TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands What to do during the Poker Run

We have extended our charter this month by three days... yea! We will be dropping off two crew members and picking up our son & girl friend at Trellis Bay first thing Sunday morning May 28th. Excited about sharing the experience with them.

Trying to figure out where to go Sunday so as to stay out of the way of the fast boats making the Poker Run. Being that we will only have our son and GF on board for three nights I want to make sure they see some of the highlights. I figure we will get out of TB by 9am... 10am at the latest. Do we head toward JVD and figure everyone will zip by us while in transit and it will be quiet when we get there, or do we just head to Cooper and stay away from it all? Also thought about doing the Baths and then trying to get a ball at Saba or BEYC before all the PR boats got back to Leverick Bay, but don't know how crazy it will be in NS and if getting a ball will be tough/impossible. With a 11am start when do the boats start returning to LB?

Anyone have experience chartering during the Poker Run? Any tips/suggestions/advice would be appreciated.

You shouldn't have a problem getting a ball at NS if that's your decision - not what I would suggest, however, if you really want to avoid the boats. I would head to Cooper or Peter from TB - Marina Cay would be nice too and you could snorkel Diamond Reef - you will likely see the boats that way, which might actually be fun - we are there every year for the Run and it's actually quite fun and exciting to watch. Foxy's Taboo on JVD is one of the stops this year so you might be in the thick of things if you head there first from Trellis.

The boats start arriving back at Leverick around 3 p.m.

Now...that being said? We had our charter boat IN the mooring field at Leverick Bay during the Run last year <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> -- but we love it and have a great time. It would NOT be a good day to be there if you were planning to do the whole "rent a car and go to the Baths" plan. I don't think I'd recommend trying to the Baths by boat that day - I don't think that's a great idea anyway unless you've got really strong swimmers on board, since you cannot beach the dinghy.

By Monday morning, you'll never know it happened. Leverick gets back to normal pretty quickly that morning.

More detailed info here: http://pokerrunbvi.com/

You don't specify what kind of boat you're on -- that will make a difference as to how quickly you can get from one spot to another, obviously.

We will be chartering Cool Change this year, a Lagoon 450 through TMM (love them).

It seems that most people do the car rental these days, but we have done a ball every time at the baths and then paddle in on kayaks... this of course is always dependent upon wind and waves. As is the case with all those that truely embrace the what it means to be in the islands and at the helm of "your own boat", we don't have plans, only ideas. Now that I think about it, my son's GF has questionable sea legs. Is it possible to rent a car from BEYC and drive over from there?

Not from BEYC ... no roads

Come and enjoy the fun Stimco, we have a an amazing model show over our swimming pool, when the boats arrive back. We even have our Premier, Dr Olando Smith handing out the prize money to the lucky winners

The rental car idea is a good one....but won't be possible from Leverick on Poker Run day -- the roads around Leverick are crazy that day and you won't be able to park there anywhere. If the Baths are a must, I'm not sure I'd plan that for Sunday unless you're planning to go directly there with the boat as you described above and use the kayaks....and Kris (Felix) is right - can't do a rental car from BEYC. But...as you've said...the best plan is NO plan. I think I'd stick with heading to Peter or Cooper and planning NS for Monday. L&S could probably get a car to you on Monday and you could stay on a ball at Leverick.

I am wondering about how crowded Leverick will be too.

We leave the moorings Thursday morning (5/25). I was planning:
5/25 - Bight
5/26 - Cooper
5/27 - Leverick slip / car rental to baths
5/28 - Head to Anegada

Nick,
Is there a slip available 5/27 or is Leverick packed the day before the poker run?

I'm wondering if I should shift my itinerary a little.
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Ben

The dock is usually booked months in advance and is full starting on Friday.

You wouldn't believe it Chris /Ben we do have 1 space. Let me know asap, you would however have to move from the slip in the morning by 8 am