We took a day sail with White Squall II Feb. 2008. The boat is an older wooden 100+ foot sailing boat. We were charged $105 for a day sail that included all we could drink, beer, punch, wine, sodas, etc. Lunch, and stops to snorkel. We sailed to Norman Island from Roadtown, Tortola and left about 9 AM.

It was a beautiful sail. Sails up, no tilting. The boat is large enough you don't feel the wallowing. No one got sick and I don't think anyone would because of the size. The two captains were always nearby replacing drinks and answering questions. We snorkeled in Privateers Bay, part of Norman Island.

One of the captains took us on a snorkel tour and we saw 15 reef squids and many, many different reef fish. Then we stopped at the famous Willie T for lunch that was covered by White Squall, plus one drink. After a very leisurely lunch, we took the dinghy to the Pirates Bight, another restaurant/bar with a nice beach. It was a wonderful lazy day, snorkeling, drinking, and laying on the beach and enjoying the wonderful sailing. We missed a stop at Peter Island, but you NEVER rush things in the Caribbean and there just wasn't time. I expect if we had insisted we would have gone and spent less time at the other places. I was content with what we did. Returned to Road Town about 4 PM.

My husband, Jim & I were visiting Tortola on Thursday, December 20th from the Crown Princess. I never book excursions through the cruise line. I booked us on a day sail with White Squall II, which I had received several recommendations about from TTOL (TravelTalkOnLine - a travel message forum I am a member of). I can’t say enough good things about the entire day! Capt. Chris, mate Deb and Jeff (Capt. Chris’ brother) were attentive, friendly and so much fun. There were 9 of us - 3 other couples and one single guy. We sailed to Norman Island and our first snorkeling stop was Privateer Bay. Simply amazing. I love to snorkel, but Jim can usually take it or leave it. He couldn’t get enough of it. After an hour and half, we headed over to the Bight and Pirates Bar & Restaurant. The men all swam in to shore and the women took the dinghy while Capt. Chris & crew got lunch ready. Browsed in the gift shop and lounged in the sun before heading back for a great lunch. Loved the curried rice salad with the mango chutney so much, I got the recipe and made it for Xmas day dinner buffet. After lunch, we headed over to Soldier’s Bay for some more snorkeling. Back on the boat and we started back. Now that we were done snorkeling, we took Deb up on her offer of rum punch. Got back into the marina by 4:00. Walked around town a little and poked into some of the shops and headed back to the ship. What a great day! I would definitely book with White Squall II again to visit some of the other snorkeling areas.

Nov 2007 15 of us took a sailing/snorkelling trip as an excursion while on a one day stop from a cruise. This was by far the best part of our whole cruise vacation. We enjoyed a beautiful old schooner with charm; a top notch Captain - Pierce and his competent and friendly crew/tour guides - Kate & Vanessa. We had fun while feeling safe. The BBQ lunch was decadent and the beach stop was so beautiful. Can't say enough good things about this trip. We'll definitely do this again next time we visit Tortola.

My husband and I went on a snorkeling trip with the White Squall II during our honeymoon on Tortola. We had such a great time that we took a second trip with them a year later! The crew is fun, but very cautious about safety, the lunch & drinks are delicious, and the snorkeling is spectacular!

Jen from Massachusetts