The Grenadines have to be one of my favorite cruising destinations in the world, they are a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted): Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Union Island, Petit St Vincent, Palm Island and Mayreau, each with its own distinctive charm and subtle difference, for sailors that want to experience the real Caribbean this stretched out Island chain has to be on your bucket list. I first visited the Grenadines nearly 20 years ago, much has changed but also much has stayed the same, on my fist visit to the tiny Island of Mayreau we anchored in 15 feet of crystal clear turquoise water in Saline bay and wandered up the hill to see what we could find, there was no government power on the Island, we found our way to Dennis's hideaway the one must do stop in the cruising guide and met our host sitting at his circular bar, Dennis was a larger than life character, charter skipper, entrepreneur, restauranteur, engineer, you name it Dennis had done it, he had wicked sense of humor and a huge smile for all his visitors, and also an eye for the ladies, especially the blue eyed and blonde ones! Dennis also had a big heart, a few years later I went back to Mayreau and there was a power station on the Island and power cables running up the hills, Dennis had been instrumental in getting the power to his Island, he had paid for the generator and had helped made sure all the properties were connected to power, his restaurant was prospering and the small village was benefitting from the increased tourism. Mayeau is one of my all time favorite islands, it has one primary school, 4 restaurants, 30 houses, no police, no lawyers, and 3 justices of the peace, one of whom is Dennis, at the highest point the view from the one Catholic Church there is the best in the Grenadines over looking the Tobago Cays to the East and the rest off the Northern and Southern Grenadines to the North and South, a must do stop on any Grenadines itenary. If I was to pick the top 5 things to do and places to visit in the Grenadines, I think the list would look something like this, most charters start at the Northern end of the Island chain and head south so I will list in that order. 1. Bequia is a sailors paradise, always welcoming and with a unique charm of its own, you will definitely think about buying a piece of paradise and settling down here as many people have done, from its historic whaling industry to its, Rastafarian fruit market, abundant restaurants and its home grown Turtle sanctuary, Bequia has something for everyone. 2. The Firefly, Mustique Island! If you have one meal ashore during your trio through the Grenadines I recommend you take it at the beautiful Firefly restaurant overlooking Britannia bay. The restaurant takes its name from the Fireflies that live in the woods surrounding the property, if you walk up after dusk these magical creatures will give you one of natures most amazing light shows, its truly amazing if you have never experienced it, Firefly serves some of the best cocktails I have ever had, you must try one on the terrace watching the sun set behind your yacht in the anchorage below, the service is second to none and the meals are amazing served in a small and intimate setting, if you a are lucky one of the Islands rock star residents might pop in after dinner to play a few tunes on the Piano, this is truly a special place! 3. Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau. Probably the most photographed bay in the Grenadines, this beautiful small but perfectly formed bay will blow you away with its charm and beauty, arrive early to get a good spot and enjoy lunch on the beach at one of the growing number of restaurants there, in the evening walk up to the village and find Dennis hideaway or even better Robert Righteous & de youths seafood restaurant and bar where you will experience real Island music and hospitality. 4. Tobago Cays. Head over from Mayreau through the narrow channel that protects the Tobago Cays and enter one of the most spectacular coral reefs in the world, you can snorkel, dive, kite-surf and swim with the Turtles here, what I like about this marine park is the locals realize that they have a finite resource and protect the surroundings here, park rangers patrol the area and garbage dumping and pumping out of heads is strictly prohibited unlike many other "marine parks" in the Caribbean, you could spend a week at anchor here completely protected from the Ocean a few meters behind the reef, the next stop Africa 4000 miles away. 5. Mopion Sand bank. A tiny Coral and sand Island at the end of a reef nestled between Union Island and Petit Saint Vincent a private Island. A single sun shade marks this tiny beach where the snorkeling is outstanding in a few feet of crystal clear warm water, only accessible by dinghy, bring your packed lunch, a bottle of champagne and your best friends and enjoy a magical spot for a couple of hours, hopefully you will get it to yourselves! Charter deals in the GrenadinesChartering in the Grenadines is an all year round destination, the trade winds can get boisterous there and the summer sees much more gentle conditions and at around 12 degrees latitude its just at the bottom fo the hurricane zone. If you want to join us this summer in the Grenadines I have some amazing special offers for you! This is probably the best bareboat deal I have seen this year Caribbean - St Vincent and the Grenadines from 15/08/2020 to 22/08/2020 Boat model: Catamaran - Astrea 42 with watermaker - Super Premier - Bareboat Boat Information: 2020 | 41 ft | 12 Persons | 4 cabin(s) | 4 bath. | 4 head(s) |$3268
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I consider us extremely blessed to be living and working in the Virgin Islands, how many of us can get up every day, enjoy the beautiful scenery, breathe fresh air and go about our business enjoying every minute of our working day?
There is an old hippie saying from the 70's " Do what you love and love what you do and the world will come to you" that really sums up the life of a sailor for me, sailing has been kind to me and looking back I would not have had my life any other way, OK I will never be a millionaire but to me the journey has always been more important than the destination, navigating your way to a new continent under sail is an incredibly rewarding experience, crossing oceans, conquering your fears of the unknown and arriving safely at your destination is worth much more than money to me, for those of you with an adventurous spirit I highly recommend it. This week we were fortunate enough to take part in the LWEYC Firecracker 500 regatta out of Nanny Cay, Tortola, this race has been going on in the BVI for over 20 years, usually an end of season get together for all the crews working hard throughout the season in the sailing industry, this year it was a little different, obviously turn-out was down, no boats competing from the USVI but we did manage 10 entries and the spirit and comaradare was still there in abundance, we raced around the cans, our boat being a classic gaff rigged cutter was never going to be competitive against the carbon fibre racing trimarans, but we enjoyed our time on the water, friends together, sailing for fun and enjoying the empty waters of the St.Francis Drake channel, a year ago an impossible dream. We retired at the end of the race, not enough wind to drive our 18 ton boat along but we did make it to the prize giving and Andrea my partner got 2nd prize in the Annual chills cook off competition which was amazing, after that we had a great full moon party at Admirals marine which was awesome, Sunday was a recovery day! So as I sit in my sailboat wring this blog, watching the Pelicans diving for fish in the channel, feeling the gentle movement of the boat sitting at anchor, the warm breeze of the trade winds lapping at the canvas above me I realize that we are more fortunate than many people at this time, safe in our little BVI cut off from the rest of the world, and I realize that I have never explained the role of a charter yacht broker in the sailing industry so I raise the question “Why use a broker to book your charter, why not just book direct?” Most people when considering a catamaran charter will make their decision based on, and possibly not necessarily in this order, Price, Service, Quality, Availability and Reputation. I believe we can help you navigate the vast amount of boats and deals out there and possibly save you some money at the same time. We specialize in Caribbean bareboat charters, we live in the Islands 12 months of the year, see the boats every day, know the fleets, know the fleet managers and most of the crews that work in the Islands, it’s a small industry, so we believe we have an almost unique insight into what’s going on in the business. Price! We have real time access to fleet pricing, special offers and availability for over 5800 boats in 61 destinations world wide, we can scan every fleet by location and find the best deal on the best boat instantly without contacting every company, we also get exclusive access to deals from the companies as they want to sell charters so we can pass those deals onto you, it costs you not a penny more than booking direct and can also save you between 10-30% less than booking through the fleet. I regularly post special offers, I don’t hide the fleets name online some other companies do, I believe in a handshake so if someone finds the deal online and books it direct, I don’t worry, it was not meant to be. Service! I believe we are great communicators and pride ourselves on our response time whatever the query, whether it’s at the beginning or the end of the deal, we always answer emails or messages unless we are asleep so you will get the answers 7 days a week. Quality and value for money! Recently we had a charter that booked into a new location as the fleet needed to move boats, our client arrived at the operator and the boat was not ready for charter, it happens and thankfully not often, we jumped in got him an upgrade on a newer boat that was ready and at no extra charge, that would not always happen when booking direct, we used our buying power with the fleet to convince them to upgrade him and I as a client. Reputation! After 20 years in this industry I know the good people to deal with, the bad companies don’t last long and the good companies do, I know of one fleet in Tortola with a 70% repeat customer business, that’s an amazing number and they do a fantastic job! So... if you are looking for a bareboat charter give us a shout, it’s cost you nothing, there is zero obligation and we can more than likely find you an amazing deal on a charter with a great company and ultimately it will enable us to continue to live this blessed life we live. Have great day....... Back in 2009 I was living and working on the Island of Nevis, a small sister Island to St.Kitts which was separated by a small body of water called the Narrows, I regularly ran day charters between the Islands and had a contract with the Four Seasons in Nevis and the Marriott Hotel group in St.Kitts to take their guests on snorkel and sightseeing tours, it was a dream job for a sailor from the UK, steady trade winds, warm waters and an endless supply of happy hotel guests looking for a sailing adventure, my favorite time was at the end of the day sailing back to my anchorage after a full day trip with some money in my pocket, the sun going down and some cool reggae playing one the boats sound system, life was good. So one day I hear that the local water-sports company was selling off some old sailing tri-marans as business had become tough after the 2008 financial crash, they were very reasonably priced so I decided to buy all three and make one good one out of all the parts, I looked up the manufacturer on line and the boats were called Windrider, a 17’ three hull design with a center hull two outrigger hulls and a space for the “pilot” with a windscreen that looked like a Spitfire cockpit, the yachts were touted as unsinkable so what could possibly go wrong?… At weekends or when I did not have a charter I started sailing the Tri in the waters around Nevis, I know the area pretty well by now, I became more and more confident sailing just for fun, sometimes venturing offshore and pushing the little boat to its maximum performance and sometimes beyond, it was a lot of fun and often very wet as the design was really aimed for flat water and not boisterous trade wind conditions, the area I sailed was between two reasonably sized Islands so the current and tides accelerated through the narrow gap and often caused the sea to become quite large and confused with wind over tide situations, this would be exaggerated during Spring tides when the moon was full and the tides at maximum flow. One Sunday afternoon I decided to go out for a sail, totally impromptu and not telling anyone where I was going, I jumped in the car, drove to the beach, rigged the boat and off I went, it was blowing around 16-17 knots that day, I knew as the waves were just starting to cap and and billow little white bubbles off the surface, it was going to be a great sail, I set off to St.Kitts at a brisk clip the Easterly trades accelerating through the gap between the Islands, I must have been doing close to 7 or 8 knots not really sure it did not matter I was having a blast, whilst sailing I noticed the boats performance starting to drop off a little, I was sailing hard on the wind, tacking back and forth but it seemed one tack was favorable to the other, the boat was a good bit faster on a starboard tack than on a port tack, I did not pay too much attention and carried on sailing, eventually growing tired and about two miles from my anchorage and heading out past the channel I turned back onto a port tack and headed for home, immediately I realized sometime was wrong, the starboard hull was low in the water and the boat was slowing down, and then as if someone had just slowed down time I watched the starboard hull snap off and disappear below the surface, followed by the canoe centre hull that I was sitting in, literally filling with water and sinking beneath me, it took seconds, I was in trouble…
I only had one option and that was to ditch the hull and swim for Booby Island, even at that time I did not think I was really in that much trouble, I should have headed back to St.Kitts but I was not thinking rationally, I could only think of getting home, so I started swimming, it was not easy as the waves were kicking up a bit and I was swallowing some water, every drop was phsically draining me and I could see that it was easy to get into a panic, but I focused on my task in hand and got on with it, all of a sudden I felt a wave of what I can only describe as a complete calmness and serenity pass over me, I knew nobody was going to save me, it was up to me, drown here in the water or swim home, stark reality, nothing else, so I swam, I concentrated on my breathing, sang a song in my head to keep a rhythm and had just one focus, to get home and see my daughter again, that’s the only thing I could think of, seeing her again it kept me going.
I was soon close to Booby Island, the little Rock is named that from the Booby birds that use it to spot for fish, a lonely outcrop covered in guano and surrounded by sharp reefs and rocks, I stopped for a bit, treaded water and decided not to try and land, my thinking was it would be dark in a few hours and nobody would see me there or start searching until the morning, Nevis did not look that far, (it was actually another 1.5 miles to the anchorage) so I decided to carry on, I had got a rhythm, the sea was starting to settle as the afternoon heat from the land moderated the trade winds, I knew I could make it, I had one focus to get to the beach. As soon as I left the safety of the little Island I could feel the pull of the current sweeping my sideways away from my destination, I had to swim at an angle of about 30-40 degrees upwind of my destination to make any good progress, that meant I was going to have to swim further but I never decided to turn back, I had to carry on regardless and get back to land before dark, the thought of swimming in the dark started to scare me, I did not want that, I knew the water was warm enough to stay in indefinitely but what lurked beneath started to play on my mind, fear would unsettle me I had to stay focused on the task in hand, a small airplane flew directly over my head, I stopped swimming and tried to wave but it was hopeless, he could not see me, not even a spec in the ocean, at that point I started to worry again, I swallowed a bit of water, I lost my rhythm and realized this was it, sink or swim so I carried on. I think it took me about 4 hours in total, I’m not really sure looking back but the sun was setting as I pulled myself up on the beach, I was totally exhausted, physically spent, I could not walk my legs were jelly, as the adrenaline wore off I started to collapse, I knew I could get secondary growing from water in my lungs so I had to be careful, the guys at the beach picked me up and drove me home, I slept for 24hrs. I have not told many people about this episode nearly everyone the few people I told asked me the same question, did you panic but one person a spiritual guy when I told him about the calmness that swept over me, he was not surprised and said maybe I was a sailor in a previous life that had drowned, who knows but it gave me a strange sort of comfort to hear that as I had been searching for a reason to why I felt so calm, but now its out there and you all know my story, I would love to hear your thoughts. Lessons learned?
I consider my self a fairly lucky person, sailing has been good to me, I started sailing at an early age and it has stayed with me so far most of my life, when I have not been working with wood I have been tinkering with boats, sailing has enabled me to do things that most my peers only dreamed of, running away to a Caribbean Island, starting a charter business, traveling to new continents and countries under sail power alone, meeting amazing people that influenced how I lived my life, opening my eyes to new possibilities and adventures and eventually paying me to share my experiences and time with people who are dreaming of following similar footsteps.
Recently I have become increasingly nostalgic about England, especially the Sussex countryside where I grew up, cricket on the green, afternoon tea with and scones, walks in the country, pub lunches with friends, fishing in the rivers and hunting for game in the fields on an early summer morning, but I have grown to realize that you can’t turn back time, nothing stays the same, the planet continues to turn and time does not stand still, the summers have come and gone and the country has changed, the changes are irreversible and we must accept and move on. Back to the present, the world has changed dramatically in such a short time, one minute we were ticking along running our businesses, living our lives and accepting the world around us, then all of a sudden everything stops, the world as we know it grinds to a halt, time, urgency, routines and normality is flipped on its head, projects we are working on are put on indefinite hold, our future is uncertain and everything slows down, a new routine starts to emerge, time for ourselves, time to reflect, slow down and start to appreciate the world around us, nature, the stars, the wind, the sun rising and setting, the moon stepping through its phases as it waxes fill’s and wanes. We are anchored at Norman Island, we are on day 18 of the curfew here, maybe its 17 it does not matter, slowly we have settled into a new routine, the urgency has gone, we take time for ourselves, we find time for exercise, to look after our well being, to stretch , to breathe and to enjoy the world around us, we do jobs on the boat, we cook more, we talk, we have fun and we spend time talking about the future, at night we sleep under the stars, we leave the boat open to the elements, the wind blows across the bed at night and we breathe clean air with every breath, we sleep well and wake with the rising sun. Many times in the past I have overheard older friends discussing the good old days in the BVI, the pioneering spirit of the industry in the early days, the parties, the friendships made, the sailing for fun on a day off, the camaraderie amongst people with the same vision, and somehow that’s been lost in a way, the focus has been commercialized, the Islands have changed, the charter fleets have grown and the anchorages have become crowded at times, once you could have the choice of empty anchorages in the Virgin Islands, to enjoy the nature and the beauty, swim with the Turtles and Rays, watch the sunset with an unobstructed view, you can still do that but it takes a bit more planning, the norm has become rush to the next anchorage by early afternoon to ensure you have a mooring for the night, 100 foot away from your neighbor. All of a sudden and if by magic the clock has suddenly been turned back, the impossible has happened and we have turned back time, the old BVI has re-emerged, we are floating at anchor in Norman Island with a few boats, a bay full of empty Boaty-Balls (pre-paid mooring system) nobody moves, the few boats here have formed a network to help each other out, observing strict social distancing procedures, we exchange intelligence from the various social media sites, we pull together as one small community isolated from the rest of the world, we swim in crystal clear waters, there is no sound of diesels, the Tarpon are here and so are the Turtles and Rays, we hear the birds for what seems the first time, everything is peaceful, so what seems to be impossible has actually happened I have been lucky enough to experience the turning back of time, who would have thought it, to experience the old BVI, as the pioneers would have met it, an impossible dream, in life anything can happen. Hey Guys
I want to tell you about a program we are wanting to promote here in the BVI, we know there is going to be hardship here for everyone in the community for the next six months, but especially for vulnerable members of society with no access to savings or family help, we need to make sure that the tourism industry survives as its a major source of work for many people living here, as you may know we are in lock down period here in the BVI ending a solid curfew on Monday 20th April, after that there will be curfew and travel restrictions and many, many people will be out of work, as of now the borders will be closed for tourists well into the summer. So we are promoting the Hashtag #BVISAFE many of you may not be aware that we only have had 3 mild cases of covid19 in the BVI, as of now there is only 1 confirmed case remaining in the territory and the person is well on the way to recovery, our government has taken bold and stringent containment measures to secure our country and at the moment the BVI is probably one of the safest places on the planet to be right now, going forward with strict controls and and sensible precautions the BVI will be a very safe place to take your next vacation. We have made a decision to donate an amount of any of our commissions received in the next 3 months from charter bookings to our chosen charity The Family support network in the BVI, the amount will be as follows. $500 for any crewed charter booked $150 for any bareboat charter booked $100 for any cabin charter booked These charters must be taken between 15th October 2020 and 15th March 2021. If you are thinking of booking a charter in the future talk to us, you can help us make a direct difference to someones life here just by booking, it costs you NO MORE, we just make less commission so... Message us or email us info@mycaribbeancharters.com for more details, we have many deals available right now. The family support network is a great charity helping vulnerable members of society in the BVI supporting individuals or families subject to domestic violence in the home so you can be assured that the money will be going right where it is needed at a time when households, parents and families are under a huge amount of strain.. If you don’t want to book a charter you can still make a donation on their website here https://familysupportbvi.org Expires 07/16/2020 During my time, sailing, teaching and skippering boats in the Caribbean and most recently the BVI I have noticed a recurring theme with some bareboat skippers, and the common mistakes that can be made, in an effort to help you avoid some common mistakes I have written down my top 10 tips to help you get through the week with the minimum of drama, or how not to be a Bad Captain! Top 10 tips for a successful BVI bareboat charter vacation 1. Don’t overestimate your abilities, most accidents in the BVI waters are caused by human error, charter the size of boat you are comfortable with, do not fall into the trap of hiring a much bigger boat than you are used to, inviting your friends and family in an effort to reduce your overall costs, it can end in disaster if you overstretch your abilities as skipper, sailing a new boat can be stressful, the last thing you need is brother Charlie ( who does not like boats or you) commenting “does he know what he is doing” while you are trying to navigate onto the fuel dock in 20+ knots of breeze. If you are taking on a boat that you are not familiar with there is no shame in taking a checkout skipper for the first day, his job will be to make sure you know how to use all the systems on the boat, secure the boat safely at night and make it to the next anchorage without any drama’s, make good use of the time with him he is not the enemy but there to help you make the most of your vacation. 2. Boat briefing time, DO NOT rush through the boat briefing, even if you have chartered the same vessel before, boat systems can be complicated, sometimes they change and are upgraded so its very important to take your time to digest all the information coming in during your briefing, take notes, even better record everything on video so you can play it back later, have a 2nd person present during the briefing so nothing is missed, most calls to the charter base in the first few days are for questions that have been missed on the charter brief, if you rush through the brief you are asking for trouble! Remember that the guy doing the briefing probably does this every day of the week, do not just nod if you do not understand his explanation, ask questions if you are not sure, in my time as a checkout skipper I could easily judge the guys that would be running into trouble, it would usually be the ones staring at you like a frightened rabbit as you asked them to repeat the process you just explained to them. If in doubt check, a good idea once you have been briefed is to go over everything with your No.2, if you are both not sure how something works ask again, "do not be afraid to be a pain in the neck", your boat briefer will be happy to go over things now rather then dingying over to Peter Island at 4pm to flip your windlass breaker that he showed you the location of on the dock. ( and dont forget he will be expecting a big tip for that inconvenience) 3. Preparation ! I cannot stress enough the benefit of prior planning and preparation, before you arrive in the BVI for your charter I am sure you will have spent weeks researching your overall passage plans, laying out your itinerary, checking Facebook groups and constantly monitoring the forecast in advance of your trip, prior planning of your trip is a great start and something everyone should do, but there is a caveat, things can change rapidly in the tropics depending on the time of year that you visit, and the plan that you made 3 months ago may need to be revisited closer to the time, an example could be that during the Winter months violent storms far away on the East coast of the US can create big North swells ( swell is defined by the direction it is going, wind is defined by the direction it is coming from ) these swells can make the Northerly exposed anchorages in the BVI untenable and even dangerous and potentially the southern anchorages of Jost Van Dyke when the swell is reflected off the North coast of Tortola as well. In this instance there may be a need to modify your weeks plan accordingly and avoid the Northern shores of the BVI Islands. My advice would be make your overall plan, decide on your anchorage for the first 2 nights once you have an up to date forecast and then revisit the plan on a daily basis taking into consideration the prevailing conditions, if everything stays as forecast follow your plan and enjoy your trip, however the worst type of skipper is the skipper that sticks to his pre-planned route whatever the conditions and puts his crew in danger, this can be avoided by the Captain giving an overall summary of the trip and keeping the specifics of each day flexible and then making the decisions on where to go next subject to the prevailing decisions, that way everyone is happy that you are in charge of the situation and not just carrying on regardless, tick off all the boxes you have promised if possible but be flexible in your approach, that way you will have happy crew and a happy boat. 4. Passage planning, Its very easy just to turn on your chart plotter after breakfast, drop in a few waypoints and head off to your next destination without a care in the world, a word of caution, most people drive over the top of reefs by mis-reading chart plotting information or missing important information on the charts, as a rule reefs do not move around and the BVI has pretty accurate charted information, if you hit a reef its too late to blame the equipment and its going to be very expensive, to avoid this I recommend the following procedure. First thing in the morning or the night before whichever is your preference get out you charts and cruising guide and spend half an hour planning out your next route, first check your pilotage out of the anchorage keeping a note of any navigation hazards on the way out, make a sketch on a piece of paper if you think its helpful that you can refer to later, then get out your paper chart for the area and plan out your passage for the day, draw out your passage plan on the chart and mark off some waypoints, as your course takes you around headlands, mark off your waypoints on an area that you can identify a depth reading, that way you can double check your position as you near the waypoint by checking the depth sounder and a visual reference, like the tip of an approaching headland, once you have your waypoints identified transfer them to your chart plotter making sure they line up with the depth contours as a double check, finally do your pilotage plan into your chosen anchorage and make a quick sketch. You may think this is a long winded exercise but the fact that you have taken the time to get out your charts, pilot book and studied your passage in detail this will give you time to identify any potential hazards along the way, its impossible to digest the same amount of information just by checking your chart plotter however big it is, there is no better way to plan your passage than with a adequately scaled paper chart, you will be prepared if the weather deteriorates and it only takes 10 minutes with a cup of coffee once you get used to it, remember prior preparation prevent piss poor performance! 5. DO NOT SHOUT! There is nothing more irritating than an ill prepared skipper attemting to dock his boat with a nervous crew while the skipper shouts commands at the top of his voice, this is not racing, its meant to be fun for all and shouting at the crew is unacceptable, it will not motivate them and will probably upset your neigbours while they realx with their cocktails, a skipper that shouts has not prepared his crew in advance for the manouvere and is not in command of his vessel. To avoid this start with a brefing of the crew well before you enter the anchorage, organize your lines on deck, have everything planned in advance and the strongest memebers of the crew doing the tasks you think need the most strength and agility, agree on some easy to understand hand signals to communicate your commands and explain your strategy to the crew before the task, most important once you are safely tied up, debrief the crew in a constructive way on how the procedure went, if it was good then applaud them, if it needed improvement ask the team how they think the plan could be improved or changed for the next time, you will be amazed at how quickly the crew will work together to improve the procedures and docking or mooring will become an effortless task and not a nightmare to worry about at the end of the day. 6. Get going early, most people only sall for 3 or 4 hours a day in the BVI, with modern mono's and Catamaran’s most anchorages are just a few hours away so depart and arrive early in the day at your chosen anchorage, its a much better idea to have time on your hands in a beautiful anchorage rather than turning up late when the last mooring has been taken and you must decide what to do next, if there really is no room then go to plan B, and move to the anchorage you identified in your passage plan as your 2nd choice, you should never be more than 30 mins away from a safe anchorage in the BVI. 7. Reef early, always be conservative when sailing with friends and family, not everyone enjoys being pinned into the cockpit with the lee rail in the water, you may find it exhilarating but some of the crew may feel nervous with big angles of lean, be alert to your crews behavoir, if someone that is usually vocal sudenly becomes silent then thats a good sign they are not feeling well, sea sickness is a horrible thing to have to endure during a vacation so be considerate to your crew, if someone is really sick get them to lay down and close thier eyes eventually they will feel better. Not many people actually get seasick in the BVI, it is quite rare as the waters are reasonably protected, more people worry themselves sick than actually get real sea-sickness I can count on one hand the guests that I have actually seen be sick over the side. 8. Go Ashore, get some time off the boat to explore the BVI, there are some beautiful treks on the outer Islands and the mainland, the cruising giude is a good source of info for the treking paths Norman Island, Peter Island, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and Tortola all have excellent hiking trails not to be missed as part of your BVI bareboat charter vacation, remember not everyone wants to ber sailing all week, keep your crew happy and entertained and you will be rewarded with people that want to sail with you again. 9. Share the love, The BVI has suffered terrible hardship during 2017/18, the tourism industry is resilient but has taken some knocks, the local businesses have had 1/10th of their normal income but still had bills to pay and families to feed, if you love the BVI get out into the communities and spend your money with the locals, it will be appreciated and you will be rewarded 10 times over with your generosity, rather than eat on the boat try some local restaurants and flavours, I guarantee you will be suprised how good the local food can be and the money will tricle down through the communities. 10. Have fun, remeber that you are also on vacation, a BVI bareboat sailing vacation should be an unforgetable experience for all the family and friends you invite along, including yourself the skipper, keep your boat safe, relax enjoy your time with the family, try and turn off the internet now and again, enjoy the Islands, the people, the weather and the beautiful scenery that makes the British Virgin Islands the best sailing destination in the world.
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Andrea González Yacht Charter Broker Let's explore the islands together for your next adventure! |