We’ve had Scott’s guide for about 4-5 months. My wife has spent a little more time with it than me, but that will change now that she’s roughed out the itinerary, and I can pry it away from her. I ordered an NV Altas chart book, waiting on that to arrive.
We’ll be there Jan 8th-18th, so really appreciate the comments about the north swells, and where to hunker down. What do folks prefer as their weather info and forecast source down there? And, yes, we’ll be on “Whitecap”.
Sounds like researching the cruise ship schedules a bit is a great idea. And as for sunscreen, we had a but if a scare this year, and are properly motivated.
I second WindGuru for weather forecast.
If the north swell is up and you want to do Soggy Dollar bar, it is muchmuchmuch better to go into Great Harbour and grab a ball there and then taxi to White Bay/Soggy Dollar rather than to try to anchor in White Bay.
As others have advised, best places to hole up in the case of heavy winds/swell are The Bight on Norman and North Sound on Virgin Gorda. At The Bight, there is a great hike on Norman Island accessible from Pirates Bight restaurant. In the North Sound, it is great to grab a spot on the dock at Leverick Bay, or a mooring ball, you can then rent a car for the day and explore Virgin Gorda by land. This a super super fun day. You can visit: The Baths, Hike Gorda Peak to the beautiful look out tower, have Hog Heaven for a great lunch and best views of the North Sound, or swing by one of the many beautiful beaches.
Advice on stuff to bring that you may not think about:
-Pack soft sided duffle bags rather than large suitcases (much easier to store on board)
-Bring a couple headlamps/Luci lights to utilize as running lights at night for your dinghy going to and from shore
-Bluetooth portable speaker is always great to have
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