St. Vincent Wayne's Tour questions

[Sandy R]

Thinking of booking Wayne's tour in St. Vincent. We're in our 60's and love the water and the speed boat is no problem... but what does it mean when it says "all trips ashore are either floats or swim." Does that mean you go ashore in a dingy or jump off the boat into the water to go ashore? And, what type of shoes do you wear that "you don't mind getting wet... rubber thongs?" I haven't worn those in years but could obviously buy a pair. Would like to know what we're getting into before we book Wayne. Thanks for any input.

[Toto2Kansas]

What it means is that except for the stop for lunch, you do not dock but swim or float to shore under your own power. There is no dingy or other boat to get to shore on. At the Pirates of the Caribbean movie set, there is a dock to pull up to, but that is the only dock on the tour.

At the lava flow the boat is close to the beach, maybe 30 feet to shore. And about the same at the black sand beach.

At the lava flow you will need some type of water shoes or something to walk on the rough terrain, at the black sand beach, shoes are not needed.

 

Great tour, wonderful boat, and even more wonderful tour guide. We have taken Wayne's Tour on three occasions now and have a forth booked for January. It is a great day, and if you are lucky, you will be able to view dolphins along the way back to the ship. We have been lucky a couple of times on this tour, and it is always a perfect ending to a perfect day.

 

I am attaching a picture of Wayne's Boat he recently sent to me.

 

[Sandy R]

Thanks, Toto. I really appreciate the info. The photo you posted is very small ... is that his new, larger boat that holds 20+ passengers? Okay, so, I need to swim about 30 ft. to shore and then 30 ft. back to the boat (I do swim)... or is it shallow and therefore I can walk to shore? (I do walk, too lol). How exactly does one get from the boat into the water and vice versa? Is there a landing area at the end of the boat? I think my biggest concern is getting in and out of the water from the boat. I don't want to make an a.. out of myself!

 

We've cruised throughout the world and I do really well finding private guides (thanks to the cc boards) but some of these Caribbean ports we'll be stopping at, are new to me. We're doing the Grand's 14 day Caribbean next March and we're really excited about the ports.

 

Toto, you're always a wealth of information! Thanks again for the info... Sandy

[Toto2Kansas]

Thanks, Toto. I really appreciate the info. The photo you posted is very small ... is that his new, larger boat that holds 20+ passengers? Okay, so, I need to swim about 30 ft. to shore and then 30 ft. back to the boat (I do swim)... or is it shallow and therefore I can walk to shore? (I do walk, too lol). How exactly does one get from the boat into the water and vice versa? Is there a landing area at the end of the boat? I think my biggest concern is getting in and out of the water from the boat. I don't want to make an a.. out of myself!

 

We've cruised throughout the world and I do really well finding private guides (thanks to the cc boards) but some of these Caribbean ports we'll be stopping at, are new to me. We're doing the Grand's 14 day Caribbean next March and we're really excited about the ports.

 

Toto, you're always a wealth of information! Thanks again for the info... Sandy

 

 

Sandy, It's a speedboat, not a catamaran ;), so you climb up or down a ladder on the side to get in and out of the water, you don't have to jump in. BTW-If you click on the picture I posted, it will enlarge it on webshots for you in another window to get a real good look. Always click on the small pictures and most of them will enlarge when they are linked to the post. :) Yes, this is the new boat, and it is quite gorgeous. Three engines allow you to go to the lava flow where as the older boat he used to use was not powerful enough to get to all these places in the same amount of time along the coast.

 

What I do? I take along my blow up tube, or my snorkel vest, and that is how I float to shore. Both stops the water is usually over your head, so walking ashore isn't an option. But I just float along in my tube, and make everyone tuck their cameras in their bags so there is no evidence. Plus, Wayne had noodles onboard for those that didn't bring something to float to shore and for those that don't swim well.

 

Is your roll call getting a group together for this? If I remember correctly Wayne has a minimum number to book the tour, but for the life of me, I can't remember what the minimum is. 8 or 10 I think, but don't quote me on that one. We have always filled the boat from our roll calls as there isn't all that much to do in St. Vincent and many are happy to join a private water tour. Especially one with as good of a reputation as Wayne's has.

[Sandy R]

Oh, Toto, I can do a ladder and I can definitely float... and with a blow-up tube I can float for as long as I need to. Yahoo! I guess we need to get a cheap disposable underwater camera. I would imagine I can take my regular camera and leave it on the boat when we do the water thing... yes?

 

Yes, there is a roll call - March 13 '09. We've had very few posters, even had a couple leave... but it's still pretty far away. We have friends going on the Feb 13 '09 Grand, with the same itinerary and that roll call is going strong, lots of posters. Feb. just wasn't good for us. I've found it's just the luck of the draw whether you have a good roll call or not. We've had some great ones... still keep in touch with cruisers we've met. I don't know what I did before the cc boards!

 

I think I'll contact Wayne and let him know we have a roll call going with a few couples who want to do his tour... maybe he'll be contacted by people not on the cc board for that day and we'll be able to put a group together that way. I really, really want to do Wayne's tour!!

 

Thanks again for all your help. BTW, I tried to click on your photo but nothing happens... maybe because I'm using a MAC.

[Toto2Kansas]

Sandy, and there is a lot of time before your cruise for others to join. Plus, you can always pick up those onboard before you hit St. Vincent and then just email Wayne with the final count before you get there. We have done that many times before, found others looking for a private tour onboard and we have asked them to join us.

 

Yes, you can leave your camera in the boat, I would suggest putting it in a ziplock bag if it's not waterproof though, just in case of any rain or splashing water.

 

It really is a great tour, we have enjoyed it so many times, and Wayne is a love.

 

We are booked on the January sailing. We also know many on the February sailing but decided January 2nd sounded better to us. Always have fun, and sometimes the smaller roll calls are even more fun than the large ones. You just never know, it all depends on the passengers. Quality vs Quanitiy anyday for me. :) :)

 

Glad I could be of assistance! ;)