We chose to do the half day trip to Buck Island on Big Beard's. We left in the morning (9am-ish) and returned a little after 1pm, sailing on the "Flyer". Captain Austin and 1st Mate Darby made the trip a good time. They know the waters well and made the sailing trip very enjoyable, inspite of the rough waters heading out to the island.

We had to sail under motor power due to the tides/currents opposing us, which made for a little choppy experience, but still fun.

The snorkeling was awesome. My wife and I enjoyed this part thoroughly. The current was a little strong that day so we found ourselves having to do quite a bit of swimming at times to get where we wanted along the reef, but the sites were stunning. We saw a hawk billed turtle swimming by us, along with several schools of Blue Tang (40-60 fish). The coral itself wasn't particularly stunning, as either a lot of it has died or is not particularly colorful (not sure caused that).

We snorkeled for about an hour or so, which was plenty. We were pretty worn out by the end of that time, and we were the last ones back on the boat -- the other three couples stopped a while before that. Being that we weren't overcrowded made for a nice voyage as well.

Turtle Beach on Buck Island had some of the clearest, most enjoyable water I've ever experienced. Almost no wave activity and just the softest sand you can imagine. A little rain squal came up while we were at the beach which created a nice cooling effect while in the water.

As with most others, I would highly recommend this. Do take a disposable underwater camera with you as well. There is lot to see and definitely beautiful things to capture for memories.

Went to Buck Island yesterday with Big Beard and had a wonderful time. We took the full day trip which I recommend since it includes a lunch and rum punch at the end. All food is cooked outdoors with the mongooses coming up and grabbing the left overs when everyone is finished. Our Captain was a guy named Austin whose Dad is named Dallas and they are from North Dakota. Go figure. He was a great Captain, his crew was a guy named Brad from North Carolina who used to be on the East Carolina swim team, and a very attractive lady named Aaron from Philly who came down to spend a year and has now been here four. The were a very good team and they worked very hard to ensure we all had a great time. If you come to St. Croix this is a must do. The snorkling was outstanding and the water very clear.

Buck Island is serene. The trip must be made on big beard Renegade, since it is a big catamaran and thr ride is extremely smooth. We took the half a day trip , which was maybe a tad too short since an extra hour beach combing would have been perfect. The water is crystal clear.

I highly recommend it especially for non scuba divers, since there is plenty of fish to see. Great fun for kids, although small ones my get overhelmed with snorkeing in open waters.

We booked the full-day excursion aboard the Renegade for February 14, 2008. Austin was our captain. We had a great time! The captain and crew were informative, funny, and knowledgeable. We saw the usual sargeant majors, parrotfish, etc. and also saw squid , barracuda, and other fish I had never seen before. There were about 20 passengers, including crew, on our trip. The beach BBQ was good. We were served hamburgers, hotdogs, fish and chips. I would have liked to have seen fruit offered also, but there was plenty to eat. We had a good time feeding the mongoose "dem" our leftovers. The Big Beard's full-day excursion is a must-do while in St. Croix.