Well with almost 1 month to go until we set sail, I thought I would post our tentative itinerary. We are chartering a 40’ catamaran from Moorings for 7 nights. I would appreciate your thoughts and comments on the itinerary in general and specifically:

1) Should we spend 2 nights in North Sound if it means having to miss Peter Island? The original plan was to spend a day at Peter Island and then get a ball at cooper for the night for easy return to Road Town on the 11th. This may not be possible if we want to spend some time on peter island and lunch. Is there an alternative mooring location if Coopers is full that would be an easy sail to Rd Town the next day? Not sure what to do here. Or should we just spend the two nights in North Sound and save peter island for next year.
2) If we attend go to Leverick should we reserve a slip (our docking skills have not been tested especially with a 40’ Cat and really nervous about this! Our better halves would really appreciate the convenience of this though)
3) Is North Sound to Cane Garden Bay doable in a single day? Hoping to stop off at monkey point for some snorkelling and lunch as well. Its mainly a run so think it should be doable.
4) When we are on Jost, is it worth going back to Sydney’s or are there better restaurants in Great Harbour or White Bay? Not sure if we want to take a taxi there. We were there last may and had a great time but also want to experience other aspects of the idland.


I know you guys will give me great advice! Thx!

May 4 (Wed) – check in, provisioning, boat orientation and (hopefully chart briefing)
May 5 (Thu) – early morning start; sailing refresh (w/ captain for a day/morning), Cooper Island by 2 to get a ball, swim, snorkel, relax, happy hour, dinner, etc.
May 6 (Fri) – early AM visit to the baths and then off to Leverick for BBQ and night in a slip
May 7 (Sat) – easy morning and move boat to Saba rock, explore BEYC, prickly pear island, happy hour at Saba, dinner, etc
May 8th (Sun) – snorkel off Monkey’s point and lunch en route to Cane Garden Bay
May 9th (Mon) – stop of at Sandy Key, moor at Great Harbour, visit to White bay
May 10th (Tue) – Sail to Norman Island, snorkel caves, dinner Pirates Bight, drinks Willy T’s
May 11th – Early morning snorkel at Indians, return boat to Moorings, ferry to St. Thomas –drinks at the sand bar and dinner at Havana Blue, Final night at French Man’s Reef.
May 12th – recover from sea legs, hangover and Fly home

1) I'm a huge fan of spending 2 nights whenever possible so I would say yes. Save Peter for the next trip.
2) Yes, get a slip. The dock hands are very good at guiding you in. If you're not comfortable docking, ask at the base for someone to show you how to maneuver a large cat. It's much easier than a monohull or a twin engine power boat.
3) Yes, should be a great downwind run.
4) not sure; other will chime in.

If you are looking for a great dinner on JVD, I would recommend the restaurant at the Sandcastle (Soggy Dollar) or Corsairs. Sandcastle has always been top notch food and service. Our last 2 trips to Corsairs we have been very pleasantly surprised with the dinners. They are pricey but definitely worth it in my book (your mileage may vary).

I'd do two nights in North Sound and rent a vehicle to visit the Baths and see Virgin Gorda. Pirate's Bight is stinking expensive and has a service charge, not for us.

Cheers, RickG

We have a Leopard 40 and I'm still a bit nervous docking. Two things I can share with you that may help - tell the dockhands you'd like to come in (port or starboard) to when you make your reservation, depends on which side your helm is on. MUCH better visibility docking the same side as the helm. Ours is starboard and my first docking attempt port to resulted in an expensive visit from the fibreglass repair guy. Don't be afraid to say No, that's not going to work for me. I didn't and it cost me a boat unit in repairs. Oh the concrete dock was fine.

And #2 - keep reminding yourself, "Slow is Pro" Never approach at dock at a speed greater than you are prepared to hit it at.
We've docked at Leverick a couple of times - its one of the easier spots to get into as the wind is generally on the nose if you're on the west side of the dock.
Anchoring in the lee of Prickly Pear is a great spot to stargaze and its free. Good hold in a sandy bottom.

Awesome! thx for the suggestion. will definitely give it a serious look.

Question if dining, I am assuming we should take a cab to White Bay? Wouldn't want to take the tender and then get caught after dark. I would think.

Thanks Rick G for the feedback. We had discussed car rental with the crew, but they wanted to kepp it simple. Also regarding Pirates Bight. I must admit, last year I did not catch the service charge but by then I was 5 pain killers in and simple math was beyond my abilities! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> I really enjoyed the atmosphere and that beach which is why I think we will take the wives there this time. Willy T's may be a shock for them! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the great tip Macpete. It is a leopard as well so the helm would be on starboard. The lee of prickly pear would also be fun! Maybe the second night if we want to keep it more peaceful. A night on the hook scares me a little but if it is good holding and I can put out lots of chain. I'll play that one by ear. cheers!

I wouldn't want to take a dinghy over to White Bay after dark. I know some people would but why risk it. Cab fare is $5 / person. If taking a cab is not your cup of tea you still have Corsairs right there in Great Harbor. If you haven't eaten at Sandcastle, you should really consider it.

If you moor at the Baths, be very careful about swimming in. My friend had an extremely hard time of it & needed to use my dry bag as a float & even then she struggled a great deal. It was a scary moment. We prefer to rent a car at Leverick & drive over, with lunch at Hog Heaven.

I love Pirate's Bight & will gladly pay a king's ransom for a good dinner in a beautiful location with good service. (And Pirate's is much less pricey than the crummy meal & horrible service we got at Last Resort, but that's for another day) One caveat, however is that some of the servers are excellent & some are kind of crabby. We had Lucy this trip & will make a point of requesting her again. She was the best!

Cabbing to White Bay is easiest even during the day unless it's very calm. We try to be out of White Bay by 2pm, when there are so many boats anchored 10' off the beach that it gets hard to swim. One guy yelled at our friend who was swimming to "get out of the way!" so he could back in & anchor. If there's no ship at JVD, the One Love end of the beach is less crowded.

I'd be hard pressed to miss Peter if given the choice, but we had excellent meals at Bitter End for lunch and Saba for dinner- the S'mores for dessert are reason enough to go to Saba! So I'd be torn over that choice!

I'd snorkel the Indians over the caves. The caves are really suffering from so many people & the coral is in rough shape with fewer fish than there used to be. That said, if you get there late in the day, the light is really good at the caves in the afternoon.

The Leverick BBQ was a lot of fun. In all our trips we had never been & it was totally worth making sure to be there on Friday. I didn't even get halfway down the buffet before my trough was full- I was stuffed! But the meats & chicken & fish all looked good too.

Thanks for the reply Suburban, Yes I did read in a previous post the difficulty that some people experience getting to the beach. We are all in good health and experienced swimmers but we will be careful.

Agree with the assessment of Pirates, we are pretty easy going when it comes to service and i don't know too many restaurants that can beat the atmosphere... its Da islands mon! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

My favorite for dinner in Great Harbour is AliBaba's. The BBQ/Pig Roast (really no actual pig) is better than the one down the road, without the crowd. Stop by and checkout the menu board out front. Reservations are highly encouraged. You'll get fed if you just show up, but it may take a while. Make a reservation!!
Breakfast is worth it too.

We had breakfast at AliBaba's & it was fabulous. And that place is one of the most immaculately clean establishments in the BVI. Bought a pair of earrings too- one stop shopping! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

UncleLuff .. You'll certainly get plenty of good advice here. If you want to lay out your trip on a map of the BVI, we can make a custom Float Plan for you ... Visit www.BVIFloatPlan.com It's free! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks - Mark

Looks like you may have already punted the Cooper/Peter option the night prior to boat return. However, regarding that question we found Great Harbor, Peter an good alternative spot for the final night. It's straight across the channel from Road Town and the swimming/snorkeling is excellent.

Thanks Mark, already took advantage of your float plan! I think the itinerary I sent you is pretty consistent. just looking for tweaks and improvements.

Thx everyone for the tips and advice. I think We will be staying in north sound two nights after all. Peter island can wait until next year. Be fun for the kids and gives us something to look forward to next year.

keep the comments coming, I am soaking them up!