I have also been investigating charters to Jost. I am going in February and would love to give it a go. I posted a similar message, but didn't get much of a response.

While I can't offer any firsthand experience, here is the one that looks like the one I will go with. I like the site, very informative - I like the "play by play" format of how the day will be.

www.newhorizonscharters.com

Hope this helps.

If you are on St. John between December and May I would highly recommend Born to Rhumb and Captain Kevin. See borntorhumb.com for details. Seven of us had an absolutely amazing day on this boat last April and will definitely be doing it again next year.

Thank you all. I forgot to add a couple of things...We will be there in June and I would like a boat that doesn't hold 50 people.

You might check the web site stjohnlinks.com. It lists several sailing boats that have trips to the BVIs. Most seem to take up to 6 passengers. All look pretty good and their captains appear very experienced.

The New Horizon folks told me they take a maximum of 18, but since you are going in the off-season, I would expect it to be not at full capacity. I believe that Limnos is a boat that takes a bunch of people. I have heard good things about it, but I too have avoided it, because they hold a lot of people. Looks more like a party boat.

Check out our website Thanks www.borntorhumb.com

hi, i would highly recommend the scubadu catamaran boat. we rented the boat last feb.2006
it was 150 per person, all drinks included, and he has a menu to choose from on his web site. we had steak and warm fresh bread that he made right on the boat. it was only the 4 of us. which made it really great.
he will take you to jost, and stop along the way to snorkel. his name is joe. great guy. he will give you tips on where to go, and take you to any bar. we went from 9-5. went snorkeling, then to jost, and a couple bars. then sailed back. he has a helper to get get you drinks and stuff. great boat!you can sit out front on the nets and stuff while sailing, very private.his web site is on under sailing on the home page of the vi.
scooby

Thank you for all of your help. I am wondering if these boats are out of St. Thomas or St. John? We will be in St. Thomas.

My wife and I HIGHLY recommend Captain Clark on the White Wing. We have sailed with him for a couple years now and always have an incredible adventure. This year we sailed to Jost and stopped to snorkel just off Sandy Spit. BEAUTIFUL! He sails out of Coral Bay. This year we left at 9AM and didn't return til 9PM. Boy did we get our money's worth! Check out his web site........

http://stjohnlinks.com/Charters/White_Wing/index.htm

hi kk, scubadu boat takes off out of red hook, right by molly malones. and will pick you up at st john if you need that also. he's great! scooby

look under st thomas, then sailing, on this page. scooby

Downtown, I just read this thread briefly- Limmos is NOT a party boat. We went with them last year to the Baths and it was about 50% families, a large boat with a ton of room to stretch out. We saw one of the smaller Horizon boats and the people were packed on it like sardines. No thank you! Limnos did have the open bar but it definately was not focused on the party crowd. We found them to be very friendly, great service, great trip and will recommend them in a heartbeat.

I'll second what karrieb said about Limnos. We've gone with them twice now, and it is definitely not a party hard-type trip. It's a nice, quiet boat ride, and there were no loud party people/obnoxious drunks, or wild and crazy kids, either time we went. There's plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy the ride and the view, and the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. Whenever friends or family come down to visit us, that's the boat trip we take them on, and everyone's loved it so far. Hope this helps!

Thanks karrieb and Andrea266

This is exactly the kind of input I have been looking for! As I said, I haven't experienced either boat, and I was looking for some first hand info, as I imageine KK was as well.

I didn't mean Limnos was a party boat, as in drinking and loud music. I just meant that it appeared that the smaller boats (New Horizon) look more like private charters, where the larger boats (Limnos) look like they hold a lot of people (like a larger party). I used the term party to differentiate between the smaller and larger boats. But I appreciate you setting me straight. And I guess I didn't think about the fact that a larger boat, while it does hold more people, also can offer more personal space (duh!) As I said, I have always heard good things about Limnos, and didn't really have much info to go on with New Horizons.

My only daysail/day excursion expericience has been on the Lady Lynsey out of the Ritz, and that is a small boat as well. I believe they take out 12 max, but they still have plenty of room. But I may change my mind about New Horizons, since being "packed like a sardine" doesn't sound too appealing. The main thing that attracted me to New Horizons was their itinerary. It included all the stops I would like to do on one trip.

Thanks again

Understood Downtown! Its always a decision about where to go and who goes there if you aren't renting your own boat. We loved Limnos because they went to the Baths and went via Spanishtown, then a shuttle to the top of the Baths location. This way we got to see a little bit of Virgin Gorda and way more of the Baths location (restaurant, spectacular views, paths, tshirt shop for the all important tshirt) than we would have via New Horizons. So the Limnos boat doesn't look as zippy but here;s a riddle for you- how many seasick people on a crowded boat does it take to upset you as they vomit? (not to be gross, but one person on our trip did get seasick and it was great that she had alot of space to herself to deal with this. ). Oh yeah, Limnos went to Norman Island so we could snorkle around the caves which was way more important to us than bar hopping. Bar hopping might be fun but we had enough places to do that onshore and access to unique snorkling places was pretty important to us.

Thank you for all of the information. It is very helpful! Keep it coming.

I have been on both of the boats -- they are different, but both are great. It is according to what you are looking for. the Limnose is not as fast as New Horizons -- so you need to determine what you want to do in one day! I am happy to answer any additional questions! We had a blast on both trips!

CJ

Did you find the New Horizons boat overcrowded? I am leaning towards that one for a trip in February (party of 4). Did you find you had enough time to enjoy all the sites (Jost, Soggy Dollar, Baths?). And how was the snorkeling?

Thanks - you are the first person (that I could find) that could offer a report on the New Horizons.

OK, I'm going to butt in one more time about the snorkling. There is none of any value (IMHO) at the Baths so keep that in mind. Oh sure, you can snorkle all you want but you will be in a probably crowded open small bay with white sand, period. So what you'll see is maybe the occasional fish and alot of flippers of the other snorklers. I was very disappointed when I saw this (and glad I didn't bring my snorkle gear along when got to shore from Spanishtown) as the pictures had led me to believe that you could snorkle through the rock formations but you can't unless the tide is really high- even then there is no coral so there's extremely little anything cool to see. Unless you're into white sand. The Baths are great however for their own reasons so do go!

Hi karrieb

I didn't mean snorkling at the Baths. The New Horizon trip goes to the Baths, then stops for lunch at Marina Cay, then stops to snorkel at Guana Island. I was wondering how the snorkling was there.

I have heard the same thing you mention about the Baths though. They seem to be more of a "sight to see" than an actual place to visit. It looks great, but what do you actually do there? I have never been, so I am not sure, but I have definitely heard it is not worth snorkling there.

Thanks for the input. I didn't think you are "butting". I appreciate all the info people can provide. If you want to talk about butting, I feel like I am butting in on the original post by KK, but hopefully this is all beneficial info for all of us.

Thanks