Last Saturday, our Caribbean Charter Specialist Meg Toppa attended the Toronto International Boat Show.  Along with the weather, attendance was brisk.  No doubt dreaming of warmer climates, visitors at the show were climbing in and out of  Beneteau’s, Jeanneau’s  and checking out the latest gear. Notable yachts on display that caught her eye were the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42DS and Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 36i as well as the Beneteau 34, Beneteau 37 and Beneteau 40.  These all have excellent features for charters in the Caribbean – please contact our Ft Lauderdale office if you would like to experience one of these yachts on the water!

Each one of the 27 people who went on our BVI Charter said that it was either the best or one of the best holidays they’d ever had.  The variety the BVI offers, the comfortable catamarans, the superb beaches, and the freedom of a charter combined to create lifelong memories for everyone.  The BVI proved once again why it is the world’s top yacht charter destination.

Although it worked out well, it wasn’t without its risks and stresses.  Some conclusions about family and group chartering are the following:

- Kids will love it, but you have to plan for them and brief them properly. Beach toys, cards, electronic games, videos, guidebooks all are indispensable. And teach them to snorkel before they arrive in the BVI.
- Don’t skimp on the boat size or amenities.  Little things like an ice maker, flush toilets, and fully equipped kitchens make a huge difference.  The added cost will get lost in the increased enjoyment of the trip.

- The BVI is not cheap, especially the food, there’s no way around it. There are plenty of ways of making the trip more cost effective, but do be aware that the BVI is not a low cost holiday destination and budget accordingly.

- Unless you know all the islands and have sailed there before, we strongly recommend a Skipper.  He’ll take so much of the planning and worry out of the trip.  Trying to keep children and family happy while also concentrating on the day’s itinerary doesn’t leave a lot of time to relax and enjoy!

- Plan a basic itinerary before the trip, and communicate it to everyone.  There’s nothing more stressful than trying to get multiple groups and captains to agree on a destination and agenda for the day.  Of course it can be adjusted (we had a 5 minute nightly meeting to confirm the plan for the following day), but starting with a blank sheet of paper each day is asking for trouble.

- Have a group meeting before you leave.  We had everyone over and did a thorough briefing on the trip 3 weeks prior to departure.  Items discussed were travel plans, safety rules for the kids, provisioning, general itinerary, and, importantly, how to make a pina colada.  Some of our European Friends also had to learn who Jimmy Buffet was (yes, hard to believe).

- Finally, plan your trip with like minded people who like to have fun, are flexible and aren’t looking for all of the creature comforts of a 5 star hotel.  Even though our catamarans were comfortable, they are not a floating resort.  People who are used to boats understand that weather can be bad, things may break, and changes of plans will inevitably occur.  If you don’t think they will be happy on a boat for a week, put them in a resort such as the Bitter End and meet them along the way!!

The last two days of our charter were spent on Jost Van Dyke, with a quick stop on marvellous Sandy Spit – the glorious deserted island ringed with an excellent sandy beach and offering some nice coral snorkeling. The main events on Jost were to be Saturday night at Foxy’s and Sunday all day at the Soggy Dollar Bar, just around the corner.

Foxy’s, to be honest, was disappointing.  We had geared the whole party up for a great party on Saturday, and had been building up Foxy’s throughout the trip (based on previous visits there). But, even though it was a Saturday night and probably 60 boats were anchored in the harbor, there was no atmosphere at Foxy’s and almost no people. By 9pm, there were maybe 20 people in the place, and the recorded music was certainly not begging anyone to hit the dance floor.  Disappointed, we headed back to our cats and had our own parties!

We certainly did not have the same fate at the Soggy Dollar Bar!  White Bay has a gorgeous beach, just as nice and clean as Deadmans Bay, Peter Island. And the Soggy Dollar bar was everything you’d want it to be – relaxed, with great beach food (we all had Cheeseburgers in Paradise), magic Painkillers, uplifting Caribbean music, and plenty of happy people arriving and partying throughout the day.  We rafted 3 of our cats together and anchored them 20 feet from the beach, so everyone could swim to shore whenever they desired.  It’s hard to imagine how we could have spent a better day at the beach.

In the evening all of the crowds left, leaving just our boats and 2 others in the Bay. We helped close down the bar, bought our obligatory t-shirts, and then had a group dinner on our rafted boats.  The Soggy Dollar Bar is also a hotel, with elegant evening candlelight dining, but kids are not allowed.

Our suggestion is that perhaps it would have been better to spend two nights in peaceful and beautiful White Bay, and just take a quick taxi over to check out if there was any action at Foxy’s.

The sail to Anegada, which took only 2 1/2 hours, was simple – one tack is all that’s required because you’re sailing north with a predominantly easterly wind. Instead of mooring with most of the other boats, our captain Alex suggested that we moor at the western side of Pomato Point.  This is a great anchorage if you want to truly have the beach and water to yourselves – there was literally no one else but us moored there, and the only establishment was a small hotel that will be happy to make you a pina colada if you’re in need.  You can walk the beach to the lobster restaurants (we enjoyed the Lobster Trap) – it takes about 15 minutes. Or cabs are available via the radio.

The beach here really is fantastic – clean, white with small pink specks, seemingly endless. The closer you get to the western point of Anegada, the more fine it becomes, until you’re almost walking in a light powder. And the nicest thing is, that there’s virtually no one on it, as can be seen by this picture taken early-afternoon.

What to do on Anegada? There are really only a few things, all enjoyable.  Hang out on the beach, watch the sunset, eat fresh grilled lobster, go snorkeling, experiment with Rum drinks.  To this we added “make a bonfire and have a party on the beach”, which was highly successful!

We set sail from Cam Bay across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Virgin Gorda and its main event, the Baths. This unique rock formation, which looks like a huge truck has just dumped many enormous boulders on a beach, was caused when volcanic eruptions deposited granite that eroded into piles of boulders on the beach.  This type of formation is found only in the Seychelles and Virgin Gorda.

The Baths is a must visit for virtually everyone, but especially for families with children.  The boulders that form a series of caves, grottos and pools, create endless possibilities for exploring, playing and snorkeling. The waters are calm and sheltered, so even the most novice snorkeler can enjoy the spectacle. Your children will invent games on the spot, and will most likely be entertained for hours.

One warning - hordes of tourists descend upon the baths between 10 am and 3 pm most every day. Many arrive from large cruise ships.  The trails at the baths are very narrow, and you will find yourself in the middle of a “tourist jam” if you time your visit wrong.  We strongly recommend that you either arrive quite early in the day, or just be more relaxed about it and arrive at 2 or 3.  You will enjoy it a lot more, as the Baths is a peaceful place best experienced when you’re not bumping into other visitors.

Top of the Baths

The “Top of the Baths” is a gem of a restaurant, with a free, freshwater pool, a varied lunch menu, and refreshing drinks. It’s just a short walk up and unmarked path, but well worth it! The view north toward tortola is stunning  – you could look at it all day long.

There are also some shops for beachwear and t-shirts and the Mad Dog restaurant, famous for great sandwiches.

Sailing from Peter Island we headed for Marina Cay, the tiny island with the Red Roofs of a Pussers Resort on it.  The Cay itself is pretty and has a nice outdoor Bar and Restaurant looking onto Sir Francis Drake Channel.

We were disappointed, however, because from the anchorage behind Marina Cay, you have a view of a large and particularly ugly development being built on Scrub Island.  After the gorgeous beach at Peter Island, we decided we didn’t want to spend the evening looking at a construction site, and so pulled up anchor and moved around the corner to Cam Bay, which was quiet and we were virtually alone.  It was an excellent decision, as everyone enjoyed the peace of the area away from the scores of boats anchored downwind from Marina Cay.

The sail from Norman Island to Peter Island, stopping for a snorkel at the Indians, is fairly quick, just 1-2 hours depending on how many tacks you need to make.

Peter Island is special. Perhaps it’s because it is owned by one company (the Peter Island Resort was built by Avon as a reward for their highest achievers) that has kept it almost completely unspoiled.  Or because sea turtles greet you when you anchor, or because the white sandy beaches are so pristine and unspoiled that you don’t really know how the charter could get any better.  No matter what the reason(s), as soon as we arrived at Deadmans Bay we knew we were in Paradise.

A bit of history. Deadmans Bay is the westernmost bay on the north coast of Peter Island.  The small, uninhabited island across from this bay is called Dead Chest.  They were so named because Blackbeard punished 15 pirates by stranding them on Dead Chest with only a bottle of Rum.  They tried to swim the short distance to Deadmans Bay, but didn’t make it – their bodies floated up ashore.  Thus came the lyrics “15 men on Dead (mans) Chest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of Rum” and the names of the island and bay.

It’s a shame the pirates didn’t make it to land, because they missed a truly extraordinary beach. It has perfect sand, nice breakers that kids can play in for hours, and an upscale beach bar and restaurant run by Peter Island Resort that welcomes of yachties (you will need a reservation, however, if you want to eat there).  It’s more expensive than your typical beach bar, but if you want to taste a bit of luxury along the way, it’s a nice place and there are plenty of Rum Drinks available at the bar.

Deadmans Bay is difficult to anchor in, the bottom is covered with thick sea grass, which makes it difficult to get the anchor to hold. But if you put out a lot of lead and anchor on the eastern end of the bay, near the hotel, you’ll grab eventually.  There are smaller swells at this side of the bay as well, making for a nicer night’s sleep.

While we were in the bay, we constantly saw Green Sea Turtles cruising around, many with remora fish attached to them to pick up scraps along the way.  You can put on a snorkel and fins and follow these turtles around the bay.  The Eastern half of the beach is private for guests of the hotel, but all yachties are welcomed on the Western half, which is equally nice.

If you love beautiful beaches, you’ll love Deadmans Bay!

Sopers Hole, Tortola

As mentioned, we chartered out of Sopers Hole, which is on the far west end of Tortola.  Most charter yachts are based in Road Town, and that’s where nearly all of the provisioning is located, but we have to say it was very pleasant being in a small, pretty port instead of the large port of Road Town.  The cab ride is farther and a bit more expensive (count on $12 to $20 per person), and you’ll probably end up spending some time in Road Town for provisioning, but our party spent an enjoyable and leisurely afternoon at Pussers while the boat was being readied, instead of running around Road Town.  Highly recommended, if you can can find the right charter yacht out of Sopers.

Pussers Landing has great food and drinks, but we found the service speed a little, shall we say, Caribbean.  But that too was good for the group, because they had to learn how to relax and live in Caribbean time!

Sopers Hole also has a number of boutiques if you need a hat or beach wear, and a small grocery store.

The Bight, Norman Island

As is so often the case, we chose a counterclockwise itinerary around the Islands.  So the natural first destination is Norman Island, anchoring in the Bight, and visiting the Caves and Indians for snorkeling. It’s a beautiful sail across the Sir Francis Drake Channel and right beside St Johns, providing perspective to the group as to where they will be heading in the upcoming week.

While everyone hears of Willy-T’s in the Bight as a great floating bar and restaurant, we chose to head to the beach and hang out at Pirates instead.  Pirates has nice food, a beach with a floating climbing mountain, which I believe is called an Iceberg, and shoots a cannon off every day at the start of Happy Hour. No need to have a watch on to know when to drink!  Pirates is also more kid-friendly than Willy-T’s (you don’t need to explain to them why men are drinking shots off of a woman’s stomach…).  We also danced to a great reggae/rock band until quite late.

The Caves and the Indians

The Caves and the Indians are the two key snorkeling areas near Norman Island.  The Caves, which can be reached in a dinghy from the Bight, are famous because not only do they have good snorkeling, but they also were reputed to be hiding places for Pirate Treasure. The way to snorkel the caves is to pick up a mooring ball with your boat or dinghy, swim to the first cave, go in as far as you dare, and then continue to the others at a leisurely pace being pulled by the current.

The Indians are a great stop on the way to Peter Island or Tortola. They are so named because the rocks stick out of the water in a line like feathers in an Indian headdress (with a little imagination).

The general opinion of our group was that the Indians had better snorkeling, and that small children find the Caves a bit intimidating.

Provisioning has changed a lot because of the internet – gone are the days when charterers had to make the trek with a shopping cart from Rite Way to their boat in Road Town Harbor.  If there was one thing that was bound to spoil the start of a charter, it was normally the provisioning.

Now, however, you can see items and prices online far in advance of getting there, put your order in online, and it will show up just after you reach your yacht – with free delivery.  There are two major and several additional specialty provisioning options in Tortola – click here for more information on Provisioning for Yacht Charter in the BVI.

We did price comparisons between Rite Way and Bobby’s – most prices are fairly comparable, although Rite Way is often much cheaper on fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. But as we got into the provisioning process – which is time consuming! – we realized that even with the wonders of online ordering it was impossible to provision properly, because you had no idea the quality or cut of the meats, fruits and vegetables.  So in the end we put the staples order in to Bobby’s and arranged for a free shuttle that they provide to go to the store in Road Town and top up our order with all of the meats, produce and other fresh items.  This seemed to work well, because the onsite shopping went far more quickly.  We did end up with some things we didn’t expect – if you’re ordering and you’re not completely sure what you’re getting, or advice is to buy it on site.

A few more pieces of advice on provisioning:

Don’t expect to buy any decent fruits or vegetables in the smaller  stores – you’ll be sorely disappointed with the quality and still pay hefty prices. The larger grocery stores did have a decent, if not spectacular, selection.
Be ready for sticker shock – everything on the island has to be flown in, so you’ll see prices 20% to 50% more expensive than you’re used to. Except Rum, which is cheap!!

Keep meals basic.  Everything tastes great on the water, and you simply won’t find all the choice meats, spices and other ingredients you’re used to at home.  Think chicken, pasta, burgers – you’ll be happy!

Don’t even think about ice cream – it will be melted before you get it on the boat, and will never refreeze.

Once provisioned, we were back in Sopers Hole ready for dinner at Pussers and a sleepaboard for the first night.  We were allowed on the boats at 5:30 and the kids had a great time climbing all over them and exploring every nook and cranny. We had our first BVI sunset, the pina coladas crept in, and we were ready to sail the next day!

Your author recently had the great pleasure of being on a charter – planned for over a year – to introduce 5 families, kids and all, to the wonders of the BVI.  In 8 glorious days our party of 27 people – 12 adults and 15 kids – sailed to all of the major islands and destinations and saw first hand the impact the BVI has on its visitors.  We also picked up plenty of information to update pages on the boatbookings.com bvi charter page and the yacht-charter-bvi.com site.

Over the next two weeks, I’ll be doing a retrospective blog on the trip, to point out things we learned, things to do (and things to avoid), and other information that may be helpful next time you decide to charter a yacht in the BVI.

To begin, a bit of background.  Over a year ago our group of close friends began discussing holidays that would be perfect for all of our families together – husbands, wives and kids from 6 to 16.  Criteria were that the weather had to be warm and sunny, the destination both kid friendly and interesting for all, and we wanted a real adventure. As all of the adults were experienced on boats, we discussed whether it would be feasible to put all of our families on a charter together.  We wanted sailboats to give the families the experience of sailing, not just motoring, and we quickly agreed we would want catamarans for all the reasons they are so popular – they have great salon space for the families, offer excellent privacy so we could put two families on one boat, and they don’t heel like a monohull so inexperienced sailors would be far more comfortable. After thrashing about the right sizes and configurations, and adding in the need for skippers cabins on each boat, we finally reserved two 5 cabin Voyage 500’s and three 4 cabin Voyage 440’s in Sopers Hole, Tortola through, you guessed it, Boatbookings.com.

This is what this impressive armada looked like when all lashed together in Cam Bay, Tortola:

Flights
The next issue was flights.  It’s no secret that getting to the BVI, especially from Europe, can be a challenge (one of the great advantages of the BVI is that it’s not overly touristed).  American Airlines reduced the number of flights to the BVI from San Juan from 10 to 3 a day, which makes it difficult to find a flight for 27 people!  We finally booked all of our flights on Cape Air and bought low cost commuter passes which were much cheaper than the basic rate. So if you have a group of more that 5 people we recommend you buy commuter books through Cape Air for your next trip to Lettsome Airport in the BVI – it’s about half the price.

The Cape Air flight from San Juan to Beef Island is fantastic – it’s in a 9 person Cessna and one child on each plane got to sit in the co-pilot’s seat.  You see the coast of Puerto Rico, then the Spanish Virgin islands of Vieques and Culebra (pictured at right), and then St Thomas.

Soon you’re looking down at Jost Van Dyke, seeing the gorgeous beach of White Bay and Great Harbor where Foxy’s is found.  Next we  flew over Sopers hole and could actually pick out our waiting catamarans at the docks!

Then over the length of Tortola with views of all the islands that were to be our destinations, and finally to an exciting landing, with Marina Cay glistening in turquoise waters just behind.