Hey Folks! I have done three bareboat charters in the BVI and one on St Martin, but all of those have been in early December.

This year (2016) I'm thinking about the last week of February into the first week of March. My big concern, however, is the crowds. My sense is that the BVI get very crowded during that time frame. Even though we are early risers and have no problems sailing in the mornings and usually arrive at our overnight destination around 1400-1500, the thought of having to fight for mooring or anchorage space fills me with anxiety--not the fun + easy vacation that I would like.

What do y'all think? Is late Feb/early March too crowded for a stress free vacation?

Thanks,

George

I love it then, going for the last two weeks of March again.

Learn how to anchor and be able to accept "plan C" without flinching.

Only time that has been dicey for the last MANY years is November. We have had some pretty rainy times when "plan D" became the best option.

Yippee...also,there the last two weeks of March...we will have to see you guys for sure <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Due to kids' break schedules, we've been down during the March high season for the last three years. We'll be down for two weeks in March again this year.

We generally hit spots where we have the option to anchor out if the moorings are full - north shore of St. John, Norman Island, Little Harbor Peter Island, Marina Cay, North Sound Virgin Gorda, Cane Garden Bay, Great Harbor Jost Van Dyke, sometimes Little Jost Van Dyke and Sandy Cay if wind/waves cooperate.

If we want to hit Cooper Island we will pop by before noon; if its full we hit Salt Island/Wreck of the Rhone and check back after lunch time. If we get a spot early we can snorkel Cistern Point or dinghy to Salt Island.

Problem spots? Trellis Bay does not have much room with enough depth for us to anchor; Marina Cay is our bail out. White Bay on Guana Island is a bit deep for us to anchor, so our bail out is anchoring at Marina Cay.

A bit more of an annoyance is trying to get water in North Sound when things are very busy. We've regularly seen aggressive behavior at the Saba Rock water dock; best to be on the dock by 8AM to get water. We prefer getting water at Leverick as the dock crew there is the best.

Cheers, RickG

Your best bet would be to charter anytime between August and November
And you'll have plenty of moorings.

We've been coming down since 2007 and I have never seen the BVI as busy as they have been the last 10 days we've been here. It's been truly insane. (There were two cats on the DOCK and TEN mega yachts at the back of the anchorage overnight at Pirate's Bight a few days ago!) BUT we haven't had trouble finding room anywhere in the early afternoon. We don't go to Cooper or Trellis, but for our stops we've had no issues. I'm sure March will be fine- we were here last year in March and it wasn't busy at all.

Yes there are always lulls throughout the year if you hit it right.

We have been down during Easter Week for 3 years and only once did we have to use Plan B. Norman was full so we had to moor at Benrus bay. We were usually on a ball by 2PM. The only problems we have had was getting a ball at Monkey Point.

A bit more of an annoyance is trying to get water in North Sound when things are very busy. We've regularly seen aggressive behavior at the Saba Rock water dock; best to be on the dock by 8AM to get water. We prefer getting water at Leverick as the dock crew there is the best.

Cheers, RickG [/quote]

We too have had to delay our start times due to larger crewed vessels taking up the fuel/water dock while guests used shore facilities. I'm sure it must be difficult for the captains of these boats to tell guests to hurry it up, but there have been days where several boats have been circling about waiting for them.

We were down mid-March last year. The only place we couldn't get a mooring ball was Cooper - we anchored in Haulover instead. It was busy, and yes there were some crazy folks racing to mooring balls, but the restaurants and bars on the islands handled the crowds really well. We didn't have leisurely mornings because we wanted to make sure we got to our destination in time to get a ball.
Also, we found that the big Riteway in Road Town was picked clean on a Saturday evening. This next trip, we're going to pre-provision and have everything delivered to the boat.

When I was there in mid march last year we picked up a ball at cooper before noon. However the restaurant was completely booked for the night. The lady told me that folks were making reservations a week in advance. Spring break is a very busy time of year.