Itinerary (and questions) for trip!

We leave for the islands next Weds Nov 11th! We'll be a group of 5 on s/v Orion flying an Ohio State flag. If you see us stop by & say hello!
Here's our tentative itinerary (and, of course, questions):

Weds - sleep aboard at TMM; provision at Riteway; dinner at Sharky's
Thurs - off the dock and head to Cooper - hopefully in time for happy hour! Dinner at Cooper Island Beach Club.
Fri - Head to Leverick in the morning; already reserved a slip with Nick & dinner reservations for the BBQ/jumbie party. Hopefully we arrive early enough to taxi to Hog Heaven for lunch and then water taxi to Saba for cocktails before dinner.
Sat/Sun - leave Leverick early Sat and head for Anegada. Have reserved a jeep with Dean for 2 days. Head to Loblolly and Cow Wreck in the afternoons. Dinner #1 at Wonky Dog; dinner #2 either Neptunes or Potters.
Mon - leave Anegada and head to Cane Garden Bay. Hoping to hear Quito play. Other suggestions for music/dinner in Cane Garden Bay? (walking distance from dinghy dock)
Tues - head to Jost Van Dyke and grab a mooring ball in Great Harbour. Taxi to Soggy Dollar for the afternoon. Dinner at Foxy's. (maybe a quick stop at B-Line on the way to Great Harbour if we can swing it)
Weds - head to Norman and the Willy T. Snorkel the Indians and caves. Dinner at Willy T.
Thurs - back to TMM in the morning!
Thurs - Monday - staying at Sebastian's and exploring Tortola.

So .... anything new since last Spring?
Last time, we took a taxi to the big Riteway to provision. They were out of a LOT of things. Discovered later that the small Riteway near TMM seemed pretty well stocked. Anyone else find this to be true?
Do I need to pre-arrange a taxi to Hog Heaven or can we just call for one when we're ready to go? (not into renting a car this trip)
I'm assuming we need to make dinner reservations early in the day on Anegada? Do you just call them via cell phone or do you radio? (never done that with the radio before!)
Same question for taxi from Great Harbour to Soggy Dollar - where would we hail a taxi from?
Norman Island - we actually like the food at the Willy T - it's good and reasonably priced. Is Pirate's Bight worth it over the Willy T? Anything super special there?

Thanks in advance!

You will probably need to give at least 2 hours notice for dinners on Anegada.

As for taxi on JVD, Foxy's or Corsairs is a good place to catch a cab.

I doubt Quito will be playing on a Monday night in CGB...I believe B Line is only open now on weekends..

I don't think you will see Quito play on a Monday. He was playing on Tuesday's and Thursdays, accoustic. You could switch up your CGB and Great Harbor days.

Your itinerary sounds perfect to me! I am hoping to do the exact same thing on our upcoming trip in January. We might want to stay overnight in Diamond Cay instead of Great Harbour though.

When we go to Anegada we just make reservations as soon as we get there while our captain is doing all the necessary work for our car rental for the day.

By all means radio in dinner reservations. You will definitely need to make them for Cooper too. Use any name except the name of your boat, for safety reasons, so that anyone listening in doesn't know which boats are deserted at any one time. Taxi at Leverick can be arranged once you've docked as long as you are happy to wait half an hour or so. For JVD, check in the cruising guide, or ask at TMM. Not a lot of choice of taxis there.
Itinerary sounds fine, but doesn't allow for much flexibility for weather or just enjoying somewhere more than you expected.

On Anegada, most restaurants want you dinner reservation by 4:00, and they want to know what you are going to order.

Thanks for all the tips!
We'll be land based on Tortola Thurs - Mon so maybe that's our chance to see Quito.

Colleen - so do you go directly to the restaurant to view the menu and then make your reservations with your order?

I don't know how much water we'll go through - last trip we all showered in the ocean with a fresh rinse. This trip, some of our crew may shower on board (ie using more water). Any suggestions on where to fill up mid trip? We're at Leverick and could top off there on Friday, but that's only a few days in. Anything before we leave Anegada or in Cane Garden Bay?

It looks like Quito's schedule will be solo Tuesday night, Happy hour Wednesday and with the Edge on Friday night.

Several places will bring their menu to you when you get there, so you can call them on the radio with your dinner reservations. I think I heard Wonky Dog does not require you to pre-order. We usually go in and make our reservation then.

Thurs - plan on arriving at Cooper early, otherwise, have a backup plan as there will not likely be any mooring balls available. Also, dinner reservations at the restaurant are necessary as they fill up early. You could probably email in advance for a reservation.


Fri - You might taxi up to Hog Heaven and walk back down to Leverick Bay. Expect the temperature up at hog heaven to be a lot cooler than down by the boat. You might want a light windbreaker.

Sat/Sun
make your dinner reservations real early as food is prepared to order.

Monday - Cane Garden Bay can be rolly. Check the swells and consider modify your plan.

Be careful making dinner reservations on the radio. We were broken into once years ago after announcing over the radio the request for a dinner reservation. If you use the radio, consider using a different boat name.

I hope this helps.

Call on the radio for dinner reservations. You can always ask them what is on todays menu. This also helps them with their marketing too. Their restaurant name and menu is being broadcast to other boaters.

I like the idea of using a fake boat name and I you can always use "Cottage Girl" or "Crooked Lake Guy" when making your reservations. I am thinking of using the name "Moose Jaw" or "Moose Jaw Junction" in January when we have our week on a leaner in the BVIs.

You should find out at lunch how Cane Garden Bay is acting with the North Swells. I've never been there in November but in Jan, Feb and March, sometimes it can get pretty uncomfortable with the North Swells.

Enjoy your trip!

We're going to make a bee line for Cooper from TMM and hope for the best (we had to anchor at Haulover last spring as we just missed the last mooring ball). Good idea to email ahead for dinner res.
This will be our second time to Hog Heaven - love the view and can't wait to show it off to our newbies :-)
Good idea on not using the boat name. Like my screen name so we'll use it. (We've never been to Moose Jaw Junction but everyone says we need to get there!)

Not going to The Baths this time, Cottage Girl? I like your plan. January trip we'll have some newbies along.
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When I was there last February, I was told to phone my reservations in. The restaurants numbers are in the cruising guide. When you get to Anegada, you'll probably be greeted by two or three boats handing you menus and wanting to take your reservation right then and there. If I you're not ready just thank them and let them know you'll decide a bit later. 4:00 is the time they request reservations by so they know how many lobsters to "dispatch".
Have fun!!!

Walk from Hog Heaven back down to Leverick?? Way to kill a great buzz! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Heck Rick, my wife likes to run up and back to Hog Heaven from Leverick for a light workout. I think Nick is still positive she's got to be crazy.

I want to walk up but I have not succeeded in convincing others to join me.

Sounds like a great plan. I dreamt I was in CGB last night but need to wait until March. I normally start dreaming about BVIs nightly as my trips near.

Not going to the Baths this trip. We've done it the past two trips - Making more time for playing in the north sound this trip.
i just looked at the Wonky Dog menu online - I think we might have a hard time going anywhere else! Everything looks amazing.

The wonky dog menu is not the only great thing there. Wait till you try the food! I am planning on being there a couple of days after you. We have always enjoyed dining with Peter and Desney and looking forward to our next visit.

From Leverick Bay we have used Tiger's Taxi. They have a truck with benches. 284-495-6388 or cell 284-541-8535.

Its a long walk down Bruce, and yes Andy is crazy, don't know how she does it? There will be taxis around on Friday to take Cottage Girl up to HH

Thanks Nick! See you next week!! :-)

Have typically used about 10 gallons water per person per day, with 8 ppl on board, 2 or 3 of us salt water bath/fresh rinse, 3 or 4 of the ladies showering on board. We are conservative with use, but don't do without either. Unless you are wasting water 10 gal p/day p/person should not be an issue. Top off at Leverick to get you through 2 days at Anegada, then in CGB before you head for JVD, Norman Isl. where water will not be available.

Thanks Curtis!

10 gallons per person per day is very generous. I would expect that you have to work hard to reach that consumption.

We use an average of 10 gallons per day. That level of consumption is more typical with a water maker. We can make 40 gallons per hour. We shower daily, use water as we please, occasionally use the water to rinse the cockpit and deck and use lots of water to rinse scuba equipment.