Thoughts regarding St Croix

I am looking for any thoughts about St Croix. We have not sailed down there and are thinking about going down this winter. The sail there and back is no concern what we are curious about is if it is a nice place to visit. In talking to a few folks who have been there give it a mixed review.

Any thoughts are more than welcome.

Hmm...I have lived on St Thomas for 20+ years and have never been there. I would like to see the beer drinking pigs of the Fiddler fame, though. People also go for the diving, the rum, and the wide(r) open spaces. Not sure where you are sailing from, it's 40 miles from St Thomas.

Have always wondered this... With the right winds could be nice open sail with mainly reaching conditions. Since nobody seems to talk about I've always figured there must be a reason?

Nutmeg, (wife of GoneSailing here), we keep the boat at Sapphire Beach, so the 40ish miles from STT is no big deal. We just thought it might be someplace different to try for a couple days.

Beer drinking pigs? I used to date some of those, <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> but I haven't heard the story from STX, what's that about?

Ah, first, you have to go to Latitude 18 and request "Buster, the Beer Drinking Pig" from the Fiddler. Then go to You Tube and watch people at the Domino Club feeding the current pigs. Everyone says it's a hoot. They only get O'Doul's now... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

I guess 40 miles isn't far, but hardly anyone does it from here. Ask Evan if he has done it. I am not sure...

I don't think Evan & Nina have done that one - but Evan will weigh in, I'm sure. Why not wait for an SXM window? Not enough time?

Yeah, the "waiting for a window" doesn't really work if you're there for less than 2 weeks at a time. It might... But it might not. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Tonguea.gif" alt="" />
But St. Croix is close enough to work it into a regular VI trip- a day down, a day or 2 there, a day back.

It makes me uncomfortable that there's so little information available... More research is needed.

Well - I would ask Evan anyway - he'll probably know something about it, even if they haven't made the sail yet.

We've done the trip from St John to Christiansted (and back) several times, mostly just for the sailing fun. An easy reach, but it's open-water seas. We just bum around Christiansted for a day or two, explore the fort and old buildings, hang out at the shoreside brewpub, watch the world go by. Someday we should rent a car and explore, I suppose.

Love to hear more from anybody with recent experience. The sail sounds great so why are so few doing it ( sure sounds easier that the overnight slog to St Martin)? Was safety the issue? Anchoring vs marina/ mooring? Easy access to interesting town? If exploring USVI it would seem to be attractive with no customs issues. Is the town just not worth it? Great info so far.

Here you go this is from one of our former boat owners that is cruising for a year or so.

Sail on Sail Pening Blog St Croix

Well that certainly looks worth a couple days! Excellent snorkeling, restaurants, coconut painting, rum factory, views, ruins, giant sundial... Did I mention coconut painting? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

If Columbus could pick his way in between all those shoals surely we can, too! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

I asked a few people around here why St Thomians rarely go over there. Basically, it takes so long and if you only have a weekend or so it's tough to make sense of it. If you are cruising, you have a more open-ended schedule. I would love to take a land-based vacation to see the lay of the land...

We did it once. Started from St John to Christiansted about 6-6.5 hours in a small Island Packet, a reach out and back. The town was interesting enough, the fort worth exploring (both are right there at the harbor). The elk horn coral on Buck Island was a little disappointing, it looked dead to us, but certainly not the worst snorkeling we've ever done.

I think a lot of people just aren't into a 6 hour sail and the risk of having to wait for a weather window to get back. Same thing with the SVI's. We much prefer the SVI's but don't regret going to St. Croix - it's a great sail. We didn't make much of an effort to explore the rest of the island, wish we had, maybe next time.

Gone Sailin............We love St. Croix having been there 3 or 4 times in the last 7 or 8 yrs (we mix up ;the itineraries). Wonderful restaurants in Christiansted and very laid back and quiet in Fredericksted. The beer drinkin pigs are somewhat of a joke. It's a way to get people to stop at a very remote bar. You buy a couple of ODouls from them and then stand in a sloppy pig shack while they crunch the cans and suck down the brew!. Oh well, to each his own! I would rather be lying on the beach drinking my own. There is a beautiful mile long absolutely stark white sand beach there where the last minutes of Shawshank Redemption were filmed where Morgan Freeman meets Tim Robbins working on his boat. Great beach and restaurants on the North Shore, nice golf course, good roads, friendly people. They only get a few cruise ships a week so not too crazy with name badge tourists. Tour of the Fort is very interesting. Nice anchorage at either end. Fredericksted end is very calm with nice beaches.

Thanks for your thoughts. We are planning to go down around the end of April before we move the boat back north. It really sounds like somewhere nice that is off the beaten trail as you point out. You mentioned good Restaurants, any of them you would say are "don't miss" ones? I'm with you on giving the pigs beer.... God knows I have done enough of that over my lifetime..... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

A story about recent events. http://stthomassource.com/content/news/l...riously-injured

Wow, Thanks for sharing the story. What a tragic incident and what is so amazing is that according to the article the police didnt want to review the 4 hours of video to even try to catch the dirt bags.

I found the entire article very strange. Nearly none of the "facts" made sense to me.

Balter on Company street in downtown Christiansted (Digby Stridiron's new home) should be open to the general public by April. And if you're lucky enough to be on island when Ridge2Reef farm hosts a slowdown dinner at the top of the rainforest, I would definitely attend one!

Do NOT, repeat do NOT skip going to the Cruzan Rum Factory. Yeah, it is $10US per person for the tour. Now you're thinking 10 bucks to see rum being made. Just like everywhere else. Why should I do this........
At the end of the tour they take you into this pavilion which houses a bar and they start making you frozen drinks. As many as you would like. Most all of the ingredients are rum! They are trying to get you to buy all the different flavor of Cruzan. I think we each had 4 drinks (Capt. Was driving the car, so he quit). I got "one for the road". STX is great, and so different from all the other islands. Rolling hills with cows roaming in the fields. Then on the west end there is a tropical rain forest with waterfalls right along the road. The "Domino Club". (Home of the beer drinking pigs) is on that road, you can get lunch there, tho we didn't...that's a long story, but we will go back. Lots to do in STX. Home of the furthest eastern point of the USA. And probably the only island with a 4 lane highway with 60mph speed limit.

I agree, what a very, very, very odd story on so many levels. My first thought was why the robbers would pick a tiny (in relation to most of the sailboats I see) sailboat to target?

St. Croix interests us. We are long time STJ and VG visitors. The easy access to beaches is something we love about those islands.

Is there a particular areas of St. Croix that is good for beach hopping and snorkeling? Spending a lot of time in the car is not my idea of vacation and it sounds like St. Croix involves a lot of driving. Or do I have the wrong impression?

St Croix interests us as well. Our spring vacation plans have changed drastically over the winter, the J.O.B. sure gets in the way some times! We finally firmed up 2 weeks of leave in May, now where to go. St Croix has been on the bucket list for years....maybe this is the year?! Jay your link is appreciated. If, you were to do a land based trip which area is recommended? villa rental recommendations? favorite out of the way beaches and bars? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

We sailed for the first time to Buck Island today on our Saba 50 Cuvée and are overnighting in the anchorage field off the west end of the island. It's only 32nm from Salt Pond Bay, St John and took us 3.5 hrs (9.1 kt avg) in 14-17 kt East winds with 3-5 ft seas with some 6 footers.

I applied in advance for an anchoring permit thru the Natl Park Service website (got an email response in a few days that I was approved). Only 2 other boats anchored overnight and there were 8-10 day trip boats. Although advertised in the NPS website, we found no pay box ashore to pay the overnight anchoring fee.

There is a roundtrip hiking trail on the west side of the island that takes you to an overlook platform at a ~200 foot altitude with beautiful views of the coral reefs on the north side of the island. It takes about 1 hr to hike the trail including photo stops.

Lights of St Croix are spread out all along the south of us, and it's amazing that just 1 nm to the east of us just past the Buck Island Reef the sea floor quickly drops to over 1000 feet.

If I have cleared in with customs and immingration at St John do I need to check in when I get to St Croix? We are making that trip in early June.

STJ to STX would not need to involve C&I since you already cleared in STJ

Thanks to all for the replies, I think we'll try this on our end-of -April trip! &#128522;

BaardJ - We will be aboard Cuvée in early July for 10 days. Sorry we missed you at the Annapolis boat show. We got a look around Cuvée while we were there and had hoped to meet you.

Twanger - I'm sure you will enjoy sailing on Cuvée. I've drafted a "user guide" for the boat to help the charterer to manage all the systems onboard. It's a bit more detailed than the 20 slide (!) PowerPoint Owners Manual issued by Fountaine Pajot. I'll email you a copy by May.

I've been studying your SVI sailing notes. I'm looking to make that trip in November.

That sounds great BaardJ.

I'll PM you my email address... or you can get it from Captain Jay, John, Nancy, Kirstin, etc... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

The SVI is very nice. Cuvée is set up perfectly for that trip. As large as your Diesel capacity is you could probably do a 14-day trip from St. Thomas and never need to hit a port. We used about 112 gallons on Big Papa Lulu in 10 days.

That said it's nice to stop in Del Rey for a couple of days, rent a car, and go see old San Juan and maybe El Yunque, the Rain Forest.

Welll...the 'real' answer why people seldom do it might be "that is too much sailing and too long between bars...I am on vacation"

For others, that is open water and potentially out of sight of land....

and finally St Croix has a bad reputation in some quarters...

I'd personally give it a shot some day, but the Spanish islands are first on my list. Then a reach to St Croix and a reach to St Thomas would be cool.

Advice on anchoring in Christiansted? May check it out in April. Thanks

Our limited experience is that the preferred anchorage by Protestant Cay is chock-a-block full with permanent residents. We anchored north of the marina on the east side, which was a little rolly but tolerable.

I have anchored in amongst the moored boats in Cstad and it is uncomfortably tight. I've used the public moorings just south and east of Round Reef and didn't like the swell there. I've rented a mooring from Jones Maritme in town and thought it was a very good option for town access. http://www.jonesmaritime.com They may also have a slip available for about the same cost as a mooring. I've anchored in Teague Bay to the east when I've been racing in their regatta. It was very comfortable but caution must be used getting behind the reef. I've grabbed a mooring by Fstad and found it too rolly to overnight. I've anchored off of Buck Island, after getting the permit that Baard from Cuvée mentioned previously, and found it quite comfortable along with excellent snorkeling in the nearby marine park.

Have been to STX many times and own land there. I have sailed there from the South Shore of STJ twice and it is as described by others. We had fantastic and lively crossings both times with inky blue water (it is really really deep out there) and flying fish, but imagine in bad weather it would not be fun at all. We always watch the weather and get an early start to arrive into C-sted with good light to enter. Agree with Kimber that Protestant CAy is very crowded. We have anchored off of St. Croix Marine on the east side and it can be rolly but the holding was good. There used to be some moorings there but they were gone the last time there. St. Croix Marine has ice and other supplies. Teague Bay where the YC is has good holding. I would call them to see where they would like you to anchor as there are some boats on the bottom in there. Also care needs to be taken to get in there (all well marked and quite obvious but need to do your homework). If you wanted to rent a car for the day or so, I believe that Centerline or Olympic (both local) may meet you at a location. We have friends that live there so have not had to do this.
As for a land based trip we have always rented houses and have used VRBO for the most part. We like to stay on the east end as it is very quiet but only about a 15 min drive into C-stead. There are a few good places to eat on the east end as well--Duggans (can be visited by boat in Teague Bay) and Blue Water Terrace, Shoreline at Chenay Bay come to mind. There are plenty of beaches and you also can hike to some for total solitude (Jack and Issac Bay on the east end). Have also stayed at Chenay Bay. It is a great value and you are right there on the beach with a good restaurant/bar and paddle board rentals etc. The ocean front cottages are more updated (think they are timeshares). On holidays it can draw a crowd but you can always walk down a bit to get away and always have been able to find a chair etc. Have stayed in the villa Island Time (Teague Bay that has two master suites) and villa Panorama (larger house 4BR and 3 BA) and they are both quite nice.
If you like to dive you may want to stay in the Cane Bay Area and it is lovely. Love the beach there and it is less arid with large bluffs above the ocean. There are hikes to the tide pools, you are closer to the rainforest (Domino Club with beer drinking pigs). The west end is all beach (usually calm with little wind) and the town here is F-sted. It is quite sleepy unless a cruise ship is in. Snorkeled the cruise ship pier the last time I was there and it was awesome. Of course you cannot do this when a ship is in. There is also a bio-luminescent bay on STX in the Salt River area (mid-island where Columbus landed) and this is an interesting and beautiful experience if conditions are right. Agree that Cruzan Rum is worth a visit.
Also if you are land based recommend Lewellyn Charters to go out to Buck Island. He runs out of Teague Bay (he may have a website but likely need to call him to make a reservation). He only sails with no motor on his trimaran and he only takes about 6 people so a much more intimate experience. He is also a Calypso singer and was on island when Hugo hit so a great story teller.
Favorite restaurant in town is Savant. Ask to sit in the outside courtyard. There are many good and fine restaurants in town but also casual places for any budget. Love downtown C-stead for the architecture and it is all walkable. Crucian Gold and IB Designs are favorites for local jewelry and Jan Mitchel for fun glass plates. They have an art Thursday where the shops stay open later and serve food and drink which is nice.
STX bad rap I guess comes from the murders (way back in 1980 I think) on a golf course and of course Hugo destroyed the island. I have found the locals to be very friendly and in general the prices and services a far better value than other islands. Are there unsavory parts? Yes. The oil refinery is an eyesore and I don't like chain restaurants but you see the refinery when you fly in and out and don't need to frequent KFC. It is a large island with much diversity.
Hope this helps! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Hi GoneSailing, did you go to St Croix ? how was the island and the crossing ? We are thinking of going the last week of May love to hear your thoughts thanks.