Simplifying Life!

So you move to the islands to relax right?

Not the Wiseman's!

We have since purchased a new home in Mahogany Run that is bigger, larger yard for our now FIVE dogs and a large pool with deck!

That means our old house is for sale in Estate Tabor and Harmony for a cool $439,000, that is less than the $485,000 we paid in 2009 and after $50,000 in renovations! The downstairs apartment is now rented out for $750/mo. At this point we would like to sell that home so we can invest some of the money into our current home.

The Sapphire Village Condo is also for sale for $159,000. It is rented at $1350/mo at present. It is just steps to the beach! I have put in a new tile floor and all new shower and tile in the bathroom! I would like to sell as I am not the best landlord and just want to free of tenants and repairs, etc.

Wahoo Boat Charters is for sale, it may seem like fun being a boat captain, but going to the same mooring ball everyday, same questions from the tourists, same way people treat your boat poorly and the amount of work it takes physically to run a boat was just too much, and later to find out that you spend more time at the pool, it is time to sell the boat!

More Trips From Wahoo Boat Charters!

I have been pretty busy with the boat charter business lately and let me tell you, I am really enjoying my part time office! I have had a great mix of folks on board from people on a cruise ship from Sweden to families staying on island for vacation. I will share some of our trips!

1/2 Day St. John Snorkel Trip with our friends from Sweden! We visited Maho Bay, Whistling Cay and Honeymoon Beach! 

A circumnavigate trip with a family from Michigan! 

Shannon and I found time to bring the dogs to the beach! 

We had an Easter Charter with some guests from Washington, DC area, and they had two girls who had never snorkeled before, well they weren't beginners after a day with us! 

And to have some time for an Easter Ham! 

Book your charter today! www.wahooboatcharters.com

More Half Day St John And St Thomas Snorkel Trips!

Here are our friends from the Royal Princess cruise ship for a St Thomas cruise ship excursion to snorkel St. John. We stopped at Whistling Cay, Maho Bay and Honeymoon Beach for some snorkeling. They are from Wilmington, NC and Atlanta, GA. 

Thursday we had a trip with a group staying on St. Thomas for a snorkel trip to St. John! We snorkeled Waterlemon Cay, Whistling Cay, Maho Bay and Honeymoon Beach! They were in from Valencia, CA!

And Saturday had us on a trip with some folks staying on St. Thomas visiting from Wilmington, NC. We visited Buck Island and Happy Island! 

1/2 Day Charter!

Great day on the water with our charters off the NCL Breakaway from Atlanta, GA! We snorkeled with the turtles at Buck Island, saw some coral at Christmas Cove and ended our trip at Happy Island with a visit to the island of a thousand hermit crabs! I couldn't think of anything better to be doing on my Birthday! 

Wahoo Boat Charters is Now Open For Business!

After several months of planning and work setting up this company, Wahoo Boat Charters is now open for business! After a 2.5 month wait, I received my U.S. Coast Guard Captain's license. After that it was off to DPNR to get the boat over to commercial use, insurance and National Park Permit!

The website is up and running at www.wahooboatcharters.com

We are also on TripAdvisor and Yelp!

One of our favorite trips is the Circumnavigate St. John. On this trip we leave St. Thomas and head over to St. John across Pillsbury Sound. We go by the Caneel Bay Resort passing by Hawksnest, Trunk and Cinnamon Bays right through Fungi Passage to Water Lemon Cay, where there is some of the best snorkeling in the USVI.

It is now off the East end of STJ and into the Mangroves of St. John where there are a ton of starfish, coral, fish and even saw some squid! This is where you will find a ton of juvenile fish and even a sea turtle!

After a snorkel there, it is off to Hansen's Bay and the Angels Rest floating bar for some great rum punch!

We pull up anchor here and head over to Booby Rock, my second favorite place to snorkel.

We then head along the south side of St. John, right through Little and Great St. James Island back to the Compass Point Marina!

This trip is only $900 for up to 6 passengers and it includes captains fee and fuel!

We have a ton of other trips, 1/2 day and full day to meet your needs, starting at $500.

One of the other trips I am offering is a Sunset Cruise with Dinner on St. John! Here we will sail out of the marina and enjoy the sunset. We will then head over to St. John, where I will drop you off in Cruz Bay where you can choose from dozens of great restaurants. Once you finish desert, we head back across the sound taking in the lights of St. Thomas. Once we are at the entrance of the bay to the marina, we shut off the motors and take in the stars as we drift into the marina. I even bring my IPad with the Starwalker app so you can see the constellations!

I am also doing transfers to St. John, so that if you arrive at the St. Thomas airport, I will pick you up and drive over to the marina, where we will board the boat for a cruise over to St. John and dropped off at the National Park dock in Cruz Bay!

I hope you take the time to come aboard so I can show you the islands from the water!

I am excited to get this business going and I am still practicing real estate too!

Islands.com Names St. Thomas Top 10 Place to Live!

Yes, we have been named by Islands.com as the top 10 Caribbean Island to live on!

Nos. 3 to 1: St. Thomas, USVI

Corby Parfitt was once a marketing director cramped in a San Francisco cubicle. Now he and his family live on the USVI island closest to the mainland, St. Thomas, because of a unique offering: Home Depot. That store has been essential for Corby’s business, a real-estate company.

Here is a link to their website:

http://www.islands.com/gallery/living-in-caribbean-top-10-best-islands-to-live

Driving in the Virgin Islands

We get many visitors to the Virgin Islands and it always comes up about driving here. Why? Probably because we drive on the left with vehicles from the United States mainland, which are set up for driving on the right, steering wheel is on the left. This is in addition to roads that are narrow, windy and often have no center lines, which have faded over the years here and there is no more money in the budget here to have them repainted.

This makes many visitors very uncomfortable and I remember my first time driving on St. Thomas from the airport to my friends house in Mandahl,  a house that is perched on the side of the hill. I was alone and that was such a white knuckle experience for me, that I think I drove one more time in the 4 days I was here. I remember asking my friends, why can't they just switch over to the right? The next time I came, I had reserved a RAV4, but they were out of them and was given a mini-van and thought I was going to die! That lasted about 2 days. Now I laugh about it as once you drive here, it becomes such habit that when I go stateside, I often find myself going to the left, especially in parking lots.

A little history, the Virgin Islands were once a Danish colony and the mode was left. When the US bought the islands, they kept the left as standard. Now Guam recently changed one from left to right, why can't you do that here? Well, change here is never a popular word. My guess is that the taxi cabs (mafia here), does not want that to change because then many visitors would feel comfortable driving here and wouldn't use the cabs.

Which brings me to if you are visiting here, don't be afraid to drive here, it is pretty easy, you don't go more than 30 MPH and you will get used to it. Everyone seems to rent Jeeps here, but they cost a premium and you really don't need one, you won't be driving on sand, all of our roads are paved (maybe not in the best of shape) and Jeeps are easy to break into. You will be just fine with an economy car like a Toyota Yaris. Keep in mind that if you are planning to take the car ferry over to St. John, Hertz does not allow it. There is a good car company that rents a Jeep though for $50/day at Paradise Car Rental, 340-514-2692. Gas is anywhere from $4.59 to $4.89 a gallon and this price hasn't changed in over a year now.

I often have fun when I am driving visitors to our house as we live on a single lane, hilly, over grown cement road. 

Here are some rules of the road here for you too!  

Do's

• Wear you seatbelt
• Have a beer or a cocktail while driving.
• Obey all stop signs and traffic lights. 
• Keep your left shoulder to the left side of the road. 
• At night keep an eye to the left when an on coming vehicle is coming in the other direction, right hand vehicles have their lights aimed to the right as not to blind the other driver, well it is back wards here.
• When someone lets you out of an intersection or is sitting there giving you a chance to go and honks at you, they are not mad, they are just being polite and letting you out. A simple tap of the horn suffices for a thank you. 
• Stay Left, it is easier to see if you are going to drive off the side of that cliff! 

Don'ts

• Drive the speed limit, no one goes 10 MPH where it is posted. There are no radar guns down here. 
• Drive legally drunk but see above for cocktail do's. 
• Talk or text on your cell phone. 
• Try to park downtown. 
• Ask a local if they should take Route 33 to Route 42, we have no clue what you are talking about. We use landmarks here since there are no real address here and no one knows what route is what.
• Rear end a safari cab, they stop where ever and when ever. 
• Honk your horn when you come upon a stopped car. They are either having a conversation, grabbing a newspaper, or letting some one out of their car, they will eventually move, just be patient. The concept of pulling over safely has not yet caught on down here.