British Virgin Islands (Day 3)
The boat charter was Sunday to Sunday so arrived late morning over at the Moorings base. They seem to have combined with Sunsail after the hurricanes and rebuilt the marina together. Grabbed a buffet breakfast overlooking the marina and of course because it’s the islands there are chickens running around the dining area.
Another thing to note in the islands is that restaurants are a bit stingy with the water thing. I asked for water during breakfast and got hit with a $6 bottle of Acqua Panna. Don’t care how good the water is - it can’t be $6 good.
The boat we got was a 50ft catamaran. This really is just glamping on the water. It has every luxury you need. It has four cabins - each with its own full bathroom. It has a generator that supplies you with air conditioning. Having been on a sailboat in hot weather without AC, I can tell you how big a deal this is for comfortably sleeping at night. The AC also keeps the boat from getting the pervasive dampness that seeps in everywhere inside when you are out on the water.
Another huge luxury is that this is the first time I’ve been on a boat with a water maker. The generator can run a desalination system so you don’t have to worry about using too much water. This was a huge convenience as you also don’t have to plan on making a stop somewhere just to resupply your water. To top it all off we had wifi on the boat. It was pretty luxurious.
The only downside about big catamaran sailboats like this is that they don’t sail very well so you do wind up using the engines a bit more than usual but well worth the tradeoff for the comfort and space.
You spend a lot of time the first day just getting the provisions on board and put away as well as walking through the boat with the chartering company as they explain how things work on the boat.
Previous charters I have been on included a separate briefing explaining the geographies, anchorages, and other safety warnings but they didn’t do it this time. I don’t know if it is just a BVI thing or the Moorings just don’t do those anymore. The cruising guide they supplied was from before the hurricanes so the information was not really current. For example, we thought we could get supplies at Marina Cay per the guide but the reality was that everything on the island was wiped out during the hurricane and nothing was there.
Photos above were from day 1 of being on the boat. Left Road Town and motored to Peter Island. It was the closest harbor and we left pretty late due to waiting for another crew member to arrive. The charter company does not allow sailing at night for safety reasons and you should be anchored an hour before sunset. As you get closer to the equator, the summer days are not as long and the sunset was around 6:30.
The mooring ball in the Great Harbor at Peter Island cost $40 and we paid onshore at the Oceans Seven restaurant (which looked brand spanking new). Grilled some steaks on board for dinner the first night.
The BVI’s are set up well for sailing. Predictable winds, nothing is that far away, mooring balls everywhere so you don’t have to worry about anchoring, and resorts set up everywhere catering to boaters.