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Old 17-05-2017, 09:00   #1
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BVIs in September?

Hi
Looking at a bareboat charter holiday to the BVIs this September for 2 weeks. Appreciate its low season but how is the weather for sailing from your experience? Winds too light? Sun too hot? Too much rain? Or is it in fact paradise as its so quiet?

Any tips very gratefully received

thanks
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Old 17-05-2017, 09:06   #2
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Re: BVIs in September?

Weather is fine, wind predictable and temperature is moderate, interrupted only by the occasional hurricane. If you're lucky, it's the best time of year to go. If not, ...
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Old 17-05-2017, 09:30   #3
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Re: BVIs in September?

We did the BVI's in September of 2012. The winds were generally fine (10-15kts) out of the east.

The biggest issue sailing, that's simple to be aware of, is the squalls that come through. When we were there we did not have to worry about the ones that popped up to the north or west, and I don't recall one coming from the south. The ones from the east were the ones where you'd want to watch out. We only had maybe three in our 10 days, but we were caught out in Drake's Channel each time. They came up quickly while we were on beam reaches crossing the Channel - one minute not there, the next there. Really no time to "reef early". Our boat, Hunter 42CC, had a main furling only accessible from the mast and a lot of cranking to get it reefed. We were 2 couples and I was the only "sailor". I didn't feel comfortable sending someone up on the deck with little experience as the winds in front of the squalls went from 15kts to 25kts in seconds, so we furled the head sail and turned into as close a haul as I could get and keep the boat slow and under steerage. The squalls are fast moving, so the longest we were in one was about 15-20 minutes. Once they were through, the sailing was great again. After the third one, in three days, we mostly sailed with a full reefed main or no main at all, just the furling head sail since we weren't in a hurry to get anywhere.

We couldn't out run the squalls because the boat would only do about 6kts motor sailing - pretty much a pig of a boat. I don't know if I made the right maneuvers, but it was all I could think of with 1-2 minutes notice.

But, the BEST part of sailing the BVIs in September or October is that there is no crowd. We never had a problem getting a mooring ball or slip, even when we arrived at dusk. Of course, not every place is open at that time of year, but enough was open for us.

I would recommend trip insurance specifically for hurricanes. It's cheap considering a hurricane will either cancel your sailing or cut it short.

Hope that helps.
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Old 17-05-2017, 11:44   #4
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Re: BVIs in September?

We did BVI September of 2010. Weather was exciting at times, as we did get impacted by the far outer edges of a few storms, but we never felt unsafe.

The Moorings did ask us to stay within decent range of the base, for the first few days, incase one of the storms came closer. We also listened to the hourly weather report religiously.

As previously mentioned, absolutely no issue picking up mooring balls. There were however a few spots we tried to hit up that were closed. But the main points of interest that we tried to hit were open. The Baths, Willy T's, Soggy Dollar, etc.
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Old 17-05-2017, 12:11   #5
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Re: BVIs in September?

Quote:
Originally Posted by leboyd View Post
We did the BVI's in September of 2012. The winds were generally fine (10-15kts) out of the east.

The biggest issue sailing, that's simple to be aware of, is the squalls that come through. When we were there we did not have to worry about the ones that popped up to the north or west, and I don't recall one coming from the south. The ones from the east were the ones where you'd want to watch out. We only had maybe three in our 10 days, but we were caught out in Drake's Channel each time. They came up quickly while we were on beam reaches crossing the Channel - one minute not there, the next there. Really no time to "reef early". Our boat, Hunter 42CC, had a main furling only accessible from the mast and a lot of cranking to get it reefed. We were 2 couples and I was the only "sailor". I didn't feel comfortable sending someone up on the deck with little experience as the winds in front of the squalls went from 15kts to 25kts in seconds, so we furled the head sail and turned into as close a haul as I could get and keep the boat slow and under steerage. The squalls are fast moving, so the longest we were in one was about 15-20 minutes. Once they were through, the sailing was great again. After the third one, in three days, we mostly sailed with a full reefed main or no main at all, just the furling head sail since we weren't in a hurry to get anywhere.

We couldn't out run the squalls because the boat would only do about 6kts motor sailing - pretty much a pig of a boat. I don't know if I made the right maneuvers, but it was all I could think of with 1-2 minutes notice.

But, the BEST part of sailing the BVIs in September or October is that there is no crowd. We never had a problem getting a mooring ball or slip, even when we arrived at dusk. Of course, not every place is open at that time of year, but enough was open for us.

I would recommend trip insurance specifically for hurricanes. It's cheap considering a hurricane will either cancel your sailing or cut it short.

Hope that helps.
Really helpful - thank you
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Old 17-05-2017, 12:11   #6
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Re: BVIs in September?

thats really helpful - thanks
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Old 17-05-2017, 12:16   #7
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Re: BVIs in September?

Quote:
Originally Posted by stokesy73 View Post
Hi
Looking at a bareboat charter holiday to the BVIs this September for 2 weeks. Appreciate its low season but how is the weather for sailing from your experience? Winds too light? Sun too hot? Too much rain? Or is it in fact paradise as its so quiet?

Any tips very gratefully received

thanks
I understand the weather can be full of BIG surprises that time of year.
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Old 17-05-2017, 13:05   #8
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Re: BVIs in September?

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Originally Posted by Kenomac View Post
I understand the weather can be full of BIG surprises that time of year.
Too true, I wouldn't risk being up there then, but as a Charterer he doesn't need to worry about the boat. For the most part the weather's some of the year's best and he'll never be more than a short day-sail from the charter base. So, if a TS/Hurricane should intrude he can return it to base, scuttle into shelter ashore and enjoy the storm whilst let the charter company worry about securing the boat until it passes.
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Old 17-05-2017, 13:24   #9
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Re: BVIs in September?

Quote:
Originally Posted by stokesy73 View Post
Hi
Looking at a bareboat charter holiday to the BVIs this September for 2 weeks. Appreciate its low season but how is the weather for sailing from your experience? Winds too light? Sun too hot? Too much rain? Or is it in fact paradise as its so quiet?

Any tips very gratefully received

thanks
Balmy breezes on the ocean. Hot as hell on land. Squally as it is hurricane season all the way up to the US Coast of Maine, until November. Get weather protection in case you cannot go sailing when you get there, due to squalls or Hurricanes.
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Old 17-05-2017, 13:25   #10
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Re: BVIs in September?

We own a Beneteau 40 out of St. Thomas and we routinely sail in September. In 2015 we did a 4-week trip that spanned Anegada to Vieques. We did have showers every day and squalls on many days. Winds tend to be more from the south. We did have some dead calm days and it was good to anchor well out to keep away from the bugs and capture as much breeze as possible. It was routine for us to sail from North Sound Virgin Gorda to Cruz Bay, St. John on a beam reach on a single tack without seeing any boats under way in the BVIs.

The good news is that nothing is crowded. You will literally be the only boat in some very popular anchorages. But, many things are closed. It is easier to mention what is open:
- Leverick Bay Marina - Thursday night pizza night with DJ brings out the biggest crowd we see.
- Scrub Bay Marina - off-season folks, swimming pool and a chance to run a/c on shore power
- Willie T in the Bight at Norman Island
- Trellis Bay full moon party - very small group with DJ and a couple of fire balls
- Anegada - changes year to year, but Anegada Reef Hotel, Neptune's Treasure, Cow Wreck Beach Bar, Big Bamboo have been variously open in the past
- Jost Van Dyke White Bay - lots of day trippers, very quiet at night

The US Virgin Islands are relatively busier, but still at a seasonal lull. Kids are back in school on St. John and many restaurants and bars are open in Cruz Bay. Given how beautiful St. John is, it is worth the BVI check out/US check in/BVI check in exercise for a couple of days.

Cheers, RickG
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Old 17-05-2017, 13:28   #11
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Re: BVIs in September?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bobnlesley View Post
Too true, I wouldn't risk being up there then, but as a Charterer he doesn't need to worry about the boat. For the most part the weather's some of the year's best and he'll never be more than a short day-sail from the charter base. So, if a TS/Hurricane should intrude he can return it to base, scuttle into shelter ashore and enjoy the storm whilst let the charter company worry about securing the boat until it passes.
I agree.
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Old 17-05-2017, 15:51   #12
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Re: BVIs in September?

We were looking into an October charter. September is high point in hurricane season, so there is a relatively low probability of a tropical system ruining a day or two of the trip, even lower probability of a big storm ruining the whole trip. We stayed on land in St John in October. It was warm but being from Texas, we were perfectly content with the temperature though we did have AC in our room. It rained a few afternoons for less than 30 minutes. Made for some beautiful sunsets!

Get trip insurance, save 40% on the charter rate, and go enjoy!
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