WHITE WING! I gave my wife a private day sail as a wedding gift and she loved it. Capt Clark is really cool. When I was planning a sail, I phoned and emailed a bunch of people to get some ideas and prices. Capt Clark and his wife were the only one's that got back to me! They were very informative and always answered all my emails within a day. They did not require a deposit either. They only ask that you call them when you get to STJ with a local phone number in case they need to get in touch with you. The boat is very nice. It is an older boat but it is well kept. We sailed out of Coral Bay and headed to Tortola for customs. Capt Clark takes care of everything and we just walked around town for a while. Then we sail to "the Indians" for some of the best snorkling in the world. We also stopped at "the Cave" for some more snorkling. After that it's up to you. We sailed by the Willie T but we didn't stop since my wife and I aren't big drinkers. We then headed back to Coral and watched a beautiful sunset over STJ. Capt Clark was very knowledgable about the island and pointed out many things to us. He even showed us "Dead Man's Chest" as in Yo-Ho-Ho and a....... All in all...it was a wonderful experience. We will probably do it again when we goto STJ for our 1st anniversary in June. Let me know if you have any other questions.

You should definitely check out Captain Phil and the Wayward Sailor - there are previous posts and all are positive, do a search on this board and also check out his website, www.waywardsailor.net. His sail is very unique and personal! Have a great trip !

Thank you so much for the information. Capt Clark was the quickest to respond to any of my emails about daysails as well. He seems really nice and helpful. I definitely want to go for a sail with them, I just have to decide which one would be the best, Virgin Gorda, around STJ, the Indians and the caves and Willie T's , or Jost Van Dyke. I have heard others saying that the best way to go to Virgin Gorda is with a Limno, I guess that is because it gets there quicker and it is so far to go on a sailboat? Capt Clark told me that the day sail to the Indians, the caves, and Willie T's is much more popular with them than a trip to the Baths. Maybe I shouldnt worry about seeing the Baths this time. I will check out Capt Phil and the Wayward Sailor also. I had thought about taking a ferry to Jost Van Dyke for the day, because it is so close to STJ and it is cheaper, then I would have more money for other activities... We will be on STJ for 10 days and would like to take two or three day trips,(ferry to Jost Van Dyke, two daysails, or one day sail and one limno) but we also want to have plenty of relaxation time as well. Thanks again for the information, it makes you feel a lot better about committing to stay somewhere or do something when you can get input like this. I used to travel to STJ with my parents when I was a child and we took a daysail one time and it was such a wonderful experience. I cant wait to go there as an adult and on our honeymoon.

Does anyone have any information in dealing with renting a villa through www.cloud9villas.com and staying at Palmello through them?

You will love Capt. Clark and White Wing. It is by far the best choice of the ones you listed, and there is something really special about sailing out of Coral Bay. I also like your idea of trying to do 2 or 3 day trips. We usually do that many in only a week. The ferry to Jost sounds like the thing to do if you want to save your money for more days of sailing, since it is so easy to get to by ferry. Another great day of sailing is on Noshooz with capt. Josh. He leaves right out of Cruz Bay and really knows how to show you a great time. Check out his web site at Bestdaycharters.com.

Thanks Deb and InLoveWithStJohn for all of the information. We cant wait! We want lots of fun, sun, snorkelling, boating, exploring, and sexy romantic evenings.

Thanks to you to spicy, I didnt mean to leave you out 🙂

have used cloud nine 3 times in last year, sundance 0ct 04, moonsong with one night in effeciency (gardenia) below palmello dec 04 and cloud 9 on gifft hill oct 05. took quick look at palmello last dec, while owners (linda & alan) were in residence.

first, on dealing with c9: Marcy who handles rentals is super and will handle all your questions about villa and island as well as any needs. all three of our trips were last minute, max 2 days advance booking, but marcy was a jewel in getting all arranged for us and we got the benefit of significant last minute discounts.

we found all villas clean and extremely well equipped (though found glasses/dishes spartan) and abundant supplies of disposables. there are handbooks on all equipment, all light switches clearly labeled, good reading collection, and a great book of what to do and not do and menus of all restaurants on stj was indespensible(sp) for our 1st trip. their villas are not luxury but are very comfortable and only the snobs would be disappointed in accommodations. our 3 experiences with c 9 were slightly favorable to our experience with destination st john (which was excellent) in april 05 (stayed at temptress) when c 9 didn't have a villa available. if temptress is par for dest st john, then c9 villas are comparable. yeah, we're stuck on western view villas.

now to palmello: spent less than 20 minutes in villa just to see layout and view (scoping for a stay). appeared clean (and occupied by linda, alan and 2 daughters), well equipped and good west/southwest views though not comparable to other 3 villas due to lower elevation and more vegetation that blocked part of view. smaller than other villas but cheaper and would be very comfortable for a couple or 2. palmello does have the covered deck for outside dining, hot tub close by and there will be fantastic sunsets and twinkling evening lights of st thomas that will take your breath away. only comparable view is from high rise hotels and offices in san fran but there you are surrounded by a mass of humanity rather than being at a place where you could be in the buff and only your villa mates would know.

can't help you on the sailing plans but say that wife and i carried our teen age daughters for a 6 day sail on a crewed 49ft ketch (moonraven) in april 1980 from st thomas to virgin gorda and most places between and it was truly awesome. moored (actually anchored) couple nights at honeymoon and caneel. that trip forever etched the memory in my mind of gin clear water, fantastic snorkling, deserted beaches and winds that made coming about an adventure for my maiden sailing trip in the waters plowed by pirates. a memory that was renewed from land, car barges and ferries in the past 13 months. not as pristine today but just and beautiful.

now a word of advice to rmb919 and her future mate from an old salt and his mate of 40 years who regret they waited over 24 years to get back to stj: first, enjoy the water, the beaches, the great restuarants, the laid back pace, be horrified of the close calls as you meet a water truck or even a taxi in the hairpin curves, but don't tell anyone else about paradise, like all the great places back in the states, stj is getting overbuilt.

second, late one afternoon early in your trip, stop by starfish market or simple feast on your way back to palmello and buy some cheap cuts of meat, pasta, and favorite wines. in the hot tub or on the deck, have one bottle of wine as the sun starts down, another as the sun sets and the sky lights up beyond st thomas in the most beautiful hues of pink, blue and purple and the lights of st thomas begin flickering in the distance, then take a third bottle to your bedroom if you can last that long! save the meat and pasta for lunch the next day.

the only problem with that advice if my experience is indictative, unless you or your fiance were born rich or win the power ball lottery, you'll spend all your spare time dreaming about stj and your money coming back.

enjoy!

Jerry thank you for the very informative and entertaining response. Your the first person that I have been able to get a review of Cloud9Villas from. I am sending our money out today to reserve Palmello. We had really wanted to stay at Moonsong but it was already taken. I had already figured out that it wasnt going to necessarily be "luxury" accomodations and that the view might not be as good as some other locations due to vegetation, but we are not snobs 🙂 so I think it will suit us just fine. I really like the price, it seemed like a good value for the money(leaving us with extra for some daytrips). I like the fact that it is fully airconditioned even though we might not need it since we will be there in December. I like that it has a balcony with sundeck and a hot tub for some romantic evenings together. I was told that it is supposed to be private enough for clothing optional on the deck and hot tub, I hope it is!! We cant wait for some fun sexy evenings together. We probably wont make it to the bedroom, at least not the first night anyway! This will be the trip of our lifetime, hopefully the first of many. I fell in love with St John as a young girl on the trips there with my family. I have always longed to go back. The snorkelling was so awesome, I cant wait for that too. Robbie has never been on a vacation to a place like this before so I cant wait to experience it with him. I too wish that St John could stay the same and not get overbuilt, I am sure it has changed a lot since I have been there last. As far as the driving, I think that will be an adventure also, but I will let Robbie do all of the driving! About the money, well I dont mind spending the money, it is a pretty expensive trip, we at first were planning on going to Cancun because we could have went for half the cost of our STJ trip, but I didnt feel there would be any comparison...Now Robbie on the other hand will probably dream a lot about the money coming back, but not me 🙂 I will let you know how our trip goes.

Thanks again!

Regarding your sailing adventure, I would suggest the Wayward Sailor, Captain Phil, everyone loves him, as he is quite personable and very knowledgeable. He'll get in the water snorkeling with you, share his knowledge and point out things you may not have seen. He's just had both knees replaced but his eyesight is really very good!! You could possibly have the whole boat (albeit small) to yourselves as opposed to going with Breath which will carry a whole host of characters. It depends what you are in the mood for.

Another option is Outlaw. Paul and Viki do an excellent job. Their boat is first class, speedy and comfortable! Their website is www.sailoutlaw.com.

Either you can't go wrong in my book.

Thanks Maddie! I will check them out!

had typed you a long (in preparation because of limited typing skills) response last evening for email vs message board but i believe i lost during disconnect. sorry, some decent info, not indispensible and not worth trying to repeat except for one coment:

if you are adverse to being seen while on your deck, check high and to right from right side of palmello deck. you can look down and clearly see palmello (not sure deck visible) from temptress and i believe neighboring villa high up on rockridge rd.

believe you'll enjoy your stay at palmello.

jb

Thanks papabou, I will keep that in mind. We wont get too carried away. 🙂