USVI-On-Line

Looks like we will be doing a dinghy day for our August trip, as the boys are really jazzed about that idea. So here are my questions:
1. Does Noahs little arks rent the center console kind? I found one website that rents them, but it says you have to have open ocean experience to rent. I have Lake Michigan experience, but not ocean.
2. How do I no if it's a good day to rent one - is there a quick an easy way to check if the swell is up when I get up in the morning?
3. Is the best course to head straight out to Waterlemon then work your way back?
4. Any beaches I should definitely plan on stopping at for snorkeling?
5. I've never been to Gibney, is this one we could easily pick up on our dinghy day?

Thanks in advance

Hi there, MI -
Your kids will likely love the dinghy day. Will there just be the three of you in the dinghy?
I would recommend a center console dinghy. We didn't have one and wish we would have because we did go straight to Waterlemon and it took a long time with 4 women to get all the way down there. Center consoles had larger motors on them. It was nice to be able to tie to the buoy at Waterlemon (which is right out near the cay.) Circling the cay finally allowed me to cross that one off my bucket list! Noah's ark had both.... and likely it won't be as busy as it was in January so you shouldn't have much of a problem getting one on the day you'd like it.

Boating experience for us = inland lakes for us and we did just fine. It's not a tough thing to do. Don't go too far out. You'll get swamped. We weren't very smart, let's just say that. We put the heaviest woman in the front -- needless to say, that was a dumb idea but she wanted to be up there. By the time we got around to the Peter Bay area, we had to pull into a beach and bail our boat. That's right, I did say BAIL OUR BOAT. There were lots of giggles but after the water in the dinghy got up past our ankles, I said, if we don't get some of this weight out of the boat, we'll never make it to Waterlemon and since I was in a good mood that day, I didn't toss Lori out of the boat. (LOL - just kidding).

You will watch a 30 minute video before you head out. Since you're staying in town, maybe you could stop the day before and watch the video so you have the extra 30 minutes the next day.... just a thought. In that video, you will learn about the various beaches and how you approach them. Some of them will allow you to go in closer to shore where some of the beaches require you to tie up and swim in. Because we didn't have a center console, we were able to pull up on the beaches with our boat (that's not allowed with the center console boats). YES ON GIBNEY - it was my first time on that beach... it was STUNNING! YES ON ANY BEACH YOU CAN HIT--- as long as you make time to get back! It is fun to see all those beaches fro the water and stopping at the ones you've always wanted to hit!

One thing you will be amazed at is the clarity of the water as you round several of the points along the way. It is STUNNING...

We still haven't settled on a villa for us for December yet. Typically a Coral Bay girl.... but I think I want Gifft Hill this time... that way, the pool will have sun until later in the day which the "honeymooners" think they want.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

We are looking into renting a dinghy as well to go to Waterlemon. Is the center console ones any easier to get into? Any chance of them having a ladder? We're pushing 50 and not quite as agile as we once were.

My girlfriends got into the dinghy with a step on the motor. I had read many horror stories of not being able to get into them.... but it wasn't a problem. We had a rope ladder along and did not need to use it.

We rented from Calypso twice and didn't have ocean experience the first time. They're pretty easy to manuever. We did not have to watch a video but we did have a short orientation to the boats.

They'll let you know if they think the swells are too big. We had called ahead to reserve two dinghies during our last trip (called a week or so before we left) and they ended up rescheduling us due to wave action.

On 2 dinghy trips we did two different approaches: first trip we stopped beach by beach with Waterlemon as the final destination, then cruised all the way back. Waterlemon was crowded by the time we got there and we waited a bit for a mooring ball. (This was high season - Christmas/New Years.) Our latest trip we went all the way to Waterlemon first, spent some time snorkeling there and then worked our way back. I liked this approach as Waterlemon was fairly empty when we got there (also high season - President's week.) Both trips we stopped at Deli Grotto for sandwiches before getting in the boats so we'd have a great lunch.

Beaches: Waterlemon for sure, and other than that I'd kind of see how the day goes. Dinghy trip 1, we loved Hawknest and spent a lot of time snorkeling there. Trip 2, it was cool and windy there so we didn't stay long. Trip 2 we stopped at Caneel for drinks - they have a dinghy dock so it was easy - and that was fun. I can't remember if there are mooring balls at Gibney, so perhaps someone else can chime in on that one. I liked stopping by Honeymoon and Salomon with the dinghy since I hadn't been to either beach by land before. I'd like to dinghy to Denis Bay for the same reason some time.

Bluestreak: They're awkward but not too hard to get into (I'm 51, so it sounds like you're younger than me!) I kick both feet hard, with fins on, to get as high up on the side as possible, then swing one leg over the side, and (gracelessly) pull the rest of myself over.

Have fun!