Hi,
Wishing I was still on Wavelength sailing the BVI. Our first trip to the BVI since 2007. I'm thinking BVI 2020. Our first time bareboating with Horizon. Very pleased with Wavelength (40" cat) and Horizon.

Things we liked about the boat and Horizon
Personal and pleasant service
The facilities at Marina Cay
Pre-night sleep aboard
Boat was clean, spacious, good air flow in the cabins
Two fridges and pull out freezer
Electric winch
Self tacking jib
Two helms
Sailed well
Lots of storage
No Bugs!!

Negatives
Visibility of the opposite side of the boat
Autopilot didn't work. Wasn't a huge issue for us though. I enjoy being at the helm.
Disliked the automatic toilets. Portside toilet had sporadic issues intaking water. Kinda loud for night time flushing.
Ran out of propane. Thankfully we were close to Nanny Cay at the time. John from Horizon did restock while we were under sail.
Re-fuel on return. Nancy Cay fuel dock was under staffed on our return. And they only have room for two boats. An hour wait to refuel. Not much room in Hannah Bay. About 45 minutes in, two horizon staff boarded. Thankful my husband had helm relief.

We used Riteway for some of the provisions. Wasn't totally satisfied. Failed to let us know which items on our order weren't not available. Thankfully with the Riteway at Nanny Cay. We were able to purchase some alternate items.

Wine ordered thru Caribbean Cellars. We ended up having to pay cash for the order. Plus they brought one wrong bottle.

I would highly recommend Good Moon Farms (mentioned in the BVI Cruising Guide). Locally grown fruits, veg and locally baked bread. I could not pass up supporting the local farm. Free delivery too.

Truly amazed how much recovery has been done since the hurricanes. A huge credit to the people of the BVI. Thanking every one we encounter for being friendly and welcoming. Lots of lush greenery. Pockets of brown and dead vegetation. But this did not take away from the beauty of the BVI. The coral was definitely hit hard by the storms.

Our arrival was a bit frantic. Due to Delta flight delay out of JFK. It was highly unlikely we'd make the last ferry to Tortola. Thankfully my sister had arrived St Thomas the day before. She was able to arrange Dolphin Water Taxi. A thankful shout out to Dolphin! Highly recommend if you need a water taxi. Arrived Nanny Cay after dark. The cab driver was so kind to make sure we found the boat. As luck would have it, John from Horizon was closing up for the night as we arrived. He gave us a quick run down of the Nanny Cay facilities.

First three days the weather was a bit unsettled. More rain than normal. After that, very little rain. Winds for most of the trip were 15 to 20. Only day three blew 15 to 25. Perfect temps, high 70's. Long sleeves required while under-sail.

1st day Great Bay, Peter Island
Decided to motored to Great Harbor on Peter Island. I think we all just wanted to get on a mooring ball and relax. Grabbed one of the last free balls. Willie-T for happy hour. Funny how we got our second wind at happy hour.

2nd day Baths and Leverick Bay
Didn't do the trail due to the hoards of cruise shippers. Hiked up to the Top of the Baths. Lovely views. No Painkillers though. It was election day, no liquor sales allowed until after 6p. Just as we got the main up after leaving the Baths a huge squall blew in. It hung around for a awhile. We ended up motoring again, bummer. Anchored at Leverick for the night. No free balls. Anchor held well. Did a grocery run. Well stocked store.

3rd day Marina Cay. 25 knot winds delayed our sail to Anagada until day 4.
Nice off wind sail to Marina Cay.
Dinner Ashore

4th day Anagada!
A woo hoo sail to Anagada.
Got the last free mooring ball. Boat hook ended up overboard. Due to knot in mooring pendent. Recovered the boat hook. Successful second grab. Sam from Potter's came by in his outboard to give a warm welcome to Anagada. Singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning". Taxi to Cow Wreck for some relaxing beach time. Drinks at Potter's and dinner at Anagada Reef. Lots of laughs that night.

5th day Little Harbor, Jost Van Dyke
We did the long sail from Anagada to Jost. Nice beam reach. The following sea gave a push and we made great time. No room at the Inn in Great Harbor. Motored to Little Harbor. Plenty of free balls. Many were taken by late afternoon. Taxied to Great Harbor for grocery run and drinks at Foxy's.

6th day Diamond Cay (my new favorite anchorage)
Motored early to Diamond Cay. Had our pick of mooring balls. This was our first visit to Little Jost. What a beautiful spot! Hiked to the bubble pool. Had the pool to ourselves. Lunch at Foxy's Taboo. Loved it. Great menu and the Bartender was awesome. After lunch snorkel. Back to Taboo for happy Hour.

7th day The Bight
Quick sail to the Soper's Hole cut through. Big squall after entering Sir Francis Drake channel. Motoring most of the way to The Bight. Plenty of free balls. Lots of boats in the harbor by late afternoon. Took the dinghy to the caves for a fun snorkel. Happy Hour at the new Pirates. Not a fan. Big price, small pour. A beautiful space but it could be a waterfront restaurant anywhere. Totally miss the rustic Caribbean beach bar feel of the old Pirates.

8th day Cooper Island
700a sharp made a boatyball reservation for Cooper Island. We departed the Bight early. To get in as much sailing as we could. Fun trip up Sir Francis Drake. Sailed all the way to Cooper. Arrived around 12n. Seems as though other boaters were paying attention to the "reservation required" on the Boatyballs. Snorkeled at Cistern point. Saw a green Moray Eel, very cool. Happy hour ashore. Cooper Island is lovely. A beautiful spot for our last night on the Wavelength.

9th day Back to Nanny Cay
Down wind Jib only sail. Even with the hour wait for the fuel dock. We had time to shower before we vacated Wavelength. Shared the small issues at the debriefing. Spent 3 nights on St John. Stayed at Grande Bay Resort. Highly recommend. Beautiful accommodations and great location in Cruz Bay. Lovely views of the harbor. The highlight of the St John stay was snorkeling with the sea turtles at Maho Bay.

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Thank you for sharing!

Thanks for taking the time to post the report. What happened with Caribbean Cellars? We usually use Tico but we're thinking of going with Caribbean Cellars this time because of their beer selection.

Good Moon Farms sounds like a great idea. Sometimes hard to get good veggies at Riteway. Was the ordering process smooth? Any problems with the order?

I am curious, how did the cat tack using the self taking jib. Did it have a tendency to go into irons or did it carry through the wind ok?
G

Thank you for the report. We are 38 days out from our trip and your post helps pass the time!

Nice report..thanks..BTW AnEgada.

Appreciate the report. 34 days and counting...

Hi,
Placed the order online with Good Moon Farm. No problems with the order. They clearly noted they don't have pricing on the website. You can email for an estimate. Which I did. I figured the final cost would end up being more than the estimate. It is $20 more. I will definitely use them for our next trip.

We ordered Cakebread Pinot Noir. They brought Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon. My guess is someone just grabbed the wrong wine at the shop.

The boat was slow as she took the winds on the nose. But once through she quickly recovered.

Yes I realized my spelling error too late