BVI Trip Report
8/21/03 – 9/01/03

Charter Company: Trade Wind Yacht Charter
Boat: 2000 Beneteau 331 (monohull)
Crew: Blair - Skipper/Navigator/Bartender Emily - Swab/Cook/Bruise Pilot

A big thanks to all at traveltalkonline.com. You were all a great help in our travel plans.

The charter company (Scott something) did a great job with the arrangements, and everything was as expected. The boat (Sea Sou) is a good boat, well taken care of, and everything worked most of the time with the following exceptions:
-Roller furl main and jib worked fine, but the UV covers are shot and ratty. They continually flap…as tattered as they are.
-No windlass. Normally not a real problem, but one flange on the bow stem was broken, thus allowing the rode to slip off to starboard when the boat swung to port. Nearly caught my foot a couple of times with the chain/anchor.
-The propane stove would work fine for about 30 mins, then slowly ebb until the flame went out. Just enough time to make breakfast…but not coffee. The first time it happened, I thought we were just out of gas, but typically, after waiting a few hours, I called the base to have them bring out another tank…it started working fine again. Hmmm.

The arrival at the airport (4pm)went fine, as did the taxi to Fat Hog’s Bay (TWY does not do pick-ups).

Provisioning: Bobby’s. Great friggin’ website. We pre-ordered everything and arranged for delivery of the goods to be at 6pm. 6:30 they arrived…not bad for island time. Everything was what we wanted with the exception of a few brand names. They forgot a loaf of bread, but went and picked it up for us. I have provisioned myself in the past, and when I do it again, I will likely use Bobby’s…however, I will more closely monitor our purchases. Too many olives and beers…not enough limes and rum. Live and learn.

We did quite a bit of diving on this trip as well. We rented tanks and weights from UBS dive center right next to TWY. Scott(?) the dive shop guy was cool, and told us all about the dive sites. Here is the list of sites from my favorite to least…although they were all cool.

1. The Playgrounds off Jost – Big…no, massive Eagle ray, and free swimming eel.
2. Blonde Rock – It was a bit rough, and we stayed near the mooring…but very cool.
3. Chikuzen – Arranged through Dive BVI in Leverick Bay…it’s a must
4. The Chimneys – Calm, sunny day, great pics of Octopus will be posted soon.
5. Bronco Billy – All to ourselves, lots of fun
6. The Indians – Another must.
7. Rhone Stern
8. Alice in Wonderland – Very few fish, very cool coral
9. Mountain Point – relaxing dive after the Chikuzen
10. Diamond reef – Easy, beginner dive, but relaxing.
11. Rhone Bow
12. Wall to wall – Not many fish, would skip it next time.

Air temp was 90ish, water temp was 82 to 84. Visibility underwater was about 40’ to 50’. Not great, but better than my bathtub.

Saw quite a few neat critters…pics are at http://community.webshots.com/user/diveblair
They are arranged in no specific order…so good luck. Look for the octopus shots…pretty good if I do say so myself.

Sailing destinations:
-Cooper Island – Same as always, we ate on board, and had drinks ashore. Ran into a pair of bareboaters that we will keep in touch with. Great swimming hole.
-Marina Cay – Bar was closed, Pussers was open…one of three tables being served. Decent food, nothing spectacular. My search for Roti has been unfruitful.
-Baths – Very cool, but a few jellies in the area made us wary. One boat tour skipper mentioned they saw a few box jellies…that would be scary, but I think they saw moon jellies instead.
-Spanishtown – In a word…hot. Just went in for lunch and fill dive tanks, but it felt like Africa.
-North Sound Leverick Bay – Grabbed a mooring in Drakes anchorage, but did not have much confidence with it…I don’t think they are being taken care of anymore. Motored over to Leverick bay for the night. Met the dive shop folks at the bar (coincidence?), then scheduled our trip to Chikuzen the next day. Good dive, no sharks. We ripped the main sail that day…will go into detail later.
-Trellis Bay – Only came here so we could fix the sail. Everything closed but the windsurf place.
-Cane Garden Bay – Same as it ever was. Great swimming hole. Many places closed. Had dinner at Quito’s…Roti at last…OK, but nothing spectacular. Went to Da Wedding for drinks and had a blast. Wish we would have eaten there.
-Jost Van Dyke – White Bay. Made the mistake of pulling in at 2:30pm. About 10 boats were at anchor, so I wasn’t pleased with my location. By 6pm there were only 3-4 boats in the bay, and I could have easily relocated, but I was already 3-4 painkillers into my evening and at that point felt my boat would be “just fine”. Met up with BigJim, Jailerman and his son and father, Claire, and various other people mostly from NY state. Had a good time, and great dinner at the Sandcastle.
-Sopers Hole – Needed a good, long, hot shower…did not get one. Paid $4 for a token that got me lukewarm drizzle of a shower. Had an outstanding dinner at Pieces…just in back and across the street from Pussers. Consider this an enthusiastic recommendation. We were the only tourists in the entire harbor.
-Norman Island – The Bight. Ahhh the Willie T. When I radioed to find out if they were open, they mentioned they would be closing by 5pm, but would make the call later on. They tried desperately to close, but we managed to convince them otherwise. 2 hours later, a couple we met having bushwackers were indeed bushwacked as they poured themselves into their dingy…very funny. Little did I know that we would pull a reenactment later ourselves. Nothing good ever comes from a night on the Willie T.