Pirate’s Paradise Adventures is a family owned business that started as a “pipe dream” about 10 years ago. As parents of four young children, we longed for the day we could leave our traffic and smog infested city, stress filled jobs we hated, and find a place where we could actually enjoy life. Like a lot of people, we told ourselves “someday, we’ll get out of the rat race and start a boat charter business….”

And then we did it!

Red Beard is our 32′ open bow, family-friendly day cruiser that is a “step above” what you’ll typically find from other charter companies. She’s designed so that yer journey is as much fun as the destinations!

What Makes Red Beard So Different?

First of all, she’s a big, roomy boat designed for your total comfort. At 32′ there’s plenty of room for everyone to not just sit, but literally lounge around! This size boat also makes the boat more stable in the water. Plus, our family boat is loaded with creature comforts to ensure your day is a Pirate’s Paradise!

Fully Upholstered Seating – Soft, luxurious seating for everyone on board!

Inboard/Outboard Engines – Red Beard’s inboard/outboard motors are stored out of the way in a sound-dampening area underneath the sun pad. Two 350 horsepower engines have plenty of power to easily, quickly – yet economically – get you where you want to go (and back again!). This also means you can have a nice conversation anywhere in the boat without having to scream over the noise of the motors.

Enormous Sun Pad – Hey, you’re in the Caribbean for the sun, crystal clear waters and amazing views, right? What better way to enjoy them all than stretched out on our oversized sun pad? Now, the sun worshipers can do what they like to do while the swimmers and snorkelers experience the incredible world under the sea.

Large Swim Step – Red Beard’s swim step allows plenty of room for more than one person at a time to sit comfortably on the swim step and adjust your snorkeling gear, assist others getting in or out of the water, or to just dangle your feet in the crystal blue sea. There is also an easy to use ladder off the swim step.

Transom Shower – Wash the salt water off when you finish snorkeling or swimming with our handy, fresh water transom shower.

On Deck Mini-Galley – You’ll love the refrigerator/freezer, bar countertop and sink where you can chill your drinks or wash your hands! All the conveniences of home!

Open Bow – With some of the world’s most beautiful sights, Red Beard’s huge open bow area with contoured, chaise lounge seating provides the perfect front row seat for anyone who wants an unparalleled view of the best beaches and landmarks in the Caribbean.

Club-Style Sound System – Whoever said “don’t rock the boat” clearly wasn’t cruising with Red Beard…because this boat rocks! She has full range speakers throughout the boat, plus Sirius Satellite radio, AM/FM, and an iPod dock. Listen to our on-board eclectic compilation of island tunes and chart toppers from most eras…or plug in your own iPod or music device and listen to your favorites.

Cool, Shady Cabin – Need a break from the sun, wind or rain? We have a comfortable cabin where you can lie down and relax….away from the elements.

Safety Features – Along with all the usual Coast Guard required things, like flotation devices, first aid kits and flares…we also have a VHF radio, Radar & Chart Plotter.

Towable Toys – Red Beard has a lot to offer for fun and excitement–including our towable raft, called the “Super Slice.” The whole family will love this! There’s nothing more fun!

Complimentary Snorkeling Gear for Everyone!-When you spend the day aboard Red Beard, you’re welcome to use our top quality snorkel gear at no extra charge! We have gear in all sizes–even for the little ones! It’s one less thing to worry about–or pay for–and it’s yours to enjoy on Red Beard!

Reserve Your Day Now! Call Toll Free (855) 550-8728

Two years ago in March 2009 I wrote an article about my bad experience with St. Thomas Nauti Nymph Power Boat Rentals and compared it to good experience of renting from their competitor See and Ski. I guess Nauti Nymph is really on St. Thomas time as this is the email I received from them yesterday:

Dear Scott.

I am one of the owners of Nauti Nymph and just came across your website once again.

There is a slanderous write up about us which compares a captained boat rental from one company  to a bare boat boat rental from us. Obviously, this is an inaccurate comparison. I believe, you wrote this blog.

Furthermore, I seem to remember, that one of our customers had written a rebuttal not too long ago and you apparently took it down.

Please comment or remove damaging blog so we do not have to pursue this further.

Ute Moraino

Okay now folks I’m sure some of you are personal friends of Ute or Nauti Nymph. I don’t know her and we only rented from them once. If you’re friends with her understand that this is just my opinion of my experience with her company and not a personal attack on her. I wrote this blog about my experience with them here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=1895 but here are some excerpts since she is claiming “slander”, but first let’s define slander: a false, malicious statement (spoken or published).

So let’s jump in to where we could have been “slanderous” shall we.

Excerpt 1:

First, they make (See and Ski) renting VERY easy (unlike our experience at Nauti Nymph, which was horrible). There’s one form to fill out and you’re done. We spent about 30 minutes filling out form after form at Nauti Nymph. Then we had to put an $800 deposit down on the boat and were pressured into buying “their insurance”.  It’s like night and day between the two boat rental companies.

I have a boat full of locals that will say that everything I wrote above was true. Including the “captain” that we hired for the day because we’ll all be under oath. If it’s true it’s not slander.

Excerept 2:

Second, their rates are the most competitive by far. The boat we rented from Nauti Nymph was smaller, more expensive and beaten up. We laughed as they gentlemen who gave us the walk through on the boat just kept saying, this doesn’t work, this doesn’t work…I felt like saying, does it float?

Again all true. I have a boat full of locals that will say the employee at Nauti Nymph was very nice in showing us everything that didn’t work. And it was indeed more expensive than we’ve ever paid at See and Ski, I’m sure See and Ski will pull out one of my old rentals so we can show that.

Excerpt 3:

Third, they (See and Ski) have great Prowler Catamaran Power Boats. They take the seas really well.

Um, that’s a fact.

Fourth, they (See and Ski) have great captains to choose from if you don’t know how to drive a boat or you’re going to be drinking. We hire a captain every time we go out.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. For some reason Nauti Nymph believes we didn’t hire someone. We did indeed hire and pay someone to drive our Nauti Nymph boat (the same person that drives our See and Ski boat), it just wasn’t one of their people. I’ve made them aware of that fact. We called that person the “Captain” because they were hired, paid and drove the boat. Period. So indeed when I rented from Nauti Nymph and See and Ski they were both bare boat rentals as this particular driver also took us out with See and Ski regularly. Apples to apples.

Those my friends are all facts. Since See and Ski is not and advertiser nor have they ever been and I have no personal relationship with them or their owners this can’t be malicious. I also do not know Ute or anyone at Nauti Nymph and have no motivation to speak poorly of them other than the experience I had with them.

So I wrote an honest review based on the dealings I had. We even told them we were locals so they knew.

Here are a few other poor reviews I found on Nauti Nymph (there were more but I didn’t want to list them all) :

Taken from Trip Advisor (we cannot guarantee the validity of these postings):

1. Headline: Do NOT Charter Nauti Nymph:http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147404-i172-k103336-Do_NOT_charter_Nauti_Nymph-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

We rented from Nauti Nymph 5 years ago and hoped to repeat a great time, so we emailed ahead with a credit card and our schedule – confirming that we were coming from a cruise ship. Instead, we paid extra fare to Red Hook only to find no boat and no people and no one to answer the phone at Nauti Nymph. After wasting a precious hour on the dock, we found they had given our charter away. No apologies and no explanation. Others on the dock confirmed Nauti Nymph is UNRELIABLE. Do NOT charter Nauti Nymph.

2. Nauti Nymph Tourist Trap:http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147404-i172-k568986-Naughty_Nauti_Nympy_Tourist_Trap_boat_rentals-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

I recently got back from a trip to St. Thomas in which we rented a twin engine power boat for a half day. As a first time boat “renter”, I was unaware that there was a lot of time consuming paperwork and instruction involved. The person that I spoke with said that a half day boat rental is from 12 noon to 4 PM. While making that reservation, I was told to be there at 12 noon! Not 11:30AM! So we get there at 12 noon with no help from their poor directions on how to get to their exact location. We had not problem getting to Red Hook but the woman had me looking for the most hard to find ice cream store when all she had to tell me was make a left at Molly Malone’s a well known and well seen establishment! Anyway, as we began filling out paperwork, the girl at the outside desk says that the boat is to be back at 3:30PM!!! My reaction is: WHAT??? We’ll be in the boat by 12:30 PM by the time the instruction is over and we need to be back at 3:30PM and we are paying for 4 HOURS??? What is that?!?!? While going over the map of the islands, with 3 hours of boat time in mind, the instructor recommended 3 different places to go knowing that we were stopping for snorkeling. Not only that, but just asking about how much gas we’ll use going to the ONE and only spot on St. John that we had in mind, our instructor estimated that we would only use $75 worth of gas & oil. Upon return we found out at the gas pump that we in fact used $155 only going to Leinster Bay, St. John (1 hour of that time the boat was off and tied to a buoy!). What a tourist trap if you have never rented a boat before and don’t expect to pay that much for 2 hours worth of gas and 3 hours use of a boat! We spoke to the Nauti Nymph staff about the timing issue prior to departure and said they’d talk to us upon return. Well guess what? They said they wouldn’t do anything and that we should have ASSUMED that there was a lot of time consuming paperwork and instruction involved even though we were instructed to be there at 12 noon. Of course they wait ’til after we return to tell us that! Shame on Nauti Nymph for telling a first time renter to “assume!”

For those who are thinking about renting a powerboat but have never have before, don’t bother! It’s overrated, if not just a rip-off! Take a group charter! Although I had a generous budget for fun on vacation, this was one expensive excursion – $455 total(rental & gas)!

I would also like to mention that there were positive reviews as well.

So readers of the St. Thomas Blog I will keep you posted on this every step of the way. I’ve given Nauti Nymph the name of our attorney and really look forward to protecting that little thing called freedom of speech. If you provide a bad product/service don’t think you can bully around someone writing an unbiased honest review because you’re barking up the wrong tree with me my friend.

So the first legal battle possibly kicks off…

Please feel free to comment in and share your thoughts. As long as the comments are relevant to the story we’ll post them.

To our family of advertisers

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VIBE1 is a 26-foot Glacier Bay Power Catamaran designed for comfort and speed. The dual hull structure provides a stable and smooth ride even in rough conditions. Their low draft allows them to access virtually any beach without a dock.

Their rates are very reasonable and they provide a great service. Tell them St. Thomas Blog sent you.

Before you read on make sure to read Moving To St. Thomas Part 1 and Moving To St. Thomas Part 2 and Moving To St. Thomas US Virgin Islands – Everything You Need To Know. I’ll wait…

…I hope you had a chance to read all the comments, over 200 of them because most of the answers are there.

So here we go

1. How much money do I need to live in St. Thomas? Who the heck knows? What’s your lifestyle like? Here’s what we do know, St. Thomas is expensive. Everything comes in on a container so it’s all marked up, a beach chair that sells in the states for $30 is $50 here. A gallon of milk can run you $7 yet a bottle of rum can run you $6. What do you drink more of? There is an entire post dedicated to grocery pricing here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=2510

If you’ve ever been to Manhattan it’s that plus some. So if you’re moving here from cowland get ready for some high costs, probably 35%-45% more cost of living. I personally would have at least a half a years salary in hand if you intend on moving here. But we know a lot of folks who came on a plane fair

2. How much is rent? Where do you want to live? How many bedrooms? Pets? All this comes into play. Expect higher rents than the states for sure. You can rent a small studio for about $900/month and then it goes up from there. But Electricity will run you 3 times the cost of the states (currently at .32kw). And if gas prices rise so does the electricity as WAPA (Water and Power Authority) makes electricity from gas here

Oh and most rentals aren’t exactly legal. What’s that mean? It means they’ve added extra apartments where one was so you may or may not be on a shared electric meter. You’ll have to work that out with the landlord. I always tell people to pay per square foot if you’re on a shared meter.

Here are some rough rental costs:

Studio: $800-$1200

1 Bedroom: $1000-$1600

2 Bedroom: $1200-$2000

3 Bedroom: $2400-$5500

4 Bedroom: $3500-$6000

Contact our friend and realtor Karen Korsgren for all your buying, selling, rental needs: http://www.buysellvi.com.

Here’s a couple of other places to look: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/, http://stthomassource.com/

3. Employment! Tourism and government is the only industries we really have here in St. Thomas. So if you’re looking for a job in the bar, restaurant, hotel, boating and general tourism industry you will be able to find a job. And if you’re actually reliable you’ll be able to keep it. The pay here is low. Lower than most states so if you get a job say at an insurance agency you’ll probably make less and pay more for everything else. You want to live on an island? That’s the price

Here’s a couple of other places to look: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/, http://stthomassource.com/

4. Buying or Building? Will you be buying or building? Right now building is VERY expensive. I’ve been told by builders that a yard of concrete sells for $2000, yikes! And get ready to throw your budget out the window because it will be more than planned guaranteed. Oh and add 4-6 months on to the projected deliverable if you’re lucky If you think building is a headache in the states then don’t build because it will be 10 times worse here.

Buying works the same way as the states with the exception of what they call a stamp tax. Transactions in the US Virgin Islands require 2% to 3.5% government transfer tax or stamp tax. All property transactions over $350,000 require a mandatory 2.5% stamp tax. You can negotiate this with the seller. In a down market a buyer can usually get a seller to pay it but in a good market…

The US Virgin Islands,which include St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island, are unincorporated territory of the United States. Thus, purchasing property in any of these islands grants you the same guarantees and Constitutional protections and rights that you would have in anywhere in the United States.

Things to consider:

a. Cistern – A cistern is how you get your water supply. Our gutters on our roof catch the rain and then funnel it down into a holding tank. So if it doesn’t rain for a while you will run out of water. Water costs run me $340 for 5300 gallons and we have two 10,000 gallon water tanks so you do the math. We have a complete micron, charcoal and UV light water filtration system which cost around $1500.

b. Electricity – We pay 3 times the average cost in the states or about .34kw. But be forewarned our system in the US Virgin Islands generates electricity from gas. So when gas goes up so does your electric bill. Two years ago when gas hit $5/gallon our rates were .52kw.

c. Insurance – Hurricane insurance is ridiculously expensive! For $500,000 replacement fee expect to pay $14,000/year or so. Replacement fee is what it would costs to replace whatever was broken/missing but not exactly what a builder may charge you at the time of repair. That’s where the insurance company can really stick it to you. It may suddenly be a lot more money in labor/materials after a hurricane We use Tunick Insurance at: 340-776-7000.

5. Pets We have 2 parrots and bring them to and from St. Thomas every year. You can bring them on Delta or Continental as a carry-on. We need to get a health certificate from our vet within 7 days of travel. I’m not sure about other pets but I know you can bring them with no worries, check with your airline for that info. Do to public health and environmental concerns importing pet snakes into the territory is not allowed.

There are some places that will allow you to rent with a pet. I’m not sure of them but contact our friend and realtor Karen Korsgren for all your buying, selling, rental needs: http://www.buysellvi.com.

6. Crime Don’t go looking for it and it probably won’t find you. Yes we have a high murder rate but chances are it’s one bad guy killing another. It’s very rare that you hear of an innocent person being murdered but it happens… If you go looking for drugs you’ll put yourself in a bad position. If you’re walking around drunk in a bad neighborhood you’ll put yourself in a bad position. Be street-smart and know your surroundings and you’ll be fine.

7. Cars and License! Buying a car in St. Thomas is expensive. They know they got you by the short hairs because of the cost to ship it here. So cars are typically 15%-25% more to buy. That said if you own a nice car it may be worth it to ship it here.

It can cost around $1000-$1500 to ship a car from Miami. Check out Tropical shipping at: http://www.tropical.com/external/en/.

St. Thomas is basically one extremely curvy, giant hill. I strongly recommend a 4 wheel drive vehicle here especially when it rains. Expect to replace brakes twice a year and transmissions also get pretty roughed up. Oh and our roads are full of potholes that usually go unfixed or fixed wrongly so they re-appear

Things to consider:

a. Can you get parts for your car if you bring it here and can someone fix it? I brought my Infinity QX4 here and there is literally only 1 guy that can fix major things on it. Things like regular maintenance, brakes etc. are no problem. We have most major dealers here like Ford, Honda and Toyota.

b. You’ll need a VI license plate for your car. Your stateside license will not work here.

c. You’ll have to clear customs. You can call the Customs Office at (340) 714-1600 for more information.

d. You’ll need the title to your car.

e. Road tax: You must get a Bill of Lading from the shipping agent when the car arrives in the USVI. For more information call Internal Revenue office at (340) 714-9332.

f. Insurance is required in St. Thomas. You must get your vehicle insured before requesting a moving permit. We use Tunick Insurance at: 340-776-7000.

g. You’ll need a permit to move your car: Go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get a permit to move your vehicle from the dock. The permit allows you to move a non-registered vehicle from one point to another.

h. Take your vehicle to the DMV to get your vehicle inspected. Bring with you, receipt that you paid the road tax, title, proof of insurance and stateside driver’s license.

i. How to obtain a VI drivers License, click here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=1682

8. Motorcycles & Bikes: Bringing one or buying a motorcycle is the same as the car above. Here’s the deal, the roads here are pretty bad. All windy and up and down hills. You can’t get over 40mph in most spots. The rain makes things doubly worse. People drive like complete idiots here with safari taxi’s stopping and letting out tourists in the middle of the roads. That said I think owning a motorcycle or standard bike is crazy here. But to each their own

9. Education: I’m pretty unfamiliar with the public school system here. Everyone I personally know sends their kids to private schools: http://www.antilles.vi/ and http://www.vimsia.org/ to name a few.

10. Health Care:Not good enough. Period. It’s getting better. Talk to any doctor or nurse from the states and they’ll openly tell you it’s not good. Anything serious and I would leave the island for the states. We have the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital: http://www.rlshospital.org/. We have many primary doctors and facilities.

Again make sure to read Moving To St. Thomas Part 1 and Moving To St. Thomas Part 2 and Moving To St. Thomas US Virgin Islands – Everything You Need To Know.

Hope this helps and remember most of this is just my experiences and opinion

Before you comment or ask a question please read ALL THE COMMENTS as the answer is probably already there.

Yup, it’s our villa and this is shameless self promotion. Go to our website: http://www.caretbay.com and check it out.  It normally rents for $9,950 for either of those weeks but if you email me at scott@stthomasblog.com and use the code “Big Special” you’ll get 15% off or $1,500. That’s not chump change you know. So hurry and rent this St. Thomas Villa now.

Here are some pictures to look at in the meantime.

Have you seen our Tees and Tanks? Click here to check them out and order: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821, help support the St. Thomas Blog:

Click here to order:  http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821

Facebook is a social network. It’s a place to meet and communicate. IT’S NOT A PLACE TO SPAM YOUR BUSINESS. A lot of people don’t know that, especially businesses trying to promote themselves. You first have to introduce yourself and open a line of communication. Then you’ll spark the interest of the person you’re trying to reach.

This morning I got a chat message from a stranger called Joe Blaster at Radio 106.1because he “friended” me on facebook. Here’s how he opened the conversation:

Joe

RADIO JOE 106.1 FM …THE NEW RADIO STATION IN THE CARIBBEAN !!!

First off EVERYONE knows in the US Virgin Islands it’s a big time no no not to say Good Morning, Good afternoon or Good night before you say ANYTHING. He should know this given the market he’s in.  Secondly why would I listen to him? He’s shown no interest in me? He’s just screaming his message at me, all in caps. I don’t even know what type of music they play?

Here’s the rest of the conversation:

Scott

dude or dudet, why do you just spam?

Joe

WHAT ?

I am just letting you know, have a problem ?

Scott

yea, all you do is promote yourself by spamming others. try communicating first like a real human, then maybe I’ll listen and promote you. maybe introduce yourself? You know, non spam stuff.

Joe

i dont need to introduce myself, this is facebook and its for promoting. this is a social network. have a nice day.  RADIO JOE 106.1 FM. THE BEST MUSIC ON YOUR RADIO , BYE.

-Huh? What happened to the word Social in Social Network? It’s not called a spam network.

Joe

AND IF YOU HAVE A BLOG YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME THING, SPRAD THE WORD IS FREE DUDE !!! SPREAD IT

-Yea dude, we spread the word by creating a real interest. I didn’t run around St. Thomas yelling at strangers. We wrote intersting articles and gained readership through natural word of mouth. Call me crazy

Moral of the story…Social networks like facebook and twitter make it easy to communicate. But do it right by showing a real interest in the person you’re reaching out to. You’ll not only gain a customer you’ll also gain a friend.

Radio Joe has been defriended. How did that work out for him?

Our advertisers get a lot of hits to their websites. On average we get over 2200 visits per day and we’re hungry for another advertiser. It ain’t easy writing stories almost everyday. C’mon now, you know you want to be on the most popular blog on St. Thomas.

Or you can support us by buying one of these great t-shirts/tank tops (click here): http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821.

Pick up that coconut and start the telegraph.

I’ve got 2 spots on the blog for our $89/month plan. You’ll get one of those nice squares on the left or right with your logo or picture that leads right to your website or facebook page. They look like this:

Caribbean Saloon – Click The Photo For Live Music, Sports And Events

A few days ago I asked if anyone would like to guest blog. Here’s one that just came in from LL. Let’s help her out:

Let me preface this by stating that I am writing this nearly bug-eyed after spending the greater part of the last three days pouring over web sites for clues about life in the USVI and how one can make a living there. This is what led me to StThomasBlog.com, which has very useful information I might add, and your open call for guest posts. I figure I’ll share my dilemma in the hopes that you and your readers can offer some valuable information for one on the verge of packing it up and coming to live in the islands.

So here is my story, I am a barely thirty-something single gal who is ready to give up the rat race, or at least try a different way of life for a time. With a lucrative yet no longer fulfilling IT Mgmt career I am hankering to give up that particular pressure, the mortgage, and the useless colder seasons in the East Coast for a constant commune with sun and sea and a renewed passion in some line of work. And that is how I got it in my head this week that I would move to St Thomas and teach for a spell…starting ASAP!

Having visited St Thomas and St John once in 2007, I must admit I fell in love! My first visit to anywhere in the Caribbean, I was in awe of the surroundings and struck by the way island living seemed such a natural state…albeit I was on vacation ? In contemplating the USVI as a more long-term residence, my own list of perceived pros and cons are vying for attention in my brain. I figure many of your readers who relocated to the Virgin Islands dealt with some of the same concerns, have the benefit of experience gained from actually making the leap, and would be so kind as to share the wisdom.

So how about it then? What are the top 10 benefits or draw backs of living in the Virgin Islands? Any teachers have something to share about that experience?

Are there just 20-somethings and couples as transplants or will there be other ‘30 is the new 20’ -year-old single professionals for me to befriend?

Are there cost-savings to be had compared to the main land?

Would you do it all over again?

As you can see I’ve got questions for days, what I need is answers people…or at least good links:) I’m still a bit traumatized by the post on this site about lizards, cockroaches, spiders, etc. since I am on the extreme end of the squeamish side so if there are any recommended places to live where I could avoid that completely do tell ?

Much obliged, your future neighbor…perhaps…

LL

Want to become a really famous rock star blogger Well here’s your chance!

Send us over an article/story about anything related to St. Thomas, the USVI, the BVI’s etc.

Make it interesting but don’t make it an ad for your business. You can write about anything you want except self promotion.

If we use your article and you have a website will make sure the world knows and we’ll link back to your site and give you mad props.

C’mon tourists, locals and everyone in between. Email me something now!