usvi-on-line
Trip Report: Part 2: Snorkeling, Boat Excursions 3/10 - 3/17
Trip Report: Part 2: Snorkeling, Boat Excursions 3/10 - 3/17
I've read in the forum that the first time on St. John you should just stay on the island, but we may never go to St. John again. There are so many places in the world that we want to visit. We decided that this may be the only time we get a chance to visit the BVI.
Monday New Horizons II BVI Trip
There was a fairly good sized crowd waiting for the boat. Fortunately when it pulled up, only two others were on it from St. Thomas and a couple other boats pulled up at the same time. There were 14 passengers in all - a nice mix of people. Our first stop was the Baths. There were a couple non-swimmers on the boat. Instead of us swimming ashore, they made arrangements for a taxi to drive us to the Baths. I had no desire to tour the Baths. I'm an old backpacker, but I've never been fond of scrambling over rocks. I ended up snorkeling while my husband went on the tour. He told me afterwards that I would have loved 90% of it and hated the other 10%. My snorkeling excursion after not having snorkeled for a year was fine with me. Our next stop was Pusser's restaurant on Marina Cay. We pre-ordered our lunch. We had the best conch fritters there. The staff was very friendly - it was so low key. After lunch dropped anchor at a nearly reef for some very nice snorkeling. My husband saw a barracuda. This was our first encounter with all the lovely soft corals that are so beautiful in the Virgin Islands. Quite impressive. Our final stop was Jost Van Dyke. Since we were going to the Soggy Dollar Bar, home of the Painkiller, we decided to have one on board the boat so we would have a basis of comparison. It was VERY strong. When we arrived at Jost Van Dyke, the boat pulled up pretty close because of our non-swimmers. We were still in seven feet of water. They used kick boards with people on each side to get ashore. (Why would you take this excursion if you couldn't swim?) We immediately went to the bar and had a real painkiller - what a difference - not so strong, with a nice sprinkling of fresh nutmeg. Perfection! Our only disappointment was with the gift shop. My husband collects playing cards and they did not have any Jost Van Dyke or BVI cards there. Otherwise it was a wonderful, relaxing day.
Tuesday: Waterlemon Cay
This was the day I had been looking forward to for a long time. We managed to park the jeep off the side of the road. We have a duffle bag with backpack straps that held our snorkel gear, towels and water. Off we went. We took our time (we're in our 50's) and got to the beach in less than half an hour - hard to tell since we were not wearing watches. There was some shade and quite a few people around. We felt comfortable leaving our stuff (nothing of value) on the beach. After a short rest we walked over to the point of land closest to the Cay, put on our gear and headed off. It was a pleasant swim over. We headed around counter-clockwise. There was a small current on the right side of the island - our problem was that it kept getting very shallow. We were probably swimming 30 feet offshore. There was some magnificent elkhorn coral just as you turned right. Around the back was magnificent! A true octopus's garden. We had never seen anything like it before! Everywhere you turned the coral was more spectacular. I've seen a greater density of fish, but the variety of fish was wonderful and the coral was incredible. (I think I've run out of adjectives.) We made our way around the far side of the cay and saw at least 50 starfish. What an experience!
Wednesday: Cinnamon Bay
This day was a total disaster. I read that Peter's Bay had tremendous snorkeling. We decided to make our way there. We walked along the beach as far as possible then got in the water and started swimming. One thing about Cinnamon is there is no protection at all. Those waves coming in come a long way. By the time we got to Peter's Bay, we were exhausted. My husband started swimming back before I did. He was over by Little Cinnamon and I noticed that he looked like he was in big trouble. I swam as fast as I could. When I caught up to him, he told me that he had dry heaves - he thought he got sick from the waves and just had to swim to where he could put his feet on the bottom. I felt awful that I could not get to him sooner. We rested a bit then swam back to Cinnamon. We swam ashore too soon and got hung up on some dead coral. It was just an awful day. I later looked at a map that depicted the location of the reefs. Don't just rely on the guide books. Most of the better maps show where the reefs are. We were nowhere near the Peter's Bay reef.
Thursday: Sadie Sea Snorkeling Trip
We booked a half day snorkeling trip through Sadie Sea. We showed up early at 8:15 to get a parking spot near the National Park dock. We did not have watches with us and were relying on strangers for the time. (I really with there was a clock in the National Park office.) We sat at the picnic tables and read waiting for 9 a.m. I asked someone for the time. It was 9:15! We missed our trip! I told my husband. He said I told you that I saw two people get in the Sadie Sea dingy earlier and sail away. I thought he said that they went away - meaning back to the office. I walked across the street to the office and told the guy that we missed our trip. He said that it was not a problem - our trip was not until 9:30 - was I relieved! At 9:30 the Sadie Sea pulled up. We were the only guests! It was like a private charter! I asked if they were going out on Friday that we could go out then, but they had another commitment. (When we got home I found out they they emailed me earlier in the week to see if we could reschedule to Wednesday.) We told Capt. Ben what we liked. I said that our snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay was the best snorkeling ever. He said he could top that. Instead of a trip to the south side of St. John, we stopped at two nearby Cays.
Our first stop was at Henley Cay which used to be part of the Caneel resort complex. Captain Ben told us the recent history of the island. It apparently was part of the Caneel complex. For lots of money you could stay on the private dwelling on this private island. At night you would leave a list of your requirements for the next day along with your dirty laundry at the end of the pier. The next morning everything you wanted would be on the pier. Those notes were your only means of communication - no phone, no radio, no TV. Well it seems that the folks at Caneel forgot about the guests on Henley Cay for several consecutive days. The guests built a bonfire on the end of the pier to catch their attention. Part of the pier burned, then the wind turned and part of the island burned. Some time later a hurricane wrecked the rest of the structures on the island. Henley Cay is now part of the National Park.
The snorkeling was amazing! We saw everything we saw at Waterlemon, but it was denser and far more extensive. I saw an octopus! Lots of sponges. The current was fierce. We were snorkeling with a marine biologist. She and my husband could swim against the current. I kept going backwards. Finally she had Capt. Ben pull up in the dingy and tow us over the reef. At first it was hard to see anything with the motor, but if you turned your head sideways, it was great! We also made another stop at Stevens Cay where there was very good snorkeling. This trip was the highlight of our vacation and was definitely worth $40 per person!!!!!!!!
Friday: snorkeling at Vie's Beach
I planned one day on the east end of the island, snorkeling at three beaches. After yesterday's trip and the fight with the currents, we were just exhausted. We went out for breakfast and went back home and took naps! When we woke up we decided to trim our plans back a bit. One of our intended stops was Saltpond. After reading about the hike back to the car and considering how sore we were, we decided to forego that stop. Haulover was the next stop, but it said that the north side was better, but had currents. We certainly had our fill of currents the previous day. We went on to find Hansen Bay. As we drove past Haulover, we noticed a sign that Vie's snack shack was two hills over. This was a good indicator - we were getting hungry. When we saw Vie's beach it just looked so relaxing, we decided that was where we should spend the day. That's when I found out that Vie's beach IS Hansen Bay which has, according to one of the guide books, superb snorkeling. The beach has shade and chairs. We were able to pull chairs right up to the water to put on our flippers. The reef to the right, though small, was spectacular. We even saw a nurse shark (very safe) with an attached remora resting on the bottom. The added benefit is Vie and her wonderful food and her parking lot right across the street. $2.50 per person was a small price to pay to use this beach.
Monday New Horizons II BVI Trip
There was a fairly good sized crowd waiting for the boat. Fortunately when it pulled up, only two others were on it from St. Thomas and a couple other boats pulled up at the same time. There were 14 passengers in all - a nice mix of people. Our first stop was the Baths. There were a couple non-swimmers on the boat. Instead of us swimming ashore, they made arrangements for a taxi to drive us to the Baths. I had no desire to tour the Baths. I'm an old backpacker, but I've never been fond of scrambling over rocks. I ended up snorkeling while my husband went on the tour. He told me afterwards that I would have loved 90% of it and hated the other 10%. My snorkeling excursion after not having snorkeled for a year was fine with me. Our next stop was Pusser's restaurant on Marina Cay. We pre-ordered our lunch. We had the best conch fritters there. The staff was very friendly - it was so low key. After lunch dropped anchor at a nearly reef for some very nice snorkeling. My husband saw a barracuda. This was our first encounter with all the lovely soft corals that are so beautiful in the Virgin Islands. Quite impressive. Our final stop was Jost Van Dyke. Since we were going to the Soggy Dollar Bar, home of the Painkiller, we decided to have one on board the boat so we would have a basis of comparison. It was VERY strong. When we arrived at Jost Van Dyke, the boat pulled up pretty close because of our non-swimmers. We were still in seven feet of water. They used kick boards with people on each side to get ashore. (Why would you take this excursion if you couldn't swim?) We immediately went to the bar and had a real painkiller - what a difference - not so strong, with a nice sprinkling of fresh nutmeg. Perfection! Our only disappointment was with the gift shop. My husband collects playing cards and they did not have any Jost Van Dyke or BVI cards there. Otherwise it was a wonderful, relaxing day.
Tuesday: Waterlemon Cay
This was the day I had been looking forward to for a long time. We managed to park the jeep off the side of the road. We have a duffle bag with backpack straps that held our snorkel gear, towels and water. Off we went. We took our time (we're in our 50's) and got to the beach in less than half an hour - hard to tell since we were not wearing watches. There was some shade and quite a few people around. We felt comfortable leaving our stuff (nothing of value) on the beach. After a short rest we walked over to the point of land closest to the Cay, put on our gear and headed off. It was a pleasant swim over. We headed around counter-clockwise. There was a small current on the right side of the island - our problem was that it kept getting very shallow. We were probably swimming 30 feet offshore. There was some magnificent elkhorn coral just as you turned right. Around the back was magnificent! A true octopus's garden. We had never seen anything like it before! Everywhere you turned the coral was more spectacular. I've seen a greater density of fish, but the variety of fish was wonderful and the coral was incredible. (I think I've run out of adjectives.) We made our way around the far side of the cay and saw at least 50 starfish. What an experience!
Wednesday: Cinnamon Bay
This day was a total disaster. I read that Peter's Bay had tremendous snorkeling. We decided to make our way there. We walked along the beach as far as possible then got in the water and started swimming. One thing about Cinnamon is there is no protection at all. Those waves coming in come a long way. By the time we got to Peter's Bay, we were exhausted. My husband started swimming back before I did. He was over by Little Cinnamon and I noticed that he looked like he was in big trouble. I swam as fast as I could. When I caught up to him, he told me that he had dry heaves - he thought he got sick from the waves and just had to swim to where he could put his feet on the bottom. I felt awful that I could not get to him sooner. We rested a bit then swam back to Cinnamon. We swam ashore too soon and got hung up on some dead coral. It was just an awful day. I later looked at a map that depicted the location of the reefs. Don't just rely on the guide books. Most of the better maps show where the reefs are. We were nowhere near the Peter's Bay reef.
Thursday: Sadie Sea Snorkeling Trip
We booked a half day snorkeling trip through Sadie Sea. We showed up early at 8:15 to get a parking spot near the National Park dock. We did not have watches with us and were relying on strangers for the time. (I really with there was a clock in the National Park office.) We sat at the picnic tables and read waiting for 9 a.m. I asked someone for the time. It was 9:15! We missed our trip! I told my husband. He said I told you that I saw two people get in the Sadie Sea dingy earlier and sail away. I thought he said that they went away - meaning back to the office. I walked across the street to the office and told the guy that we missed our trip. He said that it was not a problem - our trip was not until 9:30 - was I relieved! At 9:30 the Sadie Sea pulled up. We were the only guests! It was like a private charter! I asked if they were going out on Friday that we could go out then, but they had another commitment. (When we got home I found out they they emailed me earlier in the week to see if we could reschedule to Wednesday.) We told Capt. Ben what we liked. I said that our snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay was the best snorkeling ever. He said he could top that. Instead of a trip to the south side of St. John, we stopped at two nearby Cays.
Our first stop was at Henley Cay which used to be part of the Caneel resort complex. Captain Ben told us the recent history of the island. It apparently was part of the Caneel complex. For lots of money you could stay on the private dwelling on this private island. At night you would leave a list of your requirements for the next day along with your dirty laundry at the end of the pier. The next morning everything you wanted would be on the pier. Those notes were your only means of communication - no phone, no radio, no TV. Well it seems that the folks at Caneel forgot about the guests on Henley Cay for several consecutive days. The guests built a bonfire on the end of the pier to catch their attention. Part of the pier burned, then the wind turned and part of the island burned. Some time later a hurricane wrecked the rest of the structures on the island. Henley Cay is now part of the National Park.
The snorkeling was amazing! We saw everything we saw at Waterlemon, but it was denser and far more extensive. I saw an octopus! Lots of sponges. The current was fierce. We were snorkeling with a marine biologist. She and my husband could swim against the current. I kept going backwards. Finally she had Capt. Ben pull up in the dingy and tow us over the reef. At first it was hard to see anything with the motor, but if you turned your head sideways, it was great! We also made another stop at Stevens Cay where there was very good snorkeling. This trip was the highlight of our vacation and was definitely worth $40 per person!!!!!!!!
Friday: snorkeling at Vie's Beach
I planned one day on the east end of the island, snorkeling at three beaches. After yesterday's trip and the fight with the currents, we were just exhausted. We went out for breakfast and went back home and took naps! When we woke up we decided to trim our plans back a bit. One of our intended stops was Saltpond. After reading about the hike back to the car and considering how sore we were, we decided to forego that stop. Haulover was the next stop, but it said that the north side was better, but had currents. We certainly had our fill of currents the previous day. We went on to find Hansen Bay. As we drove past Haulover, we noticed a sign that Vie's snack shack was two hills over. This was a good indicator - we were getting hungry. When we saw Vie's beach it just looked so relaxing, we decided that was where we should spend the day. That's when I found out that Vie's beach IS Hansen Bay which has, according to one of the guide books, superb snorkeling. The beach has shade and chairs. We were able to pull chairs right up to the water to put on our flippers. The reef to the right, though small, was spectacular. We even saw a nurse shark (very safe) with an attached remora resting on the bottom. The added benefit is Vie and her wonderful food and her parking lot right across the street. $2.50 per person was a small price to pay to use this beach.
I had to read your snorkeling report after seeing your arrival post, in hopes that things would get better for you.
I'm glad you had a nice time at Waterlemon and on the NH II tour--we did that tour a couple of years ago and enjoyed it too, especially the snorkeling at Guana Island (I'm not sure if that's where you went--I guess they go different places depending on the currents).
It must have been scary for your husband at Cinnamon! People were talking last week about whether or not to use a snorkel vest while swimming, I remember at least one person saying they ran into trouble in the same place as your husband. The currents can be strong at Cinnamon. I also think it would be too far to swim from Cinnamon to the reef at Peter Bay (isn't the reef all the way over by the giant rock monster house and around that point?).
After all your adevntures, you must have really enjoyed relaxing on the beach at Vies. Did you try her garlic chicken?
Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
I'm glad you had a nice time at Waterlemon and on the NH II tour--we did that tour a couple of years ago and enjoyed it too, especially the snorkeling at Guana Island (I'm not sure if that's where you went--I guess they go different places depending on the currents).
It must have been scary for your husband at Cinnamon! People were talking last week about whether or not to use a snorkel vest while swimming, I remember at least one person saying they ran into trouble in the same place as your husband. The currents can be strong at Cinnamon. I also think it would be too far to swim from Cinnamon to the reef at Peter Bay (isn't the reef all the way over by the giant rock monster house and around that point?).
After all your adevntures, you must have really enjoyed relaxing on the beach at Vies. Did you try her garlic chicken?
Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
-
MrsCARolph
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:57 pm
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
