Bareboat sailing tips

My husband is an excellent sailor, me, I'm a pretty decent first mate. Our friends are "newbies". We are bare boating a 42 foot monohull. As far as I can remember from our last sail in BVI five years ago, the sailing was relatively easy. We didn't have a whole lot of wind last time. Any advice? I want our newbie friends sailing with us to have an awesome time. We plan to go to Leverick for two nights, Jost Van Dyke, not sure where else. We start at Nanny Cay. Any suggestions?

Well, I'll start:
1. Nanny Cay - Best marina showers in the BVI, possibly best in the Caribbean. Don't leave the dock without taking advantage of them.
2. Sail the boat kind of flat. Newbies are probably not comfortable with much heeling. It is usually a bit breezy down there.
3. Give the newbies instruction and responsibilities. Let them drive, too. They will appreciate it.
4. Depending on the season, don't wait all day to get to your mooring for the night. They can fill up by mid afternoon.
5. Check with Nick at Leverick Bay for TTOL special and make a reservation for a slip if you haven't already don so...and tell him Hi for me.
6. Go to Anegada and don't miss Cow Wreck Beach.

The winds really depend on the time of year. When are you going?

Diamond Cay on the east end of Jost Van Dyke near Foxy's Taboo is one of our favorite anchorages. There is a new beach bar on Little Jost Van Dyke called B-Line. The walk to the Bubbly Pool is fun, even if the swell is not up. Sandy Spit and Sandy Cay are nearby. Lots of turtles and remora.

We enjoy the day mooring at George Dog & Great Dog for snorkeling and lunch on the way to/from North Sound.

My newbies enjoy the snorkel at the Wreck of the Rhone when the swell is down and the water is clear.

The north/left most mooring at Cooper near the house on the point is the least rolly for a monohull. If the swell is up we skip Cooper or risk an all night tossing.

Guana Island has a new mooring field on the west side on White Bay.

Cheers, RickG

We will be there April 10-18

#1 tip - get to your next destination before lunch.

Avoid the horror of circling the mooring field in vain after 4pm trying to find a ball, along with three other highly aggressive skippers that will not respect the fact that you got there before them. It's not worth the aggravation.

Nanny Cay is a fantastic place to sail out of. We have used Horizon 5 times now and would recommend them without hesitation. We have stayed at the hotel at the end of our charter in the past as well and really enjoyed our last day in the BVI's there. Nice beach bar, decent food at Peg Legs, great pool and yes the showers are second to none. One thing to think about is returning your boat. It gets very congested at the fuel dock with super yachts and other boats attempting to return to base. Give yourself a good hour or so to get that part done or come in the night before and use the marina and the facilities at Nanny Cay to your advantage. Much less stress for your last day. Mind you, you may want to have air conditioning on your boat to make that maneuver a complete success. It does get pretty hot at the docks there.
A big thumbs up to Leverick Bay for a couple of days as well. Rent a car, tour the island and enjoy the Baths the much more laid back way. Also Diamond Cay, the Bubbly pool and the B-Line Bar are a great suggestion as well.
Enjoy your trip, you will certainly have fun whatever you decide to do.

Kim - great information!
We're out of Nanny Cay next week on a motor yacht. On our return, we're spending the night at the hotel at Nanny Cay, but our crew is flying out and needs to get on the ferry to STT. The fuel dock opens at 8:00 am and we were thinking we'd be there at 8 sharp and *maybe* have our crew picked up at the fuel dock and shuttled to the ferry to save time.
Anyone else have experience with those logistics?
(PS: Nice to hear good things about the Nanny Cay hotel!)

Regarding newbies - here is my advice:
1) talk a lot before you go. Set their expectations. This is sailing - not the Four Seasons resort. Find out what they are interested in. Discuss their concerns. Talk about how they can help. Talk about spending time apart if desired.

2) start them on Bonine for seasickness the night before you fly down to the BVI. Slowly wean them down to half a dose and then nothing if they are feeling good after a few days.

3) If the weather is fresh, don't sail the boat too hard unless you are sure they are having as much fun as you.

4) Celebrate your time together. Cheers and have fun!

That will most likely work. There probably wont be a bunch of boats jockeying around at 8am. Have a great trip!

Wow! Great suggestions! Any advice for first night out? Last time was Norman. We are staying one night at either end on Nanny Cay.

Today we had a lot of wind sailing from the Bitter End to Monkey Point. We set only the jib. My novice crew loved it. They focused n the concepts, driving, and gybes. We kept it really simple. They learned a ton and had a terrific time!

Norman is first choice if you get away late from the dock. There are about 4 balls at Water point and if you can get one you will be rewarded with some pretty nice snorkeling from your boat. There are some really nice underwater cliffs and crevices with lots of nice coral and fish of course. Then in the morning you would be well set up to visit the Indians or the Caves at at Privateer Bay.
But if you do get away early enough I would suggest Cooper (weather permitting of course). Cistern Point is a favorite place to snorkel and the resort on the island is pretty nice as well. Good food and service, a really cool Rum Bar, nice beach and a laid back vibe. If Cooper is out of mooring balls or if it is too rolly when you get there I would head across to Marina Cay. We haven't been there in quite a few years so someone else will have to chime in about all it has to offer these days. Have fun!