USVI-On-Line

Hi

We would really love to rent a dingy for a day, is this possible or safe even if we only a ittle experience on the river?
Also could someone give me a rough idea of costs

Thanks for any replies
Nikki

Hi Nikki, if you do a search, you should find lots of results. You don't need any experience to get around in the dingy and it's alot of fun (and safe) and not too costly. A great way to visit some beaches you might otherwise miss. You have the option of full or half day. Some folks like the rentals in front of the beach bar, others seem to like the one at the Wesin. IMO, a great way to spend a day. Ali~

That's something I REALLY want to do. But, it will have to wait until our next trip. The kid will be with us then and she'd love to do that. I'll probably end up just going with her because I can't imagine anyone over the age of 8 who would ever consider getting in a dinghy piloted by me would be a good idea.

But, if they rent to more or less anyone, how unsafe could it be?

The Dinghys are great, but in rough weather, you get beat up a little bit trying to get out to Waterlemon. Only problem we had was husband got knocked down and when he did, he hit the handle on the engine, sent the boat on a quick left and almost hit our friends in another dinghy.

I'd suggest you make sure it's taken out on a calmer day if you want to head as far as waterlemon.

I've rented a dinghy several times. Lots of fun. Calypso has the best. They are right at the National Park building with parking.

http://www.calypsovi.com/

Connie wrote:The Dinghys are great, but in rough weather, you get beat up a little bit trying to get out to Waterlemon.

Agreed. We rented a dinghy on our last trip, took it all the way from Cruz Bay to Waterlemon and it was ROUGH. We were warned by the lady at Noah's Little Arks that it would be choppy going out, and indeed it was. I felt like I was being slammed against the boat over and over. The way back was much smoother.

But other than that, it was a fun day. I was still healing from a broken ankle, so there were some beaches I was not able to hike to but still wanted to see. This was a perfect way to do that. I would recommend it to anyone. But my advice... Hold on!

We've rented a dinghy many times from Noah's Little Arks and always had a great time. Well worth it!!

We rented from Calypso on a calm day in June. Their prices are on their website. The fellow was about 30 minutes late getting there but no big deal. The dinghy was pretty easy to run, but it was difficult turning the steering wheel to the left on both of the ones we rented. Going to Waterlemon was rough and scary. One group went and the other headed back towards Cruz Bay. This was a great day, and I would do it again for sure! Bring a hat and plenty of water...it gets really hot.

That has really set my mind at rest and I think we will now go for a day rental.

Thanks for all your replies and advice
Nikki

We rented from Noah's and the boat was a little small for going around to Waterlemon on a rougher day. Calypso's boat was the perfect size and gave us a little more room for the cooler and bags.

We rented from Calypso, had one of the dinghys with a stering wheel & had a blast!!! We loved it so much we rented it for another day. It was one of our favorite 2 days on island....got to see some great beaches we would have missed otherwise. Also seeing STJ from the water, from that perspective is awesome!
Have fun!!

How much room does a dinghy have? Can two people plus a cooler, towels, etc. fit? Can you actually "park it" on the beach?

In the boat from Calyspo, we fit two of us, a cooler and a bag. Plenty of room. They don't want you beaching it per say, but you can jump out and pull it up on shore at the calmer beaches. A few of the beaches have moorings too.

On a Calypso dinghy we had 3 adults and plenty of room for a cooler, beach bag and towels. They tell you ahead (and give you a map) of where you can beach the dinghy or tie it up. Bill usually drove my son and I close to shore, then took it back out to tie it up. At Honeymoon, we anchored within feet of the beach. Its not too complicated as long as you follow their directions. Take your time and have fun!

We rented from Noah's little ark - there were four of us and we got the larger dinghy. We had room for a beach bag and cooler. We went all the way to Waterlemon and am glad we did. I got a little nervouse on the way around Mary's point because I noticed rain in the distance - I was ready to turn around but my family said no - and we never did get rained on. I am glad I had my children to help pull me back into the dinghy at Waterlemon because you have to tie up to moorings there and it could be really interesting getting back in. We didn't try Calypso because I had heard that you need boating experience to rent their's and we have none. I did think the Calypso one's look nicer and they have a steering wheel rather than holding on to the vibrating motor handle the whole trip.