Trip report BVI Nov 2-11, 2004

Lisa (lisa34) and I spent 11 wonderful days in the BVI on a Jenneau SO35 from Sunsail in May, and had not given any thought to a repeat trip in just 6 months time. As fall approached, and we still had no plans for our last 2 weeks of vacation time, we started talking to our friends Joe and Andy about joining us. We decided to contact Sunsail to see what would meet our requirements, and quickly completed a contract.
Next we continued with trip planning by sending our order to Bobby’s whose level of service in May was excellent. Leon quickly responded, and delivery was arranged for 6:30 PM on 11/2.
Lastly, after contacting several dive operators, a deal was struck with UBS Dive Center.
This turned out to be another winner. Delivery was scheduled for 9:00 AM on 11/3.

Tuesday 11/2
Left Chicago for our first ever flight on US Airways (UAL miles on Star Alliance) had to fly to CLT and then to STT. Good flight to CLT and then 1 hr. delay because a “sensor” was acting funny. Were supposed to arrive STT at 3:00 PM and got there at 3:50 PM. Off the plane and got luggage fairly fast and taxi to the ferry docks. Native Son was leaving at 4:30PM. We bought tickets (One Way) and the ferry left on time. We got to Sopers at 5:15 and had to get off for immigration and customs. We got back on and went to Road Town arriving there at 5:50. Taxi to Hodges Creek and Sunsail. Steve was waiting for us in the office and told us the name of our boat “Caduceus” a Jenneau 43DS, and the location on ‘A’ dock. We contacted Bobby’s about our provisions and they were brought to the dock. We loaded the boat and got St. Clair (A great Taxi Driver) to take us to dinner. We had heard Spaghetti Junction was open so we went there first. The restaurant was not opening until Friday but John’s son Jamie was there and he gave us a tour, the Bat Cave is open and is beautiful- we got our sample drinks from the “Drinking Mans Guide” but there was no more ‘Bat Stamp”- it got burned in the fire. We talked a little about decorations and they could use any “Bat” stuff. I thought since Halloween just passed it would have been a good idea to bring some post Halloween stuff down. After the drinks we were still hungry so we ate at the Village Cay Marina- good fish and a TV to watch election results. Then we went to Bobby’s to pick up some last minute stuff. Elton (the manager) was there and was cordial as ever, bending over backwards to accommodate us and make sure that we had everything we needed. He paid for the taxi back to the boat for us too.
Returning to the dock for a boat night, we were encouraged that the boat was docked into the wind for easy sleeping.

Wednesday 11/3
Woke up to bright sunshine! Breakfast at Calamaya, watched updated election results, had a quick swim in the pool, and back to the boat. UBS arrived on time, lashed down the tank rack, and loaded the tanks and weights. The UBS service didn’t stop here; next we were issued a first-aid kit, dive computers with instructions, a list of dive sites with GPS co-ordinates, a list of airfill stations, and more. We were very impressed indeed.
After few last minute details checking out our boat list and making sure all was ready, we took off for Cooper.
We sailed toward Cooper and then decided we needed some sea salt for back home. We detoured toward Salt anchored at the settlement and dinghy’d ashore. We had a nice long conversation with Henry about politics and the fact that they are building a restaurant on the island. (Has anyone else heard this)?
Back to the boat and on to Cooper. We picked up a mooring ball and had a wonderful star filled night.

Thursday 11/4
Making our way toward Anegada, we sailed off to North Sound. We stopped in at Saba Rock for some DMG drinks and had a wonderful time talking to Evelyn. It was another beautiful day. We then went across to Leverick, filled up with water and ice and grabbed a mooring ball. Dinghy’d to shore to get our Free Entree from the DMG but the upstairs restaurant was closed until Saturday. They would not give us the free entree downstairs. We swam at the pool, took showers, and cooked on the boat.

Friday 11/5
Another cloudless morning for a sail to Anegada. It was a perfect day! We were doing 6-7 Kt and it was a great sail. The reef was so easy to see when we got there. Walker’s updated charts were in hand and GPS waypoints were still in our trusty GPS 45 from May. The outer Green and 2nd red are still missing, but it was easy to navigate anyway.
We arrived, grabbed a mooring buoy, and called Sally at Neptune’s Treasure to reserve our 4 lobsters. We went ashore by ARH and spent some time at the bar with Lawrence and did some shopping in the store. Dinner was at 7, we dinghy’d over to Neptune’s and sat at the bar talking with Sally and Randy and then sat down for the best lobster dinner I’ve had since May- Thanks Bill H for showing us the way here! Tell Di it’s not the lobster; it’s the ambiance and the people that make it sweet and juicy!
More cocktails and a few bottles of wine from the DMG and we were set for the night.
Back to the boat to look at the shooting stars and the Milky Way!

Saturday 11/6
Still in Anegada. We rented a Jeep today for a tour of the island. We drove around and went to VJ pottery and bought a couple of things. Stopped at beautiful Lavenda Breeze, Flash of Beauty, Big Bamboo, and of course our favorite: Cow Wreck Beach Bar. (MAP-The Boston hat is still up there!!!!)
Alex was out doing things today so we did not have a chance to visit. We walked the beach, swam and had a few drinks. We then went back to the boat and cooked dinner and enjoyed the night.

Sunday 11/7
Sailed off to Marina Cay- Stopping at the Dogs for a dive. We did a dive on the Chimney and it was really nice. We then kept going- to Marina Cay; we filled water, fuel and air for the tanks and went ashore. Did some shopping in Pussers and then went for our DMG 2 for 1 Painkillers. That can really kill you when you have 4 books!
Back to the boat to cook dinner and sleep. It was really rocky- and rained most of the night.

Monday 11/8
We left Marina Cay and sailed to Monkey Point for some snorkeling. The sun was in and out and it was a nice snorkel. We then proceeded to Jost . On the way we hit some major rain again. It cleared up by the time we got to White Bay. Went ashore to Soggy Dollar and spent some quality time with KC listening to his great jokes and having a blast. We walked the beach and swam. We then went over to visit Ivan. We talked about the election results and had a couple of drinks. Back to the boat- it was dark already!
Once again it rained and this is not the best place to be when there are swells and rain. It was kind of a sleepless night with the weather being less then cooperative.

Tuesday 11/9- CGB
The weather cleared up nicely and we went over to Sandy Spit for some snorkeling and to make breakfast. It is beautiful out now. The snorkel was nice. We swam to the beach and enjoyed some relaxing time (like we needed to relax any more)! We then went over in front of Taboo and anchored. We took the dinghy ashore and walked to the bubbly pool. It was great as usual. We spent about an hour there and then back to the boat. We then continued our trip to CGB. Well Quito’s is really under construction (Bill summed it up well). We went to Bobby’s to pick up some last minute stuff and then to Myetts for reservations. Of course I had to stop and shop at Olivia’s. We stopped at Sebastian’s for drinks and then went back to the boat. We had dinner at Myetts and got our free bottles of wine from the DMG (4 books again!). Dinner was excellent, Sonia was our waitress and she was fabulous.
After dinner and 3 bottles of wine we went back to the boat. It was kind of hard sleeping in CGB without the music coming from Quito’s, but that will be next trip!

Wednesday 11/10
We went to Sopers to top off fuel and water and ate breakfast at Pisces where we talked to Omar and he asked if we knew Bill H. I used the free internet time (5 Min with a meal) to talk to the family back home- all was well. Did some more shopping- OK I like to shop! Checked out the new grocery store in Sopers. Ample Hamper II - It is fully stocked and seems to have a lot of stuff. I think it’s owned by the same people as RiteWay.
There we LOTS of cruise ship people here too- they all had stickers on their shirts- what’s that about? They looked out of place, and I wonder what impression they had of Tortola and more interestingly, what were they told to expect by the cruise line about this ‘excursion’?

We left Sopers and went over to Norman where we stopped at Privateer Bay for another dive. It was shallow but really nice. We tried for Angelfish but the swells were too big.
Then to the Bight for our last night. We cooked on the boat and did not go ashore. It was a nice quiet night but lots of rain again.

Thursday 11/11
We motored across to Hodges Creek and Sunsail Base.
I really like the midweek- to midweek charter; it was just about empty- we got checked out right away. We took the taxi to the ferry dock for the 2:00 to STT of course we had some time to do shopping. We went to Sunny Caribee and it was so crowded! There was another Cruise Ship in town. We got to STT at 3:00 and to the airport for our 5:00 flight to PHL and then onto ORD. Very uneventful except for the fact that we could see the Northern Lights from the plane and the pilot was nice enough to point it out!

The Ending…
As I type this I am still swaying back and forth and starting to wonder if a Catamaran may be the way to go next time….As Bill said, winter arrived while we were gone too, I had to wear a heavy coat to work yesterday and there was frost on the roof and grass.
At least I got to buy my BVI 2005 calendars in person this year, instead of ordering them Online!!!! That’s a good reason to go back in November.

We will definitely use Bobby’s and UBS again, their service is great, and they are both committed to delivering a quality product to their customer.

Sunsail was again very personable, and not afflicted with big company mentality. Everything was ready, clean, and worked. I do not think we will charter a Deck Salon again, the cockpit was a bit odd, and the multiple levels within the salon were worrisome in the night. The 43DS 4-cabin layout is not recommended, as the 4th cabin is so small as to be considered punishment