We will be chartering out of Tortola in March and i was thinking of going straight to Anegada on the first day. I think it is about 30nm so should take about 6 hours. Is there any reason i shouldnt plan on doing this?

depends when you check out, weather, sea conditions?

In all likelihood, you may not get off the dock with the boat until after noontime. That doesn't leave you 6 hours of sailing. So, " planning on it" isn't a great start to the charter if it sets you up for a hard disappointment right off the bat.

Thats just the first thing.

Second thing, third thing, fourth thing wind, weather and sea state. Regardless of sail or power, all of those can easily conspire against the " plan".

5th thing, getting into the anchorage/mooring field at Anegada is greatly enhanced by having the sun overhead, for visibility into the water, finding/ seeing the channel markers, avoiding hazards at the entrance. You REALLY don't want to be racing sundown to get in there, in particular, or anywhere else, in general. Heck, you can't SEE Anegada until you are practically there in the first place.

IF all the stars are in your favor, you know the boat, you've slept aboard, you have all your provisions stowed and you've done the boat briefing , chart briefing, it's just 10 AM and the weather is perfect and you are off the dock---- head to North Sound for the first overnight. Leave from there for Anegada.

If all you do is make it to Marina Cay the first night, Anegada is easily reached from that part of Tortola the next day as well.

Breeze

I was going to suggest heading to North Sound as well - Marina Cay or Cooper would be okay as well.

If you reserve a slip at Leverick Bay ahead of time, you won't really have to think too much about your timing since you already know you've got a spot. You have to pay for electricity but the fee for the slip itself is the same as a mooring ball at Leverick.

P.S. - Leverick Bay is North Sound - you probably know that but since I noticed you just registered today, figured I'd throw that in there. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Thank you all..good advice.

If you were running a power cat it wouldn't be as much of a big deal as with any sailboat. With a powerboat, you just point yourself there and you will arrive in a predictable time frame at least if the weather is cooporating. I'd concur that you would want to get there with a reasonable amount of sunlight just to see what's ahead and below. Also to give you a good chance at getting a ball. Somehow, I wouldn't get excited about anchoring in maybe 10' of water when the sun has set.