TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands First Time Visitor

Greetings All,

Hope this message finds everyone well. I am planning a visit in the Feb-Mar 2018 time frame for my son and I. We have never been to BVI before but I have longed to check it out for many years. I have a good friend in California who related tales of sailing, partying,debauchery and wild times on JVD and at BEYC. He said we would have a fine time on Tortola, JVD and VG and day trip. But he said we are really missing out on a terrific experience not at least doing a week charter. I fairly certain how you guys will answer, so that said, are there smaller boats we could charter? Do we try to match up with others? Is there a post whereby we list dates, details, etc. and communicate with others? At an rate, I have many questions, but I am trying to get a feel for what options are available. I also am very interested in your opinions and recommendations.

Thank you and safe sailing,

Rick

Forgot to mention we would need a captain as we are not sailors (yet).

Take a look at this place. They might be what you are looking for.

https://www.festivasailingvacations.com/destinations/bvi-detail

I'd highly recommend you look for Liane Le Tendre as a broker and ask her to secure Capt Boss... My wife and I just returned from our first charter in the BVI and used both of them and BVI Yacht Charters for our boat, all coordinated in a very supportive, friendly and helpful manner by all.

http://www.bareboatsbvi.com

Would it make sense to combine sailing lessons with the cruising? Live aboard learning would be fun. You would combine all elements into one, get a small boat for you, your son and the instructor.

Here is why a week charter is the bare minimum:
A. It takes me - and I'm not alone in this - 24 hrs to get my "sea legs" on board.
B. It takes me another day to get into the "island time" groove, where I'm not in any hurry to do anything...and the relaxed vibe kicks in.
C. The last days sailing in the BVIs are the best days of the week. You won't want it to end. Second trip down we chartered for an extra couple of days...and it still wasn't enough. Days 5/6/7/+ are superior to day 1 or 2. Charter for at least a week if you can...you won't regret it. You WILL regret NOT chartering at least a week though...
D. Lots of great info all over this board. Use the search function and you will find answers to your many questions. Folks on this board LOVE to talk about the BVIs because well, they LOVE the BVIs.

There's an art to sailing for sure. I'd suggest a Power Cat (they have a nice set up too) and hire a Capt for the first day day. Take some on-line classes before you get there. Plenty of room in the Caribbean Sea to move around. You'll be fine. The navigation tools on board are very user friendly, you will be amazed. Use mooring balls instead of anchoring over night (get to your next night destination early). The charter base is always a phone call away. By the end of your stay you'll have that thing doing 360's on a dime.

Be sure it has a generator, a/c, a water & ice maker. Don't cheap out here. It will save you a ton of time.

Lastly, plan your nights accordingly. Willy T's on a Saturday night was everything they said it was. A Tuesday, not so much. We had a blast at Foxy's on a Friday night but I hear Sunday is locals night and can get rowdy, so we were sure to be elsewhere. Enjoy.