BS'er - On past
BVI charters, I did guest pickups both at West End, Tortola and Great Harbour, JVD, and also Cruz Bay. My key consideration was their STT flight arrival time and the risk of missing the last
ferry (due to flight delay or possible
ferry cancellation). St John ferry runs hourly til midnight with multiple boats so low risk. Last ferry to West End (Smiths) is scheduled to leave 4:30 (M-Sa) & 5:15 (Su). Last ferry to JVD departs 2:45 (M-W, Sa), 2:00 (F), 4:00 (Su), no ferry on Th.
Pickup in West End or JVD is certainly easiest for the
captain, especially if you are on a short
charter and not interested in visiting the beautiful beachbar-free national park beaches on St John.
Clearing out of
BVI is straightforward if
charter company provides you the ships papers and a blank manifest and blank
customs declaration forms (forms available at C&I). Filling out the manifest takes a few minutes. Upon departure, only you need to go to C&I with the manifest and all passports. Should take less than 15 minutes. Upon your return to BVI, simply add the new crew
member info to the manifest. Every crew
member will need to fill out a
customs declaration form. Again only you will need to go to C&I with forms, passports, plus your NPS
mooring permit and any
documentation showing cruising
permit already paid for thru the charter company.
For Cruz Bay clearance, I think the most straightforward is to take a
mooring ball at nearby Lind Point then
dinghy to Cruz Bay. There is a
dinghy dock on both sides of the large ferry pier where guests will later arrive. From there it's a 100 yd walk to the left to the C&I building. All
current crew members will need to be present at C&I. You will need to fill out a ships manifest (CBP Form 1300) and
current crew list (CBP Form I-418) - both available online. Take 2 dinghy trips if you need to as it can be choppy as you round Lind Pt. I think the rules are that if staying less than 72 hrs in USVI waters, you will not have to return to C&I to clear-out. Simply pickup your new crew and depart when ready.
Yes you can also
anchor in the designated anchorage to port as you enter Cruz Bay (3 hr time limit, no overnight). I saw that it was completely full when I cleared in this past Tuesday afternoon. If your guests arrive after dark, then negotiating out of the anchorage and bay would be tricky. I would also be skeptical about leaving the
boat at Maho while you clear-in as C&I can request that you present the vessel. I've never tried arriving via the Caneel Bay dinghy
dock.