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If I were to choose one of the three snorkeling adventures as a favorite, Captain Nautica would reign supreme because of the underwater sights. Kudos and thanks to you and your crew for a wonderful voyage.
- Roger S, IL
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USVI Trip
For cruise ship passengers
When you choose to spend part of your vacation with Captain Nautica, we want you to feel like you are out boating in the Caribbean with your friends and family, not on a tour. With inner cushioned seating, a shaded bimini top, fresh water shower, and private head, you won't have to comprimise any comfort to experience the most exciting day of your vacation aboard a Captain Nautica Expedition. We stay away from the crowds. We figure anyone going on a trip that only takes 20 people is probably not into crowds. All the captain has to do is have you back at a certain time. What you do in the mean time is up to you.
We are the fastest boat out there; 500 HP and 31 feet of speedboat. We use the same type boat that the Navy Seals and the USCG use for rescue. Since we are not going to spend a lot of time traveling that gives us more time in the water actually snorkeling.
In St. Thomas, we have turtles, shipwrecks, reefs, beaches; we tailor your trip to your wishes, spending time at each site as you prefer. Visibility is usually around 120 ft and the water is never colder than 80 degrees.
Our normal routine is to go to Turtle Cove, a turtle marine sanctuary,
first because we can be there in about 10 minutes and we know our
guests are ready to get into the water. There are turtles anywhere
from tiny babies, softball size, to turtles that are granddaddies.
The turtles have no idea that we are not supposed to be there.
They will actually come up and check you out. When the
turtle comes up to you, stay perfectly still, don't chase
the turtle; don't touch the turtle as they have a protective
coating on their shells that keep them healthy. It's a once
in a life time experience to be just a couple of inches from
an endangered green sea turtle. Have your cameras ready, or
we do have underwater cameras on board for purchase.
We stay at that site as long as you want. When half of our group is back on board we recall the other half. We have refreshments (coke, diet coke, iced tea or water and a snack of fresh tropical fruit and shrimp cocktail) and decide as a group what we want to do next; beach, shipwreck or a reef.
The Shipwreck is fairly close to Turtle Cove so that gives you a bit more time in the water. If there is extra time left over at the end we can also make a 3rd stop at a beach. The Shipwreck is called the Cartanza Sr. She sank in the late 1960's. In 1995, Hurricane Marilyn moved her from 80 feet of water to the 40 feet that she sits in now and broke her into four pieces.
The biggest piece of the wreck is the midsection. As you explore
this piece you will see the open container area, you will see that
the wheelhouse is collapsed in on itself. You will see blue tangs
(just like Dory in Finding Nemo). Blue Tangs school up and spin
around and do this whole tornado effect. As you get to the back
of the wreck, you are going to see two poles lying in the sand.
Those are the prop shafts and they are pointing you in the direct
of the stern section of the wreck.
The stern is the smallest piece but we think the most beautiful. There is a big truncated sponge that is either red or purple, depending on what the sunlight is doing that day. Here you will see patches of pink, purple and blue on the wreck and in front of those patches, a little fish that is about the size and shape of your hand, yellow on the top, white on the bottom and with five black bars running vertically. That is a Sergeant Major and those are his eggs. If anyone gets too close to his eggs, this little fish will suddenly think he is four feet long and try and swim at you and scare you away to protect his eggs. Very cute since he is 4" long and has no teeth.
About twenty yards away is the bow section of the wreck. It is a really large piece and the tallest piece. You will see the big windlass anchor and that crackling sound of the Parrot Fish feeding on the coral that you heard at our first stop will get louder. There are lots of Parrot Fish on the bow section. They are very colorful fish, and look like they are wearing makeup. The Parrot Fish scrape the hard coral with their teeth, their stomach pounds everything up and out the back of the Parrot Fish comes sand. Yes, that is how sand is made for the most part. Just remember that next time you are on the beach rubbing it all over your body!
In addition to the Shipwreck in this location, there are also two reefs near by. Our favorite is the reef just a few yards north of the wreck. First thing you will notice is a small cove. That crackling sound really gets loud in there, tons of Parrot Fish! There is even a different type of Parrot Fish here, a Stoplight Parrot Fish. They can actually change colors right before your eyes! There is also a very large Porcupine Puffer Fish that hangs around this area. His head is about 18" across, his eyes bug out and it looks just like you are looking ET right in the face! His name is Puff Daddy!
As you continue along this reef you will notice huge boulders that come up close to the surface and they form a type of canyon way. After awhile you will actually forget you are snorkeling and feel like you are flying. Each boulder has it's own little world. Sea fans, little tiny colorful fish making their own little nursery among the protection of the coral. You may well see an octopus, the Juvenile Yellow Tail Damsel Fish that are black and have brilliant midnight blue dots and are only about 2" long. They almost look like they are plugged into something or under a black light. Absolutely spectacular!
As you go through, look for holes in the sand. You will see a little fish about 2" long. Clear in color except for the white around his eyes. If you startle him, he will suck all of the babies into his mouth. Once he sees that you are not a threat, he will open his mouth and let the babies out to play. He will repeat this all day. We often spot Hawksbill Turtles on this site that have a smaller, darker shell than the green sea turtle and a hawk-like beak.
On the second reef, you may spot a pair of porcupine puffers (Romeo & Juliet) and see the most amazing formations of coral. As you look back to the island, they look like stalactites and stalagmites in a cave. At the end, if you turn back into the cove and you will see a giant coral head. Moray eels and Eagle Ray have also been seen here..
If you choose a reef for our second stop, we will normally
travel to a privately owned island called Little St. James.
Here the reef is too deep for anyone to damage it but not so
deep that we start losing color. First thing you will notice
are huge Queen Conch, the ones with the pretty pink shells.
You will see schools of French Grunts, yellow fish that stay
in a school and stay perfectly still and just wave with the
current. They like to hide in the land bride that you will
see in the water. There are Scrawled File Fish and pirates
used to use their fins as matchsticks. (You will see why
when you see this fish in person).
You will see cleaning stations. A large fish, sitting perfectly still and little fish going to work all around him and even in his mouth, eating off parasites and another large fish right behind him, patting his little fin and looking at his watch like, Hurry Up Buddy. When the first fist moves the one waiting comes in to take his turn to get cleaned by the little fish. Octopus and squid are common finds here as well.
If your second choice is a beach, we like to go to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island, our fourth Virgin Island. You will find a pristine beach with plenty of shade and even a small reef for those that still want to snorkel. We pull the boat into very shallow water and you walk to the beach. There are only about 100 people that live on Water Island, so no crowds. Legend has it that if you walk hand in hand from one end of the beach to the other with your loved one, you are supposed to be guaranteed seven additional years of wedded bliss. This is a favorite stop of our couples on their honeymoon. Having your picture made on Honeymoon Beach on your Honeymoon is a great photo.
Boat back to your cruise ship with a refreshing drink and savor our shrimp cocktail along the way. Let your shore excursion manager know your thoughts about the trip and if there are any improvements you would like to recommend please let us know. We are always trying to improve our excursion to make it the best time you have on your vacation.
Captain Nautica's custom 31' hard hull power raft provides the action as you take a fast-paced and thrilling power-raft ride along the southern coast of St. Thomas on your way to snorkel TWO awesome snorkeling locations. We will make our first stop to snorkel the underwater treasures of Christmas Cove in the Virgin Islands Marine Sanctuary, at Great St. James Island. Here you will have an hour of snorkeling adventure as you explore for stingrays, giant seaturtles, and thousands of colorful fish. Your certified snorkeling instructor will teach you about proper snorkeling etiquette, the corals and tropical fish you will see, and a bit on preservation before you plunge in and see some great marine wildlife! As your hosts, Captain Nautica will provide you with top quality Dacor© snorkel gear and swim vests.
Next we'll jet across Pillsbury Sound and along the north shore of St. John's National Park where you will take in the most breath-taking down-island view of the British Virgin Islands. Along the way your courteous crew will give you a colorful narration about the island's legendary tales of Pirates and Trade while you take advantage of the renowned photo opportunities. The second snorkel stop is at Honeymoon Beach, an unspoiled white sand beach in the St. John National . Honeymoon Beach was named "Editor's Pick" as the "BEST BEACH IN THE CARIBBEAN" in the December issue of Caribbean Travel & Life Magazine. At Honeymoon Beach you will experience the full splendor of an untouched living reef that is abounding with colorful corals and fish, including giant seafans, Brain coral, and pristine Elkhorn coral formations. After snorkeling and a fresh water shower rinse off, you can kick back on the boat with snacks, fresh fruit, cold beverages, shrimp cocktail, and island tunes. Then get ready to be exhilarated by the high speed power raft ride as you surf the waves back to the dock.
If you are cruising on Disney, Princess, Royal Caribbean or Carnival, you must
book directly with your ship's Shore Excursion desk. We can do
an exclusive 4 or 6 hour trip if you have a large group (16 max), and
if we have a boat available that day. Please see our exclusive tours page