First Time in Late February - Crowds, etc?

Hello all:

First time posting (lurked for some time without registering.) I have gone through all the posts on this board - very appreciative of all the information. Due to all the advice, I have already booked Kevin for the pick-up at STT - great suggestion.

A group of us will be chartering a CAT in two weeks - 8 that is. The last time we chartered, we were down in late January - had a great time. The crowds were fairly lite, which was nice.

Before I get to my question(s,) allow me to apologize for being wordy. Bad habit I can not seem to break. Why use one word when five will work just as well...

When planning for this trip - six months ago, yours truly, was oblivious to the fact that the entire Eastern Seaboard takes a major holiday the week of President's Day (02/16.) Being a good Chicago boy, how would I have known that - Google would have helped, I am sure. Given the limited inventory showing available for that week, I am anticipating some very crowded anchorages.

The engineer in me - although my wife would claim the anal, OCD in me - requires not only a plan, but a back-up plan with a secondary back-up plan (I am told I have some redeeming qualities that make up for those that are less than redeeming.) This trait when combined with the crowds I anticipate and the fact that I sleep better on a ball - not so much my anchor dragging as the next guys (had that happen and do not wish to experience again) - has resulted in a noticeable increase in the blood pressure (ok, I am exaggerating a bit.)

Below I shall post my planned itinerary - which I will try to be as flexible with as possible. My goal is to make sure my crew has fun (snorkeling, etc,) gets to see a bunch of places (as many will be down in the BVI for the first time,) and secure a ball in the anchorage for the evening.

Basically I have three questions, what are the crowds really like during President's week (perhaps I am spooking myself for no reason;) given my planned anchorage what is a reasonable time to arrive to have a decent chance of picking up a ball for the night; and if no ball is available what should a fall back plan be that is reasonable (I have found the charter companies and the cruising guides to not be as detailed as I would like on anchoring areas and fall back plans - yes, I have the most recent BVI Cruising Guide, which is a great source of information.) As a bonus question, we have a 10' dinghy (according to the specs) for our group of 8 - how reasonable is this (assume all 4 woman of 135#s or less and 4 men of 200#s or less?)

Thanks for reading this far. I do appreciate any advice / thoughts / observations.

The planned circuit starting on Sunday ( assuming we get off at 12pm or a bit earlier: )

Wreck of the Rhone (snorkeling)
Cooper Island (evening)

Baths
Saba Rock/Bitter End (evening)

Anegada (evening)

George Dog (snorkeling)
Trellis Bay / Marina Cay (evening - new moon party)

Great Camaneo (snorkeling)
Cane Garden Bay (evening)

Bubbly Pool / Jost (frockeling)
White Bay (Jost - evening)

The Indians (snorkeling)
Norman Island / The Bight (evening)

Warmly,
MAU2

Get to Cooper early, it fills up quickly. Should be there by 2 PM. Also get to Anegada by 11 AM. You should have no trouble finding a ball in the other locations (Saba/BEYC, Trellis/MC, CGB, Norman). You may not find a ball in White Bay on JVD but should be able to in Great Harbor. Fall-back locations would be Great Harbor on Peter for Cooper, anchor in Anegada (you'll be fine), Little Harbor on JVD is never crowded and has some good restaurants (we like Abe's). You didn't say whether you are planning to eat out all the time or cook on the boat sometime. If you plan several meals on the boat, use that as your flex tool in case you have to discard a location where you were planning to eat out and instead move to a location that has no restaurant. Obviously, being flexible is necessary. You should be ok with the 10' dinghy, just go slow especially in choppy water.

Your first night at Cooper is the only real issue that I see. That place tends to get crowded early! If you're not off the dock by noon, there's a good chance it'll be full, would be my guess. More will chime in, I'm sure. Also, definitely not a good place to anchor. I don't see you getting a snorkel in at the Rhone and still getting a ball at Cooper unless you're off the dock by 10am.

You've kept it to mostly fairly short sails, so that looks easy. The only other issue I see is that White Bay can get crowded. I personally would not want to be there on a Friday or Saturday. Worst case there, though, you also have Great Harbor, Little Harbor and Diamond Cay as backups. CGB and Sopers aren't that far from there either and are good alternates as well if the weather is looking dicey.

Make sure to leave allowance for things to not go according to plan, they rarely do! Enjoy!

Cooper is putting in a lot of balls recently. There is still pressure on that field, but it is getting better. If I were to swag for that time of year, I would expect getting fuller by 3...no chance at 5.

you can stop and snorkel the Rhone on the way to the Bath's, of course then you take the chance of missing balls at the Baths if it's busy....but that may be the case anyway if there are crowds. Option 2, from the North Sound you can take a car and tour VG and the Baths that way.

My family of four will be down there sailing on Crystal Clear and following a similar itinerary. We will be adding to your crowd worries. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dance.gif" alt="" /> We went this same week two years ago and didn't have any problems. Met some great people. Enjoy!!

We'll be down at the same time too. Party of 8 on Island Fun, Be flying OSU flag, Go Bucks, National Champs! We'll look for you. Frank

We'll be down there at that time, too. we have 2 teachers on the boat, so that was the only week we could go. Hope to see you sailing by!! Wooo Hooo! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

We plan to have our first night, Thursday, at cooper too.

We'll be arriving late afternoon between 3-4.

Is anchoring possible at cooper if all moorings are full?

Thoughts on backup anchorage if cooper is full? We'll be heading to Leverick on Friday for the BBQ.

Thanks,

Brendan

Cooper has a soft grass bottom and poor holding. In good weather conditions, you can anchor in Haulover.

Do not anchor in Mancheneel Bay. When the land cools at night the trades drop down though the gap at Cisteren Point and form vortices over the anchorage that will twist the best set anchor out.

Here are a few thoughts:
As SeaSeaRider said, if you are at Cooper by two you should be fine. If not, given your planned itenery, I would keep moving up the channel to either a ball outside of yacht harbor (or on the dock if you have AC.) Trellis is another option. I actually like Trells or Marina Cay better than Cooper, except for the snorkeling at Cistern Point.
After the Baths in the early AM, you can then do the Dogs for snorkeling and lunch and spend the night in North Sound. Leverick would be my choice.
Day three, off to Anegada by 10 and then you will have plenty of time to go to the beaches.
From Anegada, I love the long sail to either Jost or CGB with a lunch stop at Monkey Point on Guana.

Thank you for the thoughts and ideas.

I think we'll aim for Cooper, if all the moorings full, push north to Marina Cay/Trellis Bay.

Snorkeling at Cooer was the draw.

Cheers,

Brendan

Thank you all for the thoughts, suggestions and advice. We are counting down the days, hour and minutes.

We will be on Being Nauti. One of the crew is set on flying a Pirates Flag - I am sure we will be the only one! We should be easy to spot. Look for the group speaking German or with German accents. We tend to dislike clothes as well.

Fair thee all well...
M.