First time UVI charter

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum and new to chartering in the USVI. We have a 40' cat chartered for April 1-11 out of St. Thomas and 3 of us can captain. We are planning on sailing St. Thomas, St. John, SVI then St. Croix, and back to St. Thomas. I have found some itineraries that look good but am looking for suggestions for those experienced in these waters.

One thing I have not been able to find is locations to refill dive tanks. 3 of us are diving and will be renting tanks but want to refill several times along the way.

I know this is a big open-ended question so thank you in advance.

Low Key Cruz Bay, Busy Bee Coral Bay on St. John. There is a dive shop in Ensenada Honda Culebra for refills.

Cheers, RickG

Thank you RickG

It's a packed agenda to fit STT, STJ, STX, and SVI into a 10 day charter. Will you be off the dock by early afternoon on April 1st? I'm calling that Day 1. Who are you chartering with?

Day 1 - St John north shore (Scott Beach, Francis/Maho, Hawksnest, or Leinster)
Day 2 - St John south shore (1st choice - Salt Pond Bay, 2nd - Little Lameshur, 3rd - Great Lameshur)
Day 3 - Dawn sail to Buck Island (~5 hr). Late afternoon sail to Christiansted
Day 4 - Rent car from Centerline Car Rentals near waterfront boardwalk and tour St Croix (Point Udall is a highlight). Walking tour of Fort Christiansted. Instead of driving tour, you could head to the numerous dive sites around STX. If back to boat by ~2pm, you could sail to Frederiksted (16nm, ~2.5 hr). The pier there is an excellent nightime dive.
Day 5 - Dawn sail to Ensenada Honda, Culebra (49nm from Christiansted, 6am~1pm.43nm from Frederiksted ). Clear in via CBP ROAM app (confirm your boat has the CBP User Fee Decal for 2022). Taxi to Playa Flamenco
Day 6 - Early AM to Bahia Tortuga, Culebrita (7nm, 1hr). Late afternoon - overnight at Bahia Tortuga or move to Bahia de Almodovar (4nm, 40min)
Day 7 - Early AM to Magens Bay (19nm from Bahia Tortuga, 23nm from Bahia de Almodovar, 3~4 hrs)
Day 8 - St John, Lind Point or Honeymoon Beach - dinghy ro Cruz Bay for sightseeing, shopping at Mongoose Junction, visit NPS museum, lunch.
Day 9 - St John north or south shore
Day 10 - St John to STT marina

Following …we are looking at a SVI sail this time as well . Interested in all advice . Arriving STT March 10th . Will be on private vessel and have a month so not limited by time.

Given enough time, I like the St. Thomas, Culebra, Vieques, St. Croix, St. John loop. It avoids the (almost always) upwind motor from Culebra to St. Thomas. The sail from Viques to Fredericksted is about 8 hours and is a close reach, unless the winds are north like they are this week or from the south in the summer. We did this route once and we liked it. Another time, we had to skip St. Croix due to thunderstorms on the way and schedules.

Cheers, RickG

Thank you BaardJ for all the advice! We have chartered with AYOC/Waypoints.

Any advice on filling dive tanks? I've been told by one company I just have to call around and hope they can refill us when we are close to their shops.

Thank you Rickg. That is the Itinerary AYOC suggested to have the best winds. I greatly appreciate all the advice from everyone:)

Scott Beach - usually known as Caneel Bay???

Really interested in the history of why it’s called Scott beach …. Our last name being Scott directly from Scotland a few centuries ago

An added benefit of going from St Thomas (or St John) to Culebra first is that you can veer south a bit and fish a good section of the South drop.

Where is a good place to reprovision? We will stalk up on St. Thomas but will need to get more food at some point. We have 7 on board. We plan on eating about half the dinners and some lunches when visiting the islands. we will most likely go from STT to SVI to ST. Croix then St. John.

Milka's Grocery on the canal between Ensenada Honda and the ferry dock, with a dinghy dock. There are a couple of other options, but they have a meat counter with good lean beef. I would skip Fajardo, but they have big box stores and our favorite Ralph's Food Warehouse.

On Vieques in Esperanza, Colmado Lydia and the Green Store are a short walk. Family Market in Isabel Segundo is the largest grocery on Vieques.

Christiansted and Frederiksted each have multiple walkable options. The bigger stores require a taxi or car.

For Coral Bay St. John, check out the Coral Bay Cruising Guide - https://www.cbycstj.org/coral-bay-cruising-guide
Cruz Bay St. John has the Dolphin Market walkable and Starfish Market that is better for a taxi.

Cheers, RickG

There is a dive shop at the Christiansted waterfront. Dive Experience -https://divexp.com/. They always seem busy anytime I've walked by.

I see a couple advertised near the Fredriksted waterfront. Cane Bay Dive Shop - https://www.canebayscuba.com/ and Adventures in Diving STX - https://www.adventuresindivingstx.com/. Give them a call regarding tank refills.

Thank you, RickG and BaardJ for all the tips and advice it is greatly appreciated!!