BVI 2008 Trip Report - Bareboat Lagoon 500

Saturday March 22

Crew of 11 (5 Adults and 6 Children all under 10). 3 of the Adults had never been on a boat before (so make that 2 Adults and 9 kids smile. The mother of all swells had just rolled through a few days earlier and we wondered what lay in store for us.

A rough start. Our American Airline’s flight had a mechanical breakdown as we missed our Air Sunshine - San Juan connection. Given that we were six people (the other half of our crew was arriving later) we chartered another plane with Air Sunshine. A cool $1,600 poorer we landed ready for our sleep aboard on Sea Angel a 2007 Lagoon 500 with Catamaran Charters in Nanny Cay.

Last year we chartered a 52’ Beneteau Clipper (Maribelle) out of Purcell Harbour and found the immediate surrounding brutal, right next to a scrap yard for freighters, and zero local amenities. Suffice to say that Nanny Cay was a welcome upgrade. We loaded our gear and had a great dinner at Pegleg. Not inexpensive but the food was great. The kids played on the beach and we hit the sack ready for our big adventure.

Sunday March 23

Contrary to other reports Catamaran Charters were friendly and efficient. The Cat was brand new and clean and worth the extra few bucks. Being my first time on a Cat we had a day captain (Mark Dubois) for the day. We had our briefing, packed our provisions and set off by noon. We beat up to Coopers by 13:30 but no moorings as expected. We continued on to Marina Cay where we anchored and thanked Mark for his instruction and advice and dropped him off at Trellis. Mark was very knowledgeable and exactly what we wanted for our orientation.

Monday March 24

With a decent weather forecast in hand and the swells dying down, we headed out to Anegada at 08:00 (we didn’t try it last year and I regretted it ). 25 knots winds with gusts to 35 knots made for a wild ride. We were reefed and flew along maxing out at 12 knots. Sadly no photos were taken as our knuckles were fairly white and the crew did and incredible job by not throwing up. It’s amazing to be on the bridge (12 feet off the water)of the Lagoon and still getting hit by the spray. Also the waves that caugh the inside of the lee pontoon makes a hell of a racket. Scared the crap out of the kids for the first hour until they got used to it. The approach to Anegada was made in the pouring rain, but was a lot easier that we thought. We made great time and had our pick of moorings. The south side beaches were messed up from the swells and the water was murky. The bay is shallow our Cat draws 5 feet and there was only another 3 feet below that. Jumping off the boat for us heavier adults was cautious. The kids hit the beach halfway down to Neptune's and enjoyed the sand.

Tuesday March 25

We all took a taxi ride to the North Shore the following morning. Lollyboy bay was not recommended so we went to the beach by Flash of Beauty. You really feel you’re at the end of the earth when looking out on the North Shore. A lot of sea urchins had washed halfway up the beaches but the water was clear. We enjoyed Anegada Lobster for the first time at lunch. These suckers are huge and meatier than the North East lobster we were used to. We fed we headed back in the driving rain to our boat. A mid afternoon snooze and dinner on board watching the sun finally poke through as it set.

Wednesday March 26

Off early from Anegada; destination Leverick Bay. Last year we moored off Bitter End, and were wowed by the pure luxury of the place, but found their hospitality lacking. The TTOL group had be raving about Leverick so we gave it a try. We were glad we did. Nick Willis really does come as advertised. Very friendly, helpful and willing to go the extra mile. The facilities at Leverick come close to that of Bitter-end, the provisioning is better and the smiles a lot more abundant. Diving, water sports, dining both fine and casual, showers and laundry, etc... A very strong recommend. Nick works hard and the results of his efforts are well apparent, either that of the happy painkillers were kicking in.

Thursday March 27

The swells were still hanging around so we decided to take a taxi to the baths as the kids had fond memories from last year. It was a spectacular ride down the length of VG. Nick advised me to perhaps try Sunshine Bay to avoid the crowd, but my kids were set of the Baths. I wish I had taken Nick's advice, as the baths were even more crowded than last year.

Swarms of [censored] on Devils bay. The swells started to roll and the surf was becoming very dangerous. We pulled our kids to shore and watched the carnage unfold. The dingy mooring were a nightmare and I thanked my stars we took a taxi. A few broken toes and the surf reached the umbrellas set at the top of the beach. Bodies were being slammed into one another. We will not go back there, ever again. It was just too crowded, done.

Friday March 28

Departing Leverick; destination Cooper Island. A strong beam sail down arriving at 10:00 (our lesson learned) This was our favorite beach last year and it did not disappoint. A sea Turtle greeted our arrival as we moored. Once tied off we snorkeled out to watch him feed on the grass below our boat. Incredible. Then to the beach where our sandcastle competition raged on. Snorkeling was great as we also saw large rays also feeding and two of the scariest barracudas waiting for us under out Cat. I almost left my wife and kids to fend for themselves but found the courage to stay in the water until they all got out. We finished off the day with some jumping competitions off the Cat and races underneath (no more barracudas in sight).

Saturday March 29

Departing Cooper; destination Jost Van Dyke. Strong easterly wind promised for a easy run around Tortola. Unfortunately the wind was twitchy and we had to gybe the jib several times to keep our speed about 5 knots. Once we pass Soper Hole we had a strong beam and made good time out to JVD. Arrived at white Bay at 15:00 and the Bay was packed. We made a quick pass and headed for a mooring at Little Harbour. We tucked in near Abe’s as we didn’t want the noise from Sydney’s. Little Harbour is quiet but has no beach to speak of. We should have anchored in Great Harbour as the beach looked far better. We made ourselves a few drinks at Sydney’s Peace and Love. Very friendly but we decided to eat onboard and take it easy. After Cooper’s there was a bit of a let down.


Sunday March 30

Departing Little Harbour; Destination White Bay JVD. We arrived at 09:00 and had our choice of moorings. We tucked in on the east side and marveled at the beauty of this beach. It was the nicest beach we visited to date. As the day progressed the moorings quickly filled up and people started to anchor. Never in my life have we seen such a disaster. People came charging in putting snorkelers in danger. Boats crunching the reef, anchors being dragged and hitting other boats. Yikes! We we thrilled to be tucking away from this melee. White Bay is big enough to accommodate the boozers and idiots as well as people seeking a quiet spot on the beach. The bars and beach chairs stop halfway along the beach leaving the rest alone.

One annoying practice were power boaters anchoring 10 feet off the beach and having a stern anchor half way up the beach. Their bouncing anchor lines then effectively cutting off the beach for everyone else.

I was told that White Bay is a popular week-end spot and this crowding was common. However they clear out by late afternoon and the beach was quiet and enjoyable once more.

The Soggy Dollar Bar, despite all the hype was surprisingly very enjoyable. The kids loved the hammocks and the ring game. SD is the last bar on the east side so it was a short walk to the quiet part of the beach. It had a great vibe for both young and old.

Monday March 31

Departing White Bay; destination Nanny Cay

We delayed our departure as long as possible. We had a great day at the beach for our final day, finally departing early afternoon as we had to get checked out by 17:00 since we were departing before 08:00 the following day. The beach was beautiful and quiet, so much so that the planned day anchor to Sandy Cay will have to wait until our next trip.

A quick beam reach at 9 knots and beat up in the rain before finally motoring up the last 30 minutes to make our deadline. We had Dinner once again at Peg Leg’s and marveled at the Racing fleet that was in harbour for the Spring Regatta. The teams were all in there jersey’s and this carnival atmosphere was a great ending to our trip.


SUMMARY

Having just completed our second charter in two years, this one on a 50’ Cat and the previous year on a 52’ monohull, both with a crew of mostly kids, we felt the Cat was the way to go.

First off was the Galley. On the Cat we have 2 freezers and two fridges giving us the storage necessary to comfortable handle feeding our crew. We were told most cruisers prefer restaurants and therefore don’t need as much capacity, but we opted to a longer stay and thus choose to save a few buck eating most meals on board.

Having a blender on board was decadent, and I estimated we saved over $500 by making our own Pina Coladas.

Another plus was the overall space. We had the kids in inside while the adults dined al fresco. We could set both table and they could run around up front leaving us in peace. We also enjoyed having the bridge up top leaving me free to sailing with out having the kids get caught up in the lines.

Being on a large Cat also made sleeping in the rolling seas a lot easier to take.

A sailor I dig miss the heeling of a monohull and the ability to point higher, but the speeds we hit on the Cat were unbelievable. Looking forward, if we had 4 sailing couples I would take a monohull, but if the crew was made up of kids and newbie’s or seniors then I would opt for a Cat, although my wife says she prefer a Cat anytime.


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