BVI 2018

We recently returned from a sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands. This was our first trip back after hurricane Irma hit the islands in September of 2017. We had visited the islands in 2015 and were anxious to see how the reconstruction was coming along. The people of the BVI have a lot of spirit and we were happy to return to help with the tourism.

This time we rented a 40-foot catamaran from The Moorings out of Road Town, Tortola. We went with our good friends Bruce & Karen and were joined by our friends Bob & Stacey. This trip would be a good mixture of sailing and snorkeling with a little island exploration. Our itinerary included a stop on the hook at Peter Island, mooring ball at Leverick Bay, mooring ball at Anegada Island, on the hook again at Camanoe Island, mooring ball in Jost, mooring ball Normans Island then a final night on the ball in Cooper Island before our return.

Mooring Base

The Moorings base is pretty busy. I'm happy to report that they have done a great job repairing the base but there is much work to be done. You can still see a lot of sunken boats and boats on the shores. It is not like the BVI of 2015 but they are ready for your visit.

Breakfast before the first sail

Still stunning

Ruth, Stacey & Bob

We had great weather for sailing all week. Wind speed between 15 and 25 knots with some squalls hitting over 35 knots. Waves were reasonable with 3-5 foot seas with the occasional 8 footer. The motion of the catamaran is different but it definitely rolls around a bit. There's no way you are leaving  your coffee on the table and expecting it to stay put during sailing. The accommodations when you are at anchor are extremely comfortable but after this trip we prefer monohulls.

Gorgeous (lady & scenery)

Here we are just off the Baths. This is the number one tourist attraction in the BVI and is not to be missed. Interesting snorkeling and rock formations. Grab a ball early as it tends to fill up.

Stacey & Bob having fun

The Baths

Leverick Bay

Scene on Leverick Bay. This is in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda and the other resorts have been completely destroyed. They are busy rebuilding Saba Rock and the Bitter End Yacht Club and it was very sad to see the destruction the hurricane caused to this part of the island.

Open ocean out to Anegada

 Our last time we did not make it out to Anegada Island and we definitely wanted to go there this time. Conditions on the island were pretty good and it is only 12 nautical miles from North Sound to the harbor. It is a low lying island so make sure you check your bearings and stay well away from horseshoe reef. The sail went fast and the open ocean was rolling a bit but not too bad. Easy sail and a highly recommended stop.

Ruth at Anegada

Anegada

The mooring field at Anegada is pretty busy. We took the free shuttle to the Anegada Beach Club and the place is beautiful. For dinner I had a full Anegada lobster with all the trimmings. It's not like Maine lobster, but still delicious.

Great sunset

Lee Bay

We definitely needed a quiet stop after Anegada and decided on staying on the hook at Lee Bay, Camanoe Island. There was only one other boat behind us and I dove on the anchor to make sure we were secure. Great stop with a nice breeze and no rolling during the night.

Sunset - Lee Bay

Great Harbor

Next stop was Great Harbor on Jost. We walked the town and they are definitely still suffering from the hurricane although spirits are high. Foxy's was open and we had a nice lunch and dinner ashore. Make sure you visit the local establishments if you go. It was also time to purchase another 100 gallons of water.

Bruce & Bob checking that we are secure

The ladies

Showing some skin

The Indians

After a night on Normans Island we got up early and moored by the Indians. This is a fantastic snorkeling location and we were the second boat there. Definitely pays to get there early and this spot is not to be missed.

Rainbow of USVI

Ruth enjoying helm time

Captains Bruce & Drew looking over the situation

Sunset

Having fun yet?

Great game of Jenga

Wow

This was a great trip and the BVI is definitely worth a stop again. There is still a recovery process going on but I can't say enough about how beautiful the island and the people are. Make sure you provision well in Tortola because there is not much in the out islands. It is different from the days before the hurricane but the people and the island are slowly bouncing back. We did 110 nautical miles for the week and got to see if we wanted to buy a catamaran or monohull for our boat. I'm happy to report we are leaning towards a monohull.

Happy Sailing!

Northern Exumas - Bahamas

We just got back from a weeks sail in the Bahamas. Trip started on New Providence with the Nav Tours company. We sailed from New Providence over the Northern Exumas and stayed over at Highborne Cay, Shroud Cay, Warderick Wells, Norman's Island and Allen's Cay. The wind was pretty strong all week with 20 to 28 knots the first day for our 30 nm crossing across the yellow banks. The coral heads were pretty easy to spot and as long as you are vigilant, the crossing shouldn't present too many problems. Ruth and I went with our good friends Karen and Bruce.

Karen

Bruce relaxing

Ruth

Beautiful water

It took us about 6 hours to cover the trip across the yellow banks. With 5' seas at 6 second intervals the trip was a little bouncy and we had to sail a close hauled course to get there. Nothing like a good salt bath to start the trip. After an overnight at Highborne Cay we headed down to Shroud Cay with nice 20 to 25 knots of wind on a beam reach. Part of our tour was the northern river on Shroud Cay where you can motor from the banks to the sound at a slow speed.

On the ball at Shroud Cay

Sitting on the ball, not many boats around

Motoring down the river

We did hit a little storm

Captain and Admiral

Sound side

Mangroves

From Shroud Cay we sailed down to Waderick Wells and the Exuma Park. We decided to stay in the southern mooring field and ended up right next to Emerald Rock. There was only one other boat that night and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We explored the park and hiked up to the famous Boo Boo Hill. Legend has it that you hear the howls of ghosts on top of the hill. Ruth and I also had an interested experience with a 4' barracuda following us back to the boat on our snorkel trip. I've heard that barracuda think we're larger predators and follow snorkelers hoping to grab a morsel from our catch. Never really concerned but I did keep an eye on toothy the whole swim back.

Karen on the SUP

Ruth relaxing

Happy at the helm

Karen at the helm

Boo Boo Hill, short hike

Tree growing out of the rock

Small creek to cross up to Boo Boo Hill

Top of the hill

Our boat in the distance

Beautiful sunset

Next stop was Norman's Cay. We anchored off the western shore and had dinner at the Norman's Bay Beach Club (aka McDuff's). I thought it would be nice to have a manhattan but they had no idea how to make one. They seemed to think they had bourbon and sweet vermouth and offered to let me behind the bar to teach them how to make a good manhattan. Unfortunately, there was no sweet vermouth so it was back to run. Next time through I'm bringing sweet vermouth and bitters and we'll redo the manhattan making class. Dinner was great at McDuff's with a casual relaxed island atmosphere.

Being passed by a cat

McDuff's is behind these cottages

Harbor at Allen's Cay

After another overnight at Highborne Cay, it was 30 nm back from the Exumas back to New Providence. Someone we managed to have to go close hauled on the trip back also with winds piping up again to 20 to 25 knots. The sail back was pretty fast and in 5 hours we were back at the Palm Cay Marina and Nav Tours base. The trip included sailing from Sunday through Friday and we totaled over 135 nm for the week with two 30 plus nm crossings of the Yellow Banks.

Nav Tours was a great company to charter with and included a pick up at the airport, provisioning trip, and the first and last night docked at the marina. We'd highly recommend them as a company to charter with. The rest of the sailing season will be pretty quite for us until it's time to launch the Turtle again in the spring.

Happy to be back?

38' boat for the week

Sitting on a conch by the bay

The dark spots are sharks in the water