Marinas? St. Thomas for living aboard

The only place to live aboard in a marina at a reasonable cost (I think in the neighborhood of $12/ft/mo) is in the Lagoon at either Compass Point Marina or Independent Boat Yard. I think there is a waiting list at both places. There are some other, smaller locations with slips along the shore in the lagoon, but it looks like all the slips are taken; and you need a shoal draft in a sailboat to get in there safely, anyway.

Many liveaboards here live on the hook. You'll find liveaboards at anchor in St. John in Coral Bay, Cruz Bay and Great Cruz Bay. In St. Thomas you'll find them in the main harbor in town, Red Hook and the adjacent Vessup Bay (a very rolly anchorage), in the lagoon, and Elephant Bay in the channel between Water Island and the subbase area of St. Thomas. Those are the major anchorages.

There are other marinas, notably Crown Bay, American Yacht Harbor and Sapphire. I don't think there are many, if any, liveaboards here. Although the marinas are much nicer and cleaner, that comes at a price that scares away most trying to live on a budget.

Good luck!

Hello Jim,

You can find some marina information and contact information at

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/more_info/marinas/

When we updated this section a few weeks ago, most said they can do liveaboards but as Ms. Chuy indicated the larger/nicer/cleaner ones are pricier also. You will need to call for cost. The link above has name and telephone numbers so you can call around and see.

--Islander

I think you can also do live-aboards at La Vida Marina - it's next to Independent on the east end (Frydenhoj)- their number is 779-2799.