Pams kitchen doesnt open until early November. Wondering if anyone has any recommendation on where we might be able to buy some sandwiches to go on Anegada and Jost. May also need Beer and Ice.

Thanks for the help.

We just stayed at a clothing optional condo for a month in Tulum, Mexico and loved it.

Our charter on Scuba Doo out of TMM/Road Town starts with Evening Aboard on 6/2/20. Four of our crew, however, will arrive STT mid-afternoon on 6/3. The question: how do we get them from STT to us on the BVI side late afternoon or early evening 6/3? (We're expecting to hear from you on this, Warren.)

They will need to clear customs into BVI somewhere, won't they? Are the usual suspects still Road Town, West End, and Jost?

We'd rather not go back to Road Town on 6/3 because we will have just left there that morning. We'd love to wait for them at the Bight, but as far as I know they can't clear into the BVI on Norman Island. The alternatives seem to be a late ferry (or a water taxi) to West End where we would meet them and overnight. Or is it practical to clear in at West End and then continue on by water taxi to the Bight? Or is it possible to ferry or water taxi to Jost in the late afternoon?

Or I suppose they could fly from STT to EIS, and walk over to Trellis Bay to meet us there. We did that once about 10 years ago. Last and probably least likely, what about us picking them up in STT? We'd have 8 crew to get into and out of STT in addition to the latecomers, so that sounds like a bad idea.

Anybody got any feedback or other suggestions?

..will be playing this Sunday Oct 27 at The Elm..per Steve Davies, lead guitarist. I am told they have a new Elm sound system and that Tony will be back bar b quing on the beach. To keep this going they need support and I'm hoping that many of the Catfighters will jog across the channel from Great Harbour to CGB to join us Sunday night..

We want to bring a Philippine guest down sailing with us. I called down to the BVI and asked if they need a Visa. I was told they did not if they had a valid US travel visa (which they do). I asked to have an email confirming this so i don't have a problem at Immigration.
They send a cell phone photo of their web page stating that they do need a travel visa.

Does anyone know the actual policy and how to stick handle this issue?[u][/u]

Might be longer than many want to read:

For thirty years, Greg and his wife, Lynda, and my wife, Brenda, and I have traveled the Caribbean in October. We’ve done just about every kind of vacation you can imagine, from the Ritz Carlton on St. Thomas and Grand Cayman, to an “eco” villa on Dominica.

But our favorite trips are our sailing trips. We did our first in 2013 in the BVIs. We had planned our second in 2017 out of St. Martin, but Irma and Maria rerouted us that year. Brenda and I joined another couple in December 2018 in the BVIs and in October 2019 we were able to sail again in the BVIs with Greg and Lynda.

Since we’re coming from different parts of Texas, as typical, on Thursday we met in Miami and flew to St. Thomas. After getting our bags we proceeded to the CA ferry terminal. The next ferry wasn’t scheduled for another hour, so we went upstairs for a drink while we waited.

This year we chartered with Horizon’s on a Nautitech Open 40 (3 cabin version). Horizon’s had a taxi waiting for us when we arrived at Road Town. I had received the warnings about the open helm stations, but really didn’t mind them at all. However, it was difficult grabbing a mooring ball. It takes at least two on the front and if you have a third on the starboard side to relay instructions you’ll be more successful. But we really liked this boat for this trip.

Once we arrived at Nanny Cay we climbed aboard and unpacked our bags. We decided prior to our trip that we would eat most of our dinners on shore, so we strolled down to the beach restaurant and had dinner. Back on the boat, we relaxed for a bit and then hit the sack for a long nights rest.

On Friday we slept in and had breakfast at the marina. Since we weren’t planning on eating dinners on the boat, we had a brief trip to the Rite Way located in the marina. This was followed by the final pre-trip settling of accounts and then our boat briefing and checkout. We were led to the farthest pier, where the Horizon staff member stepped off and by around 2:00 or 2:30pm we were on our way. (Our briefing didn’t take long, we were lazy and by our request the settling and checkout didn’t start until after noon.)

Did I mention that we had no real sail plan? We had a couple of items on our list of places to visit, Anegada and Great Harbor JVD (which we missed on the previous trips) and Leverick on a Friday night were only “must haves”. Because we’d been to the Bath’s, it was not on our list this year.

Although it was late, we foolishly thought we could make Leverick. Probably even on the most perfect wind days we would not have made Leverick, but on a light wind day like this was (5kts of wind) there was no sailing to Leverick. No problem… We motored-sailed, and stopped at Virgin Gorda Marina (Spanish Town) for a slip that night.

The marina is still recovering from Irma and Maria. Construction is ongoing, and the bathroom/showers are still in the old building “out back”, but as with most locations in the BVIs it is a very scenic location. We decided to walk over to Mermaids and Pirates for dinner. It was very acceptable and we headed back to the boat for drinks and another good night’s sleep.

We weren’t really sure where we would go on Saturday, but the Moorings 37th Interline Regatta was happening and they were scheduled to take over the marina on Saturday, so we knew we had to get out of there.

On Saturday morning we left by 7:30 and headed to Anegada. Again, with no wind we motored the whole way, which was no problem. Once on a mooring ball we found out that the Regatta was heading to Anegada on Sunday and there was a lead group of 10 or more boats coming in on Saturday. We choose to travel during the off season because we don’t like crowds… The mooring field was quite rowdy that afternoon and evening. But it was actually a lot of fun and the noise didn’t bother us at all.

We took the dingy to shore and strolled around a little. The seaweed was quite heavy on the shore and it did lay off that distinctive aroma. But you could see where they were trying to clean that up so it would be enjoyable for the upcoming season. I’m sure they’ll have it cleaned for when the crowds come.

Everyone raves about the lobster at Anegada Reed Hotel/Beach Club, so we decided to make reservations. There were only two tables taken (off season) and unfortunately the food was not that good. The chef had cooked the lobster too long. The folks at the table next to us were very friendly and we enjoyed visiting with them. We made the best of the evening and then headed back to the boat for more relaxation.

On Sunday we headed to Marina Cay for the night, as we knew it would be a quiet mooring field. We realized it was a full moon night and decided to go Trellis Bay for the Full Moon Party. It’s about a 15 minute dingy ride (when going slow). We checked it out in the afternoon and got a few more provisions at the little market. Dinner was at the Trellis Bay Market Bar & Grill and we had a great time and food, watching the full moon rise in the east. After dinner we walked down the beach to look at the other places and to stop into Aragon.

Marina Cay was empty, as we expected. We were the only boat in the mooring field, but with Pusser’s and fuel dock closed only people who wanted quiet would go there. The shuttle boats running back and forth from Trellis Bay to Scrub Island made the field rocky, so be aware.

Cane Garden was next on our list so that we could provision at Bobby’s Market, but our ultimate goal for Monday was Great Harbor, JVD. Once we arrived at CG, we stopped at the fuel/water dock to top off the water. If you’ve not been to this dock, it’s important to know that the wind and waves can make docking here difficult. Once off the dock we picked up a mooring ball, went to shore, bought provisions and headed to JVD.

We’d never been to JVD, so on this trip it was a “must”. When we arrived we found out that there’s a water and fuel dock there. Of course the Cruising Guide had a small paragraph about the fuel/water dock, but I missed it. This dock is much easier at this time of the year.

Foxy’s was closed until the 15th and we were there on the 14th, so we missed it by a day. However, the gift shop was open in the morning and we were able to get a couple of shirts. We grabbed dinner at Ali-Babba’s, which was thoroughly enjoyable – even if we were the only guests there. The lady who works there was wonderful and we had a nice conversation about Irma and Maria, as well as their damage and rebuilding. The food was great.

On Tuesday we headed over to The Bight. Come to find out, when we made reservations for dinner the Regatta was coming in that evening for the awards ceremony. While about 50 boats showed up, the party was not out of hand and we had a good meal and evening. Willy-T's was not open yet and it looked like they were working on it.

Wednesday sent us to Great Harbor, Peter Island. Nothing is here during the off season – which is why we love it. Relaxing and quiet… Four other boats joined us for the night, but there’s plenty of space for five boats in Great Harbor! Unfortunately, the flies were bad this year, so we choose to head to Leverick on Thursday instead of Friday.

We enjoyed our sail to Leverick, as it was really the first day where the wind was 10kts-12kts on a consistent basis. As typical, it wasn’t very helpful direction wise, but we tacked up to the north. I estimated that we added 60-70% of the straight line distance to our actual track. It took us about six hours, but we enjoyed the day of sailing.

Leverick is probably our favorite marina. The restaurant is good, you can choose between a mooring ball or slip, there are bathrooms with acceptable showers, laundry facilities, a Pusser’s, a Arawak gift shop and all the staff is always friendly and responsive. Additionally, there’s the Chef’s Pantry which has a good selection of different items for provisioning, including a lot of choices on wine.

The marina is excellent with excellent prices. A slip is only $1.50/ft for a cat and water is only $.15 a gallon. We didn’t check how much the diesel was, but I think we paid around $5 per gallon. The mooring balls are the same price as everywhere else, $30. They no longer give you free water or a bag of ice, but considering all the changes in the BVIs since 2017 and their low prices on water (didn’t need ice), we were fine with the change.

We already planned to be there Friday night, so we elected a mooring ball for Thursday and a slip for Friday night. We wanted to enjoy the Friday night BBQ and party, but found out this does not begin until sometime in November or December. But we had a good meal and there was a DJ and Karaoke night. When we left no one had got up to sing, but the music was good and the DJ sang a couple of the songs. He was actually very talented.

Our flights out on Sunday required us to take a taxi at 8:00am on Sunday, which meant check out was Saturday afternoon. As happenstance would have it, I awoke at my typical 6:00am to thunderstorms and a dark red cell heading to us. After this cell, there was a break of about 20 miles until the next storm. It had obviously been raining a bit over night and would continue off and on for the morning, possibly longer if the storms continued to build around us. I contemplated waking Greg to leave immediately after the first storm cell, but realized we hadn’t paid our bill. Fortuitously, the storm passed and the storm behind it dissipated.

Following a relaxing breakfast, we made way to Nanny Cay. With the storms in the area, we were blessed with 15kt winds from the east down most of Virgin Gorda, making excellent time under full sails. In fact we were going too fast for our last day. We wanted to enjoy it more, so we decided to drop the main and sail at 4kts on the jib alone.

The staff at Horizon’s met us once we entered the harbor. We filled the tanks and headed to our slip for the evening. Jon, from Horizon’s, took us through a good debrief and we took the opportunity look at some of their other boats (the Saba 50 and the Jeanneau 54 are pretty amazing).

We had a great time and enjoyed the relaxation, and we look forward to our next trip.

Daily Herald story

Is every single member of Parliament under some type of a criminal investigation?? It seems so..

We've made about 13 trips so far, initially in early November but most have been in January. Loved every one. But in 2020 we've got 2 kids graduating (one from college, one from high school) and looking to take a celebratory trip with them. School/graduation schedules mean that we wouldn't be able to get down until about June 20. Anyone with experience that time of year? Assuming the sailing is less than exciting, but is there some wind? Will it be similar to November? When do places shut down for the season?

Thanks much!

Sorry to bring up a delicate subject, but is Boaty Ball still active? I signed up earlier today (back up plan for our upcoming trip we still plan on FCFS) but have yet to receive a confirmation email. I realize its a sore subject here on TTOL but I want to be sure we have access to a mooring ball.
That being said how crowded is it typically starting next Wednesday the 30th. Is it still somewhat quiet down there?

Ahoy!
Can someone educate me regarding the ins and outs of hiring a crew that will be picking up charges in both the BVI as well as USVI? I have heard from broker that it behooves us to hire Americans as foreign crew wouldn’t be able to pick up charter guests in USVI easily. But I don’t understand why? Is it an issue something along the lines of: they can pick up guests in a touch and go manner but not dock, provision, sleep at dock, then pick up guests then leave? Thanks!!