TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Full moon party and North Sound questions - May 2020

Need a little itinerary advice. Nothing solid yet but hoping to finalize a 7 night charter (off the dock on Sun - return Sat) from DYC charters out of scrub. The departure from scrub makes for an interesting start to the usual counter clock wise route around Tortola. And thinking of heading strait to Anegada the first day as we want to end up at Leverick bay for the Friday night BBQ and then return the boat sat morning.

Question 1: we usually spend two days in North sound one night on the dock and then another night over at the Saba rock and BEYC end. It appears that there is nothing open at that end so not sure if it is worth a stop/ night yet?

Question 2: We will be cruising during full moon and will want to experience a full moon party some where. I know Trellis bay puts on a quite a show but is there any where else that puts on a good full moon party that would be worth altering itinerary to attend? It appears it will be on a Friday May 7th - which will conflict with the BBQ at Leverick.... decisions!

Thanks!

bump......

1) worth spending two nights in North sound without Saba Rock and BEYC?

2) what would you rather do Leverick Bay Friday night BBQ or Full Moon Party at Trellis?

thx!

If you have never been to the leverick bbq, I would go there.

what day of the week do you start? We will most likely be in Anegada for that Full Moon (Sat May 20) as it is a weekend (less crowded)

IMHO Leverick trumps Trellis easily so agree with Warren

1 day in North Sound and spend extra day in Anegada

Thanks for the feedback! Yes have done the bbq at leverick twice but have never been to the full moon party. There will be a number of crew where it will be their first time to the BVIs so don’t mind doing either... we have to return the boat to scrub island (planning on chartering from DYC) so both Trellis and north sound are close enough to return by 10 am.

Right now I am leaning to stay at leverick on a slip for the night. We may also get the boat for an additional day and sleep aboard in a slip at scrub on the Saturday night as well. Take advantage of the scrub island facilities! we leave early from EIS on Sunday

Forgot to mention we start on a Sat for provisioning and boat briefing, hope to get off the dock early Sunday and may head strait to Anegada as our first stop. Not a bad shake down sail! lol!

We chartered out of Scrub with DYC during early December, and this is what we found. It appears your charter is Saturday - Saturday itinerary. This is what we were faced with. If I am correct, you arrive on Saturday (probably late afternoon) and board your boat about 5:30 pm, staying in the Scrub Island Marina that evening. The DYC office closes about that same time. This means there is quite a lot to get done before departing the marina on Sunday morning, I found DYC is pretty good at sending you off late morning, however if you are still loading provisions, beverages, storing luggage, and completing your departure briefing … it could be later. Regardless, Sunday evening will be your first night out in the islands.

Your return to the charter base at the end of your week is the next issue. If your crew is expecting to meet morning flights home (or afternoon flights out of St. Thomas) on the following Saturday it could dictate a return to Scrub Island on Friday. This means you miss the Friday BBQ at Leverick. Also it is necessary to take under consideration the time needed to refuel your boat, as the Scrub Island Marina DOES NOT have fuel. Marina Cay has been selling fuel, although on a random schedule. I suppose you could top off fuel at Leverick on Friday afternoon and nurse the power back to Scrub to arrive at about 8:00 am when they open. The fuel tank would still register full as long as you are not running the boat's generator since topping off. If this is your itinerary, you could miss the excellent resort facilities at Scrub Island (pools & restaurants). If you return to Scrub at about noon on Friday, your crew has the entire afternoon to enjoy the facilities, pack their bags, and confirm flights and transfers. Of course if your crew is coming in a day early or staying a day later, all is fine.

If not …. it could mean you will only have five nights out in the islands. If you could get out Sunday morning at a decent time, then you could get to Anegada for a quick beach crawl and dinner; Monday at Jost Van Dyke; Tuesday at Norman Island; Wednesday at Cooper Island; Thursday at Leverick; Friday lunch at Oil Nut Marina and back at Scrub the middle of the afternoon in time to enjoy a little pool time before packing and dinner; Saturday morning transfer to Beef Island Airport or the Road Town ferry dock.

Noel thanks for the input. As it stands now all of our crew (and myself) will or should be on the same flight in to EIS (arriving 1430 on Saturday) and departing 0815 from EIS on the Sunday. We are hoping to get everything packed and ready to go with the boat brief as early as possible on the Sunday morning. Our plan, like I said is to head for Anegada that first day but this depends on when we get off the dock...

I think your suggestion regarding topping up fuel at leverick is a good idea. The thinking now is renting the boat from Saturday to Sunday and pay the extra day so that we can return to scrub in the early afternoon on Saturday. This would allow us to take a taxi or rent a car from leverick to the baths the Saturday morning and then be off the docks at leverick around 12:00 - 1:00 and then back to scrub around 2:30 - 3:00. We would need to undertake the boat check-in that day, and get ready to go as we will have to leave really early on Sunday (6:30 am ferry) to Trellis to catch out 0815 flight.

Should point out that we will be 4-5 guys so lots of stops at bars and good restaurants.... will be a blast. Looking at getting a Bali 4.3 to maximize the cruising and entertainment value although have no great expectations as to its sailing capabilities... maybe pleasantly surprised...

Here is our draft itinerary/ intentions:

- Sat 1 Scrub - arrive 2:30 pm. provision, chart brief
- Sun 2 Anegada - boat brief, check out, sali to Anegada, Cow Wreck bay for the day, dinner at wonky dog
- Mon 3 CGB - the usual
- Tue 4 Little JVD - B-line, dingie to sandy spit, hike to bubbly pool dinner at Foxy's Taboo
- Wed 5 White bay/Great Harbour - some sailing, sandy Cay, see if we can get a ball at Ivan's (WB) or great harbour, white bay for drinks and beach, Corsairs for dinner, night at Foxy's
- Thu 6 Norman - Provision at west end. Soapers hole, shopping souviners, snorkel at the caves, Dinner at Pirates Bight, party at Willie T's
- Fri 7 Leverick - early morning stop at the Indians for snorkel, slip at leverick, dingie to prickly pear, BBQ at leverick
Sat 8 Scrub - early morning taxi to baths, refuel at leverick, depart leverick around 1:00, sail to Scrub on the slip sat night, check boat in, relax drink eat last dinner in Islands, Celebrate successful cruise
Sun 9 Scrub early morning departure first boat 6:30am - 8:15 flight

An extra day makes a lot of sense in completing your agenda. Our routine at Leverick is to arrive early enough to take a rental vehicle (book thru the marina office) and take the crew to The Baths (don't forget to take the National Parks Permit with you. It's in your DYC packet. Otherwise they will ask you to pay a fee that you have already paid.) Stop by Hog Heaven on you way back to Leverick for pictures and a snack. Back at Leverick you still have time for a swim before dinner. The BBQ and Jumbies is always fun. The market at Leverick is great for picking up items you have run out of. Saturday you will have time to visit Oil Nut Marina if you like before heading back to Scrub.

Check to see if the Harbor Market has reopened before stopping at Soper's Hole. I understand it might reopen within the next few months, but have not seen any announcement. West End (Soper's Hole) is still working on getting back to normal. If you decide to stop at CGB, perhaps that would be the place to pick up any needed provisions.


The 'bubbly pool' and the trail were pretty torn-up from the hurricane, but still kinda cool. Sandy Spit has pretty much disappeared, it really is only a 'sandy spit'. B-line is okay for a drink if he is open and you are planning on staying overnight. I was very disappointed in the food at Foxy's Taboo in December. However, the fellows at the bar were trying hard to please the folks. You might make you way on around to White Bay for the night if the weather is settled, or Great Harbor if not. Seems the crew always enjoys Soggy Dollar, although I understand Hendo's is getting all the attention lately, including dinner. I have not had the pleasure to dine at Corsairs.

We always enjoy stopping at Norman Island and usually prefer 'Kelly's Cove' if one of the mooring balls is available. The Caves, The Indians, the trail up the ridge, dinner at Pirates and party on the Willy T. Lots of options. You didn't mention Cooper Island, a very popular stop, nor did you mention Peter Island.

For dinner at Scrub, the outdoors option beside the upper pool is very good (Donovan's Reef). The 'fine dinning' restaurant doesn't seem to get much action (Cardamom & Co).

I enjoyed sailing the Bali catamaran, although I chartered the 4.5, which seems to be very similar to the 4.3. Y'all have fun.

Thx Again Noel - Have stopped at both Peter and Cooper islands in the past... like anything trying to fit as much in as we can.... Can't stop everywhere on an Sat - Sun trip! We may add an other stop on the SFD channel side of Tortola. If we can't get off to Anegada that first day we may add a stop at either Peter island or Cooper for a night before heading to Leverick.

Just my 2 cents. We chartered a Bali 4.3 a few years ago from DYC. Never again. It was brand new and had more problems than any other boat we have ever had (8 trips). We have chartered Lagoon 450 from them and they are great. And we like DYC but prefer TMM now.
We were down in June and October, 2019. In all the times we had been down, we had never tried Foxys Taboo. We were extremely disappointed. No one else around and we were snubbed. Finally asked someone to take our order, 6 drinks. Watered down and tasted weird. We did like B line for games and drinks. Skip it and eat at Hendo’s. Very good food and the staff actually smiles and seems so happy.
We love Scrub Island. And yes, it is way cheaper for the crew to extend the charter for 1 night instead of staying in the hotel.
Tip: the breakfast tacos in the market are really good, and affordable. The market is pretty expensive.
Have a blast!

thanks for the info Lchrich. Well that is two poor reviews regarding Foxy's Taboo. It has gotten good reviews and lots of supporters from the forum... I wonder if it is an off-season issue? I will have to give it some thought. I have never stayed at Diamond Cay which is why I want to give it a try. But we can always drop it out for a Peter Island or Cooper Island stop.

Regarding the Bali 4.3, I am hoping that it was a "break in issue" cause I think we are settled on the 4.3. Can you give me an idea on what was not working, anything critical?

We were in a new Bali 4.0 from DYC in 2018 and had no problems.
Only minor issues because of bad handling of prewious cc-captains.
Regards
Lars

It was May, 2016 and that boat is no longer there. Just checked. It was some major issues like the chart plotter didn’t work, they brought out an iPad that would lose charge but there were only 2 of us and that was tough to sail a strange boat like that. The garage door that shuts in the main galley locked on us and we couldn’t get out. Had to use the window for the rest of the trip. They did send out a crew but couldn’t fix these things. And the sail lines were tangled beyond belief.
The head overflowing the second day. When we told the dock guys on return, they said that DYC knew all this before we left. The boat was a month old!
There are different boats, dock hands and dock master now so I’m sure you will have no problems.
And we were at Foxys Taboo in June. We stopped for lunch in October at Coopers. Wonderful food, good service.

I've chartered the DYC Bali 4.5 on three occasions the past 2-3 years (St. Martin & Antigua). Personally, I like the boat. It seemed to perform well, although we did have some of the expected issues of chartering a boat. The full size double door refrigerator was great, but don't forget to use the door locks when underway or all your food and beverages may end up on the floor. (Yep, it happened.) The feature of a large window between the salon and the seating area in the bow is really nice. No need to walk around tthe boat to have a crew member pass a beverage or snacks. As Lcrich commented … What the hell is wrong with that double garage door between the salon and the cockpit? It is difficult to secure and slides back and forth with force if not careful. This is probably the reason the locking hardware was completely smashed on our last trip. Probably lucky the door glass has not been broken at some point. On another trip we found ourselves locked out, but after finding a way into the boat, we found that the inside of the door has a very small sliding button that locks the door from the inside. Problem is, if you leave the boat and shut the door with the sliding button in the locked position …. guess what …. the key will not unlock the door.

Awesome Thanks guys! I would be inclined to leave the garage door open all the time if didn't have to secure the boat when we go ashore. I will be sure to check this thoroughly before we leave and make sure to know how it operates and how it secures. I think we are almost ready to book this trip. Finally!

We charted a Bali 45 from DYC probably about 4 years ago. It was the worst boat we have ever had (we have chartered 20+ times in the last 19 years).

The boat stunk so bad, it was hard to sleep below. There were so many things broken (do a search and you will see my detailed list).

Also, the boat was the worst sailing boat we have every had. With it's self tacking jib and tiny main, it couldn't get out of it's own way.

Foxy's in Great Harbour JvD also does a full moon party- which might also work with your itinerary. I've not been to that (been to the Trellis Bay one)

IMHO - apart from seeing Aragorn's flaming metal sculptures, a Full Moon party is just a gathering of good people, good food and live music. You can get that wherever you are in the BVIs

Enjoy your trip

Thanks for the feedback, yeah I think we have settled on the Friday night BBQ at Leverick.

Uncle, please report on your BBQ when you can. I've got a slip and reservations in June.

The BBQ is consistently good and the jumbie are fun.

Agree with Waren but haven't been since Irma and since Nick and (Monica -wife's name?) retired. Will report back. Can't wait!

Thanks Warren and Uncle: Good intel.

Hi Uncle Luff. If you are planning on spending more than 1 night in the North Sound area, I recommend checking us out at the new Oil Nut Bay Marina! We just opened in April of 2019 and have 11 mooring balls which are all first come, first serve (but have yet to fill up this year) as well as overnight dock space available. We are just east of Saba Rock and the Bitter End Yacht Club and we maintain a well marked channel between Saba and BEYC. If your boat has a draft of 6 feet or less, you have plenty of depth to come through there! You can check everything out here https://www.oilnutbay.com/marina-village.

HMmmm, seemed like ^^^^ boats had lots of issues.

May I recommend TMM Charters, who consistently has great reviews here. (Full disclosure, my Lagoon 42, Sea Tiger, is in TMM Charters. Am I prejudiced? Or is it the reason I chose TMM Charters?)

hello Virgin Gorda Resident, we're coming to the area soon & plan to visit you :), can you tell us the fee for the mooring balls and the overnight dock space please? and what services you have on the dock? thank you.

To be fair, in my experience TMM Charters is consistently one of if not the best charter companies in the BVI. Their service is great, charter debriefings are throughout and boats are always impeccably maintained. You usually pay a little more than going with Sunsail, Moorings, or DYC. But if you want a reliable boat in great shape, it is worth it.

TMM is great to deal with.

Hi Sunman, looking forward to it! We would love to host you at the marina. Mooring balls are $30/night and dock space is $3/foot during the high season (Dec 15th - April 9th) and $2/foot during the rest of the year. On the docks we offer: shore power, water, ice, trash removal as well as gas and diesel fuel. If you would like more detailed information or need help making dockage or dining reservations feel free to email me at marina@oilnutbay.com. You can also view everything Marina Village here: https://www.oilnutbay.com/marinavillage

Am for sure considering a few of us may want to do some recon to check out the resort as I am sure this would be a good stop to make with the better halves. But can't visit everywhere in a 7 day charter! Will have to decide if I want to sacrifice a Peter Island/ Cooper island stop for an extra day in north Sound....