Off-Season Destinations...

[cameraflier]

Last week was my second trip to the BVI. I’ve done both in the off season. This time I returned to Road Town just as the docks were emptying for a regatta. The night prior we had been in The Bight, with just 4 other boats.

I’ve come to really like off season sailing. While many of the on-shore attractions were closed, the sailing was great. We did get some rain, and we had to cook aboard more than planned (closed restaurants), but we had Sandy Spit to ourselves for a day, and we were the only boat between Sandy Spit and Foxy’s for the night. Often nobody came to collect mooring fees.

I can cope with rain. I’m new enough that 12-18 knots is still a good day for sailing. I don’t need 25 knots to make it fun. I enjoy the empty space. While I respect the need for some folks to party hard, I’m not that guy. When we came back to Road Town, it was a completely different place then when we left. It became something other than the nearly closed port we left. Now I called it “Daytona Beach for gown ups with Gold Cards.”

Now I’m thinking to go charter everywhere/anywhere in the off season. Any advice out there? Any wisdom or favorite off season destinations? Please don’t limit your comments to the Caribbean. I’ve only got a few years of sailing, so the map is open for me.


-c