to make a run to St. John or not?

In our years of heading down to the BVI we've never considered a sail to St. John. This year it's potentially on our radar. In year's past, has anyone done this and did you find it something you would want to do again. Out of 16 of us there will be 8 folks who have never been down before.

It is our favorite Island. We are making a run to St. John's for two nights. We love it. We did make the run last year and do not regret it. We are staying in Leincaster Bay!

How many days will you be on the boat. In a week there is more than enough to cover without taking the time to cross into the US and back. With 16 you may find your time or schedule always strained. With 16 most groups will be spending a lot of time herding the cats off and back onto the boat. Fewer stops with greater offers ashore may be the order of the day/week for a crew of 16. I would make sure I had a kayak or two to allow at least some to get off the boat on their own.

Not a big deal assuming you have the time. Two weeks ago we headed over to pick up a crew member in Cruz that was delayed due to weather. Cleared out of Jost after filling out the required paperwork and cleared in at Cruz. On return we were charged a $1 a foot to get back into the BVI's.

St John is a must.
The beaches on the north shore are beautiful with fifteen dollar moorings if the winds come out of the north then you can go to the east or south side of the island. St John also has has excellent restaurants with service you won't ever find in the BVI.

Agreed, too many people are missing a fabulous island. St.John has excellent snorkeling and checking in is very easy.

Rick, I thought the BVI gov't put a hold on their stupid $1 per foot rule?

I am so glad to see this post, it is confirming that we are making the right decision to head over to St. John for the first time next month. We will be on the boat 11 nights and there is just 4 of us, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to do C&I. There was a great thread a while back that explained all we should need to know about the logistics and with that information in hand we decided to go for it. Now the big question is which anchorages would you recommend and why? I have figured 2 or 3 nights there. We usually do about half and half anchoring VS. mooring while we are in the BVI's and we love to snorkel.

We charter from the USVI each time...one big reason is a couple of days at St. John. Beautiful and so different that some of BVI

Ahh ...... St. John is where we first fell in love with the islands. If you eat ashore, try Asolare. It sits above Cruz Bay on the hill. A magical setting with wonderful food.

Our favorite anchorages in St.John are Maho/Francis, Leinster, on the south side both Lamshurs and Salt Pond. Salt Pond might have the best snorkel/dive in St.John. If you are over 60 you can U.S Parks Gold Pass and all national parks and the moorings in St.John are 1/2 price, $7.50. There is no anchoring in St.John.

St. John is beautiful and easy to get to. We have cleared out of Sopers Hole and checked it in JVD. We usually anchor at Caneel Bay / Honeymoon Bay. Its beautiful. go for it.

Here's a couple shots from Francis..........








and here's Maho with a little bit of Francis on the far left...

...and Maho Beach from the water. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

St. John is our favorite Virgin Island by a good bit. Cruz Bay is a great village with more than a dozen walkable restaurants. We're not fan of the anchorage near Cruz Bay, so we head up the north shore to Maho/Francis or Leinster Bay to overnight. The north shore beaches are amazing. The south shore bays are usually very sheltered. Kiddel/Grootpan Bay has day use dive/snorkel balls that are great.

The National Park publishes their mooring and anchoring guide with specifics on who can anchor and where they can anchor within the National Park boundaries:

http://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/brochures.htm

Cheers, RickG

Agreed the hardship of going to St. John <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />
Apparently that nice Lady at Jost didn't get the memo. Whatever, sure beats playing "Spin the wheel" at Sopers.

When you arrive in the BVI's see if you can purchase the Customs form so you can fill it out on the boat before clearing out. I think the forms a buck and if your picking anyone up in the US the immigration forms .10

Without a doubt !! I'd clear just for a Woody's Fish sammich !!

Here is the online mooring guide USVI NPS Mooring Guide, very useful.

Evan, looks like they upped the age to 62 for the senior pass; guess who just turned 60 but that's a great idea!

The pictures are giving me a major case of DIF. Wow, beautiful! Thanks for all of the great ideas and for the links to the Mooring Guide and Maps. I now have a loose game plan that includes a fish sammich. This forum and all of you have proven to be invaluable again!

The Nat'l park pass has been age 62 since at least 2008 and I believe quite a few years before that (friends were volunteers at several Nat'l parks in the states). We went to Cruz Bay on 5/28/08 to check in and get Gene's Park Pass. His 62nd birthday was 5/29/08 and the park rangers told us on the 28th to come back the next day when he turned 62 to get the pass. After getting the pass we spent a lot of time in the anchorages of St John.

I would try to find the instructor personality that best fits you.

https://asa.com/schools/caribbean/

We're headed down in January and chartering with CYOA out of St. Thomas. As always, we will make St. John a priority. Although it gets awfully rolly with the ferry traffic, Caneel Bay is (in addition to the fabulous anchorages already mentioned) a beautiful stop. The resort there makes for a terrific stroll...some nice little shops and some really cool plantation ruins. But our real cant-miss is definitely Leinster. Beautiful, quiet anchorage with terrific snorkeling. Also, a dinghy ride to shore and a short hike take you to the preserved remains of Anaberg. Super cool.

South shore anchorages are very secluded - loved it. Reminded me of BVI 20 years ago. North shore beaches are great. Hiking trails prob superior to most of BVI. The BVIs are still, by far, my preferred destination but SJ is well worth a trip.

love Salt Pond, great snorkel or dive reef