Trunk Bay or Daysail?

[kawillia]

My husband and I are having a hard time with what to do while in St. Thomas for the day. Our cruise ship is hitting 5 ports - Caso de Campo, Grenada, Barbados, Antigua, St. Thomas and then back to San Juan. We've arranged 2 excursions so far, Silver Moon catamaran for Barbados and Eli's Eco-Tour in Antigua.

 

Trunk Bay seems like a must hit, but we're really intrigued by a daysail with Winifred, Intersail or High Pockets. If we do the daysail is this too much boating considering our plans for the two prior ports (Barbados and Antigua)? Is Trunk Bay too touristy? Do you get a better feel for the island with the daysail? Which is more fun and relaxing? So many questions...

 

I've always wanted to go to St. John and will probably wind up there eventually for a week stay. Do we do Trunk Bay now or will it be better to do the daysail? Which is the best way to see St John? If we do the daysail, which one - Winifred, Intersail or High Pockets?

 

...I can't believe that this is my difficult decision of the day:confused:

[HockeyDAD73]

There are excursions and then there are events that you will remember the rest of your life. Sailing with Capt. Sharon on Winifred (sailwinifred.com) is one of those events. During our one-day stop in St. Thomas on 1/5/05 we sailed with Capt. Sharon and her first mate Tommy. I had made the arrangements with her months before our arrival for myself, my DW, and our two sons (22 / 18 years old) after reading positive reviews of her on this board. We left the ship (Navigator) about 8:00 AM for the 30-minute van ride to the Red Hook marina. Once there we had plenty of time for breakfast at Molly’s restaurant there in the marina.

 

I walked out on the dock and saw Winifred anchored and Capt Sharon motoring in to pick us up in her dingy named “Sharon.” Before I could say hello, Sharon started saying hello to us by name, how she knew which boys name was which, I’ll never know, but she got them both right. Up came the shoe bag and that was the last time we wore our shoes until we retuned to the dock. Capt. Sharon has this whole adventure organized down to a science from the shoe bag to the snorkeling instructions, to returning to the dock. It is choreographed to the last little detail, which I appreciated and it sure prevents anyone from getting hurt or falling off the boat.

 

Once on Winifred we met Tommy the first mate. He is a cross between Gilligan and Letterman. He is very quick witted, funny, and very good at his job. Once we are all seated, up comes the anchor and we are off. As soon as we left the protected water of the marina we could see a rainstorm over St. John. In a very few minutes we were in a very stiff wind, with rain and 4ft seas. Not to worry, Capt Sharon hands out rain gear and skillfully sails Winifred thru the tempest. Actually we all loved it. This was sailing, fast, bumpy, and makes you feel alive. My DW is mostly a land lover and she even enjoyed it. After about 10 minutes the passing shower left as quickly as it appeared and the sun shone brightly, the seas calmed down and we headed to Caneel bay on St. John.

 

Once securely anchored Capt. Sharon gave the instructions on using the snorkeling gear and in a splash we were in 83 degree turquoise colored water with bright sun, about 300 yards from shore. Once in the water Tommy became our aquatic guide. For the next several hours we explored Caneel bay finding multiple sea turtles, starfish, conches, a moray eel, stingrays, all sorts of fish, and beautiful coral. As added comfort we took along our Winnie Wings to allow us to rest by floating around. Then continued our underwater adventure. For the land lovers there were wild donkeys on the beach. All in all paradise.

 

Next thing we knew it was time for lunch so we all swam back to the boat where we enjoyed a delicious lunch of salad, chicken over rice, and cookies. Sadly after lunch it was time to set sail back to St. Thomas.

 

Once underway, behind us we could see the rain moving in again, but Mother Nature allowed us to have our fun before she brought the rain again. While sailing back we saw St. John and Tortola disappear again in the rain, but the weather moved in another direction leaving us with calm seas and bright sun for the ride back to Red Hook.

 

While sailing I had the opportunity to talk to Capt. Sharon and found that she is the “Grand Dame” of the day sailing Capitan’s on St. Thomas. Both High Pockets (Kathleen) and Fantasy’s (Pam) Captains cut their teeth as Capt. Sharon’s first mates over the years. They are a small community of sailors. Capt. Sharon and Winifred have been at this for 24 years.

 

All of us had such a great time. My oldest son made the announcement that he could give up college to live on St. John and become a sailor. Later that week I convinced him to at least finish college first as a backup plan. I cannot say enough how much fun we had. This will go in the books as one of the best family days we have ever had.

 

If your looking to do a day sail in St. Thomas, I can surely recommend Capt. Sharon and Winifred with the highest amount of confidence that they will make your day as special as our was. Do not hesitate, if you’re going to be on St. Thomas, forget it about the shopping and invest your money in yourself and your family. Take a risk and enjoy life. The memories you will create will outlast any jewelry or t-shirts you will buy and file away once you are home.

[cruzns4us]

Dear HockeyDad73,

 

What a great review - I felt I was experiencing your wonderful day of sailing with you and your family. Thank you for taking the time to write this review and share your experience with us!

[kawillia]

HockeyDad - Thanks so much for your review of the Winifred. Any doubts we may have had were diminished upon reading your post. After reading it, I really didn't think there was a choice left anymore. In fact, we went ahead and booked her for our day in St. Thomas!!! We'll visit Trunk Bay another time!

[MnFrozen2]

We just booked with Winifred yesterday. We will be sailing with them on Mar 22nd.

 

We knew we wanted to do a daysail but didn't know who to pick. We had it narrowed down to three (HighPockets, Scubadu, Winifred). But after reading HockeyDad's post, that pretty much nailed it for me.

 

Then after talking with Capt. Sharon over the phone, I knew we made the right decision.

 

Kawillia, when are you sailing?

[srwhudson]

I don't know anything about St Thomas sailing, but we did take Eli's tour in Antigua 2 years ago and had a wonderful time. He was a great captain and story teller. When you get to the top of bird island, take some time to study the horizon. We actually saw water spouts from a whale off in the distance. Don't forget your sunscreen.