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Slip vs. Mooring.. #43442
03/04/2015 12:43 PM
03/04/2015 12:43 PM
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 72
FrenchLaundry Offline OP
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FrenchLaundry  Offline OP
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 72
Our family has been on a 4 day charter and we are about to leave for an 8 day charter. We have children 9, 11, & 12 and we have a captain. We would like to spend more time hiking & activities. Our itinerary is below and we would like to get some feedback on slip vs. mooring. We moored last time and are thinking of using a slip more this time. Our kids are usually tired towards the end of the day and we believe there are some advantages of using a slip (we can still enjoy a dinner and get back quicker. I am specifically looking for downsides or bad experiences using slip?

Sunday - sleep aboard Road Town
Monday - Waterlemon Cay St Johns moor
Tuesday - Salt Pond Bay St. Johns moor
Wednesday - Peter Island (slip
Thursday - BEYC (slip)
Friday - Leverick Bay in the afternoon, jeep rental, party & pig roast - slip
Saturday - Drive to Baths in AM, lunch, explore Virgin Gorda, return car, (stay over night) (slip or moor?)
Sunday - Norman Island, Indians, caves (moor)
Monday - Home

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Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: FrenchLaundry] #43443
03/04/2015 01:30 PM
03/04/2015 01:30 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,213
GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
sail2wind Offline
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sail2wind  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,213
GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
Monday morning check out of BVI at West End or Road Town, check into Cruz Bay in St.John. Wednesday morning check back into BVI. You will love the snorkeling in both Waterlemon and especially Salt Pond.

Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: sail2wind] #43444
03/04/2015 02:10 PM
03/04/2015 02:10 PM
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,618
Oakville, Canada
CanadianGirrrl Offline
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CanadianGirrrl  Offline
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,618
Oakville, Canada
i can't comment on STJ and i'm an anti-sleep aboard based on other peoples comments such as noise, proximity,but the postives for the kids may outweigh the negatives

i would think the peter island slip is ridiculously expensive, the one mooring ball is 65/night and it would take you about 4 minutes to be dockside, or you stay in great harbour, you can anchor for free or get a mooring ball and walk to peter island resort quickly and the kids will have lots to see, they can walk from great harbour past sprat bay, past deadmans over to big reef bay, a beautiful walk and lots to see and do, try picking up coconuts that have fallen on the grassy path near big reef bay and play coconut bowling, we had such a great time as a family doing this

another activity we enjoyed was hermit crab races, everyone collects a hermit crab, then someone draws a circle in the sand, about 1-2 feet in diameter and all the crabs go in the circle, first crab to crawl out of the circle wins, best spot to find crabs is in rocky outcroppings such as at sandy cay

we've stay on a saba rock mooring and never had problems as its another quick dinghy ride back and forth to BEYC or Saba

at Leverick, our preference is to contact Nick who's a regular on TTOL and have him arrange a car or a car and driver, the driver option might be good for the kids because generally the driver will add interesting local information and stories which may be entertaining, visit the baths from the land side, enjoy the freshwater pool at top of the baths after lunch, explore VG, ask the driver if the mini golf is still open, then return to leverick and let the kids enjoy another fresh water pool or the older kids could rent a kayak or stand up paddle board or try scuba diving, our kids and niece and nephew were the same ages when we took them diving with an instructor, or take a dinghy out to all the islands and do a beach crawl, moskito island owned by Sir Richard has a small beach jammed full of all sizes of conch shells, the kids would enjoy playing with these, immediately across from this beach, across the cut, is another tiny beach where the water is so shallow, the fish come up and swim around your feet and legs as long as you stand still, the longer we stood, the bigger the fish.

At Norman you have to moor but a great activity for the kids, aside from all the snorkeling spots, is to find the path ( or ask ) behind the restaurant/gift shop and climb to the top of the island, a very doable activity for these ages, and a fantastic view from the top, there's a surprise at the top for the kids which they'll think is neat, there's a helicopter pad up there!

Hope some of this is helpful, maybe not for dock vs mooring but hopefully for activities for the kids!


"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain
Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: CanadianGirrrl] #43445
03/04/2015 02:52 PM
03/04/2015 02:52 PM
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,766
Med/ Caribbean
sailbynight Offline
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sailbynight  Offline
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,766
Med/ Caribbean
The freedom to get on and off the boat at a dock is great for kids. One negative to a slip is if you don't have AC available. Most docks are protected from the breezes that help cool off a non-chilled boat.

Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: CanadianGirrrl] #43446
03/04/2015 02:54 PM
03/04/2015 02:54 PM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 396
Pacific NW
S
snmhanson Offline
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snmhanson  Offline
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S
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 396
Pacific NW
If you don't have A/C being on a slip can sometimes get a bit warm depending on location and wind direction. I wouldn't worry about it at Leverick, but at BEYC you are fairly protected from the breeze when on a slip. Virgin Gorda marina can also be pretty warm. Not sure about Peter Island, but it looks like the island might do a pretty good job at blocking the east winds as well. Of course if you have A/C just plug in and enjoy the night.

Another place to check out might be Scrub Island. Great pool setup that's open 24 hours and a couple good dining options. It is a bit more developed than the other islands, but a great place for some R&R and enough to keep us occupied for a night or two. Once again though, there might not be much breeze on the slip there.

Matt

Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: snmhanson] #43447
03/04/2015 03:47 PM
03/04/2015 03:47 PM
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,720
Massachusetts
maytrix Offline
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maytrix  Offline
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Posts: 5,720
Massachusetts
I like the slip at Leverick and if we have shore power A/C only, have used it elsewhere (Soper's, Saba rock for example). But otherwise we stay on a mooring for the cost savings and my wife prefers it.


Matt
Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: maytrix] #43448
03/04/2015 04:40 PM
03/04/2015 04:40 PM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
RickG Offline
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RickG  Offline
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
With kids, we like to moor where there is good swimming. The kids like to get up early and splash about while breakfast is going. That's driving our itinerary a bit for an extended family trip this summer.

Cheers, RickG


S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423
Grenada
Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: RickG] #43449
03/04/2015 06:02 PM
03/04/2015 06:02 PM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 6,994
GA/NC
GeorgeC1 Online content
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GeorgeC1  Online Content
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 6,994
GA/NC
Slips are great however if you don't have at least dockside air they can be hot and buggy. Leverick is the exception and generally has a decent breeze.
Your first day plan is not realistic. There is no real way to go from Roadtown to watermelon cay in one day. Even if you clear out of the BVI the night before assuming you can get the skippers passport it's a long haul to Cruz bay and back again to Watermelon Cay in one day including customs.
G

Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: GeorgeC1] #43450
03/04/2015 06:06 PM
03/04/2015 06:06 PM
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,676
An island state of mind
tradewinds Online content
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tradewinds  Online Content
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Posts: 5,676
An island state of mind
There are several long sailing days in that itinerary. I'd be worried about the kids handling those long sails.

Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: tradewinds] #43451
03/04/2015 06:27 PM
03/04/2015 06:27 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,213
GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
sail2wind Offline
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sail2wind  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,213
GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
I would think twice about a Peter Island slip. The slip will be over $100, $1 a gallon for water, $10 bags of ice, and crappy showers. Scrub Island will give you a much better bang for your buck.

Re: Slip vs. Mooring.. [Re: sail2wind] #43452
03/04/2015 06:37 PM
03/04/2015 06:37 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
B
BEERMAN Offline
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BEERMAN  Offline
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Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
If memory serves....3 years ago at Peter we paid $125 for 40ft and another $40 for shorepower, yes pricey at $165 but we had a great time and enjoyed shorepower a/c on our last night. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />


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