This is more a "for what it's worth" collection of anecdotes than a complete report. Hope you find some parts useful.<br><br>Trip this year, our 11th all with The Moorings, was from 07/17 with a planned return on 07/30. Actual return was 2 days later because of the volcano eruption on Montserrat. As has been our habit the last few years, we spend an extra night in the hotel on the front and one night in the middle for provisioning. Works well with the kids.<br><br>This was a family-only charter meaning my wife, 14 year old son and 6 year old son on a Moorings 413 Leapfrog II.<br><br>[color:blue]Pre-trip</font color=blue> Usually we plan trips long in advance because anticipation is part of the trip experience. This year we were sure we weren't going to be able to go this year, until around June when both my wife and I decided in order to maintain our sanity, we had to go. Checked into frequent flier tickets with Delta and was able to get 3 on our preferred dates. Moorings also had a boat available so we booked it.<br><br>[color:red]Let the airlines know where you are going</font color=red> Since we had free Delta and bought American Eagle flights on our own, Delta thought San Juan was our final destination. As we later discovered, we should have let them know how to contact us in the B.V.I.<br><br>[color:red]Moorings Provisioning</font color=red> Since we were so last minute, we chose to go with the Moorings Personalized Provisioning. Food was better than in past years, price was lower, and they did give you choices. You can still do better on your own, but for first timers, last minute charters, or if you are just lazy, this is a good way to go. We provisioned for 3 adults and bought extra food for the kids.<br><br>[color:blue]Immigration takes a course in customer relations</font color=blue> This was our 11th trip, and for the first time, we were greeted at BVI immigration with a smile, and a "welcome back". Either the person was new, or someone has been holding classes.<br><br>[color:red]Best leave home without it #1</font color=red> American Express has been my card of choice for BVI trips for lots of reasons, most notably the Membership Miles which gets me free airplane tickets to places like the BVI. This year the entire trip was charged on Amex, which included several nights stay at Mariner Inn. So imagine my surprise at the front desk when I was told "we don't take American Express". They did for the boat security deposit, they did in the gift shop, but they didn't at Mariner Inn.<br><br>[color:red]Best leave home without it #2</font color=red> Since I'm self-employed, being in contact with home is essential on these extended trips. Brought my Motorola StarTac from Verizon Wireless, knowing the digital mode (CDMA) wouldn't work with BoatPhone's mode (TDMA). However the phone does do analog (AMPS) and I had used analog-only phones without any trouble on previous trips. Not this time. Since we were going to be off-boat for a fair amount of time, I rented a phone from BoatPhone. For the privilege they whack you for a $250 charge to be renewed at $250 a pop when used up. My favorite part of the rental agreement was the $1,000 they would charge if the phone had gotten lost or damaged. When I got home Verizon said my phone should have worked, but could offer no wisdom about why it had not worked in analog mode.<br><br>[color:blue]Pre-boat days</font color=blue> Went to Jolly Roger for dinner, took it easy around the pool, and eased into island time. Since we've been with Moorings so many times, many of the long term staff have gotten to be friends. This makes the stay at Mariner one of my favorite parts of the trip. New restaurant and bar facilities are great. Kitchen actually can handle a fair number of customers at the same time. Bar has REALLY cold Caribs. New Restaurant secret: Restrooms next to the kitchen are air-conditioned. So forget the ones on the dock!<br><br>[color:red]Gosh I miss the old days</font color=red> Problem with Moorings having gotten so big is that you constantly run into rules. For example, Julian in customer service tried to get our boat checkout done early, so we could be on our way early the day our charter started, which in our case means about 1PM. Every time he tried, someone else pointed out how this wasn't kosher, so we ended up not getting the checkout until an hour later than it was supposed to happen (because of the flotilla).<br><br>[color:red]Don't go out on flotilla days</font color=red> Didn't think to check dates when booking charter. Flotilla of 18 boats departed the same day as we did. Provisioning and boat preparation were delayed and incomplete. Towels put on were brand new, but not washed, meaning blue lint and dye plagued us for the first half of the trip.<br><br>[color:red]Why I go with Moorings Part I</font color=red> Got to Bight first afternoon and when trying to crank dinghy outboard, crank jammed. Gear shift was loose so I tried to make sure it was in neutral, but still crank was jammed. Called Moorings on cell phone about problem. Suggestion was made to check shift again. Did so, still no joy. Moorings said they would call back. While waiting, Mike Kneafsey happened on by, and made same suggestion. So I tried again and something worked loose so it unjammed. I called Moorings to tell them problem resolved. Now here is the Moorings service part: Moorings tried to reach me on the cell phone which doesn't pick up very well in The Bight. They tried Channel 12 on VHF, but I wasn't monitoring it. About an hour or so after I first reported the problem, the Moorings chase boat came by to help me out. I told the service person I would swear he was there helping us for hours if he wanted to stop at Willie T's.<br><br>[color:blue]That's Aristo dash Cat</font color=blue> I had told the family to be on watch for a cat named Aristo-Cat since Mike had said he was going to be out on his boat. First afternoon at the Bight my 6 year old is up top while we were down below. Calls out that "Aristocat" is coming in. I assumed it was the other Aristocat (without the dash), but he said it was Aristo-Cat. Turns out Mike was taking his clients on a hunt for Deliverance for some ice cream. Mike came by later and offered to take us in to Billy Bones since we were having dinghy troubles, but we had fixed them. Thanks Mike! Checked out Aristo-Cat and it definitely is as nice as described in its TTOL press releases.<br><br>[color:red]Four on an Isle</font color=red> Marina Cay is always a good family stop. Great hamburgers, nice low key restaurant, with nice beaches and easy snorkeling.<br><br>[color:red]North Sound</font color=red> Spent a couple of days off of the Bitter End. Once again the beaches make for a nice family stop. Love the sandwiches and pastries from the pub. Ate at the Saba Rock evening buffet one night which is much better for kids and not as expensive as BEYC.<br><br>[color:red]Wind prediction - an inexact science</font color=red> We were at Marina Cay, planning a late morning departure back to Moorings for mid-trip reprovisioning. Winds were predicted to be 15-20, which if a comfortable niche for the 413. Should have been warned when I saw a Moorings 3800 cat leave with a reefed main already hoisted. Got out into the channel and hoisted full main and jibs because winds seemed to be in the 15 knot range. Got further into the open sea and all hell broke loose as winds jumped to about 25. This is one of those times where the shortage of adult hands becomes apparent on these family cruises. Finally was able to head up to furl the jib and things smoothed out. The 413 broad reaches nicely with just the main.<br><br>[color:red]Why I go with Moorings Part II</font color=red> When out for 10 days, we always split the trip with a night back at The Moorings. Good way to get reprovisioned, do laundry, and take care of any nagging mechanical problems. Our list this time included a small fuel leak in the dinghy that was making a slick mess of the bottom, a stove where the strikers were no longer working, and an engine dipstick that had sheared an inch below the top. (Not my fault. Dipstick did have a crease in it from the beginning and apparently sheared later because of engine vibrations.) All of these were taken care of the afternoon of our arrival. The mechanic working on the dipstick worked on it until 7PM, the stove was removed and refurbished so that it struck first time every time from then on, and dinghy fuel tank was replaced and bottom cleaned. Only problem was the next morning when we discovered the dinghy was missing, last seen tied off on the dock by Moorings personnel at 7PM. Not sure if they picked it up in error, or if someone took it for a joy ride. I guess I see now why Moorings has 2 security guards walking the premises. It turns out we weren't due for any more Moorings provisions, but when we pointed out what was missing from our original list, we were given those provisions and more, no questions asked. Also got another dinghy.<br><br>[color:red]Cane Garden Bay - something worse than a cruise ship</font color=red> After Moorings we went to Cane Garden Bay for a couple of days, once again because of great beaches for the kids. As I found out later, it was some sort of 5 day holiday in Puerto Rico (Wednesday & Friday were holidays, everyone took off Thursday to make it a 5 day). By Thursday evening there were 62 powerboats anchored mainly in a line just off of the beach. At least the cruise ship passengers go home at 4. Hope those boats all had holding tanks!<br><br>[color:red]If this is a "wind surge" I can't wait for the storm</font color=red> Our last full day we had thought about trying a long sail to Cooper's from CGB. However this tropical thang (as we say in Texas) was heading in with a strong wind surge in advance. Decided for a return Bight trip instead. We motored from CGB to West End, thinking we'd raise sails on the other side. However, wind strength and direction on the south side of Tortola made the sail too long and tough to be appealing to the family, so we just motored. All night long we listened to the wind howl under pretty much clear skies. Heavy rains finally came about 5AM. Spent most of the night figuring how much fun it was going to be making the final dash to The Moorings the next day. Got up the next morning early, and dashed home to The Moorings between storms and spent Sunday listening to the rain and wind. Saw a group of kids at some sort of sail camp do a nice job of anchoring in Road Harbour, going on-shore, returning and leaving under very nasty conditions. Wish I knew the name of the group because they were obviously well schooled.<br><br>[color:red]Get the quiet rooms next time</font color=red> In between storms, festival got rolling. From our 2nd floor room at Mariner Inn on the side facing town, we got to hear everything from 3:30AM on. Sounded like the same song over and over. Reminded me of those long solos in In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida that every band would play during my youth. Finally shut down at 5AM. How do these folks make it to work the next day?<br><br>[color:red]What volcano???</font color=red> Last day the wife was in a taxi taking the phone back to BoatPhone and driver told her about the volcanic ash. Got back to the hotel and had an emergency phone call from my Dad back in Houston. Delta had called to say all flights out of San Juan were cancelled because of a volcanic erruption on Montserrat and they had put us on a flight the next day. Of course we weren't in San Juan, but they didn't know it. Constant checking with American and we were finally able to get a flight out the next day, but not early enough to catch Delta's flight. Had to reschedule Delta for the following day and spend the night in San Juan. Found a room on special at the Ritz-Carlton for $185. Very nice resort.<br><br>Fun part was when we checked out from Mariner Inn. All of our phone calls to rearrange travel, tell bosses we were going to be home later, reschedule business meetings, etc., added up to a $500 bill. Ouch. Now will spend lots of time trying to collect some of the hotel and food expenses from trip insurance.<br><br>[color:red]The End</font color=red> All in all a nice trip. Main disappointment is how crowded the BVI have become even during the summer. While still perhaps too expensive, The Moorings continues to earn my loyalty both by the service they give, and the good natured long-term employees they hire. <br><br>My younger son asked me what was my favorite part of these trips. While there are many, no doubt my overall favorite is the first day out when you hoist the sails, shut down the engines and move through the water with none of the mechanical sounds of life you left behind.<br><br>Louis from Houston
