Roll Call! Thanksgiving in St Thomas | The Boneyard

Roll Call! Thanksgiving in St Thomas

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Might consider sailing up from Guatemala, maybe a little too far.
 
It's still in the "working out of logistics" for me, a friend and my daughter......but we are trying to make it happen.
 
If I can resolve certain mobility issues we will try to go once again. Last time we went, Mrs. Kibitzer and I decided to make our trip to the Paradise Jam our Christmas gift to each other.

Some fond recollections: Sitting with "ThisJustIn" at games and enjoying her occasional dialogue with Bonita Spence and Abby Waner. Enjoying a halftime Heineken in a high school gym. Mooching gourmet meals with (and prepared by) fellow Boneyarders. Dining at the old stone farmhouse mentioned in Geno's book. Hob-nobbing with some nice Duke and Stanford fans. Doing all that tourist stuff (boat trips, shopping, etc.).

It was a memorable trip and we hope to do an encore.
 
We won't be going, for reasons that will become clear, but here's some advice for those who didn't go last time, but are considering it. If you go, book as much of a package tour as possible, so you are eating, staying and traveling in a group. We don't like that kind of travel, so when we booked, we did what we always do and in this case stayed across the island on a deop-dead-gorgeous beach.

Our goal was to get the real flavor of the place, meet the natives and explore. We wandered around the island (if you do this, be very careful. The roads beyond the city range from treacherous to horrible) and explored out of the way places. And when we did, we encountered a level of hostility that we had not seen anywhere else we've traveled. The islanders, many of whom are dirt poor, appear to be understandably resentful of their plight and in our experience, tend to take it out on visitors in a variety of petty but very real ways, surliness being the most common.

So our advice is this: By all means go, but treat a trip to St. Thomas like some people treat a trip to Jamaica. Stay within the bounds of your tour, get as much beach time as possible, enjoy your fellow fans, and have a great time. It is not real adventure travel, IMHO, but you will have a good time and see some basketball (which we did) and feel good about your host surroundings (which we did not). For myself, I would not set foot on St. Thomas again if someone paid me to do so.
 
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Sounds like a lot of fun, but I've committed to Indian Wells and San Diego that week.

Instead, I will be in Hartford, Storrs, Trenton, and New Orleans next season.
 
(BTW, at the moment, it's just me, so if someone wants to share a my hotel... PM me)
 
tomcat said:
We won't be going, for reasons that will become clear, but here's some advice for those who didn't go last time, but are considering it. If you go, book as much of a package tour as possible, so you are eating, staying and traveling in a group. We don't like that kind of travel, so when we booked, we did what we always do and in this case stayed across the island on a deop-dead-gorgeous beach.

Our goal was to get the real flavor of the place, meet the natives and explore. We wandered around the island (if you do this, be very careful. The roads beyond the city range from treacherous to horrible) and explored out of the way places. And when we did, we encountered a level of hostility that we had not seen anywhere else we've traveled. The islanders, many of whom are dirt poor, appear to be understandably resentful of their plight and in our experience, tend to take it out on visitors in a variety of petty but very real ways, surliness being the most common.

So our advice is this: By all means go, but treat a trip to St. Thomas like some people treat a trip to Jamaica. Stay within the bounds of your tour, get as much beach time as possible, enjoy your fellow fans, and have a great time. It is not real adventure travel, IMHO, but you will have a good time and see some basketball (which we did) and feel good about your host surroundings (which we did not). For myself, I would not set foot on St. Thomas again if someone paid me to do so.
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best way to avoid problems ANYWHERE...
 
Mebbe. Just mentioned it to my husband. I thought he'd laugh it off but I think he's considering it. How's the deep-sea fishing down there?

Hmm, $523 round trip from Newark...
 
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HuskyNan said:
Mebbe. Just mentioned it to my husband. I thought he'd laugh it off but I think he's considering it. How's the deep-sea fishing down there?

Hmm, $523 round trip from Newark...
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If he is serious there is a very good blue marlin fishery. I've chartered twice out of Red Hook. Along with marlin there are tuna, wahoo and dolphin. The fishery is seasonal so it's best to do some research about what's available when you're planning to be there. The last time was about 20 years ago when 4 of us paid $400 each for a full day on a 52' boat. I would expect that trip to be over $1000 by now.
On the first charter we caught squat (poor timing) but we did OK on the second although we landed no marlin. IIRC peak marlin season is early to mid fall. Don't rely on the charter bookers though because they'll tell you that the fishing is hot no matter when you book and when you get there it's "Ya shoulda' been here last week."
 
MilfordHusky said:
Sounds like a lot of fun, but I've committed to Indian Wells and San Diego that week.

Instead, I will be in Hartford, Storrs, Trenton, and New Orleans next season.
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If you are going to be at Indian Wells, you might like to include a trip to Two Bunch Palms - a Hot Springs Spa, that is divine. It is located in Desert Hot Springs, which is pretty close to Indian Wells. Here is a link http://www.twobunchpalms.com
 
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CalifHusky said:
If you are going to be at Indian Wells, you might like to include a trip to Two Bunch Palms - a Hot Springs Spa, that is divine. It is located in Desert Hot Springs, which is pretty close to Indian Wells. Here is a link http://www.twobunchpalms.com
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Thanks for the tip. I've committed to the Hyatt Grand Champions, where they treat me very well. But I'll look at Two Bunch for a future trip. DHS is an interesting town. The area north of I-10 seems diffferent from that to the south.
 
Flight from JFK and lodging at the MorningStar Beach Club. We had a great time here a few years back.
 
Kibitzer said:
If I can resolve certain mobility issues we will try to go once again. Last time we went, Mrs. Kibitzer and I decided to make our trip to the Paradise Jam our Christmas gift to each other.

Some fond recollections: Sitting with "ThisJustIn" at games and enjoying her occasional dialogue with Bonita Spence and Abby Waner. Enjoying a halftime Heineken in a high school gym. Mooching gourmet meals with (and prepared by) fellow Boneyarders. Dining at the old stone farmhouse mentioned in Geno's book. Hob-nobbing with some nice Duke and Stanford fans. Doing all that tourist stuff (boat trips, shopping, etc.).

It was a memorable trip and we hope to do an encore.
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Now...that's what I'm talking about...a great time.
 
HuskyNan said:
Mebbe. Just mentioned it to my husband. I thought he'd laugh it off but I think he's considering it. How's the deep-sea fishing down there?

Hmm, $523 round trip from Newark...
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Nan,

I haven't fished the BVI, but friends have told me that it is like the rest of the general area with November BVI offering relatively decent fishing:: good wahoo fishing along with a decent Yellowfin tuna, Blackfin tuna, Sailfish, Barracuda catch. And don't ignore the jacks... they'll give your arms a great pump and are fun to haul in. November also gives you some opportunities to grab a favorite of mine on the fly:: mahi-mahi. He might also want to try his luck at Sailfish on a fly... It's great fun...

Charters for 4 hours run upwards of $800 with full day running at twice that... so splitting the costs with others might be a good idea... Actually, I am mulling over whether or not I might take in the Jam and get some fishing in to boot... If I do, I would be willing to split a boat with up to three others.

Deep sea isn't my favorite fishing, flyfishing the flats is, but even the worst days on the water are better than any day on land.


Your Ol' Pal Boo
 
Ah Boo - I don't want to hijack the thread but you got me reminiscing about the 4 years I lived in the Keys. I worked 4 days a week and fished the other 3. Not a purist but I caught most of the flats fish on a fly (bones, tarpon, barracuda, jack, blacktips and a 55# cobia in 2' of water." Never a permit though. :( I have to say the most fun were "baby" tarpon in a mangrove cut off Sugarloaf Key. It was my go to spot when we got blown off the flats.
That was a long time ago and I haven't cast a fly in probably 20 years :(. I'm reduced to bluegill with my grandkids.
 
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Permit a post-script to my earlier post that may seem to contradict at least one other poster's comments. Let's just say that we had different experiences.

We stayed at a delightful little hotel, Mafolie, up on a hill in the middle of town. It lacked some amenities of the larger hotels but it was just perfect for us.

For whatever reason we did not encounter any hostility from the local population. Might have been dumb luck or maybe it was because most of the locals we met were operating blenders on the other side of the bar(s).

We were not brave enough to rent a car and drive it but we were foolhardy enough to ride cabs or hitch rides with friends driving rented cars. Don't ask me to explain this.

We flew in and out of Miami, which was a pain. I would advise flying in/out of Newark if you can do that.

We spent one day taking a boat trip to the island dominated by the Rockefellers and that was fun.

We spent our last morning in the airport terminal with Mel and Kaili and Tahirah. They may fly charter at home but they fly tourist to and from USVI. (Don't tell the recruits!)
 
vtcwbuff said:
Ah Boo - I don't want to hijack the thread but you got me reminiscing about the 4 years I lived in the Keys. I worked 4 days a week and fished the other 3. Not a purist but I caught most of the flats fish on a fly (bones, tarpon, barracuda, jack, blacktips and a 55# cobia in 2' of water." Never a permit though. :( I have to say the most fun were "baby" tarpon in a mangrove cut off Sugarloaf Key. It was my go to spot when we got blown off the flats.
That was a long time ago and I haven't cast a fly in probably 20 years :(. I'm reduced to bluegill with my grandkids.
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VT,
I never lived in the keys but I might have well have picked up a PO Box down there...

I lived in Clearwater and fished from the keys to Pensacola every hour not spent chasing girls or going to school after coming home from Viet Nam. I was almost always flat broke and I believed those years to be the best of my life. I knew it then and I still know it now... Great times... There were several times when the only food I had came in the form of the fish I caught... For one particularly bad stretch, I lived on yellowtail and pickle juice. For all of the successes I've had since, I'd still trade them in a heartbeat to go back to those days and do it all over again...

I agree baby Tarpon are the best... The bug guys are more a workout than anything else... My biggest tarpon was estimated at over 180 by length /girth caught outside of Crystal River.

Bones & permit are my favorites and I chased them around the world until my body said I needed to slow down. Cobia -- very tasty... Snook on fly is also great fun... can still be found just about anywhere down there but they are in great abundance down by Punta Gorda. Cuda are fun when you are hunting them but what a pain when you're Bone fishing... These days I spend most of my time fishing locally... from the Monomoy flats to the western sound where I live -- mostly stripers and blues until a trip catches my soul...

I'm still throwing flies around these days but I don't campaign as long or hard each day as I used to do on a regular basis. I sold my Hewes 18 Redfisher and picked up an old 18 whaler outrage. I've since restored her and used her to fish the shallows. I am doing a "hull up" restoration of my Bertram 31 -- a few more years till that's done...

Tight Lines,
Your Ol' Fishin' Pal Boo
 
Since this thread has serendipitously gravitated to fishing stories, the impulse to join in is irresistible.

Many years ago (25+), my daughter Cindy was getting married in Miami. Day or two before the wedding, I was persuaded by other daughters and one son-in-law to go deep sea fishing, something I had never done.

I went armed with a cooler of cold beer (I shared) and my Sunday NY Times crossword and no intention of any form of exertion on a beastly hot and humid day.

The fishers gradually became catchers: a couple bonitas and one vicious 48" barracuda. I was finally persuaded to sit in the big chair and drop a line, using a bonita as bait.

After a spell, I hooked what was probably a '57 Chevy relic, but the excitement passed. It had now become that "Let's give it one last try" time. And then all hell broke loose.

I hooked something. Something very big, very live, and very determined to enjoy a life at sea. After an enormous amount of tugging (nobody looked at their watch so my effort was measured by releases of sweat and adrenaline, not minutes and seconds), I reeled in a 96" hammerhead shark.

We took the traditional photos ashore, I had that baby mounted (hangs in our TV room) and I claim the unofficial Guiness record for beginner's luck fishing.

I never went fishing before or since. The feeling I had when the crew hoisted this shark aboard was about like what Geno must have felt when Maya's LOI rolled off his fax machine.

And that, my friends, is my one and only fishing story, about The One That Didn't Get Away.
 
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