Trip Report from Early March
Eight People (1 with extensive sailing experience, 3 with moderate sailing experience, 1 with minimal sailing experience, 3 with no sailing experience)
40' Catamaran from Horizon Yacht Charters

04Mar
Flew direct from Newark to STT, no problems at all. We had one checked bag which was offloaded quickly and we were off to the hotel (Miller Manor). The hotel was nice enough, and the neighborhood was ok (not the bombed out locale that some of the tripadvisor reviews had alluded to). We had lunch at the Green Room which was decent but nothing special. Dinner was at Craig and Sally's which was terrible (expensive and bad food – combined over-ambition with poor execution). A few of our group came in later and ate at Betsy's Bar which was far better, not to mention cheaper.

05Mar
Bfast at Frenchhtown deli which was good and not too expensive. We then took the ferry to West End. It was raining rather heavily and the bags were left on the pier while waiting to be put on the boat so a lot of the stuff got soaked (takeaway – should have wrapped stuff in plastic inside the bags). Customs plus the ferry ride took 1h15m or so. Called our charter company prior to leaving Tortola and taxi was waiting to take us to Nanny Cay. Arrived at 1500, boat not ready so headed to beach. Nanny Cay had nice facilities and a bar on the sand so it was no problem waiting. At 1700 the boat was still not ready, and after some cajoling we finally got on the boat at 1740 (1700 was the contractual occupancy time, but as I said it didn’t really matter in the end). While it took a while to get on the boat, we were able to do the full boat brief that evening which was nice. It took about 2hrs, and the checklists from TTOL were very helpful in making sure I understood all the boat’s systems. After the boat briefing we had dinner at Geneker Cafe, which was good. We then sent the galley slaves to Bobby's in Roadtown for provisioning using the taxi service they provide (the Bobby’s in Nanny Cay was sparse at best). The taxi was pretty late coming as well, but we still were able to get everything and stow it before bedtime.

06MAR
Woke up and got our snorkeling gear from Bluewaters right there in Nanny Cay. Had everything stowed away and ready to go by 1030, then waited about an hour for our “complimentary checkout skipper” to arrive. The checkout skipper had me dock at fuel dock then over to Peter Island to show we could anchor and pick up a mooring ball. Overall the checkout was not difficult but it became high stress as the directions from the checkout skipper were at times unclear and he was confrontational (despite calling the charter company 10 minutes in to tell them that we were good to go). I guess he was doing what he felt he needed to, but from our perspective it was unnecessarily stressful and not a very good start to the charter. We had planned on going to Coopers the first night so we could dive the Rhone the next day but during the checkout we noticed a problem with the anchor which delayed us somewhat, so there were no balls left at Coopers. No big deal, we went to Marina Cay instead and left the dive for another trip. At Marina Cay the checkout skipper left and things got much more relaxed. We did a quick snorkel at the reef then a first painkiller. Fantastic.

07MAR
Crew overindulged slightly the night before, but we're all early risers normally so were still up at 0600 for the sail to The Baths. Got there at 0730 when there were only 2 other boats there (one was a commercial dive boat). Very surgey in the bay so we didn't beach the dinghy to let off passengers. It was tough to swim in with the surge - in retrospect I would have made more of an effort to beach the dinghy or at least let people off as close as possible if I knew how hard it would be to swim (also would have brought fins). The Baths were beautiful and we had them all to ourselves - definitely recommend getting there early. Headed up to top of the baths for bfast (as we went up the hill about 9 there were still 2 balls in Devil bay.) Bfast was good and we had the restaurant to ourselves. When we came down the whole scene had changed and the beach was packed. Got back on the boat, dropped the ball (nobody was circling at the time but all balls were taken), and sailed to the dogs. Got an NPT ball off George dog and had lunch, then did a long satisfying sail to North Sound. Hoped for a Saba ball for the free water/ice, but none were available at 1600 so took a ball just on the edge of BEYC. No big deal. Happy hour at Saba was great and we really enjoyed the hammocks. Back to the boat for dinner and a well earned rest.

08MAR
Slept in then dinghy'd over to BEYC to check it out. Everybody really liked it, and we hung out there from 0830-1030. Got some ice and provisions (forgot charcoal so got some there), then back to the boat for the short motor to Prickly Pear (decided not to go to Eustacia because were worried about not knowing the water.) Nice relaxing time on the beach, back to the boat for lunch then down to Leverick for a slip provided for by Nick on the TTOL deal. What a great guy! A quick dip in the pool followed by a shower and the Happy Arr show before dinner at The Restaurant. The show was ok – the audience really didn't seem in to it which made things a bit uncomfortable as Mike was giving it 150% and not getting much response. It got better as the show went on and people had more to drink. Dinner at the Restaurant was very good – my only quibble would be minor issues with food temperature on the starters and sides but the mains were well cooked and flavorful (a nice relief after our terrible STT fine-dining experience at Craig and Sally’s.) During dinner a rather large north swell came up that caused the boats in slips to rock a lot. A cat on the slip next us was improperly secured and was blown back into the power boat docked behind it causing some pretty serious damage. I adjusted lines the best I could, but it was only the wife and I on the boat as the rest of the crew had taken a ferry to Saba Rock. Got some help adjusting lines from an experienced BVI sailor docked across from me. Thanks for the help, Bill! Night was rough but restful.

09MAR
Provisioned in the morning, and Leverick has a great grocery store. Planned on going to Scrub Island on the TTOL deal, but sailing was so nice once we got out that we went all the way to Diamond Cay instead. Arrived around 1400, no balls at first so we anchored off Sandy Spit and had lunch. Got on a ball around 1500 and walked to the Bubbly Pool before happy hour (very strong drinks). Someone had the idea to take a night hike to the Bubbly Pool and bring along a bottle of Prosecco for “Bubbly on the Bubbly” – it was terrific (the parts of it I can remember anyways).

10MAR
Rough AM after epic night. Took boat to Sandy Spit and then back to Foxy’s Taboo for lunch (very good – probably the best off-boat meal of the trip). We then sailed down to Great Harbor but found no balls, so on to White Bay where there were still none so we doubled back to Little Harbor where there were plenty - not sure why as Little Harbor was very nice. It was the only spot we encountered touts for the restaurants – right after we tied up Cynthia from Harris came over to give us a pitch for her restaurant followed closely by a guy from Sidney’s. We went with Cynthia and she showed us a great snorkelling spot (second only to Monkey Point). Some of the crew took a taxi to Great Harbor but they were not impressed so we were happy to have been diverted to Little Harbor. At Cynthias the popular item was BBQ special which was ok, but she threw in the 1st round free along with the mooring fee free so it was a good deal overall. Early night to bed.

11MAR
Beautiful morning sail upwind to Monkey Point. Several balls available the whole time we were there, snorkelling was great. Cooked bfast and had a grand time. From there we motored to Scrub Island (had called ahead for a reservation) and the TTOL discount worked great. Marina Joe was gone for the week but everyone was familiar with the deal. It was the perfect spot in our trip for a little luxury, and I highly recommend going there if at all possible. Most of the crew like Diamond Cay the best, but a close second was Scrub Island. The showers were much appreciated, and the grocery store, while unfinished, still had loads of great stuff (the wasabi peas were a hit with the crew).

12MAR
Raining in the AM but cleared up by 1000. Got underway headed towards Norman, and off Peter hit on a beautiful yellow-fin tuna which was turned into ceviche for dinner (best on-boat meal). Got a ball in the Bight, snorkelled the caves, had sunset drinks at Pirates, then a quick trip to the Willy T (not really to our tastes) then back to the boat. When we went back to our dinghy at Willy T’s there was a mystery fluid that was slightly red and had chunks in it flooding about 2in the bottom of our dinghy. We think somebody had dumped something in our dinghy - best case cooking refuse, worst case vomit or other biologic effluent. Not burning to go back to Willy T any time soon.

13MAR
Beautiful day, got up and cleaned up the boat. We were unclear if daylight savings time applied to the islands or not, so we returned the boat a little early (turns out it doesn't apply). Easy sail to Nanny, no prob coming alongside the fuel dock. Guy came over to check us out and take us in to the dock. Easy check out followed by a taxi to West End. No probs on the ferry, checked back in to Miller Manor. Things were a bit weird at Miller Manor - they advertise a free “welcome drink” at their bar when you check in, but they made a point of telling us that our stay was "was part of the same stay” as we had stayed there at the beginning of our trip so we don’t a free drink again. Seemed a little cheap and left a bad impression. This was made worse when we were scolded for drinking the leftover boat beer on the hotel patio because their bar was open and we were told we should get drinks from them if we want some. Not very classy, prob wouldn't stay there again. Dinner at Betsy’s which was good.

14MAR
Bfast at Frenchtown deli again, then flight back to EWR. Great trip!

Takeaways:
1. Probably would go straight to Tortola from STT – no real need to stay in St. Thomas for a night
2. Would pre-order dried goods for delivery to the boat and then provision fresh stuff from Riteaway (Bobby’s was rather picked over).
3. Bring fins to the Baths in case you have to swim in surge
4. If we do stay on STT, Miller Manor was ok but would probably try somewhere else next time.
5. Order simple at restaurants - the more complicated the more likely it was to be messed up. That being said, if you are going to order something complicated, do it at Leverick.
6. Cash and credit cards were widely accepted. Advised everyone to bring $200pppd. I brought $1000 in cash and $1000 in TCs for my wife and I and we came back with $250 in cash and $410 in TCs (used most of the TCs to pay for the chartering fees). Credit card was used for provisioning.

Thanks for all the help planning TTOL!

Edit: I have the packing checklists, procedures briefings (MOB, Mooring, Anchoring), Boat systems checklists, et al that I used but can't figure out how to upload them. If any other newbies out there want them PM me (or tell me how to add files to posts.)