This was our first bareboat charter, and our first trip to the BVIs. The whole family agrees, it was our best vacation ever. We are Californians, have been to Hawaii, Mexico and the East Coast many times, stayed at lots of beautiful resorts and homes, but this beat them all. We have three boys, ages 18, 15 and 11, and they were in hog heaven minute of every day.
Day 1 - I wrote up a separate post about our rocky start with our boat, Aria, through BVI Yacht Charters, so I won't repeat that part. Once we got out of Roadtown, we sailed over to Great Harbor, Peter Island, for our first night. We had hoped to go to Cooper, but got too late a start. As soon as we picked up a mooring ball, we jumped in the beautiful water and soaked up the gorgeous scenery - paradise! Dinner that night was at Oceans Seven. Hardly anyone was there that night, and they were out of almost every dish - decent meal, but not great. Early to bed after our looong day of travel and our rough first day.
Day 2 - We woke up at dawn and decided to get an early start for the Baths. We had a lovely sail, and made great time, but when we got to the Baths at 9 AM, every ball was taken, with lots of boats were waiting. We decided to go to a less crowded spot, so headed for Savannah Bay. Only two other boats were there, and it was a gorgeous spot. We had a lovely time there snorkeling, exploring the beach, lunch, etc. We then set sail for North Sound, where we found a mooring at Biras Creek. Our kids always liked to find the most remote spots. We dinghied over to the Bitter End for dinner in their casual restaurant, which was OK. It was fun walking around the resort after dinner, and our youngest swam at the beach until dark. By this time, our middle son had named himself Dinghy Captain, so he took charge of driving, and taking care of the dinghy - one of the great highlights of the trip for him. Back to the boat, and to bed by 9:15 PM.
Day 3 - Up again at dawn. We let the boys sleep in a bit while my husband and I enjoyed the beauty of the quiet morning and a cup of coffee. To me this trip felt like all the best parts of camping - serenity, and being out in nature, eating outside, but no smoke, dirt or sleeping bags - heaven! We had breakfast and set out for Monkey Point, then JVD. Navigating over to Monkey Point was great fun - spotting all of the islands, and finding the passages through the Camanoes. We got to Monkey Point and decided to grill steaks for lunch. Well, the wind came up so it was a bit challenging to get the grill going, but we finally did. We had a great time feeding scraps to the seagulls - one of the great highlights for our youngest son, and a constant source of entertainment for all - they ate from our hands, and did amazing acrobatics diving for morsels. After lunch, we decided it was too late to go to JVD, so we backtracked and spent the night at Marina Cay. We really enjoyed this spot. Explored the island, found hermit crabs, took pictures at the top of the hill, and ate dinner at Pussers - our best meal yet. Such a gorgeous setting. Our 18 year old had his first legal cocktail there - a #2 Painkiller - are we terrible parents?? Back to the boat and in bed by 9:30. Can you tell we aren't big partyers?
Day 4 - We got going early again to make it to JVD to spend the day. Our plans changed a bit when we called BVIYC and found out our original boat, Aria, was repaired. After a big family discussion, we decided to meet up at Soper's Hole and move over to Aria. The kids were thrilled. My husband, the main sailor in the family, had mixed feelings - we had adjusted well to our monohull, and he is not a big one for change. But the kids won, so off we went. We started the morning with 10 knot winds and were having a lovely sail, when all of a sudden we hit 25 - 30 knot winds. We thought once we got around the point on Tortola (I think around Brewer's Bay) the winds might calm a bit, so we kept going. But, the winds picked up to 30 knots and we decided to take down the sails and motor the rest of the way. We found out later there was a small system moving through, but we had not expected such strong winds that time of year - our lack of experience showed. We got to Soper's, had a very quick transfer to our beautiful Lagoon 42, then sailed off to Diamond Cay for the evening. Another gorgeous spot. We snorkeled, and the boys had their first jumps off the roof of our cat. We had a delicious dinner at Foxy's Taboo - our best dinner of the trip. We were the only people in the restaurant that night. Wonderful service, though lots of mosquitoes. I marvel how they can serve such great food with such unpredictable, small crowds. Turned in early again.
Day 5 - Up with the sun again to a beautiful morning. We did the quick hike to the Bubbly Pool, which wasn't bubbly, but it was a pretty hike, and a very scenic spot anyway. We got back to the boat, and motored over to Sandy Spit for some photos, a walk around the island, a swim, and lunch. A great day! We met some dads on a trip with their sons, who had sailed the BVIs several times, and they recommended Norman Island for our last night, so off we went. A great sail over there - the boys had a great time riding up front on the trampolines, getting splashed by waves. We were really enjoying our cat. Moored at The Bight - yet another beautiful spot. We took a look at Pirates, but decided not to eat there - seemed way to hot. Went over to Willy T's for an early drink and appetizers, enjoyed the view and the breeze upstairs, and shared stories with a group from Seattle. Dinner on the boat, and an early night again.
Day 6 - A glorious morning - leisurely breakfast and dinghied over to The Caves. Great snorkeling - much more interesting outside the caves than inside. Loved the walls of coral - lots of fish. We then motored over to The Indians and Pelican Island. This was the most amazing snorkeling we have ever done anywhere. Schools of feeder fish so thick we couldn't see through them, pelicans diving around us, beautiful coral, amazing. We then had lunch and our trip was nearly over. We took a slow sail back to Roadtown. We easily could have spent another 4 or 5 days on the boat - we were having so much fun. Lots left to do for our next trip - and we hope and pray there will be another trip.
We then spent 5 nights at Caneel Bay on St. John, which was lovely, and a welcome rest in comfy beds, but we would do more time on the boat, and less time at a resort next time.
A few pleasant surprises - We thought we would use the a/c on the boat that time of year - my husband HATES humidity (the main reason he moved from New England to California), but even he was comfortable with the breezes day and night. We were also pleased with how comfortable the beds were on both boats, and how well equipped both kitchens were - very easy living.
Thanks to TTOL for all the help in planing this trip. The best advice was to take one day at a time, and not try too hard to stick to an itinerary. We did not follow our original plan at all, but loved every place we saw.
I will post photos in a separate post.
