Quote:
Originally Posted by dbergman
Hello Hive mind!!! I am in the process of planning a trip this coming January to the USVI. I will be bareboat chartering a 2024 FP Tana 47 out of St. Thomas. My current sail plan is Jan 5th-St. Thomas to St. John. Jan 6th- St. John to St. Croix. Jan 7th St. Croix. Jan 8th St. Croix to Culebra SVI. Jan 9th Culebra, Jan 10th Culebrita, Jan 1th Culebrita to St. Thomas. Jan 12th Return boat by noon and return home. My crew enjoys spending time on the boat and doing some hikes. We really aren't the go out to eat at restaurants very much. We love to cook some fresh caught fish when we can! Any tips, tricks or thoughts on this would be appreciated!
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Weighing in on that week long agenda, personally I wouldn't try to cover St Thomas, St John, St Croix and Culebrita all in the same week. Pick two or three and eliminate some of those long crossings. We chartered quite a bit down there during Covid when the
BVI was shut down. First thing, verify St Croix is even an option, many of the
charter companies restrict that
destination due to distance and all that open
water. Culebrita may be restricted as well, that is a separate
Customs check in and the vessel needs to be pre-registered with the
Puerto Rico region US
Customs office to do that remotely through their CPB Roam app and a video call. Not intuitive since it's all technically US Territory. But it's also why you can't sail
charter boats to
Puerto Rico from St Thomas.
That said, the open
water crossings can be rough, especially if the NE swell is running. That 15 miles getting back to St John from Culebrita can be gross. I did it once in 4-6' seas against the usual 18 knots of
trade winds and half the crew was sick two hours in with no where to pull over. With your schedule, you won't have time to wait out conditions. Culebrita by the way is really marginal for overnighting. Don't be fooled by that picturesque open bay on the north side, big NE swells wrap in there hard and ricochet in all directions.
Lastly, planning only a
single day at St John is a crime against nature! The north side beaches and bays (Maho, Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon, Waterlemon) need at least two days, especially if hiking to Annenberg Plantation. Add a day at
Coral Bay on the east side (Limeout swim-up floating taco bar, big hit!), and one at
Salt Pond or Lameshur Bay on the south coast if hiking the trails to the Petroglyphs. St John is 2/3 National Park, much too beautiful to
race by all that.