Boat in Maho

hugo · Post by **hugo** » Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:46 pm

Just for everyone's information,law enforcement rangers, as opposed to interpretive rangers, are federal agents, charged with upholding federal and local laws and regulations within the park. They are reported to suffer the highest level of assaults of any Federal law enforcement officers, probably because many people are unaware of their status. Visitors are sometimes shocked that they have guns!

poidog · Post by **poidog** » Wed Apr 09, 2014 2:43 pm

Lol... Yup Hugo! Their firing range is over by the start of the Brown Bay trail.

gripper322 · Post by **gripper322** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 1:47 pm

Long time lurker, first time poster. I had to comment on this thread as we are in your picture, hotrns. We were having a catch of football in the water with our sons, and in rolls this day charter and plunks down his anchor directly in the swimming area, literally feet from us. My wife commented to the captain that he was in the swimming area and that he should move his boat. He replied in a very rude and smug manner that he could park his boat wherever he wanted. You can see my wife in your picture feet from the outboard motors with the props sticking out. This boat was at least 30 feet in length, was 75 to 100 feet outside of the "dinghy" channel and clearly in violation of all the National Park boating rules stated above by others. We were appalled by this captain's behavior and attitude. Needless to say, this is a charter service we will never use and a call to the National Park Ranger will take place if there is a next time.

hotrns · Post by **hotrns** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 5:30 pm

Now that I have the NPS phone number in my phone (I didn't have it before) I will not hesitate to call also.

JohnM · Post by **JohnM** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:09 pm

Nice photo. Pretty certain that the boat is Big Blue Excursion's 'Gypsea Girl'.

http://www.bigblue-usvi.com/index.html
http://www.gypseagirlvi.com/p/about-boat.html

Used to see this behavior when the PR boats came over for the weekend & tied up en masse. Being that this one operates out of Cruz Bay, you'd think they'd know better ... but they probably do. (Rated highly on TA, though.)

Sadly, another example of paradise getting paved over.

hotrns · Post by **hotrns** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:23 pm

That was in fact the boat (Gypsea Girl).

snorkeler525 · Post by **snorkeler525** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:10 am

Since we know the name of the boat/company, why doesn't someone have a talk with the owner or the National Park Service to straighten them out on the rules and regulations. Now that I know the name, I will certainly never use them or recommend that anyone use them. What the captain did was reckless and dangerous and his attitude when confronted was cocky at best. Sending the photo to the NPS would be a good way to help stop this from happening again.

IA Joe · Post by **IA Joe** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 12:02 pm

It really surprises me that this turns out to be a charter. I guess I could expect it from a private owner, but it sure seems like a charter could lose a ton of business acting this way.

GregsMom · Post by **GregsMom** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 2:25 pm

Guys, sorry if I

am being a bonehead. So is it okay to beach a dinghy at Maho or other NP beaches? I see that done all the time. In the posts here, it mentions dropping off...‘If you are dropping people off you may bring the dinghy up on the beach in the buoy area.’ "Do not anchor within 200 feet of any mooring, 100 feet from any regulatory buoy, or closer than 100 feet to park beaches." ‘Boats 26' and under are allowed to enter beach area between the red and green channel markers to drop off passengers but then must leave and tie to a mooring.’ Thanks for the clarification.

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 11:53 pm

Yes you can beach a dinghy

Pia

iheartsj · Post by **iheartsj** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 9:55 am

[bProgram the NPS phone number into your phone. When you see something like this give the rangers a call and they'll send someone out right away if they can get a citation... lol
340-776-6201

Good luck calling this number. You get a long recording with lots of instructions but can never reach a person. You can leave a message but I doubt any one will call back, especially outside normal business hours.

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 5:50 pm

This makes me really angry. No one should abuse the beaches that way.

I would like to post a (negative) review of them on the TA page for their business, telling people not to use charters that abuse the beaches. I started to post a review with a link to the NPS rules about anchoring, and with the picture (which I saved to my laptop in case hotrns doesn't want a link back to their Flickr page.) I was prompted to check a box stating that I own the picture, so I canceled the process since I don't want to offend hotrns.

Hotrns, I'm still happy to post a review if you're OK with me using your picture (it won't link back to your Flickr page.) Otherwise I'll leave it alone.

FYI here is the TA page for them:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_R ... lands.html

kklay · Post by **kklay** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 10:37 am

I am very concerned by the picture and the description of what happened with this charter. I also clicked on the attachment to the website (bigblue-usvi.com) and read thru information on their vessels, captains, etc. The website makes the operation sound like they are trained and licensed to operate appropriately in the USVI. So here is what I did, I sent them an email - read below. Perhaps the owners are not aware of what happened and in any case, need to know what happened and what is being said about their operation. I too, would have been upset with the actions of this charter and captain had I been where Hotrns was that day.

Hello,

I thought I would mention, in case you were not already aware, that there is an entry in the VIRGIN ISLAND FORUM regarding one of your vessels - Gypsea Girl. I would suggest reading the entries as well as and looking at the picture that is attached.

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =1&t=26881

I do hope there is more to this story as it does not give a very good impression of your business and/or whoever the Captain was.

betsyv · Post by **betsyv** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 10:52 am

I also posted this on their Facebook page...but got no response...

https://www.facebook.com/gypseagirlchar ... 0749065392

Just to let you know you are a topic on the U.S. Virgin Islands Travel Forum.
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... 81#p290040

Re: Boat in Mahoby iheartsj » Mon Apr 14, 2014 9:55 am [bProgram the NPS phone number into your... -
VIRGIN-ISLANDS-ON-LINE.COM
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Betsy Hackett Villanella I hope this isn't true... Or if it is...steps have been taken to correct the violation. Not fair to the folks who use the beach and shallow swimming waters.

Im not sure they care.

CaptMindy · Post by **CaptMindy** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:02 am

Good day St John lovers...let me first say Thank you for all those who contacted me about this issue. I have lived here for almost 9 years and have spent countless hours volunteering in the park. We are big supporters and I am pleased to know not only the St john community but our visitors are also looking out for St John and the marine life.
As far as this incident... we will certainly be sure this does not happen again! I was surprised one of our captains would do this. As all our captains must have a 50 ton US Coast Guard captains license as well as safety training along with many more criteria we look for while hiring captains to take care of our guests. We have clarified the park rules again and we apologizes for any wrong doing.
And again appreciate you concern for our marine life and safety of our visitors.

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