TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Sailing trip report BVI 5/14 to 5/19.

After the easy travels American, LAX to MIA to STT, We had one night at Olgas Fancy Hotel , French Town, and the next morning, the Road Town Fast Ferry, direct to Road Town . BVI Customs took a few minutes but no worries..

The BVI....We did not want to be rushed and also liked to add in a little wiggle room in case of any possible travel delays. So in the BVI , we had one night at Maria's By The Sea hotel in Road Town.
Easy walk to Marias from the Ferry Dock. Maybe 5 minutes. towing our one roller duffel each. Pusser Co. Store and bar were just across the road from our lodgings, and we like the ambiance and
the staff. By chance, we met Stewart and Kim who were walking by our bar stools, turns out he is a president of pussers and works with Charles the owner and founder. Very nice couple ..

We believe that all you have to do is say HELLO, and you will be amazed at how interesting the people are, and how much you may have in common. All during our USVI and BVI island time, we
met many wonderful people and happy wakes continued to cross on a constant basis. The BVI are back and going strong.
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May 14: The fun begins. We taxied to Conch Charters. The plan was to get our provisions from Rite Way, and then board Vibecke, a Jeanneau 36i, sloop at 4:30 pm. We had an Early boarding and would
spend the night on board. Just FYI, we really like the entire Conch Crew, from office to dock to briefers. Super friendly and helpful familly run company. Very positive,and just great people.

Our sailing vacation begins with the Right Way Grand Prix Obstacle Run For Your Life provision race. I love it ! We borrowed one of Conch Charter's wheeled dock carts. Think wheel barrow. From the marina to
Rite way was about 100 yards or so. The trick for survival is to time your sprints in order to avoid zooming vehicles by zipping back between the parked cars for safety.

The fun begins, I am pushing that dock cart along the busy narrow coastal road at light speed. My skinny pins look like whirling blures as we are dashing in and out of traffic ducking between park cars to escape
being run down by speeding locals. Erica is running right behind me. This is fun ! At Riteway We load up that dock cart with $ 200.00 worth of provisions, and then race back to Vibeke to load and stow them on board.

Now, it must be noted , there are only two of us, Erica and I, and provisioning for us two is not like buying for 8 to 12 people on a catamaran. But, we have all of what we wanted and no missing items.

After loading and stowing our provisions and personal gear, we went over the inventory list, and checked out the vessels systems. We wanted to be ready for the staff systems check the next morning with no
delays.

As the sunset, we curtailed our pre sailing inspection and walked next door to the Pub . A couple of cold Crib Beers seemed quite in order. Friendly folks and nice view of the docks and boats.

We felt so good, We were back in the BVI, and starting to feel like cruising sailors again. Tomorrow we would be on our way, under sail for Great Harbor, Peter Island, and you all know what that means.
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May 15: After the chart brief by Ian, and the systems check by Jay, we were out of the Conch Docks by 11:00 am.

PETER ISLAND, great harbor and the WILLY T.

Picked up a mooring. No problem with mooring availability and had our double bow bridles set and secured. Aye, lads and lasses, The Willy T. this will be our first night of good times on the New Willy T.
Must say, that the new Willy T., is in much better condition , but she is set up like the old Willy T. To me, sitting at those old wood bar stools, and rumming it a bit....It had the same lively and
fun ambiance. I could not tell any difference.

The bartenders were fun, and we talked story with Kyle....the people were leaping off the upper deck above the fan tail bar into the water. Others were dancing, we all were singing along
with the music. Some were getting the Willy T tatoo slapped onto their upper and lower body parts. Young ladies, four at time, were slugging down ski shots. Yep, a ski with holes drilled into
the ski. Shot glasses inserted in the holes and the ladies grasping the ski , pick it up, turn it over and toss down the rum shots. We were singing and toasting right along with the fun bunch.

And this was about lunch time. Many of the fun loving party goers were on day trip boats, and left in a couple of hours. We dinked back to Vibeke, rested up a bit, and returned for drinks at the bar and
then dinner on the well deck. Great honey dipped chicken. Always good.

We made it an early night, as we had a nice spirited long sail planned tomorrow up to Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda. Party time is going to continue ..

That is it for now, we want to keep our fun reports fairly short

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Great start.

Warren, Thank you

We wish to share our actual feelings and experiences, that includes all of the facets of sailing, the people, the natural wonders and the fun. And also to let the folks who have not sailed the BVI, since the tragedy of Irma,
know that the BVI are back, and the islands and the people are waiting to welcome them. And also , perhaps to help out the first timers with a little local knowledge to help with their planning. We also strongly feel that
any vacation anywhere, besides those natural wonders, above, on, and below the ocean , the local people and the visitors that we meet, make a great deal of the overall adventures extremely rewarding.

!6 May. Sailing is work, effort, great exercise and good times.

Peter Island, to Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda Sound. ( North Sound ).

We had great winds for the long sail up to Leverick. Sailing under a single reefed main, and full jib sail, this was the first time, ever, that we did not have to tack on the passage up the Sir Francis Drake Channel. We again,
traded off helm and crew duties each hour . Must say, it is a very special thing to have a mate, in Erica , and we can share full on BVI cruising experience. Oh yes, wind on our cheeks, heeled over a bit, no weather
helm, close hauled, and making good knots . It is amazing what good sailing grounds the BVI continues to present to all of us.

Passing Mountain Point on Virgin Gorda, we closed on Colquhoun Reef pass. Rolling in the jib, with main still up, we motored into the pass that was bordered by reefs on both sides. Easy Navigation,
with all of the navaid buoys watching on station. After passing the last starboard navaid, inside of Gorda Sound, , we fell off to starboard and headed for Leverick Bay marina . Dropping the main,
we docked at our reserved slip.

Honestly, from some of the reports, we were concerned about getting a first come , first served more secure mooring ball. That was actually not a problem, as there were several open moorings when we arrived
and that was both more secure and boaty balll moorings. The slip, however, turned out to be a great idea and kept life easy and smooth. Also, we arrived on Thursday, before the jump up.

We walked up to the small but pretty well stocked grocery store a few yards up from the marina. Later we topped off with fresh water, and laid in two bags of ice fro the fuel dock.
Even tho the jeanneau has a refer, we found that it was more like a cooler and two bags of ice lasted about a day even tho we charged it up along with the batteries.
No worries, we were able to get ice at most of our destinations ashore , or from Deliverence, or the hubby and wife who have a motor vessel that visits Marina Cay. Never had a problem. Plenty of ice for the rum.

Dinner ashore was at the very neat and casual class upstairs restaurant there at Leverick. Highly recommend. Erica mowed down a 2 pound lobster, the service and both our meals were perfect
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17 May: Friday daytime adventures, and at night, the super upbeat, and fun, bbq, live band, dancing in the sand, and the Mocko Jumbie stilt dancing show .

Early in the day, we hired a taxi for for the drive up to explore the paths, and grottos through the giant boulders at the Baths. No charge since we had our National Parks Permit. But, after checking in at the booth, we
hiked down , in the same area, to uncrowded beautiful Devils Bay beach.

After photos and relaxing at Devils Bay, we found the back entrance to the Baths. We entered and were off climbing, descending, slipping and sliding and roping through the Baths. They also have some wooden steps that
help out as well. There were very few people and no cruise ship excursions on this day. More photo ops for Erica and the Baths were amazing as usual. Popping out at the Baths Beach, we made the short easy climb
up to the Top of the Baths restaurant, bar, pool and a view of the island chain. A cold Carib tasted mighty good. Walking out to the parking lot , our driver, Ciro was waiting in his taxi, and we had a scenic and
relaxing drive back to Leverick Bay marina.

Later, it was time for more vibrant activity, as we had reservations at 6:30 pm for the outside bbq, band, dancing under the stars and the hoot em up party time Mocko Jumbie stilt dancers . Again, it was just the
two of us, and we had a nice table next to the swimming pool with a view of the marina, and close to the band. The BBQ was excellent, with all kinds different selections, and all you can eat. The band was cooking,
and everyone joined in the grand party. There were sailors, power boaters, and land based visitors having a super fun good time. We all lasted until about 11:00 pm.

If planning on visiting Leverick Bay, North Sound, you might want to try to be there for the Friday Night jump up and bbq. Good fun times, lots of energy.



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Always enjoy your upbeat posts! Thanks for the report!

You should have gone to Hog Heaven.

Maybe he did later in his trip

We have heard great things about Hog Heaven and the killer view, maybe next trip. Actually, I have looked up and it seen siting up there at high Altitude from the Leverick Bay Marina.

Thanks for the recommendation. There are always high reviews from posters regarding hog heaven.

S/V Vibeke, continue trip report. .

18 -19 May . 2019. Virgin Gorda Sound, to Marina Cay. :

Whew, after the Leverick Bay, BBQ, band, and dancing, party down late night, a new sunshine filled morning greeted us. Our Leverck Bay slip neighbors Jim and Tammy, were also leaving and they were
headed to Anegada, This year, we decided to pass on Anegada, post Irma, since the depth soundings at Aneagada were reported at 5 to 8 feet. Back in May, Pre Irma, we spend a couple of wonderful days
on Anegada, but our depth sounder was reading ZERO....we draw 6.5 feet with our monohull. My decision not to take the chance of running aground . Risk vs Reward.

We decided on Marina Cay and Monkey Point, that were long time favorites. I have heard that post Irma that Marina Cay is not the same, however we will do our best to enjoy what it is like now. We will approach it like
a new never been to island. It would be a whole new experience in our minds. .

Easy sailing today, jib only, down hill slide, and our course will take us just a bit south of George Dog, and direct to Marina Cay. We could use a peaceful easy sailing day , and evening .

Motoring slowly into Marina Cay, some of the moorings seemed un-maintained but solid for holding. Actually, we found that the Marina Cay moorings on the South West end of the mooring field seemed to be
in better condition. The reef protected us from the swells , easy night on the ball.


After arrival, we dinked ashore, and found the docks and fuel dock in very good condition and walked over to the new restaurant and bar. Yep, they are covered by a very solid tent type of roof, but the ambiance has some of the
old flavor of the destroyed restaurant. Very pleasant, open air, and a kick back peaceful with a super view of the Neighboring islands. Before snugging up to the bar, we walked up the hill to check out the old Hill Top, Happy
Hour bar. It is not in operation, Some of the rental cottages were totally destroyed. But, they have a new temporary Pussers Co. Clothing Store up on the hill.

How to handle things being different from pre Irma. We try to keep life positive as possible. We chose to enjoy the good feeling environment of the new beach bar and restaurant, and the small pussers
store up on he hill. Actually it was pretty easy to put the destroyed and hurricane beaten scene out of our minds. Erica only took photos of the new Marina Cay, which we felt very comfortable with.

We parked ourselves up at the bar, and said hello to the fellow sitting next next to us. It was Trevor, who doubles as dock master and chef on different days. Trevor was a great and interesting person primed with
positive friendliness and an easy open and fun attitude. We probably spent a couple of hours talking story with him. Very pleasant afternoon.

Later, back on board Vibeke, Erica and I totally relaxed. No night time party for us after the Wily T, and Leverick Bay Marina party. For some reason our frisky energy meter had dropped a bit.
A good dose of the mellows was OK.

In keeping our relaxed mode, later we dinked ashore and enjoyed a comfortable and peaceful sunset dinner at the restaurant. Very good.

Another positive about Marina Cay. You can pick up a mooring, and dink ashore for other island fun. They have a constant scheduled small ferry that runs all day and into the evening,
between Trellis, Marina Cay, and Scrub Island Resort. It is FREE ! Boat crews and passengers can visit those other ports that are within about five minutes of each other . How easy is that !

Also, we like to base out of Marina Cay, and motor over to Monkey Point, Guana Cay, for some excellent snorkeling. About 30 minutes for our monohull. Two ways we mix and match

Monkey point snorkeling...

1. Temporarily drop of the Marina Cay Mooring, zip over to Monkey point, snorkel , have breakfast, and return to Marina Cay for the day and night

2. Drop off at Marina Cay, motor thru the Camanoe Passage to Monkey Point. pick up a N.P mooring, snorkel and then continue on to Jost or Cane Garden Bay.

We just do what ever fells good. We have two weeks of sailing, so no big rush. .

Good stuff....Have fun.

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Reading your report, Capt, makes me hungry to go back! We were there in March, on a monohull from Conch. We didn’t have any issues with depth in Anegada, thanks partially to the newest approach chart from Walker.

Alas, I’m still a wage slave, so it’ll be a while before I can break free.

Fair winds!