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T-Shirt Fundraiser

It is quiet here on St. John, with all beaches and trails closed, all non-essential businesses ordered to close and villas and hotels not allowed to take on any new guests. So far only 2 confirmed cased on St. John but quite a few on St. Thomas.

We can still go fishing and caught a very nice Wahoo last weekend

Other than that we are catching up on projects around the house and after avoiding the phone and computer for some time are now catching up with work there too and found the time to design some new t-shirts.

Had to cancel your trip to St. John? Missing the island? Wear a piece of clothing that shows your love for the island at home and support your favorite charter business during these difficult times by ordering one of our new shirts (available until April 30th).

Lots of new styles and colors and we now also have kids tees and kids long sleeves!

We have two new designs with lots of styles to choose from. Unsure which one? The captain’s recommendation is the triblend T-Shirt, it is a very light, super soft fabric that dries very quickly.

t-shirts-rockhoppin-charters2

Classic Rockhoppin’ T-Shirt

features our logo on the front and a map of the virgin islands on back together with a checkbox style list where you can check of the islands you visited. They are available as Women’s Racerback, Premium Long Sleeve, Premium Unisex T-Shirt, Tri-blend shirt (very soft, fast drying fabric) as well Youth Tee and Youth Long Sleeve, available in lots of colors. Check them out here:

https://www.bonfire.com/rockhoppin2020/

Fishing T-Shirt

features our logo on the front and a fishing design on the back, after all our boat is called “Wahoo Wa”. They are available as Women’s Racerback, Premium Long Sleeve, Classic Unisex, Tri-blend (very soft, fast drying fabric), 3/4 Baseball Tee, Women’s slim fit T, V-Neck Unisex, Youth Unisex, Youth Long Sleeve as well Youth Tee and Youth Long Sleeve, available in lots of colors. Check them out here:

https://www.bonfire.com/rockhoppin-fish/

rockhoppin-captain-shirt

Prefer the good old “I’m the captain” design? That is available here:

https://www.bonfire.com/rockhoppincaptain/

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Coronavirus Update St. John, USVI

Sunday, March 22, 2020 Coronavirus update

wow this has been a whirlwind week. We are doing ok, so far 6 cases in the territory with about 40 results pending.

Most restaurants and bars as well as shops have announced their closure to protect their staff and following the 10 person rule. Pizza Pi, the pizza boat the last remaining food/drink option for charters announced their closure as well. Yesterday evening, the governor released an update via youtube which you can watch here. The key points below:

In line with the governor’s request for all non-essential businesses to seize all in-person business we will not be conducting any charters until further notice. We are available to transport passengers or goods should the need arise.

Guidelines:

  • Social and distancing at all times, 6 feet
  • Stay at home policy: Stay at home as much as possible
  • “Its ok to take a walk, it’s ok to take a drive but please refrain from congregating”
  • No camping for Easter
  • “Do not go to parties, bbq, picnics, enjoy the beach but stay away from people”

Effective Monday 23rd:

  • All bars will be closed
  • Restaurants take out only no inhouse dining
  • Taxi capacity cut down in half
  • Monitoring the ferries – meet with operators Monday

Effective Wednesday 25rd:

  • Stay at home order “not a curfew”
  • Keep as much people off the street as possible
  • No hotel, timeshare, airbnb allowed to accept new guest except government or medical personal
  • International message we want to send: “if you are coming to the Virgin Islands you will not have anywhere to stay for the next 30 days”
  • “Stay at home is not a curfew only PR has curfew. We are not imposing curfew. We are imposing stay at home”. This does not cover essential business: groceries, pet supplies, hardware stores, restaurants, food processing, gas stations, auto supply stores, car dealerships, banks and credit unions, garden stores, laundry services, building supplies are exempt as long as they keep customer rates under 10.
  • Further exempt are plumbers, electricians, exterminators, custodial services, handyman, funeral services, hvac installers and carpenters, anybody who deals with construction. Also exempt: Office supplies, shipping, delivery services, airlines, public transport, professional services, legal, accounting, places that provide shelters,

 

Thursday, March 19, 2020 Coronavirus update

More businesses (e.g. Banana Deck, Dog House Pub, Greengo’s, Pizza Bar in Paradise) have announced their closures and St. John Hardware is limiting hours to give staff time to rest and clean.

NPS Visitor Center and FVINP are closed as are the concessions at Trunk Bay and the guided Reef Bay Trail Hike.

Pizza Pi, the pizza boat announced closure as of tomorrow.

Cliff Notes from Governor’s Press Conference at 1pm today: 

3 confirmed cases in usvi, 21 tests pending

contact tracing underway

as of Saturday 6am max 10 people also for bars & restaurants excempt are large stores like home depot plaza extra etc that can ensure spacing

plaza extra special 7-10am shopping time for seniors

funerals are exempt

no camping on public beaches

effective monday government services limited to essential services

60 day extension on all license renewals (car, drivers license, business license)

there are still 1500 visitors in territory and no intention of closing airport

still 1500 visitors are in territory no requests to close airports at this time

 

TUESDAY, March 17, 2020 Coronavirus update

2nd confirmed case in the territory, while the first was St. Croix, the second is said to be in the St. Thomas/St. John district. 17 test are still pending. Again, the actual rate is probably much higher. Governor has closed schools starting tomorrow, cancelled St. Thomas carvinal and advised to only use the St. John – St. Thomas ferry for essential travel.

People were in and out of Pricesmart St. Thomas within 20minutes today and desinfecting products were stocked.

St. Thomas: Bolongo Bay Resort and Wyndham are closing until further notice.
St. John: Lime Out and Lime in were the first to announce their closure this morning, Lovango Rum Bar cancelled their grand opening, a little later in the day Soggy Dollar Bar, BVI as well as Skinny Legs and Extra Virgin announced their closure too
BVI: the BVI are closing their boarders to anyone but local residents, belongers and work permit holders on Thursday, March 19th for at least a month. No more BVI charters, sorry. Soggy Dollar Bar is closing as well.

More information on local closures here:

White house recommends avoiding crowds of more than 10 people and avoiding non-essential travel. It seems to be the concensus that staying home is the right thing to do. We had 5 cancellations in the last 24 hours.

As of today most St. John Bars and Restaurants are still open but many are promoting the take out option. People can still go to the beach, a curfew like in Puerto Rico is a possibility but our governor does not seem to be in the “err on the side of caution” camp, but maybe that is the way to achieve compliance, if he had cancelled carnival too early there would have been outrage.

SUNDAY, March 15, 2020

Good morning from sunny St. John, here is the latest update in light of the Corona Virus. We are not a news outlet and we cannot constantly update this article with new developments, this is a status report from Sunday, March 15th.

As of this morning,  it is still pretty much business as usual on St. John, the grocery stores are stocked (including toilet paper – both photos taken this morning) with no crazy lines and the bars and restaurants are open. Some crowded scenes at Cost U Less St. Thomas have been reported yesterday however. If you are coming over on the car barge, we recommend skipping the STT grocery stop to avoid the craziness and potential exposure to virus as well.

Coronavirus in the USVI

so far there is one confirmed case in the territory that is rumored to be on St. Croix. Reports about a death on CNN are false. It is of course likely that the actual number of cases is much higher, as there is no free health care or health insurance, people usually try to battle it out at home and locals are very good at beating illness with rest and natural remedies. So there is a chance that unknowingly some herd immunity has been built especially on St. Thomas which has been exposed to all the cruise ship travel. There is hope heat and the sun and clean air may potentially inhibit a rapid spread in the territory just like flu season is typical in the winter months. UV-light is a natural disinfectant and “open air treatment” was an acknowledged form of medical treatment for influenza during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic before antibiotics were available. Read all about it here

Of course by no means are we safe from the Virus here and a potential outbreak will be catastrophic with the limited health care facilities available. There are 120 hospital beds on St. Thomas and 8 in the ICU for 50.000+ inhabitants and maybe 100.000 visitors per month.

Puerto Rico

The governor of Puerto Rico (which has 4 confirmed and 17 suspected cases) has just ordered a curfew from 9pm to 5am until March 30th. There is a chance this will happen here too as a preventive measure to stop the spread of the virus. Hopefully people will still be allowed to go to beaches. Source:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/15/coronavirus-latest-news/#link-BBGT3QI5HJFS7IDCOPNFCGR6II

Should I cancel my trip to St. John, USVI in light of the Corona Virus?

This is a difficult question and here is my personal opinion. Of course, everybody has to evaluate the pros and cons based on their own circumstances.

As a local business owner who makes 100% of income from tourism and who has not left the island since the hurricanes I wish the ports and airports would be closed to spare our little island the exposure to this virus and to spare the visitors to make this hard decision. I appreciate visitors especially from high risk states or with previous travel or exposure to at risk regions / persons cancelling their trip to spare St. John but realistically the spot might be taken by last minute opportunists (yeah no school, cheap flights…). so those that have not booked yet, please think twice! Even healthy people can unknowingly transmit the virus. Personally I think the economic loss from less tourism is not as bad as the potentially catastrophic effect of a major outbreak here.

Those that have booked and have no choice of rescheduling, the most responsible thing is to self-quarantine at home for 2 weeks before travel and take every possible precaution to not get infected on the way over…..

We will issue a full refund if you decide to cancel but also appreciate customers changing to a random date in the future to ease the financial burden.

People with pre-existing medical conditions (heart/lung disease, auto-immune disease etc.) that might require hospitalization in case of infection, please avoid travel here, the health care is difficult without an outbreak already. Insurance that will air-lift you to the mainland in case of an emergency is always a good idea when travelling here no matter how young and healthy you are.

Being stuck on this island due to halt in air travel or airlines cancelling flights because they are not full/profitable or their crews are sick is also a possibility, maybe not a bad thing unless your presence is required at home or you need medical attention. Getting off island post hurricane was very very difficult and that was with the mainland fully functioning.

Another risk is that curfews might be issued so you would not be allowed to leave villa/hotel at night like it is currently in Puerto Rico, hopefully they will still allow beach visits during day.

This is a developing topic, so always check with CDC website for latest travel advisories.

Questions to help you come to a decision.

  1. Is there any chance I could be bringing the virus to the USVI
  2. Do I have insurance / financial resources to be airlifted to mainland in case of medical emergency (which can be completely unrelated to Covid-19) – healthcare here is fragile without a pandemic
  3. Do I have the flexibility / financial resources / stamina to stay on the island longer than planned (in case air travel is halted, airlines cancel flights or go bankrupt) ?

Can I still go on a private charter with Rockhoppin?

We are conducting business as usual for now but can only do USVI Trips as the BVI are closing their borders. We are taking extra pre-cautions to disinfect touch surfaces of the boat after each charter and we will no longer be providing snorkel gear. Even with careful disinfection there is a risk – too little is know how long the virus can survive on surfaces, the moist boxes of the boat could harbor it and staff handling/cleaning the gear would be at risk. We are also suspending snorkel gear rental with paddleboards at SUP-Stjohn.com, we don’t think these are times to share breathing equipment, if you would like to snorkel we recommend bringing / purchasing your own equipment for example at Low Key, Chelsea Drug Store or Kmart St. Thomas.

If you have travelled to at risk countries, are running a fever, have a dry cough or have been in contact with people under observation we ask you to do the right thing and cancel your charter to not contribute to the spread of the virus, your deposit will be refunded but you can also help our small business by just changing to a random date in the future.

Please take all the recommended hygiene measures that have been widely recommended, frequent hand washing/use of hand sanitizer, sneeze into tissue, no hand shakes, no shared cups etc.

BVI Trips and the Coronavirus

As of today USVI March 15th boats can still enter the BVI however only at Tortola Westend (no more check-in on Jost). Visitors have to fill out the health questionnaire below and depending on answers may be declined entry or asked to quarantine. We also expect longer wait times at customs. Of course you can change your destination to the 3/4 St. John or half day or full day and stay local at no costs. For food options we have pizza pi, the pizza boat  and the new Zozo’s H20 on Lovango. Lime Out has closed in light of the virus

http://www.rockhoppin.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PERSONAL-HEALTH-DECLARATION-FORM1.pdf-·-version-1.pdf

On Thursday, March 19th the BVI are closing their borders for at least a month, so no more BVI charters, sorry

Paddleboard Rental

you can cancel or reschedule your paddleboard rental free of charge the deposit will be refunded upon request but we ask you to consider letting it keep us for a future rental to ease the financial burden on our small business.

snorkeling-buck-island-sea-turtle

How can we help St. John?

Some people might decide to still visit to support their favorite island to support local businesses. Other ways to help are buying gift certificates at any shop or restaurant or to order gifts/souvenirs online. You can book a charter for a random day in the future www.rockhoppin.com/bookme (you can reschedule free or charge once you know your new travel dates) or pay the 100$ deposit for a future paddleboard rentat at sup-stjohn.com here: www.sup-stjohn.com/pay/

You were happy with your charter or paddleboard rental with us? Head over to tripadvisor and leave a nice review here!

To end on a positive note

St. John is resilient, we survided Irma and Maria and we will survive this. Maybe something good will come out of it, maybe in return our planet gets a break from C02 emission and pollution so maybe we slow climate change and get a hurricane season that is less devastating. Look at the before and after photo from China: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/04/811019032/why-chinas-air-has-been-cleaner-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak?fbclid=IwAR3lOKKbYwAnVUDN_dJ1XNbP7OTIXB003pOKhOy8q2UQlqnYl9PASz_iOp0

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Private Charter from St. John to ZoZo’s H20 on Lovango Cay

There’s a new destination in USVI waters, no passport needed and no horrendous BVI customs fees. Lovango has always been a great snorkeling stop on our USVI charters but now you can also get some amazing food there. This is phase 1 of their opening and they will later be opening a beach club and resort as well.

snorkeling-trip-stjohn-usvi-lovango-cay

ZoZo’s H20 on Lovango

has just opened for business earlier this month it is located on the beautiful and tranquil Lovango Cay a short, scenic boat ride from Cruz Bay, St. John. Come for lunch. Come for dinner. Come enjoy a piece of paradise. Create memories that will last a lifetime. OPEN DAILY 11 A.M. – 6 P.M. Check out their mouth watering menu below.

GRILLED SHRIMP BRUSCHETTA    /    $19
ROASTED PEPPER APRICOT CASHEW CHUTNEY, CALABRIAN CHILIES, BASIL OIL
ALASKAN KING CRAB POKE    /    $21
JALAPENO AVOCADO MOUSSE, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, WATERMELON RADISH, CUCUMBER, WATERCRESS, LEMON CHIVE VINAIGRETTE
CALAMARI    /    $17
FRIED CRISPY, CORNMEAL CRUST, SWEETIE DROP PEPPERS, BANANA PEPPER GASTRIQUE
PIG AND CHEESE    /    $21
IMPORTED BURRATA, AURICCHIO, ’NDUJA TOAST, SWEET SOPRESSATA, PANCHETTA ONION JAM, PEPPERONATA, CRISPY PORK RINDS
FALAFEL PLATTER    /    $19
LEMON CUCUMBER YOGURT, BARREL FETA, GRILLED PITA, ROASTED TOMATO SICILIAN OLIVE SALAD
SEARED SCALLOP CAESAR    /    $26
SUGARCANE SKEWER, TOBIKO CAVIAR, ROMAINE, PARMESAN CRISP, WHITE ANCHOVY FILETS
WATERMELON SALAD    /    $18
FENNEL, PINEAPPLE, ARUGULA, TOASTED PISTACHIOS, GOAT CHEESE, FRESH MINT, TAHITIAN VANILLA BASIL VINAIGRETTE
MEDITERRANEAN GRAIN BOWL    /    $19
FARRO, ROASTED EGGPLANT CAPONATA, CAPERS, PINE NUTS, AVOCADO, CURRANTS, FRESH MINT, ZESTY CHIANTI VINAIGRETTE
1/2 LB. BURGER    /    $19
TOASTED SWEET HAWAIIAN ROLL, AGED CHEDDAR, HOUSE PICKLES AND SPICY MAYO
MAHI MAHI BLT    /    $23
APPLEWOOD-SMOKED BACON, HEIRLOOM TOMATO, LOCAL ARUGULA, SAUCE GRIBICHE
TUNA BAHN MI    /    $23
SEARED TUNA, PICKLED DAIKON & CARROTS, CUCUMBER, FRESH CILANTRO, TOASTED SESAME AIOLI, HOLY JALAPENO SAUCE
MUFFULETTA    /    $24
SWEET SOPRESSATA, CAPICOLA, MORTADELLA, PROVOLONE, WATERCRESS, OLIVE & PEPPER GIARDINIERA, FRIED OYSTERS, CAJUN REMOULADE
1/2 JERK CHICKEN    /    $34
MOLASSES RUB, BRAISED GANDULES, SAFFRON RICE, LEMON CUCUMBER YOGURT
GRILLED SWORDFISH    /    $36
CITRUS MARINADE, SUNDRIED TOMATO BBQ, TOASTED ORZO SALAD, CHARRED BRUSSELS SPROUTS, MANGO CHILI GLAZE
SEAFOOD FRA DIAVOLO    /    $38
HALF CARIBBEAN LOBSTER TAIL, CALAMARI, SHRIMP, BLACK MUSSELS, FETTUCCINE, SPICY ROASTED TOMATO BRODO
ZOZO’S SURF AND TURF     /    $36
ROSEMARY-CRUSTED PORK TENDERLOIN, RUM-GLAZED LOBSTER RISOTTO, FIRECRACKER SHRIMP, SWEET SAFFRON BUTTER

zozo-h20-lovango

For parties of six or greater Zozo’s accepts reservations up to 30 days in advance, please email Manager@zozoslovango.com or call 860-450-6649 with name, preferred date and time, good contact phone number and number in your party.

How to get to Zozo’s H2O on Lovango

We can visit Zozo’s H2O on any of our USVI trips, the half day, the 3/4 day or the full day. We do recommend doing it on the 3/4 day trip to allow enough time to explore other sights and snorkel.

zozos-h20-lovango-cay

Reserve your private charter to Zozo’s H2O on Lovango

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2020 update

When was your last visit to St. John? Wondering what’s up? Here is the latest

After a relatively uneventful hurricane season 2019 – except for a surprise visit of Hurricane Dorian – St. John is pretty much back to it’s beautiful pre-Irmaria self. Dorian was supposed to be a tropical storm passing well over 100 miles away and ended up being a category 1 hurricane that went right over us. The forecast advisory only changed at 8am in the morning at by noon all hell was breaking loose. Thankfully Captain Steve had secured our 32FS Regulator really well “just in case” and everything stayed in place. We are very grateful for that since he had just given our boat a major makeover buffing out and repairing all the scratches and dents that remained from Irma.

DOWNTOWN CRUZ BAY

The key places that were still closed since Irmaria, Beach Bar and Joe’s Rum Hut (now named Rum Hut with a slightly more upscale menu and look) have just re-opened so Cruz Bay town is pretty much like it was. Beautiful large Coconut Palm Trees have been planted along Cruz Bay beach and it looks great. Planting them was a major undertaking, check out the video here.

The wine shop Island Cork that carries more than 200 different wines now added a Bistro with great snacks it is a great place to unwind and have a terrific glass of wine with some fantastic treats.

The Parrot Club expects to reopen there within the next few weeks, and upscale dining venue  Waterfront Bistro has plans to reopen later this year.

Sushi Bar Umami is gone there now is a Tap & Still which some of you might now from Red Hook, St. Thomas.

The gravel parking lot by barge exit that had been closed for maintenance since October has also just re-opened and parking is currently free there (YAY!). There also is a new paid parking in the place where Lumberyard used to be that is the best / closest parking if you go on a charter for us unless you can snatch up one of the few free spaces by National Park Dock. If you are in that area, also check out the Eco Station St. John which offers recycling and refills for cleaners, shampoo etc a great approach to tackle the trash problem on our little island.

BEACHES AND RESORTS

The Westin is up and running and everything is looking great.

Caneel Bay Resort and Cinnamon Campground remain closed with no opening/rebuilding date. You can park at the former Caneel entrance and pay for a golf cart transfer to Honeymoon Beach or you can rent a paddleboard from us and paddle to the caneel beaches by paddleboard.

Concordia Eco Resort near Salt Pond has new owners and they are rebuilding.

A new bar has opened across the road from Maho (“Maho Crossroads”). Some love it others hate it, overall Maho is busier than before and parking can be a challenge. In return Cinnamon is very peaceful and quiet with ample parking now that there is no campground.

Yes, we are missing a lot of the beautiful Palmtrees at some beaches and sadly the National Park does not consider them “native species” so they are not replanting them. However a lot of the shrubs are gone so many beaches like hawksnest that were narrow before are now much wider.

2020 boating destinations

BVI

Everything for our main destinations in the BVIs is pretty much back to normal,  Corsairs at Great Harbour, Jost van Dyke (pictured below) has been completely rebuilt since the hurricanes and is looking great!

corsairs-jostvandyke-bvi-850

Foxy’s Taboo (Diamond Cay, pictured below) has also been rebuilt and Pirate’s on Norman Island is back open, Willy T. have moved back to Norman Island so aside from the ever increasing BVI customs fees (at the moment about 75-95$ per person) everything is like before or even better.

We can only imagine how bad the hurricanes and storm surge must have been on one of our favorite places, Anegada, as it is very low with almost zero elevation but you will not be able to tell, everything has been rebuilt and looks amazing and a lot of the big palm trees at Cow Wreck beach (pictured below) survived the storms.

 

USVI

Lime Out

The new Limeout floating taco bar that was located in the East End near Hanson Bay is closed due to permitting problems / deny of mooring permit at the location. It remains closed until further notice while they search for a better location. Abi’s at Green Cay /STT is also closed and it does not look like they will be reopening.

day-trip-to-lime-out-stjohn-usvi

So for now Pizza Pi the pizza boat remains the only “bar stop” on the USVI trips. So the full day trip can be a pretty long day on the water as you are not leaving the boat except for snorkeling, so we have added a new USVI trip that is the 3/4 day St. John which is 6 hours and enough to bring you to the key sights on St. John in the North and South without going all around the island.

More to come…

New USVI destinations are however in the works among others a new resort/restaurant on Lovango Cay as well as a floating lounge in Pillsbury Sound.

Lovango Resort and Beach Club

New destination on Lovango is opening this week (Feb 2, 2020)

zozo-h20-lovango

Phase 1

ZoZo’s H2O Restaurant (opening Feb 2020)

Casual dining at the water’s edge, this is the perfect lunch, full-day or dinner excursion. Lunch and early dinner served daily from 11am-6pm

This is a possible stop on our 3/4 day or full day St. John trip.

Phase 2

The Lovango Beach Club (opening December 2020)

The first of its type in the USVI! The Beach Club will provide restaurant services, an exotic beach destination with services:

Beach facilities, water sports, beach games, large oceanfront swimming pool, cabanas, changing facilities with locker rooms and showers for boaters

Daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal memberships

Phase 3

The Lovango Resort & Beach Club (opening December 2021)

An island resort community with discretely-located accommodations. Your home away from home is designed to maximize your privacy with spectacular views. The resort will include attention to wellness and picturesque wedding venues. Hotel guests may enjoy all the benefits of the Beach Club.

This stunning resort will be fully self-sustainable providing its own solar and wind power for electricity and a reverse osmosis plant for all of its fresh water needs.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE

Follow us on facebook.com/rockhoppin or instagram.com/rockhoppin_charters for updates.

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Pizza Pi re-opening for 2019/2020 season

Mark your calendars, the iconic Pizza Pi boat that serves fresh pizza made on the boat is re-opening for the second season under new ownership.

They have done a complete interior overhaul. These changes will allow them to increase capacity and dramatically reduce wait times. The changes include:

    • Installation of new 20kw generator to support additional capacity.

    • Installation of an additional oven that will increase pizza producing capacity by ~65%.

    • Complete redesign of galley and forecastle for increased refrigeration, storage and overall greater efficiency.

    • Improved space for displaying and storing merchandise.

    • Installation of new sound system with Wakeboard and JL speakers.

Where is the Pizza Boat?

The Pizza Boat is at Christmas Cove off Little St. James. There is great snorkeling nearby or when go there for dinner on a sunset cruise.

How to book a Trip to Pizza Pi

We can visit Pizza Pi within the following trips

boat-trip-stjohn-to-pizza-pi

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new T-Shirts

Looking for a little St. John Fix at home? We have new T-Shirts in lots of sizes and styles.

We are all for using local businesses and had our first shirts locally screen printed. For a small business like us it however turned out impossible to manage the stock and have the right colors and sizes and shapes available for our guests, when we keep them on the boat they get moist when we keep them at the house the hurricane messes them up and the shipping to the States for orders is expensive and time-consuming (as we have to fill out customs forms).

So we are now printing the shirts states side on demand and they will be shipped directly from there to you. That gives you a much wider choice of styles and colors and super easy online ordering, pay via card or paypal

There are 3 different designs (click on items in list to see all variants):

I am the Captain T-Shirt  (unisex tee, slim fit women’s tee, long sleeve, baseball tee, hoodie and women’s tank)

Rockhoppin Shirts in lighter colors (with dark print) – unisex tee, slim fit women’s tee, long sleeve, baseball tee, unisex triblend tee and women’s tank)

Rockhoppin Shirts in darker colors (with light color print) – unisex tee, unisex triblend tee, long sleeve, hoodie, youth tee and women’s tank)

Hurry this campaign is running for 2 weeks if we print 5 of each of the 3 designs, it will continue for longer

 

rockhoppin-tshirt3

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Willy T. is back at Norman Island

It has been a few turbulent months for Willy T. and their owner Ewan Anderson. The legendary floating bar Willy T. that used to be moored at Norman Island / The Bight for 35 years was destroyed when the 2 category 5 hurricanes hit the BVI and USVI in September 2017.

A new vessel was secured at retrofitted to match the original Willy T. with a lots of improvements (like larger and now with septic holding tanks). Upon arriving in the BVI after a 1600 mile voyage in May 2018, Willy T. was declined anchorage at their former spot on Norman Island, you can read more about it here and here.

After a giant wave of support in social media they thankfully quickly found a new spot which is at Great Harbour on Peter Island and have re-opened last week in June 2019 but after a few months was magically allowed to return to it’s original spot.

The Willy T is a party spot with their traditional island drinks are fantastic and always served with a generous pour of rum and a smile. Dark & Stormies, Rum Punches and Bushwackers are  the drinks of the day and as the afternoon wears on, shooters and body shots become a great source of entertainment and intoxication. It’s a truly magic place where memories are made.

“R” rated jumps off the top deck, laughing, screaming, music, happy hour, all leads to a great time on the Willy T. A quick google image search will give you an idea of the party that is going on there every day. And check out our video below from the infamous jump off the top deck:

More information: http://www.williamthornton.com/


Ready to go and check out the new Willy T?

Book your Day Trip from St. John to Peter Island/Willy T. here

You can use the calendar below to directly make a booking (select date and hit book now). Not sure yet? Then you can also send us a Booking Enquiry with this form or via email to rockhoppinusvi(at)gmail.com


Online Booking

Or the form below to to make a booking. Select your date and pay a 150$ deposit. The rest is due on day of charter (after trip, cash, card or cheque). All prices include captain and fuel. Not included: BVI customs/mooring fees and gratuity

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Norman Island”, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

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We are open for business and St. John is ready for visitors

It has been a rough ride being hit by 2 category 5 hurricanes within 2 weeks in September 2017 and we are finally back online with high speed internet via a satellite dish we mounted on our roof terrace. The fiber optic cables for DSL and TV are still down in January 2018, 4 month past hurricane.

The maximum gust measured on St. John (before meter blew away) was 277mp/h (!) and the highest sustained windspeed was 207 mp/h, the highest sustained windspeed ever recorded anywhere in the world! These are numbers from local meters that were blown away in the storm so they are not part of the official recordings or statistics. In the official statistics, Hurricane Irma and Maria rank 2nd and 8th in the list of the strongest ever recorded Atlantic Hurricanes.

Our house, boat and paddleboards faired pretty well and sustained only minor damages considering the incredible wind speeds. We towed our 32 FS Regulator Powerboat out of the water and had it on a trailer in the boat yard, Captain Steve secured the trailer with sandscrews, straps, chains etc. to the ground and trees and yes, it stayed in place (some trailers were tipped over or went down the hill backwards).

The boat was hit by flying debris like pieces of roofing and rain that was pushed through any cracks with 200mp/h damaged some of the electronics like sonar depth/fish finder but it’s otherwise fine. A total of 450 boats were destroyed on St. John alone so we were very lucky. We have had only about 5 charters since the storm and are  currently performing some maintenance resuming charters February 1st.

Apologies if you emailed us and did not hear back we did not have internet for months and some messages might have been lost due to mailbox full or accidently deleted when going through 65.000 unread emails with a lot of them being spam. Please re-send your message and we will get back to you asap.

Is St. John ready for visitors past Hurricane?

We would say definitely yes, if you can live without cable tv and don’t mind little inconveniences like missing some missing street signs. Over 90% of the houses have power now. The Westin and Caneel Bay will remain closed until 2019 but there are lots of villas and apartments that survived the storm and are available for rent. All grocery stores are open, there is plenty of food and produce.

A lot of restaurants were destroyed but there are enough bars and restaurants open for a fun night out. All hiking trails and beaches are open and the water is clear and has been declared safe to swim. Some of the beaches are actually nicer than before (wider due to sand deposited by storm and downed shrubs) and there are actually some new beaches that have appeared since the storm  (due to sand deposits or places previously unaccessible due to vegetation). Everything is quiet and relaxed there is no struggle to find a parking space at beach and everybody is happy for any visitor showing up. The only place a little more crowded than before is the Starfish market parking its always full, lots of locals go there to conduct there business on the public wifi.

Repeat visitors will enjoy re-discovering their island, finding new beaches, driftwood sculptures on the beach and having different views from the hiking trails. I know a lot of you have helped with donations etc. but the best thing you can do for St. John is to come back and spend lots of money at the local businesses

As for our friends in the BVI they were hit pretty bad by the storm as well, but a few places have reopened so no matter if you want to go to Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Norman Island or Jost each place will have at least one bar or restaurant open. If you prefer to stay local, Pizza Pi and Abi are open as well.

 

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Indians, Caves, Aquarium – BVI Snorkeling Trip from St. John

While it is possible to incorporate some snorkeling into our day trip to Jost van Dyke, most of the prime BVI snorkeling spots are near Norman Island and part of our Norman Island Day Trip. There are no houses or beachgoers nearby so the water is super nice and clear.

The Indians

The Indians are an amazing deep water snorkel and are constantly named among the top 5 BVI snorkeling spots. They lie just north of The Bight at Norman Island and about half way between the easternmost tip of St. John, USVI and the westernmost tip of Peter Island. Four rocky pinnacles rise straight up, about 100′ from the ocean floor. Approximately 50′ of that is above water. There are lots of blue tangs, parrotfish, cow fish, damsel fish, sergeant majors, jacks, queen angels, wrasse, trunk fish, eels and if you’re lucky, you might spot a queen trigger fish.

The Caves

Norman Island is a well-known destination for cruisers and other tourists because of 3 water-level caves at the base of cliffs just outside the western edge of The Bight. The are ideal for snorkeling.

Note: Different from the other spots, both Caves and Indians charge a 20$ mooring fee which has to be paid upon checkin into the BVIs.  These fees can be avoided by going to free spots like the Aquarium but if you don’t mind the fee and want to snorkel the Indians and Caves, we can of course go there, just let the Captain know before check-in to the BVI so that he can pay the fees (fees can be paid with credit card).

The Aquarium

is another great but lesser know snorkeling spot which you will most likely have to yourself. The advantage over Indians is that you don’t have to pay a mooring fee. The water is super nice and clear and calm and you will see lots of good stuff. From there it’s a very quick ride over to Pirate’s Bight where you can have some great lunch at “Pirate’s” or “The Club”

From there you can head over to Jost van Dyke for some “Painkillers” at infamous Soggy Dollar Bar or take the route along the South Shore of St. John for more snorkeling (Tektike, Booby Rock) or fishing (Norman Island and Fishing Charter)


Ready to go?

Book your Day Trip from St. John to Norman Island here

You can use the calendar below to directly make a booking (select date and hit book now). Not sure yet? Then you can also send us a Booking Enquiry with this form or via email to rockhoppinusvi(at)gmail.com


Online Booking

Or the form below to to make a booking. Select your date and pay a 150$ deposit. The rest is due on day of charter (after trip, cash, card or cheque). All prices include captain and fuel. Not included: BVI customs/mooring fees and gratuity

 

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Pizza Pi is closing for season July 29th

PiZZA Pi the Pizza boat off xmas cove will be serving their last pizzas of the season on July 29.  They will celebrate with a “Christmas in July” party.  Please join them with your best Caribbean Santa costumes & music.  They will be open regular hours of 11a-6pm and will do our best to eat & drink the boat dry so come early if you want dibs on a full menu.  They plan to reopen December 2, 2017

Ready to snatch up the last Pizza?

Just check out the happy faces in these photos: https://www.facebook.com/rockhoppin/photos/?tab=album&album_id=424506084421760 and https://www.facebook.com/rockhoppin/photos/?tab=album&album_id=400231126849256

Book your sunset cruise to Pizza Pi here or stop there during a day trip:

How does it work? Select your date and pay a 150$ deposit. The rest is due on day of charter (after trip, cash, card or cheque). All prices include captain and fuel. Not included: BVI customs/mooring fees and gratuity

 

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