1st Week of October Closures

Thanks for all of the great info on this site! Taking our 1st bareboat charter (Moorings 4000) with 4 couples, 5 days starting October 2nd. Wife and I have stayed on land last 2 years in October (our anniversary month), and one of the other couples were married on Scrub last October so we thought it would be a great time of year to schedule.

Been doing a lot of research and put our initial sail plan together and now hearing about all of the closures during that time (Saba, BEYC, Cooper). Here was our tentative itinerary:
1. Evening on boat at Moorings
2. Cooper & local snorkeling
3. a.m. Baths > Bitter End YC
4. Dogs > slip at Scrub (scene of the crime)
5. Sandy Cay > White Bay/Soggy Dollar
6. Lunch Soppers > Indians/Norman
7. Return

Should we make a change w/ Cooper Beach Club closed? Should we still go to North Sound and just get a slip at Leverick? Any other itinerary suggestions or closures you know about?

My other grey area is provisioning…we plan on eating dinners on shore (but will have 1 backup dinner on the boat) and eat most breakfasts & some lunches on-board. Wondering how much space we’ll have on that boat for the initial provisions? With limited fridge/storage space, should we only plan on initially stocking for a few days and plan on a re-stock along the way? Also, any other good breakfast (for 8) ideas would be appreciated!!

That boat has plenty of fridge and freezer space for a 5 day trip

Have a crew chat about everyone's breakfast expectations and preferences. Some folks are good to go with a coffee and PBJ. Others prefer omelettes with bacon, ham or sausage plus toast and Mimosas, finished off with Coffee and Baileys. Have the chat and find a happy medium, as well as recognizing that some crew have to be willing to tend galley in the AM.

Bread is probably the most finicky provision you will bring aboard. Perfectly fine at 8 AM and blueberry bread by noon. Either freeze it, or plan to restock it every chance you get, just like Ice. VGYH, Leverick, Anegada, CGB, Jost, Sopers/ West End will be able to take care of you.

Lunch onboard, IME, is not usually a happening thing, as sailing, diving, snorkeling, swimming, and power-tanning often outweigh putting someone in the galley to conjure up " lunch". "Lunch" ( for us) usually waits until boat is moored or anchored early to mid afternoon, and morphs into an onboard " Happy Hour". That isn't a bad thing, as it holds down the check totals at dinner on-shore. Or it morphs into "we don't need dinner on shore." Then again, if no one is up for galley duty, Happy Hour onshore segues into dinner, too.


So, if this group of 8 has never done this before, together, really talk about the expectations. The provisioning expenses are highly variable on < expectations>. If you don't know what to expect, provision for 2-3 days from the dock. Those 2-3 days will get you to a place where you can remedy most any situation and fill any need.

It is really , really, easy to drop a BOAT unit in food provisions for 8 people. It is a very hard lesson when you are back at the dock for checkout and you are giving half of it away.

Most people will find that a heavy breakfast is a no go. It is hot and I never eat much at one meal. We usually start with yogurt and fruit, maybe a breakfast roll or croissant, or cereal and juice. Mid morning snack is usually laden with sugar (Lorna Doone peanut butter cookies) or similar. Last trip we did lunch out more than dinner. Sandwiches work well and can be fixed ahead and devoured underway. Veggie sticks for afternoon snack with some kind of dip and some mixed nuts. Dinner is always grilled meat, salad, garlic bread etc. I NEVER COOK in the galley. Too hot, messy and totally unnecessary. I am on vacation too.

Coffee/juice, cereal or yogurt

Lunch is sandwiches and chips....anyway you want to make your own;-)

Dinner; week charter 3-4 meals on boat;

Snacks are Fruit/Cookies/Chex Mix....
Cheese and crackers/ fruit for happy hour...

Did I mention drinks?

We also just have grab and go items for breakfast (yogurt, Kind bars, Belvita cookies, bananas), and then have an easy to prepare lunch. Last time I brought a bag of the deboned rotisserie chicken from Costco (frozen), and we used it for wraps, chicken salad on crackers, quesadillas, and in pasta salad.

We always have a supply of hard boiled eggs on hand. Great for snacks or even for lunch. If sandwiches are on the menu for lunch, these are made in the morning before we cast off.

Great time to go, beat the crowds Marina Cay was closed this time last year as was Cooper Is. most other places on your list will be open but quite. Have some burgers, sausages, steaks etc as a BBQ back up. Keep your cold drinks in the cooler on ice and your food will stay cold and last in the Fridge/freezer.