First charter in BVI

[sburt10]

Hi everyone.

I have booked a 3 week charter in BVI in April 2021 which I am very much looking forward to. Hopefully things will be a little better by then. We have chartered in Greece before so not complete charter novices.

It will be just me and my other half. We have booked a 37’ Sun Odessey from DYC and are looking for a relaxed 3 weeks cruising around the area.

I was hoping I could get a few tips from the forum. I have been reading all the threads on here and have all ready gleaned some great info.

A couple of questions,

1. Does anyone have any good tips for what to do about mobile internet ? She who must be obeyed has a social media addiction and must post every second of out life’s on Instagram

2. Has anyone chartered from DYC that can tell me if they allow you to cross over to the USVI ?

3. Food seems insanely expensive, any tips ? Are there any locally produced items that are cheaper ?

Thanks in advance
S

[Zanshin]

1. Mobile Internet. Some of the charter companies offer packages. I got a SIM card from Digicel and a "bundle" data plan with 16Gb of data for one month and that worked flawlessly everywhere.

2. Crossing between the USVI and BVI is not to be recommended in the current COVID situation. Not only are the rules and requirement complex and the checkin/checkout lengthy but they can change at the drop of a hat and leave you stranded. I recently had to wait 3 weeks to get permission to clear out of the BVI!

3. Food is expensive, and the prices are the same for tourists and locals alike. There is very little produce grown locally and most of that is home gardens for personal consumption.

There is a very popular forum dedicated to the BVI with lots of members who charter frequently, check out Traveltalk Online

[sburt10]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

1. Mobile Internet. Some of the charter companies offer packages. I got a SIM card from Digicel and a "bundle" data plan with 16Gb of data for one month and that worked flawlessly everywhere.

2. Crossing between the USVI and BVI is not to be recommended in the current COVID situation. Not only are the rules and requirement complex and the checkin/checkout lengthy but they can change at the drop of a hat and leave you stranded. I recently had to wait 3 weeks to get permission to clear out of the BVI!

3. Food is expensive, and the prices are the same for tourists and locals alike. There is very little produce grown locally and most of that is home gardens for personal consumption.

There is a very popular forum dedicated to the BVI with lots of members who charter frequently, check out Traveltalk Online

Thanks Zanshin

I will check out that forum as well.

[leboyd]

Originally Posted by sburt10

1. Does anyone have any good tips for what to do about mobile internet ? She who must be obeyed has a social media addiction and must post every second of out life’s on Instagram

2. Has anyone chartered from DYC that can tell me if they allow you to cross over to the USVI ?

3. Food seems insanely expensive, any tips ? Are there any locally produced items that are cheaper ?

Thanks in advance
S

You’ll have a blast.

1. AT&T has a daily international plan. For $10 you get unlimited use. If you use it on Monday and not on Tuesday, then again on Wednesday, its $20. You don’t pay on the days you don’t use it. I believe for a three week period they have a monthly charge that is cheaper. At the Bight we’ve were connected to the USVI.

2. We have chartered from them twice. But we were only there for 10 days. Not enough time. But I believe they allow you to go to St. Thomas and St. John. I don’t think they’d allow you to go to St. Croix.

3. Lots of local produce around. We find that compared to the cost of everything else, it’s not really “insanely” expensive. It may be more than what we pay in the States, but still affordable.

[Zanshin]

@leboyd - out of curiosity, what local produce are you referring to? The only locally grown thing I've found is Callwood's Paint Stripper Rum made from locally grown cane. I believe a certain weed is grown in the hills as well. That's about it. No local bananas, pineapples, breadfruit or mango to be found on sale, it is all imported. Oh, they do have coconuts.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by sburt10

I have booked a 3 week charter in BVI in April 2021...

April 2021? Methinks perhaps that's a typo.

[Maple Leaf]

Hi sburt10,

1-your least expensive option would be to get a Digicel SIM card with a data package. DYC also has plans available on many of their yachts but you will find the per diem quite costly. They may be able to give you a package price for the enire charter but I am not certain.

2-I have chartered several times from DYC in the BVIs and other Caribbean islands. They are normally quite flexible with taking their yachts to neighbouring islands but given the current COVID-19 environment, I would wait until you get a little closer to your sailing dates before planning a visit to the USVI.

3-Food will be expensive but when you factor in the relatively inexpensive cost of booze, it will certainly be fine for your 3 week adventure. I didn’t find any locally grown produce but was able to purchase some fresh fish from the locals.

Good luck on your adventure!

Robert

[Hewson]

We’ve purchased locally grown produce from http://www.goodmoonfarm.com/. Enjoy your charter.

[ozdigennaro]

Sailing the the BVI! Wonderful, spectacular. We simply used our cell phone to provide a wi-fi hot spot. The plan offered by the charter will probably be way more expensive.


For us, the clearing out and back in BVI to American was simple and fast. And the charter company had no problem with it.

Nice sail too - just a few hours. But Covid restrictions could be onerous. Read up!

We loved St John Island, not many people. Coral Bay was hilariously full of derelicts, but I'd guess the hurricane cleared many of them out. And no dinghy dock near the markets and restaurants! Yuck.


Have fun. Be sure to visit The Baths. Fantastic. Lots of special rules!


Oz

[Zanshin]

@Hewson - I never knew that they existed, I'll have to buy from them when I return. Looking at google maps it is a small operation, but anything grown locally is going to be better than imported. I'm currently in St. Lucia and one of the guys working on my boat doing varnishing work brings in food from his garden every day - breadfruit, star fruit, golden apples, mango. All unsightly and blemished but ooohhh so good! And this guy, Gregory, on his floating wreck, also delivers local fresh produce although he charges tourist prices...

[AJ_n_Audrey]

I'm going to BVI in November, and was there is April. Others have answered about food and internet, but if you are going to be there three weeks, going to the USVI makes sense. Invest in the eMed COVID tests, so you can test yourself and get results quickly. St John is worth your time, St Thomas not so much, and it's only 33 miles from St John to St Croix, which is a BIG island.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

@Hewson - I never knew that they existed, I'll have to buy from them when I return. Looking at google maps it is a small operation, but anything grown locally is going to be better than imported. I'm currently in St. Lucia and one of the guys working on my boat doing varnishing work brings in food from his garden every day - breadfruit, star fruit, golden apples, mango. All unsightly and blemished but ooohhh so good! And this guy, Gregory, on his floating wreck, also delivers local fresh produce although he charges tourist prices...

Good Moon Farms is a favourite with the crewed charter chefs. Been around for a long time. It's run by Aragorn, who has several enterprises in Trellis Bay and does the Full Moon fire balls.



There is also a weekly farmers market.


Have a good charter.

[jim King]

The BVI is the undisputed sailing capital of the world with over 100 islands to sail around. The winds are consistent from the east at 10 to 20 knots. As to internet, like previous replies, most cell phone companies (including mine: Vorizon) offer a $10 a day roaming that lasts for 24 hours from when you start your first conversation or e-mail, and only apply to the days you use it. There are also many bars and restaurants that offer wifi connections. As for provisioning, BVI has two very large supper markets that offer virtually everything any US market will have including a very wide selections of wine and liquor. The prices are going to be roughly half again what you would pay in the US. Not bad when you consider everything they stock must come by boat from the US.
Hope to run into you in see you sailing down Sir Francis Drake Channel.
jim

[Dooglas]

Lots of places to visit without leaving the BVI. Jost Van Dyke is fun. North Sound on Virgin Gorda is a place where there is lots to do and you can hang out for quite a while. I thought the sail to Anegada was a blast and the island is an interesting one to explore.

[Mithril Bham]

Don't bother with USVI. Don't eat local reef fish. Spaghetti place in Road Town pretty good deal. Food about the same as US. Good steak from SA. Great place to charter. Very safe.