December 2018 BVI Trip Report

[leboyd]

Once again, sailing the BVIs was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Trying to write a decent trip report is somewhat difficult, as everyone’s reports basically say, “We went here and then there, and then on to there…” And, of course, that’s what we did; We went here and then there, and then on to there…

However, since this was our first trip after Irma and Maria, we were very interested in the status of restaurants, marinas, provisioning locations, bays, etc. And yet we had a difficult time finding timely information before our departure. Therefore, I decided to end my report with the status of different. Hopefully for those planning a charter in the BVIs and looking for status information, this information will help.

Additionally, while I’d like to post some of the photos I took of the rebuilding and devastation, alas that is not possible. While preparing to leave Leverick Bay, I dropped my iPhone into the water. It was only 12’ deep, so I recovered it easily. Unfortunately, though, it was dead and no repair facility back home was able to resurrect it. Gone forever were some helpful photos for those planning a BVI charter.

Getting Started

Because of timing, we scheduled our trip for 12/11 through 12/19, hoping to have at least one of our adult children and their family join us. When it became obvious that this was not going to happen, we placed a “Crew Wanted” ad on a cruiser forum and, after some phone calls and emails, invited a couple (Mike and Anjie) that we did not know to join us. It worked out great, and I recommend that if you are looking for some company on a charter you shouldn’t be too afraid of doing something like this. Just do your homework in your interviews with prospects and don’t be in a hurry to select.

We selected the 2018 Dufour 412 GL Liberty “Walk on the Moon” from Dream Yacht Charters. This is a comfortable boat for two couples, and included shore power AC. We had no problems with the boat and it sailed great, even with growth on the bottom. In 20 knot winds on a beam reach it would easily reach 8 to 8.5 knots of SOG. It was also easy to sail, although we had to be careful when raising the main. With the fully battened main and stack pack, it was not difficult to catch a batten in the lines of the stack pack. However, this is not a problem as you simply direct the boat so the wind shifts the main slightly to allow the main to be raised.

The dingy was very acceptable, although we did have problems with the motor. On the second day, it appeared to be running very rich. We stopped for the night at Virgin Gorda Yacht Club and DYC sent a mechanic to take a look. After a bit of work, the mechanic said he wasn’t sure what exactly was happening, but that it was safe to use the motor and if we had any other problems DYC would quickly assist us. We used it for another couple of days, but finally it gave out and DYC met us at Cane Garden and replaced the motor.

The Trip

Because we were arriving on the later American Airlines flight, we chose to take a water taxi (Sea Horse Water Taxi) to Hodge Creek Marina, where DYC was based (during our charter DYC moved their base to Scrub Island). The water taxis aren’t cheap, but it was nice to get there and get settled in. Sea Horse was very friendly, quick on their email responses, on schedule and provided everything we expected.

When we arrived, DYC pointed out the boat to us and it was all prepared for our sleepover. We knew there were no restaurants at Hodge Creek, so we had placed an order from Riteway. They arrived that evening with most of what we ordered. Apparently they were out of stock on some things, substituting some items and not including anything for others. Yet, the order price was the same(?). We weren’t sure why, but in the future we would order only the bare minimum and provision the next morning.

In the morning we received our boat briefing, had breakfast, checked the forecast and left around 1230. The wind was only 5kts, so we motor sailed to Spanish Town. Spent the night and then headed to The Baths.

After a nice time at the Baths, we headed down to Cooper Island. We arrived at Cooper at 1445 and grabbed the very last mooring ball. We were surprised that all the balls were already taken so early at this time of the year. Several boats came in after us and probably had to head to Peter Island.

That night was a rock-and-roll night. With the winds from one direction and the swells from another, every boat, including the catamarans, were rocking and rolling. It was quite uncomfortable and it’s doubtful we would spend another night there. We would opt to go to Great Harbor on Peter Island instead.

The next morning Mike and I were met for a diving excursion on the Wreck of the Rhone. Unfortunately, the currents through the pass were running 9-10kts, so we moved to another couple of areas. After our morning dives, we packed up and headed to Leverick Bay. It was one of our favorite locations the last time we sailed the BVIs, so we were looking forward to spending the night there. With winds at 20-25kts, we had a nice brisk sail up to Leverick.

The next morning, we sailed from Leverick all the way to The Bight at Norman Island. Unfortunately, while leaving Leverick is when I dropped my iPhone. Gone were my photos of Spanish Town, The Baths and Cooper. But our four hour sail to Norman was really good and fast. That night we had a wind storm (40kt winds). It was loud, but the ride was not a problem.

The next day we wanted to go to Road Town to spend the night and tour the city. This was our best sailing day with winds around 20kts and SOG of 8.5kts. But unfortunately, there was not a single slip in any of the marinas available for the night. So, we thought we’d go to Nanny Cay – same results. Off to Soper’s Hole to catch a mooring ball. WOW! (see the last section for the description) We didn’t stay at Soper’s and heading to Cane Garden.

We spent two nights on a mooring ball at Cane Garden. During the day, we decided to do the zip lines. For four people it was $32 each way for the taxi and the zip lines were $85 each. We enjoyed the zip lines and the views are spectacular. They are still rebuilding from the hurricanes, but they were very friendly and safe.

Since we needed to check out the next day and we had heard great things about Scrub Island, we decided to spend the last night there. We had another good sail up. Since the sailing was good and we had the time, we took the long way around Guana Island, Great Camano and even Scrub Island, coming in from the south side.

We had a wonderful trip and once again Virgin Island Sailing was supreme in their advice and guidance. We’re already working on booking another trip in October 2019.

Marina/Fuel/Provisioning Statuses

At this point, I’ll go through my opinion of the status of different locations.

Tortola/Hodge Creek Marina: This was the base of DYC when we arrived. It is quite derelict and we did not see any serious rebuilding occurring. There is a smaller grocery store about 15-20 minute walk to the right when you leave the marina. The staff at DYC were very excited about moving to Scrub Island Marina, which is where we ended our charter. RECOMMENDATION: There is no reason to go here.

Virgin Gorda Yacht Club/Spanish Town: There is a lot of rebuilding activity going on here. It appeared there was only one pier with power (the first one) and they do have ice. The fuel dock was open and I assume they had water (we did not need either). The old Riteway at the marina is gone and there is no rebuilding happening at this location. However, about a 15 minute walk to the right when exiting the marina is a new, large Riteway. There are taxis available, but we opted to stretch our legs. There is no wifi at the marina. The showers and restrooms, which were in the old Riteway building, are now behind the marina office on the back side of the white roof building. These are not for the faint of heart. They’re usable and clean enough with good water pressure, but I wouldn’t define them as “nice”. As far as we could tell, there was only one – not one for men and one for women.

We had dinner at “The Baths & Turtle”. This is about a five minute walk to the left as you leave the marina. On Wednesday night an all-you-can-eat buffet is available (we chose to eat off the menu) and there was live music from a steel drum player. The food, service and price were all good.

The Baths: The biggest change we saw here was the no-access to the beach with a dingy even just to drop people off. This means everyone must swim to the beach. There is a buoy line available to pull yourself along, but there’s still a 50 yard swim. I wish they could figure out a solution to this (or maybe we just didn’t see the solution). RECOMMENDATION: Instead of going to the beach at The Baths, dingy around the south side to Devil’s Bay. While you still do not have access to the beach, the required swim distance is significantly less.

Cooper Island/Manchioneel Bay: They had about 40 mooring balls. The Cooper Island Beach Club is very nice. They have a nice restaurant where we had an excellent dinner, a nice coffee bar, ice cream bar, rum bar and souvenir shop. All of the staff on the island were great. A non-affiliated boat came by in the morning that offered trash pickup and ice. There is no other fuel, water, ice or provisioning available here.

North Virgin Gorda/Leverick Bay Marina: As with our last visit, we enjoyed our stay here, although I missed visiting with Nick. They have about 20 mooring balls, but we chose one of the few slips for shore power. They have everything available here: fuel, water, ice, very decent provisioning store, laundry, decent shower and restroom facilities, a couple of souvenir shops and good restaurants. That night was the all-you-can-eat BBQ, which was great and they had a handful of guys and girls come out on stilts in colorful outfits dancing for entertainment. This is still one of our favorite locations.

Norman Island/The Bight: I estimated they have about 75 mooring balls. It’s kind of strange to come back here because it’s not very crowded. Since the Willy T moved to Great Harbor at Peter Island, the crowds are much less. The restaurant was good, but be aware that in the morning nothing is open, including restrooms. There is no provisioning, ice, water or fuel.

Tortola/Road Town: The only thing you need to know is that you should call ahead and reserve a slip if you want to stay here. Many of the old slips are still destroyed, but are being rebuilt. Since we were unable to get a slip, I don’t personally know the status of the fuel, ice and water, but I suspect these are all available.

Tortola/Soper’s Hole: Sad place. There’s very little rebuilding occurring from what we could see. There is a small café that only serves breakfast, but they do have drinks during the day. It seems like there’s a fuel dock run by Voyage Charters. We were there on Sunday afternoon, so everything but the little café was closed (and the café closed at 1430). RECOMMENDATION: There’s really no reason to go here.

Tortola/Cane Garden Bay: I estimate about 25 mooring balls. This was one of our favorite bays on our previous trip and it still is. There are several restaurants open along the beach and several others are being rebuilt. We chose to eat at Rhymers one night and Pusser’s Myett’s the other. Both were good. There is a Bobby’s Market down the street to the right from the dingy dock (stay on the road, not the beach) and a smaller market attached to Ryhmers for provisioning. At the north end of the bay there is a fuel, water and ice dock.

PILOTING: Even the 2017/2018 VI Chart Guide says there are two red and two green buoys marking the entrance. However, we only saw one green, which appears to be the inner green buoy. It’s not a treacherous bay to enter, so it’s not a major issue.

Marina Cay Fuel Dock: Although no one answered the radio calls (not at all uncommon when trying to hail a marina in the BVIs), we pulled up to the dock and it was open. We did not need ice or water, so I don’t know if they have that. There are about 20 mooring balls available.

Scrub Island/Scrub Island Marina: This is a gorgeous, high-end place. With the DYC base now at Scrub Island, I’m not sure if they have transient slips available. It looked very crowded, so you’ll want to contact them before you get there to see if you can reserve a slip. If they don’t have slips available, you can catch a mooring ball at Marina Cay and dingy over to Scrub Island. They do not have fuel (hence the need to go to Marina Cay). They do have water and ice. There is a small place to provision inside the Deli. The showers and restrooms are top-notch – best in the BVIs as far as I’ve seen. The restaurant is outstanding, although not cheap (since we were celebrating our 37 anniversary and Mike and Anjie were celebrating their 25 anniversary, this was our anniversary dinner).

[TriggerHappy]

Great trip report and useful information, thx!

I find that traveltalkonline's BVI forum is a great resource for bare boat chartering in the BVIs and USVIs. Not sure if you had come across this through your trip research. I had used it for my first bare boat charter (pre-Irma) and still follow-it to get latest updates on conditions and what is open/closed.

The site is not very useful for other sailing locations, however.

[leboyd]

Yes, I do use traveltalk and often find it very helpful. I’ve found on many forums that some of the answers are pre-Irma/Maria. My post was to explain what we found last month.

[caradow]

Wow, where exactly did you have to deal with currents that where "9-10 knots" in the VI's ? Could this be a misprint?

[leboyd]

Originally Posted by caradow

Wow, where exactly did you have to deal with currents that where "9-10 knots" in the VI's ? Could this be a misprint?

This was over the Wreck of the Rhone. I only repeat what the Dive boat captain said. We were tied to the bow of the Rhone mooring ball. As always with a deep dive, they drop the emergency oxygen breather to 15' (safety stop depth). The breather, with the 2lb weight, was not sinking and was only going down about 5'-8', floating towards the Strait. I don't know how fast water has to be moving to cause the breather not to drop vertically. I believe the "current" was caused by the swells coming in from the SE/SSE and wrapping around Salt Island.

[Lihuedooley77]

Le boyd

Excellent and informative trip report for us sailors.

And, you had some great sailing. Perfect.

We also would like to get a slip at Scrub for a 36 sail, and with most of the people now motoring Catamarans, that can take up the room for two monohulls, we may be using marina cay, and hop on the dock banger for a day time fun adventure. Then
back to Marina cay ,

I also hear that in addition to Dream Y,C, that a sailing school may also be based out of Scrub as well.

We have two weeks, and thanks to your scoops on lack of moorings, we will continue our usual leaving early. But, it is a grand and great sail from Cooper to Leverick .
We have a plan B for Leverick, and hope to reserve a slip.

Good on you and your crew for being able to sail between destinations.

Thank you again, for the updates.

Denny and Erica

[leboyd]

Denny,

I'm sure you'll have a great time. We booked our next trip (Oct 2019) last week. Catamaran this time from Horizon. Already looking forward to that one!

[Lihuedooley77]

Le Boyd,

Good stuff, my friend.

If possible, we would like your input on Horizon. I looked at their website and they look like a very squared away sailing organization. I believe the have the Bavarian monohulls, which look great, but I have never sailed one. Know absolutely nothing about the Bavarians, but willing to learn.

This next BVI sailing vacation , May 2019, will be a jeanneau 36i, with Conch. They only have one 36i, left after the hurricanes.

Once the BVI grabs ahold of us, we are pretty much captured. Sailing and cruising the BVI is amazing .

For us, it is great to see Sailors that Sail and are loving every minute. And, also meeting them ashore for drinks and talk story good times.

Don't you go spoiling yourselves to much on that Catamaran. Lots of room and party area with good friends await.

This next trip, we may grab a bottle of rum, and once the new arriving cats get moored and settled in, we may dink on over and say hello . Maybe get an invite on board, and be introduced to luxury and comfort. Yep, learn about the cats.

Fair winds, and following seas, and happy times splicing the main brace.

Denny and Erica

[Bullshooter]

With respect, I might quibble with your comment :

"Even the 2017/2018 VI Chart Guide says there are two red and two green buoys marking the entrance. However, we only saw one green, which appears to be the inner green buoy. It’s not a treacherous bay to enter, so it’s not a major issue."

I thought when we went there pre-hurricane in June 2017, there were buoys missing, and I remember being pretty uncertain about my position between the reefs entering the bay, although we had a very minimal and lame GPS. When the light is good and you can see the reef underwater, it should be safe, but I thought you had just a narrow pass thru the reef to navigate into the bay.

Correct me if I am wrong, I am not claiming to be an expert.

[Farmwife]

Hi leboyd,
Thank you for your great post regarding your trip to BVI December 2018.
You mentioned returning in October of 2019

Do you have any new updates or information your would like to share?
We are bareboating in May 2020.

Thanks

[Zanshin]

Quite a few things have changed since then, I've just returned from the BVI. For example, the Willy-T is now back in the Bight on Norman Island, Soper's Hole has 2 restaurants - A Pusser's and Omar's Fusion, there are new types of mooring balls that can be pre-reserved via an app (Boatyball), and much else.
Do you have specific questions?

[leboyd]

As @Zanshin mentioned, a lot of progress was made and Willy T's is back at the Bight.

Horizon's was also a good charter company. The base is not as fancy (or expensive) as Scrub Island, but the boat was in great shape (Nautitech Open 40, 2018 I believe) and the staff was top notch.

We skipped Sopers because of where we were wanting to go, but good to hear there's another restaurant there and I'm sure there's continued progress at both Sopers and Spanish Town.

The wind was not as good this time, and we had to mostly motor to Anegada and in the off-season, JVD was pretty much closed down.

But... you know, how do you not have a great time?

[Farmwife]

Thanks Zanshin and Leboyd for your responses.

I ask these questions in my direct reply, but thought the community might want to see your responses:

Can we access Peter Island even though the resort is still under construction, and since it is a private Island.
Is so, would you recommend access from Great Harbor or Deadman's bay?

Also, if May is considered off season, will places be open on Jost?
Specifically Sydney's for lobster?

Thanks for you help!

[leboyd]

While we spent a couple of nights on a mooring ball in Great Harbor we never tried to go to shore.

[Farmwife]

Is Guana channel deep enough to sail through going west from Trellis Bay?

Or do you need to go north around Scrub, Great Cameo, and Guana?
Ultimate goal is Jost.