I'm a first time poster that's been lurking for several weeks as we plan our trip. Thank you all for the effort you put into this site - it's a huge help. We are in the process of finalizing our plans and have a few questions I'm hoping you all can help us with. I'm going to post our draft itinerary in a separate message.

Crew: 16 people / 8 couples – big crew sailing to celebrate 40th birthdays for most of the group
Boats: 2 x 450 lagoons
Company: TMM

Rum – Planning to provision alcohol from CC because they look to have a larger selection. What is your favorite sipping rum and what is the best for mixing? We're bourbon / tequila / wine drinkers typically but plan to indulge in the local rum. Also, is there a good liquor store somewhere for picking up a rare rum or two that we can’t buy in the USA? If so, where?

Provisioning meat/seafood – Is there a good seafood market in the BVIs we should watch for as we hop around? I’ve also heard we can pay fishermen directly for fish if we come across a fishing boat. Has anyone had luck with this?

Fishing: We have an active crew and folks want to fish, however from what we’ve read and been told by base operations, the effort isn’t a good use of time in the BVIs. Is this the consensus here or is it nice to have 1-2 rods onboard? Put another way, what are the chances of catching something we’ll turn into ceviche or grill on the fly?

Diving: Where are the top 1-2 spots to get in a good half-day, 2 dive trip? Also, is it rare to get a skipper that’s a divemaster or is this worth requesting?

Kite surfing: Where’s the best spot and outfitter for kite surfing lessons?

What are the top 2-3 restaurants / dining experiences for 16 people? We have no intention of eating every meal or doing everything together, but would like to plan 2-3 good / fun group meals. Initial thoughts are there’s a private beach dining option at Caravela but we haven’t looked into this. Wonky’s seems appropriate as well.

Stand-up paddle boards: Will we get use out of provisioning 2 stand-up paddle boards? We’re planning to confirm these but can skip it if folks say don’t mess with it.

Massage services - Is there a massage service that'll come to our boat for an afternoon? What's the best value massage stop in the islands (we don't have to have a fancy resort). Proximity / convenience are more important than the ammenities.

Thank you for your help!


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