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Destination ......... Rejuvenation
Sail and dive the turquoise waters of the Bahamas with Juliet from late Spring through Fall of 2008, and the crystal blue waters of the British Virgin Islands during the Winter. In the Spring of 2009, Juliet will sail out of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico to dive and explore Mona and Desechio Island.
On Juliet we customize each trip to your interests. This allows us to achieve the perfect combination of destination, activities, and service to provide you with the ultimate in relaxation and rejuvenation.
British Virgin Islands
Juliet departs from the picturesque harbor of Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas in the U. S. Virgin Islands. Begin your vacation by sailing across Pillsbury Sound, past St John’s and into Sir Francis Drake Channel. The travel time from St Thomas to the British Virgin Islands is only about two hours through mostly protected waters.
After clearing Customs, the real fun begins! The Virgin Islands are well known for their wreck diving, and the Wreck of the Rhone is their most famous site. Over a century of coral growth has covered this wreck which is broken into three main sections. Explore the bow section which sits in 80’ and work your way toward the propeller in the shallows next to Salt Island. This site provides a full day of world class diving! Other sites that you will not want to miss are Spyglass Wall, Pelican Island Reef, Black Forest and the wrecks of Marie L and Pat.
The Virgin Islands are as beautiful above water as below. The islands are tall, mountainous, and lush with tropical plant life. During your surface interval, enjoy the ever-changing scenery as you sail across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to the next dive site or secluded beach. One of the highlights of your trip will be spending an afternoon at the Baths on Virgin Gorda. This natural wonder is a field of huge granite boulders that cascade down the hillside to the water’s edge. A leisurely walk from the top of the hill takes you over, under and around these boulders to an intimate beach at the end of the island. Wade in the shallow pools and listen to the echoing of the waves through the granite caverns. This breath-taking corner of the world will capture your imagination as if you were a child again.
When the sun goes down, the fun does not stop! The British Virgin Islands also have a great night life. There are beach bars in many of the protected anchorages where cruisers and vacationers get together to dance, drink and exchange stories. Foxy’s Tamarind Bar and the Soggy Dollar Bar on Yost Van Dyke are famous in the islands for their laid-back atmosphere. If you want to get wild and crazy, you can’t miss Willy T’s! This topsail lumber schooner is permanently anchored at The Bight of Norman Island and hosts some of the best parties in the Caribbean.
The Virgin Islands are a destination that has something for everyone both above and below water. It is a vacation that you and your family will not soon forget!
Bahamas
 In the Bahamas you will discover a placid, turquoise paradise stretching as far as the eye can see with unimaginable graduations of color. You will dive into diverse marine life around reef systems that are kept healthy by the continuous enrichment provided by the Gulf Stream. Topside you?l find many uninhabited low islands with beautiful beaches on which to play, explore, and relax.
For our 7 and 10 night Bahamas trip we recommend the following itinerary. On Saturday afternoon, sail from Miami to the Bimini Chain of islands where we clear Customs into the Bahamas. On your first morning aboard Juliet let the diving begin! As we sail and dive the Bimini Chain to its southern most island of Orange Cay, we stop at dive sites such as Bull Run, the Nodules Wall, and Rainbow Valley at Victory Reef, just to name a few of the abundant choices.
From Orange Cay we continue south along the edge of the Grand Bahama Bank deep into Santaren Channel. You can visit dive sites such as Freedom Reef, Lost Pidgeon Reef, Longbow, Lost Medallion, Mad Cow Reef and Do It Again. Sorry, no algae on these site, just perfect coral and thousands of fish! These pristine sites are exclusively dove by Juliet passengers, and host an abundance of life comparable to the premier dive destinations in the world. Several pods of playful Spotted Dolphin call this area home and frequently join Juliet for extended snorkeling encounters. During settled weather, we sometimes get as close as 30 nautical miles from Cuban waters. This trip is a true adventure into a remote area of the Bahamas that few divers have experienced.
Mona and Desechio Island, Puerto Rico
Board Juliet in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and make the short crossing to Desechio Island in the Mona Passage. Desechio is a beautiful island surrounded by great diving. Caverns riddle the sides of this island waiting to be explored by divers looking for some adventure. Desechio is close to the Puerto Rican mainland and is accessible to the land based operators. The real treat awaits you 40 nautical miles out into the Mona Passage!
Mona Island is widely referred to as "The Galapagos of the Caribbean." Mona is a small island mid-way between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It is too far for the local operators to reach on a day charter, and no live-aboards are currently diving this destination. This adds up to some pristine reefs that very few divers get to visit! A few park rangers are the only human inhabitants. During your charter, you can take an excursion onto Mona where the rangers will give tours and talk about the unique geography and wildlife of the island. Mona has it's own species of iguana that does not exist anywhere else in the world. The island has an extensive system of caves that await your exploration, guided by a park ranger of course!
The reefs around Mona are pristine and teeming with life. The wall on the southwest side of the island has dramatic drop-offs and boasts dive-sites such as Acropolis and Cul-De-Sac. The shear cliffs on the windward side drop straight down into the ocean and provide for some fascinating diving when the weather allows. Isla Monito is one of the highlights of this destination. Monito is a tiny island 4 miles off the northwest corner of Mona. It is a rugged rock surrounded by 80-100' of water and is a bird watcher's paradise. Large boulders have broken off of the island over the centuries and now rest on the flat sea bottom. These boulders, as well as the vertical walls of the island, are covered in lush, diverse sponge life of all different colors and sizes. Sensory over-load is the only way to describe the diving around this island! The abundant sponge life and multitude of caverns and crevices create a perfect environment for the many Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Green and Leatherback Sea Turtles that inhabit this area. Don't forget to watch for the sharks and other pelagics that may visit from the surrounding deep water! Some of the dive sites around Monito include John's Playground, Turtle City and Mini Mo Reef.
Mona Island is a rare destination that is relatively close to home, but largely inaccessible. Many divers have been trying for years without success to find someone to take them diving there. Do you know anyone who has been there? We will offer this destination during the calmer summer months to avoid the rough winter waters of the Mona Passage.
Please visit the following links to learn more about Mona Island:
http://www.topuertorico.org/city/mona.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona,_Puerto_Rico
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