Apr 12-19, Questions

First thread post, first bareboat charter, a couple questions up front then some details if you wish to read on...

Easter week - We were here in late July 2013 and had light wind and crowds. I expect April to have more of both. I have been reading about the mooring ball issues and the politics of BoatyBall. How can I gauge how difficult it will be to get a mooring (for me preferable to anchoring)? I have a BoatyBall account and know the 7AM score may or may not happen so I’m expecting to need to arrive earlier for FCFS balls or resort to backup mooring fields or anchorages.

Provisioning - We have planned to spend the night we arrive aboard. Should we expect provisions to arrive that day (Easter Sunday) or the next morning? Will OneMart or RiteWay be open Sunday and/or Monday?

Details/Itinerary:
Moorings 4500, 7 people, 5 nights plus first night aboard. Probably a la carte provisioning through Moorings for majority of list. Planning on breakfast, lunch and snacks, maybe a dinner or two on the boat.
Sun: arrive STT, taxi, ferry to Road Town Tortola, taxi to Moorings, chart briefing if possible, last minute provisioning, settle in
Mon: boat briefing, set out to Baths, Gorda Sound VG (Leverick, Prickly Pear, Biras?), snorkel Colquhoun reef
Tue: Anegada (preferred, conditions permitting) - never been here, but thinking beach, snorkel, lobster dinner, chill; OR Marina Cay/Trellis/Monkey Point area
Wed: Jost (Diamond Cay, Little Harbour or Great Harbour), bubbly pool, Foxy’s
Thu: White Bay, Soggy Dollar, sail to CGB, Quito’s or Myett’s
Fri: Indians, Norman Is (The Bight, Kelly’s Cove, Privateer Bay), the Caves, pirate’s restaurant, Willie T
Sat: sail back to base, taxi, ferry to Charlotte Amalie St Thomas, Windward Passage
Sun: taxi to STT, return to Buffalo NY

Boaty Ball is an issue during prime season and especially on Cooper & Great Harbour given the high number of BB relative to FCFS and lack of anchoring alternatives. You are wisely skipping Cooper and I would recommend Little Harbour or Diamond Cay (our favorite) any day over Great Harbour and taxi to Foxys if you want...

I pull up webcams to see how the harbor looks (e.g. Cooper, Foxys, CGB) and look at boaty ball the weke before to see how quickly they fill up...weekends are easier at the prime spots...

Maybe head to Gorda Sound and then taxi to baths with dinner at Coco Maya?

Anegada is great...you can anchor there if no moorings

all IMHO...

Thanks for the insight Bailau.

welcome to the world of chartering in the BVI; - all these answers are our opinion based on our experience rather than factual knowledge;

-provision through Moorings, pretty well the same prices as Riteway, it'll all be on your boat when you get there & you won't have to carry all that water

- Boatyball - is a 7am scrum at Cooper Is and Great Harbour, the others are less pressurised; those two are a shame but you can drop the anchor in both if you're ok doing that.

-Anegada is a triple must, fantastic, Boaty ball again, other white balls or anchoring, plenty of room; lots of lobster restaurants on the South side, world class beaches & snorkelling on the North , Flash of Beauty beach is our new favourite; tip, if you don't mind anchoring, anchor off Pomato point and eat at Sid's new restaurant, it's fab and the anchorage is usually peace & quiet.

-VG? we don't get the fuss about the Baths, head to Spanish Town marina, yeah it costs a bit more but you can walk to CocoMaya, maybe in the top 3 beach bars/ restaurants on our planet?

- marina Cay, balls still there but Pussers restaurant now closed & gone.

- hidden gem, Soper's Hole has reopened, plenty of mooring balls & Omar's Fusion is a fab little restaurant.

enjoy

sunman60, re this sentence

“Boatyball - is a 7am scrum at Cooper Is and Great Harbour, the others are less pressurised; those two are a shame but you can drop the anchor in both if you're ok doing that.”

You should not anchor at Cooper Island. The grass is eaten by the sea turtles. Anchor there and you may harm the turtles.

There are signs in the dock advising not to anchor.

I believe it may even be illegal to anchor there.

The holding is terrible and the risk of dragging is high,

I hope this helps.

I provision heavy stuff (beer, water, soda, juices) through Moorings and then send crew across street to Cash and Carry which is literally attached to Riteway with a list of other stuff. C&C has bulk and fill in at Riteway. This gets it done in short order and gives me privacy on the boat to go through the boat check out...

You can provision at Leverick and Anegada...many more options now then immediately after Irma

I have a pre-made list I use...(1) from home items, (2) Moorings, and the (3) cash and carry/Riteway

We used to head to Virgin Gorda Yacht Club (Spanish Town) and spend a night to see the baths and Coco Maya but thanks to my friend Warren we now taxi down from Leverick...can go later afternoon after checking cruise schedule and then hit Coco Maya for that great sunset

I dont think you can anchor at Cooper either and there really isnt room at Great Harbour, JVD. In Feb I got whacked by a guy who tried to do it on the East end of the field while I was on an eastern most ball...

Have a great time .....

Warren460 re Cooper Is, we've only ever been on a ball there but each time have seen skippered boats come in and if there's no balls available they drop anchor closer to the beach on the right hand side as you look at it if you see what I mean, East of the resort beach; being local skippers I've taken it that it's permissible but bow to your better judgement if you say they're breaking the law.

Hi Tim. Regarding your North Sound itinerary, Biras Creek has 6 moorings available that are professionally maintained, but there are no bars or restaurants over there. It is a great protected spot to spend the night if conditions are really rough out. Also, if you're interested in checking out something new in the North Sound, feel free to visit us at the Oil Nut Bay Marina. We would love to host you! You can view everything about our marina here: https://www.oilnutbay.com/marina-village

Weds or tabun’s while your in the area stop at B-Line beach bar.....one of my new favorites