I'm calling this report 'Trip Notes' because I am not going to go into details about every anchorage, sail or drink we had. It would be boring. But here's some updates from our recent bareboat charter in BVI:

1. I mentioned in a previous post, but the Charter Companies are taking the Jet Skis and dinghy thefts in Cane Garden Bay very seriously. We were prohibited (or strongly discouraged) from going into Cane Garden Bay with the charter boat. We were told that all charter companies are 'discouraging' CGB until the Jet Skis and thefts are stopped. Basically, if you take their boat into CGB, you will be fully liable for any damage/theft/costs incurred. I am sure this will change very soon as the situation has already been corrected, I believe.

2. Stopped by 2 new restaurants. Coco Plums by taxi in Apple Bay was very good, very reasonable and excellent service. Happened to anchor off Diamond Cay on JVD and remembered that there was a new restaurant, Taboo, there (opened by Foxy's daughter). They have about 5 brand new moorings there. We went in for lunch - they are not open for dinner yet. She was very surprised that we knew about the place and they had only been open for 3 months. Had purposely NOT advertised and had no idea how the word was already out about the restaurant. I think they will be opening for dinner in about a month. The food was good/above average, but the prices were outrageous. Basically it was $13 for a hamburger (albeit a Gourmet One) with tortilla chips (albeit Gourmet homemade chips).
3. Tried some old restaurants. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Anegada Reef Hotel. Everyone else in our family loved having lobster dinner in a table on the sand. Unfortunately I don't care for lobster, so my fish dinner was below par, but I went along with everyone else's enthusiasm. There was quite a large crowd at dinner and they should've had some kind of music to make the evening nicer. It was rather dull and boring. Probably would have been more fun if any staff had ever stopped by to see if we needed more drinks - they were rather busy.

4. URBAN LEGEND COMES TRUE. We've all heard it... should of been here last week; Jimmy Buffet/Mick Jagger/whomever was on island right here last week. Well, this actually came true for us. Jimmy Buffet himself was out at the Anegada Reef Hotel on Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving) for a quick day of bonefishing (or some kind of fishing, never got that part straight). He stayed at the Anegada Reef Hotel overnight and we were there having a meal with him. We got our guitar autographed!!!! Unfortunately, the tale would have really been great if he broke out in a jam session - but that didn't happen. All the locals were very excited about his visit.

5. Quito was great in Cane Garden Bay, he started at 9:30pm and kept going until 3:15am. We pooped out at midnight, but could still hear him going when we got up to check the anchor at 3:15am. Never knew someone that actually had a tighter band and sounded better than the album (am I dating myself by calling it an album?). My 8year old daughter was front and center grooving and he kept asking her what she wanted to hear and she actually knew the names of some of his songs! Previously she refused to listen to his music, but now she is the biggest Quito Groupie in San Diego.

6. Took the Saba Mooring night before leaving for Anegada and the lineup was so long to get into the dock in the morning for the free water that we just gave up and went over to the Bitter End. Just a warning to everyone to line up early for your free water.

7. I was overwhelmed by the changes in White Bay, JVD. I think we were there about 3 years ago and we pulled in on a Sunday. Blaring loud music, water toys all over the beach, people being ferried in by day boats, drunken idiots puking and gyrating in One Love. But, we had a good time people-watching. Just wanted to mention that this place has changed the most out of any one little beach in the last 10 years.

8. Don't believe anyone when they tell you that the Northen swells only last 24-48 hours. This was our first time sailing in high season (OK, it was high season for us because we usually go in July/Sept/Oct to avoid crowds) and we spent 3 days just trying to get near the Baths. Waves were just crashing into the rocks, you couldn't stay out on the moorings or do any snorkeling. Basically we just had to fling people out of the dinghy and swim into Devil's Bay (too rough at Baths). All we could really do was walk through the Cave paths and go up to Mad Dog for a soda. I was dissappointed because I really like to snorkel at the Baths. The swell affected everything pretty heavily for a minimum of 4 days.

All for now, thanks for great time reading about everything on this forum. This was our 13th trip and BVI is still the greatest lazy sailing ground in the world.

Geri