USVI-On-Line

We were wanting to rent kayaks once during our trip. Has anyone had any experience renting from Cinnamon Bay? We were thinking about going out to Whistling Cay.

We rented kayaks a Maho a couple of times, and went out to Whistling Cay. I'm sorry I can't help you with Cinnamon rental specific information, but I can tell you that the Maho people directed us to paddle to what would be the right side of Francis Bay, and then head toward Whistling Cay (rather than paddling directly toward the cay), as the paddle there would be easier, out of the wind. On the way back, we paddled directly back to Maho. Directly across Fungi Passage from the beach at Whistling Cay is a rocky beach, at Mary's Point. There was nice snorkeling in that area as well. Fun day! Bring a lunch!

Thanks for the help minde. I think it could be a fun day. Do you remember how long it took to get to Whistling Cay and back?

Well, it's likely that we putzed around.... I'd say 20 minutes or so? Both times we did it from Maho, we rented for 1/2 day and were able to paddle over, snorkel at Whistling Cay, paddle to Mary's Point and snorkel, eat lunch, and then paddle back, in the allotted time. I'm guessing we had the kayak for 4 hours?

Here's a copy and paste with some times listed, from an old post:
I'm excited to be able to answer a "regular's" question! We did the trip last visit, in late October.
$45 for 1/2 day tandem kayak rental. The watersports office opens at 10am. You need a credit card for deposit. We didn't have one and George approved us anyway, but he doesn't always, according to the guy in the Magic Hat tshirt who was running the office.
He gave us great, very specific instructions. We left little Maho at 10:30 and were back by 12:30. We didn't have any way of telling time, so we'd hurried a little. We kayaked from Little Maho approximately 1 mile to Whistling Cay, snorkelled the front and East of Whistling Cay, crossed Fungi Passage (about 1/4 mile) to the little beach around Mary's Point and snorkelled there, then back to Little Maho, in 2 hours.
Next time, we're packing a lunch and taking a full day. It was really great!
The reef in front of Whistling Cay is very shallow, so be careful! And have fun of course! Here's a lik to our trip report from that day: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... p?p=170586

Searching for "kayak" in my posts might turn up more information that I've forgotten, but this one gives a timeline.

Since the Cinnamon Bay "Resort" is in transition / construction, you might want contact them to see if it is even open. I think I read that the building the watersports people were using was going to be used for something else.....

I'm not sure...

EDIT: The last paragraph in this article says the following:

The Park Service took over the remaining space in the building that houses the archeological museum, so no more beers or snorkel rentals there, but a mobile snack cart has appeared. Richard Metcalfe no longer manages the watersports concession, but is doing some transitional consulting for Redwood Parks. The watersports concession itself appears to be largely unchanged.

http://newsofstjohn.com/2016/12/28/nice ... -cinnamon/



pmk

Here are the prices. Seems like they are up and running....

http://cinnamonbayresort.com/explore/water-sports/

Thanks for everyone's help. I think our plan for the day will be to rent our kayaks early in the morning and head over to Whistling Cay. We will probably have a snack and then head back. As minde suggested we will hug the coast to get there. I would love to stay and snorkel but sadly my wife and daughter don't snorkel much. When we return we will lounge on the beach and eat lunch followed by a hike on the Cinnamon Bay Trail. Any other thought?

If it's the same vendor at CBC that has been there, he doesn't open until around ten. So don't rush in the morning.
It's an awesome adventure; we've done it several times. Don't forget to bring lots of water. There is no real shade on the Cay and it's easy to become dehydrated.

We've rented kayaks at Cinnamon and gone to Whistling Cay a couple of times. Love it! It can be a bit challenging on a surfy day, but definitely fun. I like following the shoreline (first time we were way out and I prefer not being so far out, especially in a head wind.) Did it once on a SUP and that was a bit challenging, but that was my first time on a SUP so that probably didn't help.

Enjoy!

All good advice above. I too used a SUP to get to Whistling Cay; this was back in September, when I put in and out at Maho Bay. That was a bit of an aggressive paddle, especially on the way back, as the wind funnels down through that low spot above Francis Bay. I didn't check the snorkeling at the Cay; how is it? The old customs house is reliably photogenic:
Wind and swells, both of which were in abundance a couple of weeks back, will bear on your experience, so best to check in on the day of your intended paddle, at http://www.weather.vi. The trade winds dropped to zero yesterday, which had me convinced that I had a frozen video issue until I checked the wind speed graph.

Oh, and I can confirm that the Cinnamon Bay watersports concession has been up and running (albeit under different management) throughout the renovations.

"When we return we will lounge on the beach and eat lunch followed by a hike on the Cinnamon Bay Trail. Any other thoughts?"

If you are hiking at Cinnamon Bay, there is a short hike that I highly recommend.

[Edit: I originally posted about the America Hill hike here, but decided that it would get more views as a freestanding post, here: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =1&t=28600]

All the best,

Kevin