Homecoming…..

After a 10 year hiatus I finally returned for a wonderful sailing trip through the BVI with my wife, 2 teenage kids and another boat with friends. Our family has done over a dozen trips through the BVI and to other destinations in the 1990s and 2000s but then life and kids put that on hold for a bit. This was Our second trip to the BVI with kids and our daughter has spent the past 2 summers living on a boat in the BVI through Sea Trek. We chartered a Moorings 38.2 which worked out really well and sailed great and our friends were on a 50ft cat! I love monohulls and think the sailing experience is better than cats but there is no denying that cats have much more space and comfort. We had the best of both worlds since I got to sail a great boat and have happy hours on the cat watching the sunset.

We flew into STT and reserved a private water taxi through Dolphin to transfer us to the Moorings base in Road Town. Dolphin was very good, on time and treated us well but they are excessively expensive and not worth it, in my opinion. I would much rather fly to Puerto Rico and take Cape Air to EIS in the future. The cab ride, water taxi to Soper's Hole to clear customs and then transfer to Road Town took longer than a transfer by plane. It was a beautiful day however and Dolphin did make it relatively stress free. We arrived at our boats and the provisions and water toys arrived shortly after we got settled and we had a good meal at the base as we prepared to leave in the AM as early as possible.
The morning on Saturday was very busy ant we couldn't check out until after 10AM but as soon as we were off the dock the stress faded away. 15-18 knots of wind and a sunny day had us on a beautiful sail toward Peter Island and one tack later we sailed right into Trellis Bay. It's too bad Peter Island remains closed since it was always one of our favorite stops and a nice overnight but there is always next time. Marina Cay is closed, and the memories of the Last Resort brought back fond memories from past trips, but Marche was a new dining experience for us, and they didn't disappoint.

On Sunday we motored up to Great Dog in the morning for breakfast and swimming and we stayed there until the afternoon since it was a beautiful day and we had the place all to ourselves. Lots of swimming, kayaking, and snorkeling in the area and we were visited by some wild goats on the island which was a surprise. We were all in the zone at this point and could have stayed there all day and night, but it was time to move on to the North Sound and we picked up a mooring at BEYC for the night. BEYC offered a free water taxi to Oil Nut Bay where we were having dinner that night. It was our first time to Oil Nut Bay and it was a fantastic meal and a really specular resort. I would suggest getting there early if you decide to visit since it is worth walking around the property and enjoying the sunset with one of their awesome cocktails. We stopped at Saba Rock on the way back for a cocktail and they are back open and as nice as ever. I can't help remembering my first visit to Saba Rock when it was literally just a rock and a shack and now it is a high end resort, but I guess that's "progress". We chatted with some interesting people making their way to Antigua for race week and briefly thought about going too before snapping back to reality.

Monday morning, we went to BEYC for coffee and fresh pastries, and we were impressed by the rebuild going on there. BEYC has completed phase 1 of 5 phases but the hurricane damage is still evident. They are rebuilding better than ever however and what is reopened is very nice and high end. I was even able to sneak in a complimentary shower while using the restroom. It was just too convenient to pass up. We moved our boat to Leverick Bay to meet a dive boat going to the Rhone and enjoyed the afternoon until we met Sweet Ice Willie to take us to the Baths for a visit. By the time we arrived at the Baths, there were no crowds and we really enjoyed the hike and cocktails at Mad Dogs after. We had dinner at Coco Maya which is really not to be missed if you are on Virgin Gorda. This place couldn't have been nicer, and the food was outstanding too. It is a great location for sunsets, and we stayed much later than we expected but it was a fun night.

Tuesday morning, we set sail for Anegada and had a specular sail to the "Drowned Island". We have been to Anegada a number of times, but it was our friend's first time there which made it extra special. It is good to see that the BVI Pirate still has the best resource to navigate there http://www.bvipirate.com/NavToAnegada.html . We rented mokes and headed off to Cow Wreck for lunch and swimming with a cocktail at Loblolly in the later afternoon. Another beautiful sunset capped off the day and dinner at The Wonky Dog was very good, but the dinner had to be ordered a day in advance and we only ordered entrees only and mistakenly thought we could get a salad and appetizers once we arrived. Apparently, there is only one cook and they couldn't accommodate additional orders which was disappointing. It was the best jerk Caribbean lobster I've ever had however and those who had lamb raved about it!

Wednesday morning, we left early for another specular sail down to sandy spit for swimming and pictures before ending up in Little Harbor for the night and dinner at Harris' Place. We had some dolphins swim up next to the boat which was a nice treat on the sail down to sandy spit. The hurricane damage was evident here, but they are fully opened have rebounded.

Thursday was an early White Bay arrival before the crowds and lunch at Hendo's Hideout. Hendo's was great and they provided free lounge chairs for us to hang out in since we were having lunch with them. I was really impressed by how nice a restaurant they built there since we last visited. The Soggy Dollar was open, but you can still see how it was wiped out by the hurricanes recently. By mid afternoon it was crowded, and we left for Great Harbor and dinner at Foxy's. I wish Foxy was there but visiting brought back many fun memories from past trips. The food at Foxy's was really good and fresh and the service was top notch.

In the morning we left early for Norman Island to snorkel and swim. The water at Norman Island is always so clear and beautiful and reminded me of one of the reasons why I think the BVI is such a special place. At this point we were all so relaxed we could have stayed another week very easily. We had a drink at Willie T's for old times sake but it was crowded with kids jumping off, so we headed to Pirates for dinner and drinks. Pirates was another don't miss spot if you haven't been recently. The last time I was there it was BBQs and benches in the sand (which I loved by the way) and now it's an upscale restaurant, but our table was still in the sand😉 This was a very fun last night but a little sad knowing we would be leaving in the morning.

Early and easy return to the Mooring's base in the morning and connection to Dolphin water taxi. Now I'm back in my New York home daydreaming about when I can go back to the BVI again. Our homecoming trip was great, and we felt welcomed by everyone we encountered. Great memories were had by everyone and we will be back soon. Already planning the next trip….

Excellent report and it sounds like everyone had a perfect vacation. Thank you for posting.

Thanks for the write up! We’re heading down for the first week of May. If you don’t mind me asking - How was the mooring availability while you were there?

Moorings were pretty easy to get overall and I arrived after 4pm every day except to Anegada and Trellis. We didn't use Boatyball at all and we were able to get balls easily. The only challenge was in Great Harbour where BoatyBall makes up all the balls except for about 5 white ones. I lucked out and got one of the 5. I've anchored there on prior trips during Christmas winds and the holding is good but I prefer a ball if I can get one. Little Harbor (surprisingly) was easy to get a mooring.