This will be our third trip in as many years as a family of 12 traveling to BVI. In the past we have travelled from California to St. Thomas (spent the night) and then taken a ferry or private boat on to Tortola where we have picked up our charter. The travel time eats up a lot of the vacation so this year we decided to pick up our charter in St. Thomas and then set sail! Love that it cuts off a large portion of travel time and expense but now we have a few questions:

1) This year we are thinking of bringing a cooler of meat with us…haven't had good luck with meat choices the past two years and it seems many people on this forum have packed polar bear soft coolers and had great luck…question is…do you check the cooler or carry on? Any customs issues with bringing meat into the country?
2) We usually order our food and alcohol ahead of time from Riteway and Tico in Road Town and have it delivered to our charter…since we are picking up our boat in St. Thomas this time we need to know where to do our provisioning near Red Hook. Any suggestions?
3) We are excited to add St. John to the itinerary as we make our way to BVI…any particular suggestions here? The plan is to hit several snorkeling spots on the north side of the island as we head over to BVI. Recommendations for good overnight moorings?
4) How do we handle the customs issue going from USVI to BVI and then back again? Obviously we will clear into USVI when we get to the airport. What about when we get to BVI? Do we stop in St. John again on the way back? If so, does it make more sense to hit the St. John spots on our way back to USVI?
5) Any don't miss restaurant recommendations in St. John?
6) Lastly, we've not had much luck spotting sea turtles while in BVI…any recommendations where we'd be likely to see them?

I've done several searches already but as most of you know the USVI index is not nearly as informative as the BVI index and I'm hoping some of you have experience doing both! This forum has been a lifesaver and huge resource in planning two GREAT trips the last two years...Thanks for any tips and suggestions...