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My wife and I would like to rent a dinghy on St. John in January. We are on a cruise ship that docks in St. Thomas for the day, but we have from 7:30am-7:00pm in port. We think we can get to St. John's by 9:00 or 10:00 or so and would like to rent a dinghy for the whole day.
Our plan is to rent from Noah's Little Arks in Cruz bay and go directly to Waterlemon Cay for snorkeling and then work our way back along the north shore, stopping to snorkel along the way. We'd like to return the dinghy by 3:30 or 4:00pm.
Is it feasible to go by dinghy to Waterlemon? How long would it take if we went straight there from Cruz Bay on a 12 foot dinghy with a 15 horse motor? Are the waters too rough for this journey? Will the boat come with enough gas to complete this journey? Anything else we should consider?
I have gotten conflicting reports on other boards and would like advice from someone who's done this before. We could rent a car in St. John to do our snorkeling, but the dinghy sounds like more fun & adventurous.
Thanks for any information you can provide from your experience in St. John
Thanks, Connie.
Another question, can we take the dinghy to congo cay? Distance-wise, it looks like even closer than waterlemon.
I assume the size of the boat would make a difference? I see that some offer 15hp while others have 50hp. what type of dinghies have you rented before?
Thanks!
We rented a 13 footer with a 15 hp motor and it was really fast enough. Only 2 of us.
I don't know where Congo is, but if it's close to Waterlemon, I'm sure you can as long as it's in USVI water territory.
Connie - there is a string of islands between St. Thomas' north east side and St. John's north west side, they include Thatch Cay, Grass Cay, Mingo Cay, Lovango Cay and behind Lovango is Congo Cay. You see them in the distance when taking the ferry between Red Hook and Cruz Bay.
--Islander
Thanks Islander...the Villa we rent (Oceancliff) looks right out on Thatch Cay. Gorgeous Villa by the way...just an amazing view. We often look out onto Thatch and wonder how we can get there because it looks like there's a beautiful beach!
