# St. John''s bareboat charter



## TSOJOURNER

*St. John''''s bareboat charter*

I am considering a charter in St. John''s in April 2003. We have chartered 3 times in Tortola, but are looking for new cruising grounds. Anyone with experience/information about St. John''s would be appreciated.


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## coughlin

*St. John''''s bareboat charter*

Hi,

There are no charter companies worth mentioning in St. John if any. I would Chareter out of St. Thomas VIP yacht charters and head over to St.John. NO customs and some of the most beautiful anchorages. They used to not charge for mooring bouys but now they might have a small fee.
St. John is lovely, and Lennister Bay, Hawsksnest, Francis Bay Trunk Bay and on the other side some very quite places. The night life 
is not abundaunt except for Cruz Bay but you do not want to settle there due to the heavy ferry traffic. If you anchor out you will dinghy ashore and have to catch a safari bus or taxi to town. The hiking along the island is beautful. Have a great time.


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## TSOJOURNER

*St. John''''s bareboat charter*

I would charter a boat from Tortola,and right there in town check out of customs and then check in at Cruz Bay St. John. The process is painless. Check Conch Charters, they have a nice webb site too. we just got back, there are no fees for the mooring, and there are a lot of them. BVI return is five dollars per person. We checked in and out at Jost Van Dyke- more fun that way!
Paul


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## TSOJOURNER

*St. John''''s bareboat charter*

We charter all the time out of Tortola and always include St. John as part of the itinerary. North side is much better than South coast.

Do not recommend trying to anchor or moor in Cruz Bay. The customs dock area is shallow and there is heavy traffic with little room. The Southern areea of Cruz Bay has many locals that can get outright nasty with charter boats (may be some good resons behind this from the past).

Highly recommend picking up a National Park mooring in Caneel Bay then go ashore and catch a taxi over the hill to Cruz Bay. Taxi''s are always waiting there at Caneel Bay Resort (beautiful). Cost of taxi is $3/person. We''ve done this many time without problems.


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## DuaneIsing

*St. John''''s bareboat charter*

I can attest to the problems you can encounter in Cruz Bay. Lots of shoaling in spots and was very crowded. Finally got a decent spot for a few hours, but was nearer to the ferry traffic than I would have preferred.

We moored that night at Caneel Bay and it was very nice there.

Duane


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## TSOJOURNER

*St. John''''s bareboat charter*

bcshark,

We own a charter boat with VIP in ST. Thomas. We find St. Thomas a very easy and convienent starting point. There are many, many very nice anchorage''s on St. John. We especially like the South side. Very few people visit there so the anchorage''s are usually very quite and empty. Cruz bay is my first mates favorite place to shop. We grab a mooring ball at Caneel and dingy to Cruz. We usually vist on our first and our last full day. On our last full day we go to Caneel visit Cruz Bay, next morning early we sail to Buck Island and snorkel. This is where the tourist boats from St. Thomas take the guest from the cruise ships (get there before 9:00AM. It''s about a 1 1/2 sail, we spend the morning eat lunch and then sail back to Compass Point Marina. We usually get the Delta Flight back that leaves at 5PM. Actually gives us almost another full day. 
St. Croix is a very nice sail and the snorkeling is good at Buck island next to St. Croix (Buck Island is a popular name must be at least 4 islands named Buck in the area). We sail from VIP to one of the anchorage''s on the south side the first day, Salt Pond is a good spot and has good snorkeling, Lots of sea turtles when we visited. Early the next morning head for St. Croix. There by noon. Shopping, some resturants, casino, bakery etc. 
The Spanish virgins are also a great place to visit, and in reach from St. Thomas or St. John''s.
If you are interested let me know and I can outline the many anchorage''s on St. John. As I said very few people visit the south side, we love the peace and quite.
If you interested in VIP let me know if I can answer any questions. They supply free snorkel gear, we bring our masks and snorkel, use their fins. All boats have micro waves, inverters, mobile phone, deck showers, the list goes on. We do our own provisioning. We have the cab stop on the way through town before we get to Compass Point Marina. Saves a few bucks.
It is very easy to check into the BVI if you decide you''d like to make a few stops there. You don''t have to check back into the US the charter company does that for you. We usually play things loose and decide as we go. What ever you decide to do or go, leaving from ST. Thomas gives you many options.

Good Luck,
John _/)_/)_/)
CV/ "Better than Popcorn"
ST. Thomas, USVI


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## TSOJOURNER

*St. John''''s bareboat charter*

Valdare,
Sounds interesting. What can you tell me about VIP. You say that you own the charter boat. Can you give me some specifics of the arraingement? I''ve never looked into these programs, and have often wondered. I almost stopped into one of the booths at the Annapolis boat show, but was afraid it would turn into a condo, or timeshare type high pressure hussle. you can email me directly if that is better for you.
I appreciate your help.
Doug


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## TSOJOURNER

*St. John''''s bareboat charter*

Doug,

Send me you e-mail and I will contact you.
[email protected] if full. Use the Sailnet e-mail under Valdare.

John_/)_/)_/)
CV/"Better than Popercorn"
USVI


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## dergon

pmills42255 said:


> I would charter a boat from Tortola,and right there in town check out of customs and then check in at Cruz Bay St. John. The process is painless. Check Conch Charters, they have a nice webb site too. we just got back, there are no fees for the mooring, and there are a lot of them. BVI return is five dollars per person. We checked in and out at Jost Van Dyke- more fun that way!
> Paul


You say "right there in town".......Can you land on Tortola, clear-in customs and then clear right back out at Beef Island Airport again before getting your boat?

Or would you then have to get your boat and clear out at Soper's Hole?


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## denverd0n

Uh... Maybe you should know that this thread has been dormant for 11 years, and pmills42255 in particular has not posted here in 8 years.

With some luck, maybe someone else will be able to answer your question.


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## TQA

dergon said:


> You say "right there in town".......Can you land on Tortola, clear-in customs and then clear right back out at Beef Island Airport again before getting your boat?
> 
> Or would you then have to get your boat and clear out at Soper's Hole?


Interesting question.

If you had all the relevent boat boat details and you were leaving next morning, then I think you could do that. The last time I was in the BVI they did not ask to see the boat papers. I just filled out the forms and got the passports stamped.

Do be aware of the visa requirements for non USA passport holders and that the visa waiver program does not apply to private yachts.


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## dergon

> Uh... Maybe you should know that this thread has been dormant for 11 years, and pmills42255 in particular has not posted here in 8 years.
> 
> With some luck, maybe someone else will be able to answer your question.


 Bah -- I saw "2001" and _read_ 2011.

That's what I get for half-assed posting

Sorry for the thread necromancy.


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## FarCry

dergon said:


> You say "right there in town".......Can you land on Tortola, clear-in customs and then clear right back out at Beef Island Airport again before getting your boat?
> 
> Or would you then have to get your boat and clear out at Soper's Hole?


The short answer is no because you probably aren't going to have all the documentation info for your charter vessel with you and I doubt they even have the proper paperwork at the airport, or more importantly wish to spend the time, clearing you out. Your best bet would to contact your charter company and take their suggestions. My assumption is that whomever you charter with won't be far from Roadtown unless you are using Voyage. It would be a short taxi ride from the charter base to Roadtown to clear out.


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