Board VIBE1 at 8:30 a.m. and set course for the USVI North side of St. John. Enjoy the scenic beauty of St. John’s North shore as the boat heads to Leinster Bay. First stop, a wall with a shallow garden of soft corals, sea fans and sponges. This area is filled with angelfish, parrotfish and many colorful juvenile fish.
Next the boat heads to customs on the West End of Tortola. It will take about 15 minutes for the captain to clear into the British Virgin Islands while the guests wait on the boat.
Onto Norman Island, there are several great snorkel spots here, The Caves, The Bight and The Indians. All have interesting rock formations and underwater life.
Now that everyone has worked up an appetite, it’s time for lunch. Norman Island has Pirate’s Bight or the Willy T to choose from and both have good food. Or head over to Cooper Island Beach Club for an electric-free experience (they do not have electricity and they only run the generator at night!).
After lunch, we will run over to Cistern Point on Cooper Island. It is a deep water snorkel around protruding rock formations and is spectacular. Sea horses are known to appear here from time to time!
Time permitting; we might be able to squeeze in another USVI snorkel. A nice choice is Lovango Cay, a bird sanctuary. There are lots of pelicans and terns flying about and the water is exceptionally brilliant. This is a great drift snorkel where Sam drops you off on one end and you will drift down to meet him on the other end.
It is now time to head back to St. John to clear customs. The U.S. requires everyone to disembark the boat, with shoes and shirts on, and go inside to clear. It usually takes about 10 minutes.
At this point it will be around 3:45 p.m. and unfortunately time to head back to the dock
