HJS (family of 4 with two boys ages 6 and 8)

4/2 Travel Day: AA was fine until our 9:30 flight from SJU to EIS was cancelled, so our sleep aboard was at the SJU Best Western. It was then that I recalled the advice GlennA offered: Have a great time! Don't be surprised if all that careful planning goes to naught. Remember that you are on vacation and be ready to go where the wind take you.

"Attitude is the difference between ordeal and adventure."

Glenn’s advice was spot on. We had to be flexible as you’ll see…

4/3 Arrived at EIS around 10 and to BVI Yacht charters around 11:30. No problems with any of the checked baggage and we were not pressured into gate checking any carry on items (backpack and small duffels). I gladly accepted the help from the EIS baggage lady who carted our stuff from C&I to the taxi stand. We had one cooler with frozen food and another with dry goods and some special food we needed to bring. Everything was perfect. Lashed to coolers to the transom for cold drinks; the swim step/helm seat fit snugly between the coolers. BVI Yacht Charters was great; Abbie recalculated our invoice to delete the sleep aboard fee! Then a super quick chart and boat brief with Abbie and Chris. (Gee that was easy, but we’d been studying the charts and with TTOL help we were familiar with where we wanted to go) Scott from BVI Water Toys was awesome; he met us at noon to deliver kayaks, floats, noodle chairs and beach toys/games. These were great things to have for our kids and we really enjoyed the kayaks. Bobby’s delivery was punctual and complete. Seems like at about 2 or 3 we set off for Great Harbor, PI and enjoyed an excellent meal at Oceans Seven Beach Club. Said hi to Jason and he performed magic tricks for our boys. Kids were in heaven. Oceans Seven is a very friendly place with great service and food. We chatted with all the other patrons. First of many smoothies for the boys! Big wind crossing the channel and overnight in Great Harbor; thus a major adjustment to the “plan” would be needed! It was absolutely howling all night long! (No one received any mosquito bites the whole trip, and the only time we put on repellant was the evening I took the boys onto the beach at Cooper for some fun and running races on the beach)
4/4 We moved over to the Bight for better protection from the wind and swell. Seemed like a lot of folks had the same idea! Tied the float raft off the back of Cleandre and set up a clear bottom kayak in a snap to explore the harbor with the kids. The inflatable kayaks from BVI Water Toys are not "toys" at all. The kayaks are solidly constructed, and perform as well as a rigid shell but at about one-third the weight! They come with comfortable seats and back rests that get mounted over an air bladder base(s) to sit on; they come with large volume pumps and the set up is a snap. The boys also really enjoyed playing on the floats. Great weather just crazy strong winds the first couple of days so we decided to hang in the Bight one more night – no problem as we were having a grand time! Played with the giant jenga set at Pirates and the kids were right at home. While in the bight I heard that three boats in the regatta were dismasted, plus the poor fellow who was injured. I finally got the charcoal stay lit when I tried the Minut Light charcoal instead of the Match Light brand. Tom at Pirates Bight was a big help when I had a minor issue with our outboard. Thanks, Tom.
4/6 Rolled up and put away the kayak (we used the third cabin as a store room) The wind was beginning to ease up so we sailed to Marina Cay and had a great day on the beach with lunch and dinner at Pussers. Had the main and jib reefed. The Spring Regatta was in high gear that day and racers were flying in the strong breeze. It got a little rough over near Salt, and at the helm I stayed cool with the periodic drenching from the swell and spray! It was an exciting sail and our kids were troopers. The 6 year old actually napped while we sailed and the 8 year old and Mom were bundled up under a towel for much of the sail. Got to Marina Cay around 10:30 and really enjoyed the setting there and the kids loved snorkeling the reef. Great spot!
4/7 Sailed to VG and took a slip at Leverick for 2 nights and had an excellent time. Switched to the forward tank and refilled the stern water tank. Dinghied over to Anguilla Pt. and had a lot of fun on the beach and then had an outstanding dinner upstairs at Leverick Bay. Kids took turns piloting the dinghy on the way there and back. By the end of the trip, they did all the dinghy driving. Next day rented a car from Speedies and stopped at the Baths, Copper Mine Pt. and snorkeled at Savannah Bay (Beautiful spot, thanks honeymoon2 for the suggestions). What scenery! Special thanks to GlennA for the book “These Rocky Shores” – our young geologists had a blast checking out all of the different rock types from all the islands. We returned with many samples. VG was the highlight of the trip, thanks TTOL for the suggestion – Leverick was perfect for us, the boys loved the pool and the service was very friendly. Another good suggestion was to take the NPT Permit with us to save on the entry fee for the baths. Glad we decided to do this by car, the mooring field at the baths was packed and I spoke to some folks who seemed to be there for hours and hours…
4/9 Our team of young geologists were interested in seeing the crystal formations at Salt Pond, so we headed to Cooper for an overnight, swim and kayaking there, and on 4/10 we set out early for Salt. While at Cooper on a dinghy exploration trip, we helped a gentleman whose dinghy painter was fouled at a dock near Cistern Pt. He’d just off loaded a few cases of wine and we were glad to help. At Salt, we dinghied around the point to the beach on Salt Pond Bay and took a short walk to see Salt Pond and the boys were thrilled to see the salt rim and rock walls around the pond. Neat excursion. Off to Peter for our last night. We wanted to see Deadmans Beach because it was a stop on our honeymoon. Decided to pick up a ball in Sprat Bay and PIR was very welcoming. We had smoothies and margaritas at the beach bar followed by a nice lunch in the restaurant. Spent the rest of the day on the beach and enjoyed a short nap. Kids were having lots of fun on the beach and swimming. Overnight the winds started picking up again, but the channel was smooth for our early morning sail back to BVI-YC base. BVI-YC made this part very easy for us too. We called the day before to arrange a taxi and they showed up a few minutes early, leaving us plenty of time to get tot the airport, check bags, and have brunch.

One of the most satisfying things for me was to have the boys ask when we could go back again. My primary goal was to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for the entire family, and thanks to all the advice and planning help from TTOL, we accomplished that goal! We didn’t come close to completing our “itinerary” but in the end it was OK because we enjoyed everything we saw and did – plus now get to go back to see the other places we didn’t get to see!