Sailing in St Croix...

We had no idea what to expect when we booked our first ever visit to St Croix. We were stopping there as part of a cruise in March 2011 and it would be our first time. A good friend of mine named Tom who was part of the two couples who were traveling with us on this trip suggested we visit Buck Island while we were there.

Tom is a beach enthusiast. He lives in the upper Midwest so he doesn’t have many beaches nearby, but when he and his wife vacation, it nearly always involves some warm spectacular beach location. Being like minded, I went along with his suggestion and after being there, I’m glad I did.

St Croix is part of the US Virgin Islands which also include St Thomas and St John as well as some other smaller islands. Buck Island is just off the coast of St Croix and was designated a US National Monument by President John F Kennedy in 1961. The island not only hosts an underwater snorkeling trail which is part of the protected area, but there is also Turtle Beach, which was has been named one of the most beautiful beaches in the world by National Geographic.

We went online early on and looked for tour operators that could take us over to Buck Island. There are a few of them, but we settled on Buck Island Charters, which is operated by a father/son team. They run two vessels, one for larger groups and one for private groups up to 6 people. We chartered the smaller private trimaran Dragonfly.

After our ship docked in Christiansted, we found our way to the cab that we had set up ahead of time with the tour operator and made our way over to the part of the island where Dragonfly was docked. On the way there, we asked the driver to stop at a convenience store so we could pick up some drinks and snacks to take along.

When we arrived, we walked up and met Captain Carl, operator of the Dragonfly vessel. He gave us some brief instructions and then we were off sailing out of the small harbor area. We could see Buck Island in the distance, just over a mile or so away.

The sail out to Buck Island was fun. The Dragonfly uses wind power alone so it takes a bit longer to get there, but it’s more environmentally friendly and it’s much quieter. We hopped along the waves, shimmying back and forth left and right across the sea in order to catch the wind correctly.

It seemed like no time at all and we were crossing through a reef area into the shallower, calmer and lighter blue waters just along side the island. Captain Carl navigated over to a mooring area and stopped.

We all got our snorkeling gear together and were soon jumping off the hull into the water. We were using small inflatable life vests to help with our buoyancy.

Captain Carl went on ahead of us and as we snorkeled along the trail, he would dive down and show us the placards that have been permanently placed by the park service to describe what we were seeing. We followed him through the coral formations into little caverns and along side a number of species of fish. I didn’t see anything dangerous, just a lot of small and reasonably sized colorful fish.

After we finished the trail, my wife and I swam back to the boat. Captain Carl took Tom and Nick out beyond the reef where the water drops off into a much deeper area. They said it was neat, but the water was much rougher out there.

Soon we were all back on the Dragonfly and setting sail again. The snorkeling was fun, but tiring and after sailing past the beach earlier, I was eager to explore it. We sailed back through the calm, clear waters near the shoreline and made our way around the point to a nice calm area right up against Turtle Beach.

As soon as the anchor was dropped, people were jumping in and making the very short swim over to the beach. When I finally got over there, I thought to myself it was amazing. We arrived there before any others and had the entire island to ourselves at the time. No footprints on the sand, no noise, no crowds, no trash, just pure white sand, clear calm water and a nice walk on the beach.

We walked down the beach around another point until the beach became too rocky to continue. There were large pieces of driftwood, large conch shells and an amazing view no matter where you looked.

Eventually we made it back over toward the area where the Dragonfly was anchored and went for a little swim then sat on the beach for awhile. I won’t go on and on, but I just can’t say enough about this place. We took a number of photos of the water, the beach, the Dragonfly and each other so we would always remember this place.

Since we only chartered a half day sail, it wasn’t long before it was time to start the sail back to St Croix. Along the way we enjoyed the calm, quiet voyage and spotted a number of large turtles poking their heads out of the water. It was way too soon when we were getting back in the cab and leaving Captain Carl and the Dragonfly behind.

I’m fortunate enough to live in an area where I can explore many, many beaches within a short drive, but I have to say that this has to be one of my favorites, if not my favorite beach so far. While I have to admit, it's nice to have a drink while you're relaxing on the beach, I didn't miss it here.  In this place there are no bars, no restaurants and no crowds; just the crystal clear water, the white untouched sand and the quiet of a deserted island…