USVI-On-Line

Hi - my husband and I and another couple are heading back to St. John (YAY!) in March. We are staying in a villa on the Coral Bay end of the island. We plan to do mostly off the beach snorkeling as my husband doesn't do great on boats (sea-sick). He takes bonine and that helps but a full day to the BVI might be more than would be wise.

I think I read here sometime in the past that there are some cays or little islands not far off shore of St. John that are great for snorkel trips by boat. If anyone has any information on that I would appreciate it. Would prefer someone who goes out of Coral Bay but we could do Cruz Bay if we had to.

Thanks,
sue

We used Flyaway Charters out of Coral Bay, and they were great! The boats were very nice, and the captains were too. We did go over to the BVI's, but they will just go around St. John as well. http://www.viflyawaycharters.com/aroundstjohn.html

I think it would be great to spend a day with Peter Muilenberg on his boat Breath. He's lived on STJ for years and built his boat on the island. I think he actually sails out of Maho now.

http://www.sailbreath.com/

Hubby and I used Flyaway Charters twice. The first time we did a full day bopping around St John. The second time we went to the BVI's.

The St John day was a full day tour around the island with at least two snorkel spots that I can remember- one at Ram's Head point (I think) and another at Waterlemon Cay then another option for Newfound Bay but we were so relaxed (and had already snorkeled there on past charters) that we opted out and just hung out in Newfound Bay and chatted with Capt George.

We really like Capt George. He's very familiar with the island and has a long history of being a Capt (he did the Alaskan crab boats for quite a while). He already knows the best & safest spots to stop and snorkel (based on weather and other factors) but he will consider other options if pushed.

The boat is a power catamaran and is a very smooth and, at times fast, ride. That's not to say it doesn't get rough out there though. And Capt George yields to turtles no matter how fast he's going!

I also considered Breath. A beautiful boat!! Capt Peter Muilenberg has a great reputation around Coral Bay and his boat is gorgeous.

I don't know if Breath offers half day sails. I'm pretty sure Flyaway does.

Another optionb to consider is Capt Phil Chalker out of Cruz Bay. There's a thread about him around here somewhere.

Good luck finding the right one for you. I'm quite jealous!

I third (or 4th) Flyaway Charters. Their boats are smooth! Unfortunately, Captain George moved to St. Croix this past May (we were his last trip!). He is the greatest and we'll miss him. However, Truman is also great and he has some new captains who I met who will take care of you. Have fun!

Thanks everyone for all the info and opinions. Flyaway has already emailed me with information. It sounds like the best type of thing for us.
sue