SVI and crowds

We are thinking of bareboat chartering in the SVI next May. Our intended week would include Memorial Day weekend. Will the anchorages be over crowded on that weekend? Would we have trouble finding a spot to anchor comfortably?

We have previously chartered in the BVI, USVI and Antigua. It looks like the SVI will be challenging to navigate. How would you compare it to the BVI/USVI?

Thanks for your help.

We love the SVIs. Culebrita might be busy with day boats, but there is plenty of room elsewhere. Many boats go to the USVI/BVI for holidays. The passages are a bit longer and we pull our dinghy up on the bow of our Beneteau 423. Our boat is in a marina at Humacao for hurricane season. Some good guides are:

https://yachtwarriors.com/sailing-in-puerto-rico-spanish-virgin-islands-cruising-guide/

https://www.allatsea.net/cruising-guide-to-the-spanish-virgin-islands/

The Pavlidas cruising guide has inaccurate GPS coordinates.

Cheers, RickG

Three day weekend, yes it will be busy with the yachting crowd from Fajardo, count on it.

I need to re-write that post, the more I think about it, clockwise is the better route to take if doing a loop from Puerto del Rey or USVI. I shouldn't have let the base manager talk me into counter-clockwise.

Coming around the south side of Vieques was pretty rough with 10-15 knots right in our teeth from the east. Plus you are also fighting the prevailing current. Going clockwise, the eastward passage will have better protection from the swell in the lee of Culebra. Culebra to Vieques should be on a beam, and coming around Vieques, downwind.

Not sure if anyone else has any other thoughts. I've only done SVI once, but will make it two after our November trip.

Thanks all! Matt W: it would be great to hear your comments after the trip.

I guess we will brave the crowds (at least we know what to expect) and use the helpful links.

If there is any NE to SE wind and swell, I much prefer returning to STT via Culebra instead of via Vieques. The shallow east end of Vieques gets very rough with the seas piling up for a couple miles offshore until you get into deeper water. From Culebra/Culebrita, it tends to settle down more quickly into organized rollers and when you get to Sail Rock, halfway to STT, you can feel the seas start to ease.