Forgive me if this has been asked a hundred times, but I did a quick search and nothing came up.

It’d be interesting to see what keeps the veterans returning. If you're comfortable sharing the number of times you’ve been, your age, and where you call home that would be great! I’m relatively new to the forum and don’t yet know who’s who. It'd be nice to get a better idea of who's behind the handle.

I’m (again) hoping for a first trip this November, I’ll be 39 by then, and I live in Vancouver, BC.

56 from outside of Washington DC...been going down since 1996

Land based USVI 20+ times
Land based BVI 4 times
Bare boat Charter BVI ~15 times

I always say you come the first time for the place...after that you come for the people. Many are on this board and the locals you meet down there are truly some of the best people you will meet in this world.

This board is the best resource in the world for expertise on all things BVI without all the fluff of Facebook. This is why your search turned up nothing. People here are more interested in helping others than talking about themselves.

I hope you find the magic and have nothing but fair seas and following winds...

I've had a boat based in the BVI for over 15 years now (actually, 4 different boats over the years) and stored at Nanny Cay when I'm not aboard. I spend several months every year living aboard and sailing around and much of that time has been spent in the BVI.

Ratman first went to the BVI the year before the airport was built, about 1966. Before that his family went to St, John. I am a newbie - first trip in 1996. We own two properties - or maybe they own us, hard to say.

Well said.

16 years. Land based most of those years.
Age 57 from outside of Charlotte, NC

In my mid-60s. 14 trips starting in the early 1980s, all on Moorings yachts.

Started when a friend asked if we'd like to join him on a bareboat sailing charter in the British Virgin Islands. I had no clue as to what this was so he asked if I'd seen the Alan Alda film The Four Seasons, which I had. One of the segments was about a bareboat charter in the Virgin Islands. I watched it again, noticing this time the beauty of the locale and some of the life aboard cramped quarters of a boat and decided that would be fun to try.

We've been 59 times beginning in 1978 on a friend's CSY 44. Always on a sailboat - bareboats from CSY and then Moorings then bought a Moorings 463 which we had for 13 years. We're from Wichita. It's all about the people some of whom we've known for over 30 years and still keep in touch with. Sorry to report I'm in my mid-80s.

We are in our early 60s and have been sailing the VIs for 13 years. Started in 2009 when my brother and sister in law suggested it. They had been once a few years prior. Having little sailing experience, we took several sailing classes in the Bay Area before piling both families (12 of us) on a bareboat charter for a week. We were hooked and have been going every year since. One weeks trips became two week. In 2015 we bought our first boat with Moorings. Thanks to Irma, we are on our 2nd now and spend 4+ weeks a year in the islands....mostly BVI. We've ventured around the USVIs, including St Croix, but enjoy the BVIs the most. There are so many places to go. The people are friendly and welcoming (with the possible exception of a few C&I officers). The water is crystal clear and warm....somehow refreshing at the same time. The air is like velvet.

I have been coming to the BVI since 1990. I love my fiends there, the people in general, fantastic sailing conditions, diving, beach bars, fishing and a few other things I am probably forgetting! As a means to reduce my BVI addiction cots I have owned Charter boats with 4 companies operating in the BVI. I would guess I have spent well over a 100 weeks there over the last 30 years.

I am 54 and came to the BVI for the first time in probably 1975 if I were to guess a year. I grew up on a 42ft sloop named Traumerei and we were based out of Grenada but spent lots of time in the BVI and USVI. There were many times that we were the only boat in White Bay, Jost Van Dyke and the only place that I remember being on the beach was the Soggy Dollar/Sandcastle Hotel.

I now live outside of Vail, Colorado and have raised all 3 of my kids here. Once the youngest 2 were old enough to swim on their own we started going back to the Caribbean at least once a year so they could experience a little bit of what life was like for me on a boat in the Caribbean. This was compliments of my mom who funded and went with us on our trips until she got too old to be on the boat. We didn't go to the BVI every year as we were trying to expose them to different parts of the Caribbean. We've sailed the SVI, USVI, BVI, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Why is the BVI special? For me it is the easy accessibility to different places every day. Everything is close by and there is no real big water sailing (even if you want to go to Anegada). The beautiful beaches and the laid back vibe brings me back to my childhood and when life was simple. My kids like the beach bar scene of the BVI better than any other (although at times it had my mother cringing at how much it has changed). My mom died in 2019 and in her memory we bought a boat, through The Moorings, so that we could spend more time in different places of the Caribbean and then eventually move back down. We also bought a condo on St. Thomas so that we would have a land base as well.

We will be back in the BVI for 20 days in November and although summers in Colorado are also magical...I can't wait to be back in the BVI!

Started in 1994 for our 25th wedding anniversary with the smallest Moorings mono available. We booked it for 5 days in case we 1 wouldn’t like it, or 2 couldn’t handle the boat with just the two of us. Note: the first mate, up until that time, was pretty inexperienced. After we raised the sails, and actually sailed in the pristine waters with that wonderful wind we realized we had made a terrible mistake by only booking five days. FYI we we were probably the original CC captain and first mate. And if Julian hadn’t pushed us off the dock we probably would have spent the entire five days on the dock.

25 years sailing the BVI’s, two boats in Moorings fleet, spending all of our vacation time and a lot of our retirement years not to mention our money in BVI, we don’t regret a minute. Don’t know how many trips to BVI, but we were going down 3 times a year using up all of our owners time and AA miles. Many happy memories.

We are now in our mid and upper 70’s. Outside of Chicago.

It all started with a trip to St Thomas in 1984 to escape the LA Olympics. STT quickly proved not to be the Caribbean we were looking for. A bartender suggested a trip to Tortola on "The Bomba Charger".We packed and jumped on the ferry. We rented a beaten up car and drove over the top on Joe's Hill and got our first breathtaking view of Cane Garden Bay. Quito's was "just a gazebo". The rest of the beach was just a smaller Rhymer's pink Hotel and " Stanley's Welcome Bar" ( with steel pan band every night). We stayed at Rhymer's..danced at Quito's and ate " Cheesburgers in Paradise" (Notice the spelling as approved by Jimmy himself) at Stanley's. We cruised the island and fell in love. After five returrn trips we bought our home in Little Apple Bay that was to become " Chateau Relaxeau Caribe". It has not always been perfect. Its been frustrating at times and heartbreaking courtesy of Irma and then Maria and now Covid..but it is truly a special place..As my lovely wife Candace used to say"One trip and you'll never be the same".

Back in the late 70s I was a flight attendant for Delta, met a guy on a flight who lived on St John, visited several times, quit my job, moved down there and never looked back. Shortly after I moved there my boyfriend, another couple & I sailed to Cane Garden Bay for a party on a Sunday afternoon. It was at Stanley's and we had to swim ashore because there was no dinghy dock then. At some point we walked down to Callwood's distillery and had some rum. The whole experience was surreal and I fell in love with Tortola that day. We came over often to pick mushrooms & party. Ah the good old days....
I moved back to the States in 1986 but still visit regularly. In fact, I've had 2 honeymoons in the VI...one in 1996 on Tortola and more recently in 2018 on St. John. I'll always be an island girl at heart and my new husband loves it there too. Lucky for him. We're in our late 60s and plan to continue to go as often as possible...until we can't. We were getting geared up to buy a place down there but the hurricanes of 2017 changed all of that. We live in a quiet resort area of Florida now & love it here too so we'll continue to go back & forth.

Loving all these stories! I'm sure there are more out there. Jason? :-)

Been at least 15 times or more. 5 times sailing ,rest land based, 3/4 of the time BVI although I do love St. John too ( I feel it is an honorary BVI)
The laid back, non resort, no hi rise is what first drew me in. I also felt very safe and comfortable no matter where I went. The closeness of being able to island hop, great snorkeling off the beaches of virgin Gorda ( and St. John) .
I will admit a lot has changed , on my first trip there was an honor bar in smugglers cove on Tortola and Ivan’s on Jost was also still an honor bar!
trying to get back now after three postponed charters and hoping for January now.
Just turned 60 and from Philadelphia suburb.

Yes, this is what I was hoping for! These stories are making me jittery. I can't express how much I'm looking forward to getting down there, but I have to remind myself to be cautiously optimistic.

Bernk-

What is your trip? land/sea?

I went down on water for 2 weeks in June captaining a crew of 7 others and i can tell you it was the most stressful planning of all my trips...and one of the most rewarding of them as well.

We are back down on land in USVI in Oct and BVI December...

what concerns do you have?

My first trip to the islands was a college graduation present from my father in 1969. He took me and three of my college buddies. We sailed out of St Thomas into the BVI and back. Enjoyed partying at Bert Kilbride's place at Moskito Island and going through customs back then was optional. Have been many times since then including sailing down to St Croix on a 33 foot mono in the 70s. Was a part owner of a Gulfstar 50 back in the 80s that was in the Moorings fleet.

Learned that the biggest return on investment for being an owner had nothing to do with money. Riding back to EIS in a taxi after our charter, another fellow in the taxi kept complaining he was going to have Heineken's withdrawal in the OR the next morning. He then said he had been out on a Morgan Out Island 45 and asked what kind of boat we had been on. When I told him a Gulf Star 50, he asked why we chose that one, and I honestly replied, "Because I'm owner". I was very comfortable leaving out the fact that I only owned 10% of the boat. It was a quiet ride the rest of the time to the airport.

Many fond memories of the islands and I am still introducing neighbors, family members and classmates to the fun and beauty of the BVIs.

bailau, our trip will be sea-based, but we'd like to do some land-based exploring, too.

We're chartering a Beneteau 31 out of Road Harbour. My main concern is getting to and back from the BVI during this pandemic. I feel slightly better about it now that we have flights to EIS instead of STT. I'm worried about the logistics of testing for exit, and the possible quarantine requirements. That sort of thing. At least our return trip is directly from SJU to Canada.

If I'm being completely honest, I have one other concern: Coming from gunkholing in BC I'm used to secluded, wild, and empty anchorages. I know it won't be the same in the BVI, and that's not what I'm going for, but I do hope that anchoring away from the action will be possible when we want to do that.

bernk - I don't use mooring balls in the BVI as I've seen too many frayed ones and rescued 2 drifting boats whose moorings had parted in light winds while the charter guests were ashore. If you are comfortable anchoring then all of the popular anchorages, with one exception, have enough space outside of the ubiquitous mooring fields to accommodate you. The exception is the Bight on Norman Island, the mooring balls don't leave much room apart from the entrance area where I and some other private boats will anchor in 50-60 feet; the charter boats don't have enough chain for that depth. And I forgot about Great Harbour on Jost van Dyke - while the water outside the mooring field isn't as deep the holding is not very good and I've had to attempt to set anchor 3-4 times before I got a good "bite" and with so many mooring balls there now it is hard to let out sufficient scope.
But if I think of Leverick Bay on Virgin Gorda the area just outside of the mooring field is 15 feet with good sand holding, even better depth and sand across the Sound at the Sand Box off Prickly Pear. The same applies to popular anchorages like Cane Garden Bay (sand, 10-20 feet), Diamond Cay (20 feet, but rocky ground), Long Bay, and Anegada.

There are also some great anchorages that are away from the crowds. I recently stayed at Long Bay for the first time and despite drawing over 8.5 feet I could still squeeze in between the reefs and anchor close to shore. And if the charter company and weather allows it, Savannah Bay is wonderful. Or the anchorage around Prickly Pear. None of those have anything ashore, so they tend to be empty.

I've not found easier cruising grounds anywhere in the world. There are anchorages there for all tastes from gregarious to hermit and everything in between.

We first visited Virgin Gorda from St.Thomas...went with the ferry group to the Baths and then the 2 of us took a taxi to Savannah Bay. As he was driving us up the dirt road, I was like where is he taking us...OMG... paradise. We were the only ones there.. us and a few chickens. He came back for us and we returned to ST. A few years later we returned to VG to stay a week at Mahoe Bay. We were waiting at the dock at Beef Island for our ferry over and met another older couple who had a cooler full of food and said they come every year for 2 weeks. We both looked at each other and said how can you come to the same place every year.... well, it took us less than our weeks stay to find out... We then started coming down every other year for at least 10 days and those days started to stretch to at least 2 weeks minimum and to then to every year. We will both be retired this year so coming down will be even easier without work concerns. We still rent a Villa at Mahoe Bay and enjoy the uncrowded beaches, casual restaurants, grilling at our home base and just relaxing. We went this past March during covid when you had to quarantine for 4 days.....it was a pleasure... not leaving our villa and beach was not a hardship.

Bernk, Zanshin is 100% right. There are many quiet, secluded anchorages. I think that's why the BVI is so popular. You can go whoop it up with the crowd at White Bay one day and be the only boat in quiet moonlit bay the same night (assuming you have a designated sailor aboard).

The anchorages without Mooring balls tend to be very uncrowned because most charterers have a irrational fear of anchoring. Sadly mooring balls seem to be multiplying like the plague.

For sure!!

Bernk/Husker, I am enjoying reading these great stories as well. Like you Husker, I am awaiting Jason's.

That's a bunch of good news! Thanks again. Zanshin, thank you for your detailed insight.

If you post a new thread on "favorite secluded anchorages" I am sure you will get way more than you need. We actually really enjoyed our quarantine anchorage at Benures.

This thread may help you with the portal...

http://www.traveltalkonline.com/ubb...-101-how-we-got-approved.html#Post257869


Exit tests

http://www.traveltalkonline.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/259222/bvi-exit-test-101.html#Post259222


This group is a godsend for our trips

The original list of quarantine anchorages is actually a good start and they aren't many quarantine boats any longer so they are probably back to their pristine states.

Love MOST **** sail trips in 70s and 80s---- Natures little Secret 4True

Late to the party here. Been traveling to the USVI and BVI for decades. Love the water, beaches and people in the BVI. When it was time to decide on a home for our catamaran we chose the BVI. It feels like no where else. We are close to retirement age (well, maybe) and from Michigan.

In 2002 I was planning a beach wedding and that was all I knew....started digging around this newfangled thing called the internet and discovered this option called bareboating...WHAT? people let you rent a boat and sail around??? Perfect!! That research brought me to this forum almost 20 years ago now! Rex and I got married in October 2003 in CGB and we knew no one there and only a handful of TTOLERs but none were there when we were (that we knew of). We chartered a beautiful Beneteau 473 from TMM for 21 days and cruided every where, I have a chart where we drew our lay lines, we calculated that we did something like 400NM lol! I fell in love with the people, the water colors, and just the overall vibe! I have spent time enough to know it's not always paradise but it will always draw me back.
Anyway fast forward to 2021 I have probably been down 20 times in various land/ boat / hybrid fashions, I have made friends for LIFE both down there and MANY from this page, I have friends who have passed whose ashes are scattered there, my kids have been lucky to experience the BVI's in different stages of their life, and I started a specialized business because TTOL member Last Mango gave me the idea to start a printing business. The BVI (and this page) has been part of almost half of my life at this point, every time I go it is like "going home" and I don't even have a home there! ........Most know that Rex and I are no longer together (oh well, his loss haha) but life is good and goes on ...Im just stuck with the darn user name, boo.

I am 73 years old and currently my wife and I live in Boston. Many years ago my law partner and I had an office in Boston where we both practiced and had both become very bored with it. We were both sailors having boats in Narragansett Bay. One dreary evening over a couple beers at our favorite bar we got to discussing what to do with our lives and it came to our attention that the only thing we really knew how to do was sailing and beer so the logical thing to do was start a brewery in the Caribbean. We first went to the Turks and Caicos but that did not work out. A friend who sailed out out of the BVI and owned Ipswich Brewing recommended Tortola so off we went. That was 1994. We both fell in love with the place right off the bat. So we brought the wives down and they felt the same. At first I stayed in an apartment on Zion hill road owned by a local policeman whom I became great friends with. We started and endless saga of getting the appropriate business licenses which at that time was very difficult for an off islander. After several
years and lots of stories we finally got the paperwork finished successfully. Then while looking for a location, my partner got sick and eventually passed away. He was not only my business partner but also my best friend. We were both Vietnam vets and had made connections with a number of vets on Tortola including Charles Tobias who owned Pussers. After my partner passed I pretty much lost interest in business of any kind. In and about 2002 after a divorce I closed down the law firm and went back to Tortola. After much searching I bought a Morgan 46 ketch and moved aboard. I basically lived aboard until Hurricane Irma ate her in 20017. Now I am back in the states The BVI had become my home and I loved it there. I had wonderful friends, both sailors and dirt dwellers. I met great people from all over the world and the sailing was spectacular. Now I too have some physical problems and probably will not be sailing the BVI ever again but I have wonderful memories and it costs nothing to dream. The name of my Morgan was Adelia Jo and we had a slip in Sea Cows bay for any of you may have run across us. My wife and I went back for a month last year and it just seemed like all had changed except for the beauty of the place Most of my old friends are gone either moved or passed on so enjoy it while you can and don't miss a day.

Sage advice. Thanks, Buddy.

Thanks for sharing your story, Buddy. Your advice resonates deeply.

My Dad died just a couple of months ago, and we lost my Mom eleven years earlier. They were 67 and 54 respectively. Just me left now. Like you, I have become completely disinterested and dissatisfied with my work. This has me examining my life and what I want out of it and I'm pretty sure that sailing the oceans of the world fits in there somehow.

73 with my wife at 66; live outside of Philly. First went to VG in 1997 and for the next 23 years until Covid. Always stayed at GSB. Love the people (many have become friends), snorkeling, the local food establishments, sunsets and Painkillers. During those 23 years we have left Spring Bay beach less than a half dozen times. When you have the best, there is no reason to.

Reply to bailau page 1
This is it, nothing more to say.

This thread is sooooo goooodddd!!

This is a wonderful thread and actually encouraged me to join and not just lurk.

My wife and I (58 and 52) will bareboat in the BVI for the first time in April Finally got the last kid off to college and now looking forward to the next chapter.

We owned a lovely Najad 36 for 5 years when we lived in Sweden 2001 - 2006 but unfortunately have been landlocked since and raising kids. Time to sail once again.

We first went around 1995. Have been 15 times, iirc. We always stay at GSB. We were first amazed at how many repeat families were there. They would book their week for the next year while they were there. I’m 59 and from the DC area. I love the people, that beach, and the total relaxation you can reach there. The Mr. likes to dive, snorkel, and climb the boulders. We always have sunset cocktails on top of our favorite Boulder then head out to dinner. I can’t tell you how worried I was about the people we know there after Irma. When I heard they were reopening one cottage, I booked it. To say it was heartbreaking to see the devastation is an understatement but to see how they’ve rebuilt is amazing.

Wife and I are mid 60s and have been coming to the BVI for about 20 years. We only have done one land based, all the rest are on a catamaran. For the first 5 years we never even heard of this Traveltalkonline forum. In fact every time I’m in the BVI I asked people if they ever heard of this forum and more then 75% I would say have not heard of this place. This forum is a great place to get needed information. It’s a great tool for anyone’s pre - trip to the BVI or any other place too. (Used it for our Africa Trip). The people here are very helpful in many ways. I always use it especially when I’m getting ready to head back to the BVI, like now?? Mostly to see what’s new and going on in the BVI. We also owned a Catamaran (HoneyCat) and had it in charter for about 5 years. That was a great experience I will say. Been there, done that type of thing. For now no ownership for us, just charter. I have my USCG captains license in both power and sail and used that back in NY on Lake Ontario. It’s not needed in the BVI, but it’s nice to have. My wife and I now are staying pretty much under the radar when we take people sailing in the BVI or when it’s just the two of us. My wife does all the motoring on all the different Catamarans we have chartered. We hired other skippers in the past to teach my wife how to handle a catamaran under power and to show us different techniques each other skipper knows. Now she knows how to handle the Cats very well and she gets a lot of looks when she’s coming into a mooring field on a 50 plus cat and it’s just me on the tramp to get that ball. We have taken people out on many different sizes (mostly SA Cats). Mid 40s to 50’, 52’ and 58’ Cats. I have two different groups that want to go to the BVI ,but this Covid thing is holding all of us back. A friend of mine just got back a couple of weeks ago and told me it’s not worth it with all the testing and etc. That’s why I’m here seeing what’s going on. What brings us back is the nice people in the BVI and the beautiful waters and temperatures. The islands are so nice to visit. The laidback atmosphere is the best.

We've previously posted earlier in this thread about the people. I'm in mid-80s Sandy is close - We live in Wichita. We have many old and good memories. SJU Airport with no a/c and Bacardi had a complimentary pina colada bar on the way to the baggage area. Air BVI flew DC-3s - took more than an hour to EIS. There was a one-lane toll bridge between Beef and Tortola. Many were injured trying to climb the palm tree with the tire swing in front of Stanley's Welcome Bar in CGB. Always a jump-up at the Bath & Turtle on Wednesday nights in the Yacht Harbor when the Yacht Harbor was beautiful. Sydney's Peace & Love in Little Harbor always had a pig roast on Monday nights. Brit Tony Snell entertained in the Last Resort on Bellamy Cay in Trellis Bey with his songs about charterers and donkeys Vanilla and then Chocolate entertained during dinner - I still have one of Tony's CDs. Donovan's Reef was a beautiful restaurant and the only building on Scrub - you could radio a reservation and one of the boys would pick you up at your boat in Marina Cay or Trellis. Drakes Anchorage behind the reef on Moskito in North Sound - gourmet dinners ashore. And then the Fat Virgins Cafe in North Sound. Sky World on top of Tortola for drinks and dinner - in clear weather you could see both St. Croix and Puerto Rico. David Jones, the Caribbean weather man, every hour on the half-hour on ZBVI - "Whether you do or whether you don't, often depends on the weather." David could often be found at the end stool at the bar at Village Cay Marina. Sorry to ramble - I better stop before Sandy finds out.