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I was wondering if anyone on this forum is living aboard near St. Thomas or St. John. I've lived aboard and cruised several multihulls in for FL Keys and South Florida for 10 years and am thinking about making the jump to the USVI. The sailing grounds there seems to be fairly idyllic. Can anyone here give me an idea as to what life aboard is like in the Virgins? As far as jobs go, I am a licensed captain, former parasail captain, dive instructor/master, and bartender, so I don't think employment would be much of an issue, but I'm not sure. This is a fairly open question, as I am wondering about all kinds of issues, like dinghy dockage, access to supplys/shopping (Food, H2O, etc), crime, economy, where's better (St. Thomas or St. John), what is the best area to anchor, are boats required to tie up to moorings, etc, etc?? I recall reading a thread once that said the park service is taking over anchorages, true? Any thoughts or opinions anyone can render would be greatly appreciated. Thanx!
Posted : February 3, 2011 4:28 pm
We used to live aboard in Red Hook (east end of St. Thomas). The inner harbor is pretty full-up (particularly for a multi-hull), and the outer harbor can be kind of rocky and rolly (maybe not so bad for a multi), but it's very doable. We've been back on land for a number of years now and on St. Croix, not St. Thomas, so I would hesitate to give too much info regarding moorings, etc.
Either anchored or moored in Red Hook, everything is very accessible. There is a fuel dock, grocery, lots of restaurants, bars, public transportation, wonderful beach, pretty much...you name it...it's there.
Red Hook might also be where your job skills would be most in demand.
Posted : February 3, 2011 4:55 pm
St John will be tough most of the anchorages there are closed to new moorings. Red Hook on the East End, or Elephant Bay, between St Thomas and Water Island, or Long Bay,which is the main harbor are all doable. Your choice will likely depend on work as they are on opposite ends of the island. In theory the mooring process is easy, in reality it can take some time. A couple of my coworkers have had an application in for two years, still no permit but they are still anchored were their mooring should be. The deal with a mooring is you buy a short term anchoring permit, $2 a foot per month, apply for the mooring permit, and if it's approved that's $5 a foot per year.
From any of these locations access to shore, water, stores etc is fairly easy. As for the park service taking over anchorages, there are several anchorages that have been cleaned out as they are marine sanctuaries. Christmas cove has had short term moorings put in and made off limits to live aboard. False entrance on the south side also has been emptied out and it appears that the dpnr wants it to remain empty.
Jay
Posted : February 4, 2011 9:51 am
There is only one multihull that does trips to stj and the bvi on stx, its call the kindred spirit. They are always busy and booked up. Not much competition on stx, I imagine theres a lot of competition on stt. All the rest of the boats just do buck island trips and that market is glutted with tours. Just thought I would give you something else to think about.
Posted : February 4, 2011 11:06 am
Topic starter
Thanks for the input everyone.
Posted : February 9, 2011 6:23 pm
