We were a group of 4 couples chartering Spellbound, a Voyage 500, 9-15 February. It was my 8th bareboat charter trip in the BVI in the last 12 years, and although I know the territory fairly well, every trip has been a learning experience for me. I will try to summarize some of the issues which may be of interest to this forum.

Travel: We have always flown to STT (from CLT) and taken the ferry and never had problems other than minor delays. In reading the torrent of posts about the abysmal ferry service, I had serious reservations. I looked at the water taxi options, discussed with the crew, and decided to do the ferry again. I contacted Kevin Taxi ahead of time (per TTOL) and he picked us up at STT at 2:30 and dropped us at CA ferry dock. We caught the next ferry at around 4, and were through West End customs by 5. The only problem was that Native Son took one of our bags on to Road Town and we had to taxi over to retrieve it. On the return trip, again no problems. Took the 10am ferry to CA. So I guess I’m lucky, but I have not had problems with the ferry in 8 trips.

Boat: This was our 5th charter with Voyage, and we keep coming back because the boats are maintained well, and the staff is both courteous and professional. Every charter has some minor or major problem, and Voyage has always been prompt in helping us. This time the biggie was that on Tuesday, with winds 18-22 kt, our single-reefed mainsail ripped horizontally at the seam above the reef point on the leech. I was later told that it was because I over-tensioned the halyard after reefing, but that had never happened to me before, and I didn’t feel I was over canvassed. I finished the trip to Anegada and brought it back to Sopor’s the next day, where they removed the sail in about 30 minutes, and we were off again. No scolding or fussing; in fact they said that was the 4th mainsail torn in 2 days. We spent the final 2 days at Jost, so no problem to be without mainsail.

Provisions: We used Bobby’s for the 8th time, and were not disappointed. Ordering is easy by email, they confirmed the order and price ahead of time, and delivered. We looked at RiteWay online because of a lot of positive TTOL press, but found the website ordering system cumbersome. We used Caribbean Cellars for alcoholic beverages because the prices are much lower than Bobby’s or RiteWay and the wine selection is very good. If you like wine, they have a great selection at prices similar or lower than the US. My wife always brings a frozen beef tenderloin and Greek yogurt. She puts it in a soft cooler bag inside one of our checked bags. We declare it at customs and have never had to pay tax, and one night we get to enjoy fantastic grilled filets. Minimal hassle, maximum enjoyment.

Day 1: Norman Island. Stopped at Indians about 2 pm, no open balls. Moored at Pelican Island to snorkel and weren’t disappointed. Turned out to be the best of the week. Got a mooring ball in the Bight later and ate at new Pirate’s Bight. Nice, clean, food is OK but overpriced (in line with rest of BVI). I had chicken roti and wife had mahi, both good. We asked about Jenga and they brought it out. Nearly the entire restaurant got involved, calling “winners”, trash talking, etc. Great time had by all. We had some newbies along, and I offered to dinghy to Willie T, but I guess we’re turning into old farts because everybody was too tired and wanted to go to bed.

Day 2: Upwind slog to North Sound VG, moored at Prickly Pear. Fun on the beach that afternoon (we had it almost to ourselves, 200 cruise ship guests the following day). Had the buffet at BEYC that night and really enjoyed it, which was counter to our one previous stop 10 years ago (we had avoided it, but now would go back).

Day 3: Motored over to Leverick Bay. Rented a car from Speedy’s and drove down to the Baths. I started doing this 4 years ago because I didn’t like mooring at the Baths; taking the dinghy to the beach or swimming in can be hazardous depending on the conditions, and you have to leave by 2 pm to get to an anchorage at a reasonable time. This way, we drive down, can spend as much time as we want, the beach clears out by 2-3 pm (once watched sunset there), then can drive back or stop at a restaurant on the way. Car rental is $75 for the day, which is cheaper than 8 round trip taxi fares. Always one of my favorite days! Only this time the red flag was out, so no swimming, and it poured rain on us as soon as we arrived. We stopped at Hog Heaven on the way back, but the wind and rain scared us off. Oh well, back to Leverick and Michael Beans’ happy arrrrr. It’s funny how he grows on you; first time we saw him I thought it was pretty cheesy but now I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I impressed my crew with my pirate trivia knowledge.

Day 4: Motorsailed to Anegada, channel is well marked. The winds were 20-25 kt, with 4-6 ft seas, pretty rough. About 3 miles north of VG we spotted a small dinghy ahead of us, getting bashed around by the swells. We thought we may have to rescue him, but when we got close we realized it was the “Yacht Shots” guy, lashed into his boat, taking pictures of us. Funny! We took a cab to Loblolly, and spent a very lazy and beautiful afternoon on the beach. Snorkeling was OK. We tried Whispering Pines for lobster dinner that night and were not disappointed. It’s hard to say that one of those restaurants is better than another, because they all serve essentially the same menu, but the staff was very friendly there, and we danced a “train” together, so that made it.

Day 5: Nice reach down to Monkey Point for lunchtime snorkeling. The first time we went there 10 years ago, it was amazing: large schools of fish, tarpon, barracuda, excellent visibility. The last several, including this time, the visibility was poor due to the swells, and there was scant wildlife. I’m about to give up on the place. From there we went to Great Harbor JVD and got a mooring. We were planning to eat at Corsair’s as we have in the past, but my wife likes to solicit restaurant advice from passing strangers and someone told her about another place with a BBQ buffet. I can’t remember the name, but it was just past Corsair’s from Foxy’s. It was pretty good ribs, some lobster, and it was something like $20 per person, which is cheap for BVI. Not better than Corsair’s in terms of quality, but not bad and reasonable cost. We ended up at Foxy’s, which was crowded and hopping, until the wee hours.

Day 6: Motored over to White Bay for the day. The weather was beautiful, and we wasted an afternoon in front of Soggy Dollar with painkillers. There are always tons of day boats there and it’s a “spring break” atmosphere, but fun people watching. Wouldn’t want to spend an entire week there, but always fun for a day. We left around 3 and headed for Little JVD. All the mooring balls were taken, and I tried to break the rule of “don’t anchor in a mooring field”. After driving all around, nearly going aground, and probably worrying all the moored boats, we went over to Little Harbour and a mooring. It was very quiet there, and we ate on board that night.

Day 7: Return to Voyage, boat checkout was no problem. We had changed charter boats in advance of our trip (one couple dropped out), and we lost a day off the charter, so we had an extra day. We booked at Sugar Mill, and it turned out to be a great way to finish the trip. Clean sheets, nice shower, nice rooms. We spent the day at the pool and on the beach, then took a taxi to Frenchman’s Cay for dinner (based on TTOL rec). By far the best meal of our trip! The tuna was excellent, as was the steak. Restaurants of that quality are few and far between in the BVI.
We have sailed and vacationed in other locations in the Caribbean, but keep returning to BVI because it’s familiar and never ceases to be fun. We do many of the same things year in and year out, but we do like to change some things up on each trip. This forum has been an invaluable resource for finding new things to do. As much as we love being on a boat, spending the last day on land was really great; it seemed to remove a lot of the stress normally felt when hurrying to get off the boat, get the ferry and catch a flight all in one day.
Already planning for 2014!