TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Leftover Provisions - TTOL Share?

Just thought I'd run this idea up the flagpole and see which way the wind blows it...

At the end of EVERY charter we tend to have loads of provisions left (coco lopez, fruit juice, grog, crisps, nuts, snacks...the list goes on). Generally most of the rum goes in the suitcase but the rest we either give to a liveaboard (if one happens to be at our final anchorage) or they are left on the saloon table when we leave the boat...in which case I think the Sunsail/Moorings staff take them. However lean we try to make our provisioning we feel its best to have too much than risk running out...so there is usually a damn good haul leftover! I suspect we are not alone in this...

Given that there are so many charterers active on this forum...no doubt people's dates will frequently crossover. I wondered if there was any merit in having a pinned thread at the top of the forum so that people could post their charter end dates and where they are chartering from so these stores could be passed on to fellow TTOLers? You wouldn't necessarily even need to be chartering from the same place. I think a lot of people use Norman, Peter or Cooper as their first and last stops making these great locations for handing over some stores to people who have just arrived.

An additional step could be to assign a maritime code flag to this cause?! Or perhaps just an upside-down pirate flag as so many people seem to have those with them already! So for example if you spot a vessel in an anchorage with a certain flag fluttering or a flag that is clearly the wrong way up you know to jump in the dinghy and casually race over there at top speed to say hello!

For us, we always get a great feeling from giving provisions to other fellow sailors, knowing that they will be enjoyed and also add a bit of 'good feeling' to their time in the BVI.

Wouldn't this be yet another great benefit of this fabulous forum?

Great idea...I posted last time and found some takers since I had a lot left as we had an unexpected detour to Road Harbor Hospital. I usually give the people at the dock cash and let them buy what they want.

I am not a sailor. But I think this is a great idea. Kudos Christo.

Not a boater but we are land based so we also have provisions left over. We leave the untouched food for our maids and garden staff - many of the people in the islands do not get paid that much and the costs of food are high. Vegetables and meat are really appreciated as is beer and ting. Water is also a staple for many even though it's in small plastic bottles. Tips are also greatly appreciated by everyone.

This has been discussed on another thread. The common thought there was to give leftovers to locals as they have the need instead of those of us who have the means to vacation in the BVI's for 1 - 2 weeks.

I'm with Rick. I prefer to donate my leftover provisions to the marina staff.

Same here

I can see both sides in this situation, but I would think there are some things, like Coco Lopez, those kinds of things, that staff really probably cannot use more of. We do have a calendar here that you might use to alert other TTOLers to contact you close to the end of your trip to see if you have provisions that you would like to give to someone, or post a note here at the time.

I'm sorry Carol but Coco Lopez and cereal is quite tasty...

Ooh, YUCK!!

Personally I dont feel comfortable giving staff alcohol. I build tips to base camp staff at the front and back end into the boat budget and have everyone kick in to give the staff (cleaners, check out person, pilot, front desk et.al.) that takes care of us cash. Their income has really stagnated with the private equity firms ownership and of course they took a large hit post Irma.

To Rick's great point if my crew and myself are blessed and lucky enough to be able to afford a boat for the week in the BVIs we can afford to give the staff that takes care of us cash at the start and finish.

Having done this for a while I can tell you the karma more than comes back as we are well known and incredibly well taken care of in many ways.

I am not saying this is what everyone should do...I just didn't want people to think we were "paying it forward" without paying it to the people who really need and deserve it

Yeah, but what about the leftover beer, as so few people on here drink?

Agree

What's "leftover beer"?

New on on me..

On our last trip this February we running low on beer two days before the end of the charter. There was only two of us. We went to ashore to re-provision and in our very happy state decided we needed three cases of Coronas. That's how you end up with leftover beer....but there was not much!

On our very very first charter how many years ago, we WAY over-provisioned and actually ended up with 2 cases of Carib, which we gave to the staff. I felt like such a failure

I'll be down in November...…. if anybody has any leftover beer

Thank you all,

We have left of our provisions, we leave on board for the staff. Most timed dry food, the fresh produce and meats are gone. .

I like the idea of leaving the staff tips. At all of the charter companies they work their okoles off, and with the recovery situation
and lack of pay for several months after Irma. a cash tip could be very helpful. We have to work out handling the office staff, the
briefers, and those sweating hard working cleaning and dock staff.

Excellent thoughts.

Must say..its always nice to open the door at CRC and see a box of goodies sitting on our front doorstep. It is always shared with anyone who drops by and then passed on when we leave.

You can't believe how Red Stripe makes Rice Krispies "jump" out of the bowl.


With that said, yearly through the '80s and well into the '90s we would stop at salt and offload our extra provisions at the end of our cruises.

The cleaners hope to get some of your leftover food, but either way, the boats are ransacked by all types of staff before the cleaning crew come on board. Nothing you leave goes to waste. I am guessing the locals need it more than we do. I can attest to this after returning to a charter boat looking for a lost knife and finding all of the leftover provisions gone, and the boat messier than when we left.

OMG that sounds good - maybe diluted a little with milk? Coco Puffs and coconut

If any fellow TTOLers are around either Norman Island (The Bight) on 6th June or Sunsail/Moorings base 7th June AM then give us a shout and our leftover provisions are all yours!