USVI-On-Line

Honey wants to do it, I'm a little freaked . I'd be so busy looking out for reefs/shallows that I'm not sure if I could enjoy myself! He does have boating experience as we have a boat here at home that we take out on the lakes and to the dam in Summer.

Is there a chance you could just show up at Ocean Runner or Nauti Nymph without a ressie and take a boat out for the day? How many of you have done this? Do you all make ressies in advance?

We'd rather do it this way in order to hopefully get the best ocean conditions.

We showed up on the dock at Red Hook (weekday) and was able to secure a boat from Nauti Nymph with no problem. And this was for one with a captain (we had to wait an hour). I wouldn't think you'd have a problem if you were going to go at it w/o a captain. I would show up around 8 am tho since most of the boats go out around 8:30 - 9:00.

I would think you should be able to make a "ressie" (like that one BTW) the day prior just to be safe. You should be able to have a good and accurate report of the weather and swell conditions the day before.

If my memory serves me correctly, weren't you the one that ran your dinghy on a reef and got blasted for it/

Oh Cypress! LOL!!! Leave it to you to mention that! Thanks for the laugh. In retrospect, it's totally hilarious! Why do you think I'm a little freaked?

Ah, but you have to remember, we are CRPE's...Caribbean Reef Positioning Experts!

Was that this forum or the "other" one. I felt so bad for you. You were telling a great, comical short story and get a response like that. We all know better, but stuff happens.

It was this forum but the old one. I felt bad for me too! I was having fun sharing my adventures. Oh and just so I dont' get "blasted" again, the funny part was not clipping the reef (I was horrified by that), the funny part was how we all handled it. It was a "Three Ring Circus Dinghy."

chrisn wrote:Ah, but you have to remember, we are CRPE's...Caribbean Reef Positioning Experts!

That's the nice thing about reefs... They rarely move. Once you've hit one, you know where it is.

I remember that report. I'm sure you were all terrified, but it was a funny story.

OMG, too funny. Is that the report where your husband had to use a rock to "fix" the propeller? I promise not to blast you here. We all have had "island" incidents. And, I am doing a really "great" job here of using quotation marks. ":)"

On topic, Pete and I have talked about renting a boat, too. So, I'll follow this thread.

Marcia (Mrs. Pete)

Mrs Pete, Umm...yeah, after he asked me for a pair of pliers and I couldn't procure one from my Assets , he used a couple black rocks on the beach as his tools.

Anyone else have any experience with the boat rentals? Or do you recommend one over the other?

Chrisn,
We used Nauti Nymph in Feb and the boats were fine. They were a few years old but had new engines on them. We rented two 29 foot twin engine fountains for a trip to Jost. (16 of us). I checked out the boats at Ocean Runner and they looked fine as well. It was just easier with Nauti Nymph for us because we stayed at the Westin and they brought the boats to the Westin dock for us.
Something you will need to check on how much bluewater/caribean boating experience that they will require to rent you a boat without a captain. I do not remember the exact requirements for Nauti but they did want you to have a certain amount of local time to rent without the captain.
Have fun.
Jay

We've never needed reservations more than a day or two in advance from Ocean Runner (high season). There are very few days that ALL their boats go out.

Do you know if it has to be ocean experience to rent a bareboat? John used to have a Boston whaler, but used it on a lake. In case you can't tell, I have no boating experience other than as a passenger. Unless you count canoeing in girl scout camp!

I think we'd probably get a captain anyway, just to be safe. I also don't want to overschedule us. I booked Captain Phil today, so I am not sure if we'll do another boat trip or not. Decisions, decisions!

I know this has been stated before but I can't find it ... how much will a boat rental w/ a capt. run you for a 1/2 day? Is that even an option?

flip-flop wrote:I know this has been stated before but I can't find it ... how much will a boat rental w/ a capt. run you for a 1/2 day? Is that even an option?

Ohhh....about treefiddy.




.