dlatin

Driving to the marina to turn in the boat [emoji22]. We sailed a 42’ Fountaine Pajot Austrea catamaran for the last week or so, 4 bedroom 4 baths. We stayed on mooring balls just off some of the prettiest beaches in St John for 9 nights and we spent 1 night on a ball off Great St James that is just off St. Thomas. We originally planned to sail British waters too but stayed in US waters due to Covid. We spent 3 nights at Maho, 2 nights at Trunk, 2 nights at Salt Pond, 1 night at Little Lamshur, 1 night at Honeymoon (STJ), and 1 night at Christmas cove. We’ve been coming to STJ for 20 years and it was great to see it from a different viewpoint.

Sailed to Trunk Bay and got a ball. Got to stay on the beach for sunset.

We had a captain on the boat for about 24 hours the last time we did this and I learned a lot. I bet having a captain for a day would have been a huge benefit and made me more confident. Right now we are just sailing with the headsail downwind. I didn’t want to worry about jibing.

We have a 2 drawer fridge, a separate stand up freezer, plus another cockpit fridge. There is also a counter ice maker and the boat has a water maker that is a game changer.

After the hike we spent the day on the beach. We’ll be sailing today, hopefully back to Trunk.

I’m a relatively new sailer with little experience so I’m probably not the best judge but I will say it doesn’t seem to sail too well. This is my first time really sailing a cat. We’ve had strong wind a couple days so that scared me so we’ve motored a bit. On the flip side, when I sailed a 46’ monohull in the BVIs we only motored once in 10 days and it was for lack of wind. I’ve heard these are not built for sailing and I think that’s right. It sure is comfortable though. Since you are not moving most of the time getting a boat that’s comfortable makes sense. What blows me away is this boat does not have a single cup holder on it. Crazy. We stayed 2 nights on this ball in Salt Pond. We did the Ram Head hike yesterday early.

Beat upwind for a long time until we dropped sails and motored the rest. Got lucky with a ball at our desired destination. We may spend 2 nights here.

STT, staying in US waters, St. John. Maho yesterday.

Got 1 of the 4 balls at Trunk Bay. We left Maho by 7:15 am and rolled up to 4 empty balls. We were shocked and then we had great weather all day.

Bareboat, first time doing at cat. Thankful to have someone that knows a little about sailing on the boat to help as I try to figure it out. The last time it was just me, wife and 2 young kids and I didn’t ever feel concerned. We had some rough water to start the trip and was sailing in 20 knot winds at times yesterday. Here’s yesterday at Maho.

Day 2 - We did a hike we’ve always wanted to do then sailed to Honeymoon Beach to moor overnight.

Here’s moar…slept at the marina day 0 then got out at noon day 1.

We made it, let’s do this, 10 days!

Looks amazing! [emoji7] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We find evenings are pretty good for surfing because a lot of boats leave and it almost always gets really calm, regardless of how windy it’s been that day. We always talk about getting out early but it never happens. Sunday evenings are great.

I agree, my favorite time on the lake is from 6-10.

Lake living is nice. We can jump in the boat and catch a sunset as often as we like. The down side is the family takes it for granted. I could do it every night.

Saturday was a good day, about 10 hours on the lake with about and hour break to grab food and restock. End of day sunset is the best.

Maybe you can start another topic on this as I’m very interested to learn more. My wife is very interested in sailing the Bahamas. Our plan in a few years is to move onto a boat and we would likely want to sail those waters. I’d be interested in doing a charter there before we do that. The waters look amazing.

Why's that, much better?

mchookem - I saw on the PR thread you are thinking September for travel. I probably would not recommend USVI then due to hurricane season unless you feel comfortable with your trip insurance. I’m going late July and I’m stressing about it a bit. September is in the heart of hurricane season for that area.

TBH, it is work to get there, which isn't completely relaxing so I get that. We're really excited they've now added non-stops from DFW which was never an option. The travel end was a BEATING at times. STT may be more your speed and a daytrip or 2 over to STJ may be more warranted. STT has nice beaches too and the water is stunning, its just a different vibe as has been noted. Once you get to STJ I think its pretty relaxing but the journey can be long.

For a first time I recommend a jeep on St. John so you can see the whole island, its not big and won't take long but I like the option. Also, unless you are at the Westin or staying in Cruz Bay you'll need to car to get from your villa to the beaches. You can Taxi to Red Hook ferry and get your ride in Cruz Bay or you can get a car in STT and take the car ferry. There are pros and cons to both. Jeeps in STT are cheaper but if you have problems on island renting in St. John is better. Also, many rental places let you park at their site in Cruz Bay as parking is pretty limited. If you go the taxi route while on St. John you are more limited to the beaches you can hit, all of which are amazing but you miss out on Francis and hiking to waterlemon for snorkeling. I've also fallen in love with Salt Pond, which is on the other side of the island, where I think the best snorkeling is. If driving isn't your thing, staying at the Westin or in Cruz Bay and taxing to Hawksnest, honeymoon, trunk, cinnamon and Maho work fine. All of those are about as good a beach as you'll find anywhere. Maho is known for turtles and rays. Trunk is the most famous. Honeymoon is stunning. My wife's favorite is Hawksnest, its chill. I like to explore so I alway get a Jeep. We stayed in Cruz Bay once when we were there for just a couple of days looking at a sail charter business and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would because you could walk to all the bars and restaurants and we took a taxi the day we weren't sailing to Trunk.

You are right, the actual beach front options are limited in St. John. They do have the Westin that is right on the water. We normally rent private villas but you have to drive to the beach, all are pretty close unless you are staying on the Coral Bay side of the island, but even over there, there are some nice beaches. Driving takes a little getting used to but you are normally going no more than 20 mph so its easy to navigate as there aren't many roads.

what he said