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We have chartered a boat for a sail and snorkel while we will be visiting St. John. In the past we have visited the Baths and snorkeled the Indians. What are some of your favorite snorkel spots that we could take advantage of due to having a boat. I would imagine that snorkel spots closer in proximity to St. John would be best, as we have chartered a sail boat and not a power boat.
Little St James island, there are some orange VI mooring balls on the northwest corner. Buck Island has turles on one side and a shipwreck on the other side of a narrow spit on the western tip, you will see many mooring balls at both locations
All depends on where you are sailing. Southside of St John Watermelon, Lameshur, and Leinster Bays.
Have fun.
If you guys are heading out of Coral Bay, there are a number of pretty good spots your captain likely knows of offhand. Newfound Bay, the stretch beyond Haulover North heading east, and Flanagan's Rock all come to mind. Also, Long Bay on the East End (though this you can easily reach by land too).
With a sail boat you may choose to keep solely in USVI waters, so you don't burn as much time heading to Tortola for customs.
Have a great time!
I agree with dld9377; there are plenty of great places to sail without having to waste precious snorkel time at BVI customs.
Thanks. We are heading out of Caneel. Figured we would sail the northern coast. Will ofcourse acquiesce to the Captian's suggestions...just wanted to be as informed as possible (and make some suggestions).
Hi Memphis Couple -
We just went on a sunset sail out of Caneel about two weeks ago, and got into a long conversation with first mate/co-captain Barbara about interesting snorkel sites on the north shore that are a bit less well-known. I'm sure they'll be able to hook you guys up with a great trip. One of the things we hope to do on a future visit to STJ is hire them to take us out on a snorkel excursion for a day and see some of the places we've not been to yet.
Dave
is it possible to do buck island national park on a daytrip. if so does anyone know of an outfitter?
Hello kayakaster,
There are two Buck Islands, both are protected areas. The one Stu referenced above is the one off of St. Thomas; Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge http://www.fws.gov/southeast/BuckIsland/.
Buck Island National Monument is off of St. Croix and it is administered by the National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/buis/.
No daysail trips from St. Thomas/St. John to Buck Island National Monument that I know of. You could possibly go over to St. Croix for the day and then do a daysail from St. Croix to Buck Island. The Seaplane or Cape Air would get you from St. Thomas to St. Croix the quickest and maybe early enough to catch one of the group sails out to Buck Island.
--Islander
There are quite a few daytrippers that go out to Buck Island off of St Thomas to snorkel since there are tons of turtles and a shipwreck, but they won't let you go on land. If you want to go on land to hike you need to rent a boat. Typically around $400 for the day including gas. Moor using one of the many Park's orange mooring balls and swim to shore carrying your shoes.
