Virgin Islands

[sloop john b]

Picking up a moorings bareboat in tortola. Is the trip from Tortola to ST Croix (christianstead) worth devoting three days to?

[bstreep]

Generally, no. If you are going for a month, sure. There are just too many good places to go that don't involve the trip to St. Croix. We've been once, on a charter we did that included Culebra - but we stayed in the US the entire time.

[Tempest245]

How long are you chartering ?

[seacap]

If you want to do a lot of open water sailing then I would say yes. It's more or less a beam reach. It can be a rough trip though. If you want to sail and have nice anchorages everyday then stay in the BVI like bstreep suggests. Plus you will have the hassles of customs/immigration to deal with. That will cost you a half day.

[speciald@ocens.]

St. Croix is a waist of time. Poor anchorages, nothing to see.

[CSY Man]

St. Croix is a waist of time. Poor anchorages, nothing to see.

Hmm, I lived aboard around St. Croix for a couple of years..Disagree.

Buck Island and Salt River comes to mind for plenty to see and good anchorages.

The problem would rather be that most bareboat companies excludes St. Croix from the allowed "crusing grounds"..Too many reefs and too "tricky" entrance.

[nautical62]

Another destination to consider if you want to get away from the BVIs is the Spanish Virgin Islands. I did that last June for the first time and really enjoyed it. If you choose to do that, you will need to pick up the original title from the Moorings office. (They usually only have a photo copy on board) The chandlery across the street carries charts, but I'd recommend picking one up before you head down there if possible. You might be able to register for the local boater's permit option (not sure if you can do that with a charter boat) if you are all U.S. citizens which would mean you wouldn't have to stop at custom's personally.

[Hud3]

John B,

We did a two week charter out of Red Hook, St Thomas, a number of years ago. The sail over to St. Croix was an absolutely beautiful reach. We worked our way up Tague Bay and anchored off the St. Croix Yacht Club--it was the weekend of their annual international regatta, and the place was humming! Nice folks there--they were kind enough to let us use their dinghy dock, so we could rent a car and tour the island. The architecture in Christiansted is interesting, there's a small rain forest, and the Cruzan Rum distillery tour is interesting. Buck Island is a beautiful day anchorage and a great snorkeling spot. We were glad to have done it, but having done it, don't need to go back.

A few years later, on our own boat, we spent a week and a half in the Spanish Virgins. Not to be missed!

[RetiredSailor]

Originally Posted by Hud3

A few years later, on our own boat, we spent a week and a half in the Spanish Virgins. Not to be missed!

Maybe you anchored here? Sun Bay anchorage in Vieques, just yesterday. Unfortunately, not on my boat this time. I believe that's a nice IP 40-something anchored out there.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/gallery...p?i=5655&c=502

[gbanker]

Seacup has got it right. If you like open water sailing and don't suffer from seasickness, go for it. Not many good anchorages but touring on land can be interesting as there are old sugar plantations, etc. to visit. More of a land based than water based island (IMHO). nautical62 has a good idea also. Just remember that it can be a wet slog to weather coming east to return to the US/BVIs from the Spanish Virgins.
(currently anchored in Benures Bay, Norman Island, BVI)

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by RetiredSailor

Maybe you anchored here? Sun Bay anchorage in Vieques, just yesterday. Unfortunately, not on my boat this time. I believe that's a nice IP 40-something anchored out there.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/gallery...p?i=5655&c=502

Pretty spot! Looks like an IP420 in your photo. We didn't get to Sun Bay, but enjoyed several anchorages to the east of there on Vieques. Our favorite spot was Bahia de Almodovar on Culebra, but not by much. All were beautiful, and uncrowded.