BVI Nov 20 – 28, 2010 aboard a Sunsail 384
This was our 1st Bareboat experience and the BVI was the best place to start. Been there once before with a hired captain but was such a newbie that we didn’t learn anything about sailing or the locale. Five years and several sailing courses later we were ready to return with our sail plans all set. We hired a captain for day 1 to go over all the boat systems while under sail.
Day 1: Road Town to Trellis for Full Moon Party. Hoisted sails into a brisk 20-25 ENE wind and had an exhilarating tack up towards Cooper Island. Tacking this Cat was a lot different than a monohull. We had to turn completely through and even a little downwind to maintain the tack, then trim sails and keep 50 degrees off the wind. Made it back to the Beef Island headland and then motored around to Trellis Bay. Lucky to catch the one of the last mooring balls around 2 pm. Full moon party was an absolute blast. People were friendly, buffet was delicious and the band was jumping and people dancing all over the beach. The Jumbie Dancers were amazing and fun, lifting kids and adventurous adults high up into the air on command. Aragorn’s fires were something to behold. What a great start to the vaca.
Day 2: Trellis to North Sound. Off the ball around 11:30. Winds ENE 25-30, some downpours on the way. Looked like most of the fleet was heading over to Spanish Town but we didn’t feel comfortable maneuvering the Cat in a crowded marina so we headed to North Sound. It was 2.5 hours up to the Bitter End where we moored and grilled steaks on board. Strip steaks from Bobby’s proved to be excellent quality.
Overnight we encountered our first challenge. We tied to the painter from one bow cleat to the other with a single line. The eye of the painter was not large enough to either pass a second line through or loop the first line twice. All night long we heard loud creaks and groans as the boat swayed and the mooring line yanked and slipped through the eye of the painter. It was awful – no sleep that night.
Day 3: Motored over to Leverick Bay and jumped in a taxi for a full day at the Baths. Encountered the same situation with the painter so we tied directly to the top of the mooring ball with a double loop. Much better. Open air taxi to the Baths worked out great. Spent all day exploring and making friends with Lilly who sells “tourist essentials” at the beach. He showed us the BVI handshake (“Take it to the heart Mon”) and we showed him the New Hampshire handshake (Mooo!)Dinner at the Top of the Baths; Lamb chops were amazing! Taxi back to Leverick. They had a terrific duo playing all styles of music so we danced all night and showed ‘em how we roll in New Hampshire. Another problem cropped up however, the dinghy started a slow leak and we didn’t have a pump. At this point it wasn’t critical but only something to keep an eye on.
Day 4: North Sound to North Sound? Well the initial plan was to get down to Cooper but we woke up late and had to get some laundry done. As a result we were approaching the Seal Dogs around 2:30 pm. We figured we had another 2 hr sail, maybe more, to catch a ball at Cooper and got concerned that we’d be stranded in the dark if all the balls were taken. Bottom line was that we looped around the Seal Dogs did a few tacks and jibs and ended up in the North Sound again! We had a good laugh at ourselves and dingied over to the Fat Virgin for Dinner. Dinghy continued its slow leak.
Day 5: Thanksgiving. North Sound to Cooper Island. Having learned our lesson we were up and at ‘em on Day 5. Out of the Sound by 11 am and turned south. Winds were down a bit to 15-20 ENE and seas had settled. We did a few jibs all the way down to Cooper. Relaxed and enjoyed a truly beautiful sail, riding the wind and the waves, the kind of ride you never forget and keeps you coming back for more. Got to Cooper Island Beach Resort and grabbed a ball over by Cistern Point. It was choppier than expected so we went to shore instead of snorkeling. Some watched football (Patriots crushed the Lions, yea!) while others strolled along the beach and relaxed on the deck. We also found somebody who let us use their pump for our dinghy. Out to the ship to get dressed up for Thanksgiving Dinner back at the Resort. On the ride in the fish were flying and one jumped right into the dinghy and started flopping all over the place. The dinghy captain got distracted by all the commotion and we almost crashed into the rocks along the beach. Made it safely to the dock and entered the restaurant in high spirits. Turkey Dinner was totally fabulous! Sliced turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes veggies and pumpkin pie. Had some trouble locating the boat after dinner.
Day 6: Cooper to Soper’s Hole. When we heft the bay we planned on going to the Indians, The Caves, and the Bight. However, we found ourselves lacking in essential provisions so we changed course for Soper’s. Another wonderful sail. Jibing back and forth down the channel, purposely going slow and taking it easy. It was our 1st time heading into Soper’s and cutting around Frenchman’s Cay into the harbor was a cool sight to behold. Pumped up the dinghy again with borrowed pump (people are great). Somebody got the idea to taxi over to Cane Garden Bay so we said, “Why not?” It was quite a ride over the hill with some beautiful vistas of JVD and the north shore. We loved CGB. The water was inviting and the sand was nice, the sun was hot and the wind was down. Hung out, made some more friends and had some dinner.
Day 7: Soper’s to Road Town. Although we didn’t have to return the boat ‘till the next day, the plan was to sail over towards Norman for snorkeling and lunch, then head back to the marina so that we’d have plenty of time in the morning to check out, debrief and get to the airport for a noontime flight. We left Soper’s on our way to the Indians when we ran into trouble big time. We headed up into the wind to raise the sails. One of my sons is at the helm and my other guy is with me at the mast and we’re hoisting the mainsail. We just got the sail up full when suddenly the helmsman yells forward, “Dad! The pole is breaking! The pole is breaking!” I never heard of anything like that before so we locked the mainsail break and I went back to the cockpit. To see what the commotion was all about. Sure enough, the fiberglass around the base of one of the vertical poles that support the hardtop had cracked. There are five poles that support the hardtop. Two up front, two at the transom and one near the middle of the cockpit directly under the traveler on top of the hardtop. The one that supports the traveler was the one that cracked the fiberglass. My first thought was that the boom had crashed down on the hardtop while we were chopping through the waves but the topping lift was secure. In any event, this was something that couldn’t be fixed. Although it didn’t seem critical I had to admit that I didn’t know anything about the structural properties of a catamaran. I did know that there were two hulls that were crashing through waves and putting stress on the structure. Prudence dictated that we scrap our plan to tack over toward Norman Island and motor straight back to Road Town.
Well, there’s no denying that we had a great trip. First few days we had high winds that forced us to motor instead of sail. On the last day we had a failure that forced us back to the harbor early. Dealt with minor issues and made some judgment calls In between we had a blast! We enjoyed two absolutely fantastic rides down from North Sound to Cooper and Cooper to Soper’s Hole and unforgettable taxi excursions to the Baths and Cane Garden Bay.