Posted By: whaler18
Thinking about August - 04/28/2015 02:41 AM
Kicking around the idea of going down in August for some time on our boat but have never tried the Islands in August. I realize weather can be tricky and many spots will / may be closed but just wondering what experiences folks have actually had.
Thanks
Ken
Posted By: maytrix
Re: Thinking about August - 04/28/2015 02:49 AM
Likely going to do the same - just get trip insurance in case there's a storm.
Posted By: rita_irvine
Re: Thinking about August - 04/28/2015 03:38 AM
We are on charter #14. All have been late July or August. We have been fortunate to have only the usual weather burps. We do trip insurance for the 90 yo parents that we have to think about. Very laid back, no hurry to get a ball,or anchor anywhere. The later you go the more closures. We are July 24-August 8 with another 12 days on VG after the charter. Our favorite time of year. We like the peace and quiet. We have been on land in the on season , and no thanks, too many people.
Posted By: mdoyle9999
Re: Thinking about August - 04/28/2015 08:54 AM
I agree with the above. The sailing is great, anchorages are nearly empty, but almost everything is closed. That wasn't always the case. So you will likely cook on board more often and you will need to plan ahead if you want to dine out. It is a very nice time of year to be there. Do amore extensive provisioning on Tortola, and just enjoy it.
Posted By: RickG
Re: Thinking about August - 04/28/2015 12:05 PM
We were down in September and our quote was "The BVIs are closed." Thursday pizza night at Leverick was the most happening scene. Willy T was open. St. John was quite lively by comparison and still had tourists and fewer seasonal closings.
The weather we had was great. Hurricane Eduard was heading north and we had blue skies and southerly winds. We sailed from North Sound to Cruz Bay, St. John down the Drake channel one fine day and saw just one other sail. Our friends staying on St. John lost a day to Gonzalo, but St. Martin's experience with Gonzalo shows you what could happen.
Cheers, RickG
Posted By: Twanger
Re: Thinking about August - 04/28/2015 01:39 PM
We will be in the SVI in August. Great time to go... normally more settled weather and milder trade winds. Just keep an eye out for tropical systems. Lots of good tools for that these days. Back in the 'bad old days' we had to listen to the weather on the VHF every morning at 8am and plot the storm centers on paper by hand to keep track of their westward progress and estimate the tracks.
Now there's
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />