your sail. Another plus is there is also a restaurant at Sea Cow Bay. You should be very happy with Captains Compass. Brent keeps his boats clean and well maintained. Can't wait to get back in December.