Sailing in the BVI. Suggestions?

[NurseCarmen]

I’m finally going to sail in the Carribean this year, and I’m bareboating a cat (I was outvoted) out of Tortola for 7 days in February. Has anyone done the trip? Are there any ‘must sees’ or ‘must dos’? We’ll be eating onboard for the most part, but will go ashore a few nights for dinners. Any resturant suggestions? Any other tips?

[Lola_Granola]

The Jolly Roger!!! It’s over by the ferry boat dock, (on Tortola) and serves the best drink EVER.

It’s called a Bushwacker, and if you can get it made by Patty Ann, you have reached a state of alcohol nirvana.

I LOVE YOU PATTY ANN!!!

Drink one for me. But don’t drink more than 3, or you won’t be walking anywere under your own power.

There is also a student run bakery in Road Town that is sublime. They serve sandwiches as well as baked goodies. Anything there is WONDERFUL.

Pussers’ is a bar/resturant that has multiple locations. Also very good, but a little pricey. The crab dip is really yummy.

And, Sebastions over on the north side of the island has the best rum. Really. I tried every kind of rum I could, and that was by far, the best. (Hey, can you pick my up a bottle?)

Gee. Looking back at this post, I get the impression all I did was drink and eat when I was there. Ahh… good times.

[GusNSpot]

@NurseCarmen

I’m finally going to sail in the Carribean this year, and I’m bareboating a cat (I was outvoted) out of Tortola for 7 days in February. Has anyone done the trip? Are there any ‘must sees’ or ‘must dos’? We’ll be eating onboard for the most part, but will go ashore a few nights for dinners. Any resturant suggestions? Any other tips?

I was there in 72 so all my info is too dated to be of any help.

I have a friend who has been there many times and I’ll ask him.

I hear that to get a goos spot of the night, you need to be there by about 3 PM now.

You know all the ‘sun’ dangers and ways to protect yourself ?

Are you going to have the boat pre-provided or do your own shopping?

Read any of the 'How too" books that are available?

[GusNSpot]

This is the response I got from my friend.

OK. Will make some suggestions. It is now getting crowded down there now. Virtually no anchoring any more. Most all good places have mooring balls to pickup. Now being in by 3:00 PM is more a matter of getting on a ball than having a high sun for setting hook. If you get forced to the hook, stay away out from those on the mooring balls. Your swing will be totally different! Moorings are $20.00 CASH each night. There is now required trash pickup each day from a small power boot. About $10.00 bucks I think.

So, now you can figure a min of $30.00 per night any more and the Resturants are EXPENSIVE!!!

One new piece of information I have learned the hard way about the BVI as it its now is; “Pack your bags for the trip. Then wait a day and then go back and take out one half of what you had put in your bags. And then refill the bags and any empty space with, LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY!!!” And unfortunately, you will still not have brought enough money!

Jack

PS: Send this ahead & I will work on more info.

[hajario]

I did this a few years ago.

Go to the restaurant on Marina Cay for conch fritters for lunch.

There is a bar called The Ship which can only be reached by boat. It looks like a marooned pirate ship. Go at night and if you’re drunk and/or brave enough jump off of the back into the water.

Bomba Shack!! If you’re there for the full moon, the Full Moon Festival is a must. They serve a weak tea made from hallucinogenic mushrooms.

[KSO]

The Soggy Dollar on Jost Van Dyke. Don’t go on the weekend because everyone and his brother will be there. Have a Painkiller (or two, or three) and say hi to KC the bartender for me…

I can’t tell you how jealous I am…

[GusNSpot]

I still have the map with our sail route on it, I’ll try to get a picture of it tomorrow.

We did Little Jost Van Dyke, Cane Garden Bay, the Bitter End, Virgin Gorda, The Baths etc.

Also Jack sent some more;

Not too surprised to see they are taking a Cat. Most of the charter companies are all going to Cats. Very few mono-hulls being chartered. As I understand it, there are more people that want Cats than mono-hulls. The non experienced sailors want them. They are shallow draft, (less chance of running them onto reefs), don’t heal, with two engines/screws are easier to motor/maneuver around and have a lot more room. Well, more room for day time activities. The bunk rooms below, in my opinion, are not as comfortable. Sunsail, who now owns the Moorings and a lot of other defunct charter companies, do have quite a few 46 to 50+ foot Cats. Those are pretty nice below. Over 50+ feet get real nice below. They still don’t point worth a crap. but they do go like hell off the wind.

Frankly, I’m a purist. That 46 foot I had last year would point up, go over 9 Knots hard on the wind, was a wave bustin sucker, healed nicely and was fun. But one has to be careful with it. It’s draft was 6 foot 10 inches. As Bill the owner told me, "figure that sucker drafts 7 foot plus & know where you are all the time.

I’ll dig out our books from the last trip. I know where to tell them the food is good and the entertainment is fun. I wish I could tell them any place that was cheap anymore. There may be some, but I couldn’t find any.

A party of four with; a night mooring, a trash pickup, one dinner ashore for each of the four, bags of ice for the next day, geeez, your looking at $250.00 bucks or more if ya keep it to one cocktail each! I had a diesel tab for 70 some gallons, half way thru the 10 days, that was well over $240.00! Oh yeah, they also charge for the water for your tanks as well.

Taxi cabs have gone nuts as well. I think from the airport to town is now over $25.00! If a cruise ship is in, and they come in all the time now, most stuff on the big Island will go up another 50%!!!

They better not forget that after Jan. 1, 2007 THEY MUST HAVE VALID PASSPORTS!!

Later,
Jack, aka “Captain Jack” “ARRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr”

[GusNSpot]

A quick overview of a nice trip around the BVI area

The overall route we took.

We ( me and wife and Jack and his wife ) flew down in a 4 place Piper Comanche from Oklahoma to join up with the 41’ RR ketch “Skona”. We landed on Beef Island and were met on the beech at the end of the runway by the skipper and his tender.

He gave up the 'speech and necessary info as we motored through the cut and then as we had told him, “We want to sail”, we help hoist the sails and off we went to Cane Garden Bay and then to Little Jost Van Dyke to spend the night.

Day two was to Norman Island. Day 2-3 Day two was to Norman Island. You will note small dots along the sailing tracks, these were stops made to snorkel and sight see and sometimes to eat in a bar or restaurant or just go exploring.
Day three was early snorkeling and then to Tortola for the ‘fancy’ night.

Day 4 was a slow start as we did some additional provisioning after trying to quell the hangovers. A stop at Cooper Island. We had a ball on Marina Cay.

Day 5-6-7
We stayed a long time at the ‘Baths’ and the great beaches up the cost at St Thomas bay.
Day 6 was a great hard on the wind sail up into the bight through the narrow pass in the reef. Did some exploring with the tender and swung on the hook with a wonderful breeze for the night.
Day 7 was back to Marina Cay for our last night on board.

Day 8 we motored back to Beef Island and took the tender to within a few hundred feet of the plane.

We went other places and did other things from the air but the sailing on Skona was by far the best part.

[NurseCarmen]

GusNSpot, you rock.

[AskNott]

Second-hand info: The t-shirt that says, “I slept on a Virgin,” won’t seem as clever when you get home with it.

[NurseCarmen]

I’m not ashamed to bump my thread to see if anyone else has input who may have missed it. I’ll play my one bump card…NOW!

[GusNSpot]

Are you getting excited?

All your ducks in a row?

Have fun and post jpg’s when you get back.

[Tully_Mars]

I have a suggestion for you: Don’t go back home. Just stay sailing forever.