BVI Bareboat Sailing Adventure

Originally posted on boatdejour.com by Captain Eric

My wife and I are very enthusiastic sailors and it had long been our dream to go on a BVI bareboat sailing adventure. We are lucky enough to have good friends who are adventurous and were just as excited as us to go to the Caribbean for a winter vacation. Here is our sailing trip, laid out day by day. I hope you find this useful, if not entertaining.

Day One of our BVI Bareboat Sailing Adventure

We left cold, snowy and miserable Minnesota early Friday morning for the sailing dream of our lifetime. The flights were without drama for a change and we arrived at the St. Thomas, Cyril E. King Airport at 4pm with the fine people of Cruzan Rum waiting for us with some of their flavored rum samples. Minneapolis airport, are you paying attention?

The six of us friends had never been on a sailing vacation and none of us had ever been to the Caribbean before either. It was the culmination of years of dreaming and preparing. To say we were excited is the grandest of understatement!

In 2017, we had planned to go on our first BVI bareboat sailing adventure, however the islands were devastated by Hurricane Irma and Maria. Seeing all the destruction the islanders endured was only mitigated by seeing what wonderful progress they have made in only two years. It is very remarkable and is only matched by their optimism and good humor.

For our first night on-island, we stayed at the Pleasant Point Resort. It is about a 30 minute taxi ride to the northeast corner of St. Thomas. The staff there are wonderful. The views over Water Bay are fantastic. And again, we were met at our check-in with more rum drinks. The condo was beautiful, with a wrap-around, over-hanging balcony looking over St. John and Jost Van Dyke. The latter being one of our more entertaining stops. More about that later.

Day Two

The next morning, we headed back to Charlotte Amalie to catch the Tortola Fast Ferry to our next destination, Road Town, Tortola. The wind was from the northeast at around 25 knots, which was exactly the direction we were traveling. The infamous Christmas Winds set in the day before we arrived and didn’t really let up until after we left. What a treat! Fortunately, we are very familiar with sailing in, 20-30 knot winds.

It was a fun and exciting ride if you like crashing through waves and catching a little air sometimes. Everyone in our group handled it pretty well, with only one person slightly green around the gills by the end.

Next up. Customs. No worries here. They process people coming off the ferries quickly and efficiently. Finished with those formalities, we hopped on another taxi for the 45 minute ride to Trellis Bay next to the Beef Island airport.

Our taxi was also dropping of a woman from Antigua who was going home after visiting her daughter. While we were parked by the sidewalk to the airport, Sir Richard Branson walked by cool as cucumber. He owns two islands in the archipelago, so I had wondered if we might run into him on our trip. Off to a good start!

We had a couple of hours before we could check into our boat, so we decided to grab some food and beverages at the Trellis Bay Market Bar & Grill at the suggestion of our taxi driver. One reoccurring theme of our trip is just how helpful and friendly everyone is there. Without exception, we were amazed at the genuine generosity of the people we met.

After a couple of thirst quenching beverages, we caught the Scrub Island Resort ferry to our awaiting marina. We booked our sailboat through Dream Yacht Charters which is now located at the Scrub Island Resort and Marina. We were able to secure a DuFour 460 for the week. It has three cabins and two heads. A very ample layout for the six of us.

The check-in process went quickly and we had the remainder of the night to unpack and settle in to our new home on the water. We had arranged ahead of time to provision all of our groceries and beverages from the local grocery store. Those were waiting for us on the boat when we got there and because of that, we saved many hours, I’m sure.

Day Three

The next morning, we went through our orientation with a wonderful woman from Dream Yacht. She walked us through all the important safety items and mechanicals of the boat. We had decided to go out with a captain for a few hours to help us get more acquainted with the boat and sailing area before heading out on our own for the first time. David, our captain, met us at the sailboat and shortly thereafter, we left the harbor for a couple of hours of lessons.

We headed directly to the mooring field where our deckhands learned the finer points of picking up a mooring ball and securing the boat. I got a few pointers for how to approach the mooring ball to make their job as easy as possible as well. With a couple moorings under our belt, it was off to the open sea past Guana Island.

The winds were blowing in the upper 20’s and there were 4-5 foot rolling seas this particular day. We had a good time sailing and learned a few pointers from David about where to go for the night. He called one of his co-workers to come get him and as we were sailing his friend nudged his boat to the stern of ours and David stepped onto the other boat pretty as you please. Must give that a try sometime!

We decided to spend the night at Monkey Point at David’s suggestion. We grilled pork chops on the stern grill and had our first official night at sea on our sailboat in the Caribbean! We finally made it to our BVI bareboat sailing adventure.

Day Four

We decided we would backtrack to Spanish Town, pick up a mooring and take the taxi into the Baths to see one on the great wonders of the BVI’s. We had a nice sail after motoring through some of the narrow channels on the way to Virgin Gorda. We picked up a mooring ball after about three attempts and prepared to go ashore.

Once we docked our dingy and got rid of some garbage, we grabbed another taxi to go to the Baths. Patsy, our driver insisted that we take our time and call her when we were ready to return. She would take no money until after we were safely back to the marina.

Unfortunately for us, we arrived to the Baths just minutes after about 100 people arrived from a cruise ship. Note to self, avoid this at all possible costs! We took the abbreviated tour and vowed to come back another time.

Once back in Patsy’s taxi, we asked about buying fresh fish. She brought us to one of her favorite grocery stores and showed us around. There was a nice selection of local caught mahi-mahi and wahoo. We bought enough for two dinners, which were delicious. We also wanted some papaya, however the ones they had were not ripe enough, so Patsy brought us to a farmers market and picked out two of the best for us. As I mentioned, we kept meeting such wonderful people and it makes it very hard to not want to move there instantly.

After a mile long dingy ride, we arrived back to our boat. So, we settled in and made dinner of the mahi-mahi we bought. Fresh fish like that is such a treat for us Minnesotans. There really is nothing better.

Day Five

We woke up in the morning after a rolly night on the mooring ball, had our coffee and breakfast and discussed our plans for the day. We decided to sail to the North Sound of Virgin Gorda and spend the night in front of the Bitter End Yacht Club. The sail to North Sound was fantastic. I finally felt like I was getting into the groove of things. We had to head out to the open sea a bit to tack our way into the channel entrance. I love being out on the sea like that.

We got caught in a short shower for about 10 minutes on the way to the North Sound. It actually felt good! One thing I noticed, is that none of the showers were accompanied with gale force winds like we get back on Lake Pepin. So it just becomes a refreshing shower rather than an all hands on deck situation. How nice is that?

Once we were in front of the channel buoys, we put the sails away and began piloting through the entrance channel and into the main basin of North Sound. We headed to the eastern end of North Sound to look for a suitable mooring ball. What we found however, is that none of the mooring balls had pendants on them. They are just now getting started rebuilding the Bitter End, so I’m assuming the mooring balls are not being attended to yet.

Oh well, what was plan B again? Back around the corner was a sheltered little anchorage off of Prickly Pear Island. There were already about a dozen other sailing vessels anchored there. There was a nice mix of monohulls, catamarans and one three-masted schooner. Again we settled in for some dinner on the grill and a wonderful evening with friends in paradise.

Day Six

This was to be our great sailing day of this adventure! My years of dreaming of coming to the BVI’s and sailing on the open ocean! This day we would sail from Virgin Gorda to Jost Van Dyke on the outside of the islands. Nothing but open water and the closest windward continent; Africa some 3000 miles away.

It’s about a 20 mile downwind romp and after two days of mostly sailing upwind, the crew was very happy with this new point of sail. Everyone remarked at what a different experience it was and agreed that we should only sail downwind for now on. It reminded me of the saying, “gentlemen never sail to weather.” I set the auto-pilot and we all relaxed and enjoyed the sail.

One thing I had never experienced before is the intense, electric blue of the Caribbean Sea once out into deeper waters. It was such a contrast to the silty brown waters of my home sailing area on Lake Pepin in Minnesota! We also had a new weather pattern move in, so we were treated to sunnier skies as well. The previous two were rather cloudy and rainy. Now I was really loving this BVI bareboat sailing adventure!

About half-way to Jost Van Dyke, the call we had all been desperately waiting for rang out! Dolphins! Two beautiful dolphins swam up from behind, breached mid-ship and swam in our bow wave for a minute or two before heading off on their own adventure. What a treat for us. I had dreamt of this for many years. Not to be outdone, some huge manta rays went airborne about 100 yards off our starboard bow shortly afterwards. Just, wow!

We made it to our next stop, Diamond Cay, a little ahead of schedule and picked up another mooring ball in front of Foxy’s Taboo. One of Miriam’s must-sees of the trip was the Bubbly Pool, so we stopped to ask about the best way to get there and off we went down the trail. On the way, we met some goats and baby goats to keep us entertained. After a short hike we made it to the pool.

There was an east north-east ground swell, so the Bubbly Pool was pretty tame, but every once in a while a nice big wave would crash through the rocks and give everyone a reason to shout with delight. The bubbles make you feel like you are swimming around in a champagne glass full of the finest French bubbly. We stayed about an hour as we had to make it to the next harbor to spend the night.

We decided to motor to Great Harbor to charge the batteries and make the most of the time we had remaining before sunset. Glad we did, because there were only about 3 mooring balls left when we got there. Three times was the charm again and we were safely moored for the night.

We grilled the wahoo we picked up at the market with Patsy, had a sundowner and hopped in the dingy for a night at Foxy’s. We all bellied up to the bar, ordered a painkiller and found a nice picnic table near the shore to enjoy the evening. We just started to discuss going back to the sailboat when the DJ started playing about 8PM. Note to self, do not leave too early!

We all ordered another painkiller and headed out to the dance floor to dance to Caribbean music, barefoot in the sand. Once again, I had to fight the urge to put the house up for sale and instruct the realtor where to forward the funds. I had heard that the owner occasionally plays guitar for guests once in a while. We had a great time, but no Foxy sighting this trip. Maybe next time.

An uneventful dingy ride (the best kind) back to the boat, some more way-past sundowners and off to the bunk to dream about the next days adventures. Norman Island here we come.

Day Seven

We arose bright and early to make coffee, charge the batteries and make breakfast. Fortunately, mostly all of us are early risers. The 6AM early risers were treated to two dolphins swimming from boat to boat in the harbor. Totally did not expect to see that!

After we all fed our bellies, cleaned up and got the proper amount of caffeine in our veins, we slipped the mooring lines and headed towards the cut between Great Thatch Island and West End, Tortola. Our destination was The Bight on Norman Island.

We decided to motor the entire way as our batteries were continually under-charged and the wind was on our nose the entire way through the Sir Frances Drake Channel. Having auto-pilot sure is nice under these conditions. After about 2 ½ hours, we made it to The Bight on Norman Island where we picked up the best mooring ball in the entire harbor.

The mooring ball was about 100 feet from shore, right next to the best coral reef in the bay! We could snorkel right off the back of the boat and see amazing reef fish within about 50 feet. I’m not overly familiar with ocean reef fishes, but we saw parrot fish, yellowtail and I think queen angel fish. There were others, but I have no idea what they were.

My only complaint was that I wear a beard and mustache, which let in way too much water into my mask for my comfort. I kept snorting water up my nose, which led to much coughing and flailing about. I should probably shave that off before my next trip.

One of the reasons we decided to motor all the way to The Bight was because we had not had a nice relaxing day since arriving in the BVI. This day we would have time to snorkel, relax and go to shore. After our first snorkel and a bite for lunch, we took the dingy to shore so the group could enjoy some more snorkeling along the beautiful beach.

I elected to stay on shore and watch the dingy. I was still recuperating from inhaling too much sea water. I spotted a small shark patrolling the shoreline for it’s dinner, while the snorkelers spotted rays finning about and sea turtles grazing on the sea grass below. I don’t mind saying that I was a little jealous about missing that!

As we were preparing to head back to the mothership, the new shift was just arriving by water-taxi at the dock for Pirates Bight. Romeo, the head bartender, invited us to come back for happy hour. We took him up on his offer and had a great time sipping the best painkillers of the trip and soaking in the beautiful view from their beach.

We finished our drinks and took the dingy across the bay to the infamous Willy T. There we ordered our drinks and ordered our dinners as well. We should probably had our dinner at Pirates Bight, but were pleasantly surprised at the food nonetheless. Afterwards, we headed back to the sailboat for a good nights sleep.

Day Eight

The next morning everyone went for short snorkel. This was to be our last day of sailing and we had a long upwind sail ahead of us. Again the wind was from the northeast so we would be tacking upwind the entire way back to Scrub Island. We made good time to the southwest end of Beef Island and then the wind came up.

Our intermittent wind instruments were not working at this point, but we were sailing upwind at 9.4 knots, so I’m estimating the wind was around 30 knots again. We were healing quite a bit for this type of boat, which has a very wide stern and a hard-chine, as a result, some of the crew were getting a little uncomfortable. The decision to reef was made, and we began preparations. Just one little problem.

This particular sailboat came with a roller-reefing mainsail. We were excited to try that out and it worked beautifully, that is, until it didn’t. As we prepared to reef the main, we noticed that about 3 feet of the bottom of the bolt rope had come out of the track and prevented us from rolling the sail into the mast. Things got interesting real quick as we needed to stow the sail to get into the harbor, if nothing else.

After looking over the situation, I called technical assistance at Dream Yacht for their advice. I was instructed to lower the main halyard and try to feed the bolt rope back into the track. The wind was blowing pretty hard and the waves were building so I put on my life jacket and headed to the mast while the crew ran the outhaul and main furling lines and Miriam steered the boat.

With a not a little effort, I was able to get the bolt rope back into the track, but when they cranked on the furling line, it popped right back out again. Of course, we were heading back out of the bay by this time to give ourselves plenty of sea room to work. However, this also put us into more wind. Next thing, the entire sail came loose from the furling track. Now we were having fun!

I gave the command to lower the sail and try to stow it as best we could by shoving it down the companionway hatch. Luckily, we already had the front of the dodger opened for ventilation so we could access the companionway from the deck. There was a lot of noise and flapping and the sail became wrapped around the backstay to further complicate matters. Back at the helm now, I made some fancy zig-zag maneuvers and drove the wraps out of the sail and with the sail free, we were able to stow it safely out of the way with no damage.

All of the crew pitched in and each did their jobs superbly. The team effort kept a tricky situation from becoming a dangerous and expensive disaster. My hats off to the crew for their valiant efforts! Extra rum rations all around!

Next, we headed for the mooring field, picked up a ball on the first try and pat ourselves on the back for persevering and overcoming a difficult situation. We called the technical assistance hotline again and they sent someone out to finish sorting out the fuel dock, marina dock and putting the sail back in order. I can’t say enough about the highly skilled people Dream Yacht has working their boats. It is simply amazing to watch and learn from them.

After our nerves settled down, we recounted the days excitement and enjoyed good laughs all around. Then we began our checking out process that evening, as we had to catch an early ferry ride back to the Trellis Bay ferry dock in the morning. Check out was a breeze. David dove under the boat to make sure we hadn’t come into any “close contact” with anything hard on our trip (we hadn’t). We packed and cleaned the boat, took showers and headed up to the restaurant at the resort for dinner. More amazing food, exquisite views and fantastic service.

Day Nine

Our morning went very smooth and we hopped on the 8:30AM ferry to meet our taxi for the ride across Tortola back to Road Town. We got on an earlier ferry than we had booked and were on our way back to St. Thomas. This time, on a much smoother crossing as it was now downwind. We found another taxi and made our way back to Pleasant Point Resort for our last night in the Caribbean. Boo.

We arrived just before noon and were again met with rum drinks. After settling into our condos and lounging about for a few hours, we headed down to the Shoreline restaurant for dinner. There we were once again reacquainted with the manager, Suheily and her husband. Such nice people. Sounds like there are wedding bells in their future and we wish them all the best.

Day Ten

For the last day of our BVI bareboat sailing adventure, we went to brunch the next morning at Mirador, the resorts fine dining experience. And what an experience it was! We all ordered Caribbean Lobster Eggs Benedict in Spice Mornay sauce for breakfast. Just to be perfectly clear, this was the best meal of our trip by far! The eggs were poached to perfection and the spicy mornay sauce was to die for. Our waitress’ family provides the lobsters for the restaurant, so we all got to learn a little history about her family and life on the island as well. As a result, there was more fighting off the urge to call the realtor again.

After brunch it was time to do our final packing and make our way back to the airport for the long slog back to the frozen wastelands of Minnesota. We arrived at Terminal One at 11:03PM with more uneventful flights. Thus concluding our BVI bareboat sailing adventure in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Can you guess what was not waiting for us at the airport when we got off the plane? Oh hum, no rum.

If you would like to book a sailing charter with Captain Eric click here.

Post Hurricane Irma Recap – 2 Years Later

If you are wondering how the islands are fairing after two years of rebuilding from hurricanes Irma and Marie, here is my perspective.

Although I had never been there before, I did tons of research on the internet and reading The Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands by Nancy & Simon Scott prior to the hurricanes of 2017. It is still quite obvious that something bad had happened there, but in our travels, I was surprised at how much progress had been made.

I was expecting to see wrecked boats everywhere, onshore and in the water. I saw very few onshore and none in the water. The towns were operating as normal as far as I could tell. The only real difference I could see from the cruising guides, is the number of restaurants and bars operating in the bays. Nowhere did we go without options, except North Sound on Virgin Gorda. I believe Leverick Bay Resort was open as we saw many boats going there, however we stayed at our anchorage that night, so I am not certain.

All of the people we met who live on the islands, were extremely optimistic about the future and their sense of humor is something to behold. I think they like messing with us tourists a bit. It was all in good fun and made our trip that much more enjoyable. Everyone we talked to thanked us for coming and told us that without tourism, they would not be able to survive.

I kinda felt like the Virgin Islands are like what they might have been a couple decades ago and am grateful we got to experience island life for a way-to-short 10 days. If you are at all contemplating your own BVI bareboat sailing adventure, I highly recommend going as soon as you can! Here’s to the beautiful people of the Caribbean and may they experience decades of hurricane-free seasons to come!