Beach picks, marine forecast, cruise crowds, customs waits — one clean read each morning, so you plan smarter island days.
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A real Paradise Brief — score, conditions, beach picks, customs forecast, all in one scroll.
Capt Dave's
Today · USVI & BVI Daily Briefing
Great day
What's inside
The Paradise Brief synthesizes data from NOAA, NWS, USCG, cruise schedules, and on-island sources into one clean morning read.
Water quality, surf height, crowd levels, and snorkeling visibility for every major beach across STJ, STT, and BVI.
See exactly when 25,000 cruise guests hit shore — hour by hour — so you know when to go and when to avoid.
Every beach rated for conditions — generally calm, use caution, or not recommended — based on surf, water, and currents.
Wind, swell height and period, Drake Channel conditions, tide curves, Current Cut timing, and anchorage status.
Not your mainland weather app. Capt Dave tells you what the rain actually means for your plans — most showers clear in 20 minutes.
Daily customs wait prediction — Light, Moderate, or Heavy — with departure board, arrive-by recommendation, and tips for beating the line.
Four views · One report
One tap switches between a beach planner, an on-the-water guide, a professional captain's briefing, and a full departure-day intelligence view.
For vacationers planning their day. Beach conditions, crowd timing, water quality, airport status, and Capt Dave's morning note.
For bareboat charterers and sailors. Wind, swell, tide curves, anchorage status, Willy T conditions, fuel pricing, passage routing.
Raw operational data for professional captains. Buoy observations, GFS model forecast, pressure trend, passage notes, watch items.
For your departure day. STT customs forecast, scheduled departure board, arrive-by time, weekly pattern, insider tips for beating the line.
What subscribers say
Wanted to tell you how much I'm appreciating the daily briefing. We've lived on island for nine years now, and this is the easiest one-stop reference I can imagine. Thanks again for the wonderful resource.
The best source I have seen so far, in my opinion.
Tripadvisor
This brief is the best I've found. Hands down.
Found out about it days before my trip after months of reading groups — thank you for putting it all in one place! Spot on every day. We snorkeled Salt Pond, Hawksnest, Maho, Trunk and Cinnamon all perfectly on your recs.
Most weather apps are a 50/50, but with Dave's reports I feel secure in daily decisions on boating, beaches and cruises. Rock on, brother!
It's invaluable when planning our days on island or for STT day trips. A great resource that every island visitor should avail themselves of.
At the risk of being behind the times — we're on the second week of our charter and have found Capt Dave's briefings to be very helpful.
BVI Charter Chat
Fantastic information. We used the daily brief before and during our St. John trip — weather, beach, cruise-ship numbers, airport and ferry. Everything in one place but brief and to the point.
A super user-friendly source for everything you need to make decisions on beaches and travel time through STT. Our next trip isn't until January but I still check in to see how things are going.
Dave's daily updates are so informative. Weather, beach conditions and airport conditions are the best — for both USVI and BVI. I look forward to his briefings. Thank you, Captain Dave!
Looked forward to the report every morning to confirm our beach choices for the day. Thank you for doing this!
So helpful in planning our trip! If you're heading to the Virgin Islands, check it out.
Very informative — and I check it each day on our trip.
You've done a great job putting together the Brief. Thank you!
A 12-pack charterer, and also appreciate this. Thank you!
Very well laid out and easy to read!
Love the Paradise Briefs!
Awesome… thank you. We love your daily email.
Thank you!!! Your info is so helpful ❤️
Thank you for posting. I love getting your daily brief.
Love this site. Great info!
Hey, thanks a lot! I followed your brief this week and found it quite helpful.
This is very helpful. Thank you!
Thank you, this is great!
Thanks Capt. Dave!
I signed up with him and his information is wonderful. Thanks for sharing the link!
Tripadvisor
A big thank you for your Daily Briefings. That's a lot of work to put in, and I — and I'm sure others — appreciate all you do. The information is very helpful.
I've been following for a few months and find this report very helpful. Great report — keep up the great work!
Thank you, perfect. This is great.
Hi David!!! What an awesome thing you've created!
Capt Dave's Paradise Brief now has a full-week STT cruise-ship arrival outlook. Here ya go! Have a beautiful St. John day 💙💚
Thank you for all the information every single day! I only wish I'd found it sooner. Reading your information adds to the fun of planning. You are appreciated!
Saw this — wow! Following.
About Capt Dave
The name that's become trusted by thousands in the VI for daily conditions.
I built this because nothing like it existed. Every morning I was checking six different sources — and I figured if I needed it, so did you.
David Cook is the straight-talking editorial voice behind the Paradise Brief — a free daily conditions briefing built as a practical gift to the islands and everyone who loves them. Behind the brief is a lifelong Virgin Islands enthusiast, a retired technology executive, entrepreneur, and author who has spent years exploring the USVI and BVI.
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The Paradise Brief is for informational purposes only. Conditions data is sourced from third-party providers including NOAA, NWS, USCG, and other public sources, and is not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. Always exercise your own judgment and verify conditions before making decisions about water activities or travel. During active emergency alerts, follow official guidance from NWS, VITEMA, and BVI DDM above all other sources. Capt Dave's Paradise Brief is not responsible for decisions made based on this report.