Bareboat Charter 6/30 – 7/14

We’ve just returned from our ninth (talk about habit forming!) bareboat charter having enjoyed two fantastic weeks aboard a Moorings 4500 cat, Terra Nova, with my family and the family of one of my colleagues.

We started planning over a year ago, first investigating boat options. It became clear from the beginning that, with a crew of eight, a catamaran would provide the most comfort. After considering many options we chose two weeks of owners time on a Moorings 4500, secured through sailonline.com. This provided us with a comfortable, proven boat from one of the top companies at a nicely discounted rate.

Leah at Caribbean Travel was able to beat the internet and airline sites as well as the Moorings travel desk in terms of getting us the best air fare..

Flights to STT were hassle free and close to schedule. We used the Tortola Fast Ferry from downtown Charlotte Amalie direct to Road Town – 50 minutes enroute. Taxied to the Moorings base where we spent the first night at the Mariner Inn – clean and comfortable. Nice pool, too.

Walked to C&F (less than 15 minutes from the Moorings) for dinner. The food was great and the service prompt and courteous. One of our crew pronounced the ribs “best he had ever had.” In addition to ribs, conch, swordfish and other entrees all received high marks.

After breakfast the next morning, two of us attended the chart and boat briefing, while the rest of the crew stowed gear and provisions, which we had pre-ordered from Bobby’s.

The Moorings was very responsive to our special requests, such as a larger dinghy that would accommodate all 8 of us. This was a major convenience, since we did not have to make multiple trips for shuttling crew ashore at each stop.

We were underway by noontime and took advantage of the Moorings’ “Friendly Skipper” program. Since this was my first time skippering a cat, it was nice to have some time to get comfortable with the boat under experienced supervision. Our skipper gave us the option of returning him to the Moorings base or dropping him at Peter Island where he would ferry back to Road Town, so we kept him aboard as we crossed the channel to Peter Island. This worked out very nicely as we were able to do some fun sailing and practice a few extra tacks to get the feel of the boat.

Here is a summary of our itinerary:

6/30 Great Harbor, Peter Island. Dinner Aboard.

7/1 Manchioneel Bay, Cooper Island. Snorkeling instruction to our guests at the beach followed by “real” snorkeling at Cistern Point. Dinner aboard.

7/2 Morning at the Baths, overnight at Leverick Bay. Dinner aboard.

7/3 Anegada. Enjoyed Cow Wreck beach. Lunch at Cow Wreck. Dinner at ARH.

7/4 Anegada. Played at Loblolly Bay. Lunch at Big Bamboo. Dinner aboard.

7/5 Leverick Bay. Did laundry; filled up diesel, water, and ice; restocked provisions; took hot showers and a dip in the pool. Dinner aboard.

7/6 Marina Cay. Snorkeling off Great Camanoe. Dinner aboard.

7/7 Morning snorkel at Monkey Point, overnight planned at Cane Garden Bay BUT a leaky fuel tank forced us to return to the Moorings base for repairs. The Moorings put us aboard an air-conditioned boat for the night, so we would not have to endure the diesel fumes on our boat all night. Dinner at the Mariner Inn.

7/8 Repairs completed. Spent the night at the Bight. Dinner aboard.

7/9 Check out of BVI customs at West End, sail to Cruz Bay for USVI customs, overnight at Francis Bay, St. John. Dinner aboard.

7/10 Snorkel / beach stop at Trunk Bay, then overnight at Leinster Bay, St. John. Dinner aboard.

7/11 Check back into BVI customs at West End. Pick up additional provisions at Ample Hamper Too. Overnight at White Bay, JVD. Happy hour at Soggy Dollar. Dinner Aboard.

7/12 Little Harbor, JVD. Dinner at Sydney’s.

7/13 Snorkel stop at the Caves, then last night aboard at the Bight. Dinner aboard.

7/14 Return to base. Lunch at Bat Cave. Spent the last night at Heritage Inn on the north shore. Dinner at Palm’s Delight.

Side note: Hertz had apparently “lost” our reservation for an Astro van, which would have accommodated the eight of us for our final 24 hours ashore. They were kind enough to rectify the error by renting us two smaller vehicles for the price of one. Another example of excellent BVI service!

7/15 Breakfast at Rhymer’s. Farewell cocktails at Jolly Roger before boarding the ferry to STT.


High points of the trip:

1. Tortola Fast Ferry. Not only a speedy commute to Road Town but also their staff and captain graciously assisted in promptly resolving a documentation issue.
2. Great meals at C&F, Cow Wreck, Anegada Reef Hotel, Big Bamboo, Sydney’s, Palm’s Delight, Rhymer’s and the Bat Cave.
3. Wonderful time at the Baths, which were relatively uncrowded.
4. Two fabulous days on Anegada (always heaven on earth!). Checked out the iguanas next to the government building. Really enjoyed Alex’s band (Harmonic Sounds) playing at Big Bamboo. Everybody on Anegada was at that party!
5. Great weather and winds. Only one cloudy day out of 16 – not bad! Never took out the first reef!
6. Became a catamaran convert! Love all that space plus the 4500 sails quite nicely.
7. Got many signatures in our copies of the “Drinking Man’s Guide” along with the accompanying freebies.
8. Due to our mid-trip repair stop at the charter base and the generous free water & ice policy at Leverick Bay, we did not have to purchase any water or ice during the entire two weeks!
9. The awesome view from Heritage Inn on Windy Hill. Nice place to relax after a charter.
10. Our friends telling us that “this was their best vacation ever.”

Disappointments:

1. Looked for but did not see any of our TTOL friends – we’ll look for you again next time!
2. Harris’ Place was closed for the season, so we missed out on their Monday night lobster special. However, dinner at Sydney’s next door was very good.
3. Lost a day due to the leaky fuel tank mentioned above. The Moorings, however, did everything they could to make us comfortable while we waited for repairs. Fortunately, they had a spare fuel tank on hand, so that helped minimize downtime.
4. On departure day, we had breakfast at CGB. It became obvious quite early that it was a “cruise ship day.” By 10:00 am the “circus” atmosphere was setting in with jet skis running around the bay and other obnoxious vessels helping to set the tone.
5. Sure wish they would put a decent restaurant in the STT airport terminal.
6. Moorings is not making use of the holding tanks already installed in their boats. They claim there have been “too many problems.”
7. This trip was over WAY TOO SOON <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />.

Summary:

This was definitely one of our best charters. We were very pleased with the Moorings service and the condition and performance of the boat. We did not encounter a single instance of poor service or negative attitude anywhere we dined, shopped or stopped for other services – everyone was wonderful! Our friends are already talking about a repeat visit!