TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Trip Report (10-18 May)

Hey everyone, discovered this forum a handful of months before our trip and gained a lot from all of your posts, so thank you – here’s our trip report that can hopefully be of use to some of you. Will try and keep this as succinct as possible!

Our charter was through DYC on a Lagoon 450F. We were flying a House Stark flag and an Astros colors private signal in case anyone saw us. Went with DYC because that was the boat we wanted and was available for our dates. First experience with them and generally pleased. Check-in/out was smooth and efficient. Had zero mechanical issues throughout which was huge, although we met another group on a new Bali that had some significant issues. The base switch to Scrub Island was another plus. Very convenient location from the airport, great amenities, and in general just a great resort like environment – as opposed to some of the other bases that have a bit more of an industrial feel.

Our team was four couples in our early to mid 30s. For my wife and I, this was our 4th charter – 3rd in the BVIs. The other was the Exumas which we opted for last year and donated to BVI causes instead. We got our ASA 101/103/104 before our first trip. From reading other reports, we tend to take a bit of a different approach with our itinerary. We chase solitude and peaceful/scenic anchorages where we can be loud if we want, swim, and cook on the boat. Basically avoided most of the beach bars/restaurants with the exception of White Bay. As others have mentioned, surprised by how brown the islands appeared – not sure how much should be attributed to the hurricanes vs rain this time of year. In the past we’ve chartered in November.

Fishing, a couple notes – if not interested can skip to trip summary below: Process for getting the licenses (had 3 aboard) took roughly two weeks and we followed the guidance of the fishing license forum for email address, etc. We did provide our vessel name and registration, although not sure if needed. We nearly fished everywhere we could and anytime we were moving. Overall I was underwhelmed as this was the first time we tried to fish in the BVIs. Exumas was much better. Trolled with lures/tackle we brought from the states. Our best hits were on frozen ballyhoo. Rented a trolling setup from Island Surf and Sail. Reel malfunctioned on us when we were on the North Drop which was disappointing. Took it apart 3x to try and fix. I have to give them credit though – they were very responsive and met us in CGB the next day on the dingy dock to swap out a replacement set. Also gave us a new set of three ballyhoo since we lost two fish given the reel. Rental fee was also refunded. Would recommend them again despite issue with reel. We also brought two lighter rods from home. Some more details on fishing scattered throughout below.

Day 1, May 10: Flight from SJC to EIS was delayed an hour with Seaborne. They couldn’t find the crew. First time flying with them and will avoid in future if we can. Cape Air has been great in the past and is more fun to fly. Narrowly missed the 6:45 transfer to Scrub, so grabbed some beers on the beach to pass the time – vacation on! Found our boat easily at Scrub. Typical first evening on the boat getting ready for an early departure. Food provisioning through Riteway was mostly correct. They did call us in the morning while we were in Houston waiting for our flight to SJC and informed us several items were out of stock including staples like bacon and breakfast sausage! Had to settle for turkey bacon…

Day 2, May 11: Inspection was efficient and complete by 9:00 with Carlton – he was great. Underway by 9:30. DYC staff was proactive with helping with the docking lines. Fired up some stogies and motored to the Baths given winds South of East. Several balls available around 10:30 and most importantly no cruise ship patrons. Red flag flying on the beach but we found conditions for swimming ashore perfectly safe – must have been a mistake. Lunch and then raised sails with destination for Eustatia. Sailed to the west of the Dogs and then tacked to windward, lowering the sails before motoring through main channel to North Sound. Cruised around the sound to see the progress and entered channel to Eustatia Sound. Shoal areas were easy to see and generally in line with markings on GPS. Anchored by ourselves in about 15 feet and about ¼ mile west of Eustatia Island. Beautiful spot – aside from enjoying the views/water, we dingy’d to the reef north of us but found the snorkeling poor. I think this area was pretty damaged in the storms and is still in recovery mode. Had our best sunset of the trip here given clouds beginning to fill in from tropical wave passing to our south.

Day 3, May 12: Surprisingly, had sunshine with some clouds when we awoke – was expecting an overcast day. Set a course for the Chikuzen. Dropped sails once we reached so we could troll over several times and stop quickly if needed. Immediate hit on first pass from the ballyhoo but lost him, not sure what we had. Decided to motor in the rest of the way to Setting Point since we were short on time for a rendezvous with Kelly by 1. Plenty of balls available, we chose one in the back. Would have liked to try Pomato Point anchorage, but didn’t want to leave the boat unattended all day with isolated squall in forecast. North swell was also running – unsure of effects on the anchorage but we did see two other cats over there that stayed overnight. Kelly was great as others have pointed out. Similar itinerary. We landed two monster lobsters and he cleaned two conchs for us. Gave us a third lobster from his stash. Had two mothers on board so was a special Mother’s Day for them with a DIY lobster dinner on the boat. Also made a great ceviche salad with the conch. The snorkeling on the trip was some of the best I’ve seen, although you should never snorkel or dive with me because I never see anything but fishies.

Day 4, May 13: Left the anchorage by 8:30 for the North Drop. Came around the West End and trolled NE to SW over the drop. Our main reel malfunctioned so we only spent about an hour fishing. Didn’t come on anything with our lighter setups. Despite east winds and a north swell, conditions were comfortable even to windward. I think credit goes to winds sub 15kts and long period, ~12 in swells. Back in the anchorage around noon, picked up our same ball, and headed ashore for beaches on north shore. Rented a light truck with seating in the bed from Stephy. Fun way to explore the island. Checked out Flash of Beauty to try the snorkeling, but rip tide was extremely strong so we had to abandon the attempt. Also went to Cow Wreck for drinks/swimming. Usually I am opposed to phones/tvs on trips like this, but we had to keep up with GoT – we had a tech guru that was part of the crew and brought a projector. We set up a sheet in the back on the port side – despite the declining quality of the show, was a really fun was to enjoy it.

Day 5, May 14: Again a course for Chikuzen – one pass under sail. Fish on with a ballyhoo but lost it due to the broken reel (we thought we had it fixed). Lunch stop at Muskmelon Bay – really cool spot, some neat snorkeling and quite picturesque. Birds were fun to watch chasing the bait fish. Small sandy area in NE corner was where we dropped the hook in about 20 feet of water – I didn’t have much else to go on so was basically targeting where you can see the cat in google maps. Great holding and enough room to maneuver if needed, but I am not sure if I’d want to be here overnight. Winds rest of the day were light so we cruised quite close under motor to the North shore of Tortola – some of that scenery is amazing up close. Grabbed a ball right inside the channel marker to CGB so we’d have unobstructed view of sunset. Met Nicoll to swap out the fishing gear (thanks again!) and grabbed a couple other items Bobby’s – I was impressed by the availability of items. Would recommend their monster Puerto Rican Avocados. Stayed on the boat for dinner.

Day 6, May 15: Out by 7:30 to grab a front row spot at the Soggy, but apparently this was too late. Had to settle for second row. Anchored after entering off to the right in 15 feet of water. Still one of our favorite spots, but really surprised by how busy it was, even for a Wednesday. On our flight back to SJC, more than half the passengers were wearing some type of Soggy swag…Lunch at the Soggy was great, Mahi Sandwich and Chicken Roti are fantastic. Did an early dinner at Hendo’s before they closed the kitchen – the conch fritters were better than Soggy, but I think Soggy wins overall. Drinks also weren’t as good (but still good!). By 4:00 most of the boats were clearing out and we were the only ones left at anchor on the west side of the bay. Winds were SE but it was still quite comfortable.

Day 7, May 16: Headed over to the Indians for a snorkel and lunch stop. At 10 we grabbed the last ball and there were soon several boats standing off and on waiting. For the afternoon we came around the west side of Norman and hit the south drop to a couple miles past Peter. Our best success came in about 150 feet of water. Came on a school of mahi around a lot of seaweed and landed a small one on another ballyhoo. Released him due to size. Also caught a sizeable cuda. Came around east side of Norman and anchored at Benures Bay in the NE corner in about 20 feet of water. Had it all to ourselves which was great – another beautiful spot with killer view of the sun setting over the Indians. Snorkeling was OK and beach is rocky. We dingy’d ashore to try the hiking trails, but abandoned the effort since the trail didn’t seem quite cleared down by the beach. Maybe we were in the wrong spot. If going ashore be careful of some very shallow urchins. Wind was expected to veer overnight from E to SE, so we moved around a bit at night. Winds were less than 10kts, so didn’t have much concern about backwinding – although we kept a careful eye.

Day 8, May 17: Spent all morning to early afternoon enjoying the anchorage. A Sunsail mono came in and dropped their anchor right next to us in a big heaping pile which was comical and unnecessary given the size of the anchorage – especially if just a day stop which it definitely looked to be. We left not too long after so not a big deal. I’m sure they enjoyed our music! Sailed up the channel to drop a couple at Trellis that had an early flight and also to refuel at Marina Cay. Usually for a last night we’d spend it in an anchorage, but the showers and pools at Scrub were too inviting so we decided to come into the marina before the staff left for the day. Pools, food, and views from the resort were a great way to spend a last evening.

Day 9, May 18: Smooth check-out. Process went fast because it looked like they were short-handed and were trying to catch another couple boats coming in. Rest of the trip back to Houston was uneventful.

Hope you enjoyed! Happy to elaborate on anything if there are questions.

Agree on the fishing...We've done it on each of our 3 charters, with very little success. Caught a few barracuda and a mackerel but nothing edible. We like fishing but I don't think we'll go through the hassle in the BVI again. Headed to Abacos in a few weeks and I hear there's good fishing there...Thanks for the report.

The reason everything is so brown is from lack of rain recently. Most large trees were damaged during the hurricane and the smaller brush that has made island look green and lush is suffering from the current weather. Hopeful we get rain soon; the cisterns need some love!

We were waiting on that flight leaving BVI. Lots of folks missed their connections in SJU. Great trip report!

LIAT now has competition on being the most Unreliable Caribbean airline .... Seaborne
Seaborne was once one of the most reliable but has gone downhill, it seems their management has no control of the employees who do their jobs according to their emotions.
Seaborne online customer service doesn’t reply to complaints.
There was a group of people who wanted to check in about 3 hours early so they could go to Trellis bay and have a drink before their flight and the girl said she was not taking early check ins and that they would have to come back 2hour before their flight or they’ll be canceled.
I also had an issue with this nasty lady.
Cape air has always been attentive and well run and which I’ll be using once again.
For private charters you can’t beat Island Birds.

Turkey bacon!

Oh, the horror!

That's not bacon!

People really eat turkey bacon? My Big Green Egg fans would be devastated.