Yamaha Jet Boat
We all have that one friend. That guy who quotes movies incessantly, trying to make people laugh even though it’s completely nonsensical since it’s not even a joke they came up with themselves. They’re just inserting some super smart Hollywood actor/writer’s hilarious joke at the perfect time and hoping for a good chuckle. Everyone has encountered those guys in lacrosse jerseys yelling “I remember my first beer!” (Step Brothers, 2008) while talking about their most recent WOD, and intermittently sprinkling “bro” in their sentences. I am not that guy…sort of. I won’t be yelling about beers across a field (sort of) but I do have one movie quote I will be saying until the day I die.
Sonic Charters hasn’t always been using their 32’ Intrepid for their St. Thomas and St John boat rentals. There was the inaugural boat trip on a 24’ Yamaha jet boat for a snorkeling trip to the Indians in the British Virgin Islands. It was a gorgeously sweet boat with an awesome sound system and basically two Jet Ski engines for propulsion, which is not very typical in the Virgin Islands. There was a lot of seating on the boat for its size; you could even stick your feet in off the back platform since there were no propellers. It was the perfect boat for a trip to Soggy Dollar Bar in White Bay, Jost Van Dyke and back. The only problem was that it was not the perfect boat for charters. It takes a while to get used to the engines because you don’t see them much here (so there were only so many captains to choose from), it was too short to go out in certain swells, and could only seat up to about 8. It would also have caused Morgan near certain death due to stress. In the following days, Morgan smartened up and decided on the perfect stress relief: the perfect St Thomas charter boat.
Insert a 32’ Intrepid – a boat that eats its way through the waves. No more worrying for Morgan. There were a few reasons for the instant stress relief. Reason Number One – Captain Tony is an incredible captain not just because he knows the USVI waters so well, but the way he can maneuver a boat is flabbergasting. I have been out with Tony on quite a few trips, but it only took the first day for me to realize how experienced he is. Just when I thought I needed to fend us off the dock pulling up to the Willy T…“VRRRRRMMMM”…perfect spin move, to a dead stop directly parallel to the dock. I didn’t even have to tie the line; his spin move somehow tied the line to the cleat I was aiming for. Okay, I made this last part up. Seriously though, he’s incredible. I didn’t have to pull in or move the boat at all, I would just get off the boat and tie the line. And this happened ALL DAY. Every single dock. Reason Number Two Morgan is stress free – The boat is 32’ and can go out in almost any seas. Any St Thomas charter boat can go out on that perfectly flat July day, but not every boat can go out in the six-eight foot swells without any worry. “Did you say something about the Christmas winds? Huh, didn’t notice anything while I was out there.” Reason Number Three brings us back to my opening paragraph, the boat has Twin 250 horse power Yamaha engines. Every time I see those engines all I can think of is Austin Power saying TWIIINS! TWIIINS! The Yamaha 250hp engine is widely known as one of the best engines in the boating community, and this boat has TWO of them. You want to go up to the Baths at Virgin Gorda? Done. You want to spend less than $250 in gas on your BVI boat trip? Done. You want to take your St. John boat rental around every single beach and end up at Skinny Legs? Done. The engines are powerful yet extremely efficient. Cruising speed is perfectly comfortable and can get you to your destination quickly, and I’ve also been on this boat when it’s been wide open at 5500 RPM and it was pretty badass. TWINS! That’s the most important part of a charter boat, the engines. These engines are reliable, efficient and can take you anywhere you want to go. TWINS. This is certainly not an underpowered St. John charter boat, it’s all about the engines baby.