Spanish Virgin Islands - Take Three

Just got back from our third charter with Sail Caribe in the Spanish Virgin Islands. I'm going to do my trip report in a series of blog postings this time around, since I've started a blog to write about the sabbatical I'm taking right now (sailing my boat to the Bahamas -- except that in the middle of taking the boat south, we took this long-ago-planned charter vacation....)

So, the first couple of posts on the SVI are up now: Sailing Blog - Calypso's Odyssey, and there will be more, as well as more stuff on the Bahamas sail.

Just an update for those who asked about the situation with moorings. The moorings at Palominos, Luis Pena, Culebra and Culebrita are still in place, and seem to be in good shape. With the exception of Esperanza, there are NO moorings left in Vieques. They were not being maintained, and rather than assume risk and liability, they have been removed. However, there are now moorings available for overnight use (at $25/night) in Esperanza, and they are marked with an orange noodle on the pennant. They are checked regularly by the owners (we saw Glenn diving on them the very day we moored).

In the meantime, if you have any questions about sailing the Spanish Virgins, and/or Sail Caribe, feel free to ask.

Thanks for the TR and the blog. Sounds like fun!

Cheers, RickG

I read your post and just wanted to make sure I'm understanding your comment that there are no longer any public moorings on Vieques. You are saying there are no longer moorings in Sun Bay or Bahi De La Chiva? You actually were in those places to verify or somebody told you there weren't any moorings? Nice blog report, looks like you had a great time.

We actually anchored in both Bahia de la Chiva, and in Sun Bay, and confirmed for ourselves that there are no moorings there.

This summer there were no moorings at Green Beach at the west end of Vieques.
However, it's very easy to anchor there in 10-feet of water.

Great blog! How was the sailing and provisioning?

sailing and provisioning are great, but there is no availability to get water for the boat. you have to go back to Fajardo for water. we carry 120 gallons and can comfortably make it 4-5 days

Good to know. Thank you.

The full trip report is now up on my webpage: http://islandtime.homestead.com/Spanish-Virgin-Islands.html

I noticed you mentioned the Dinghy Dock. We heard Mamacita's moved into the Dinghy Dock location. Is Mamacita's and Susies still open. We also heard Susies moved toward the airport side of the island.

Eva, where did you anchor in Cayo Luis Pena?

We anchored in the northeast, just across the channel from Culebra. No moorings there, but the holding was very good, and it was more comfortable than the mooring field in the southeast because -- in early November -- there was still some south to the wind and seas.