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I am chartering my 2nd trip to the BVI’s on a Elba 45 for 10 night with a captain but wanted to know if anyone knew the best place for great Nautical Charts so I could plan a nice itinerary as well as be very familiar with the proper channels myself since I am ultimately responsible for the boat. The captain will sail the boat but I’ve seen threads on here about boats sailing over areas they should not be or even groundings. I want to be as familiar as I can be myself.

Thinking 1st day from Road Town to Cooper / 2nd to Anegada / 3rd stay in Anegada / 4th to North Sound - Saba Rock / 5th to Bath and mooring at Marina Cay / 6th staying at Scrub for wife/ 7th over to JVD after Monkey Point & Sandy / 8th stay at JVD & White Cay / 9th over to Norman / 10th back towards Cooper.

Appreciate any feedback.

A qualified captain should be fully responsible for safe sailing. You might want to get the newest edition of The Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands by Simon Scott, 21st Edition 2022, to help with planning your itinerary. It's available on Amazon. Unfortunately, things are still changing, e.g., BEYC status, so current local knowledge is what you need. Your captain should a good resource for that. If not, you got the wrong captain.

2nd Scotts Guide...there is a chart Virgin Islands #12 from 2010 which I have but would recommend Navionics on an IPAD. Cruising Guide publications also puts out a book called Virgin Anchorages which is helpful. There are good weather apps to pu on yoru IPAD or laptop you should have

How are you responsible if you have a captain? Not questioning as much as trying to understand...

As a licensed captain I bear the ultimate and sole responsibility for my (bare)boat. If I am on a boat with a captain I don't get involved as I don't want the inferred liability.

I am now more on the power side now but for your trip I would switch Saba and Anegada as Cooper to Anegada is a long sail and might be uphill depending on time of year. Cooper to North Sound then to Anegada and then back down to Marina Cay/Scrub (get the wife thing) and then JVD. While in North Sound take a land taxi down to Baths and then eat at Coco Maya for the meal and view of your life

I would add Cane Garden Bay and skip 2x at Cooper

The advice I get here is best in class so just keep asking...

all IMHO

I suggest a paper chart, it is fun to spread out and show your guests in the charter party the next day's itinerary (emphasize subject to change, the most dangerous thing for cruising sailboats is a schedule) and if there are any kids on board, each can take a turn "navigating" by tracking your progress from island to island and marking your track on the chart. When you get home, it's fun to relive the trip with the track on the chart and coinciding photos. You can even make copies and distribute to the other guests after you get home.

Charter company should be able to get you a chart to take home with you if you ask.

Sorry, "dangerous" doesn't really apply to BVI, but the schedule is still subject to change, gotta be flexible.

The online charts from Navionics could be helpful:
https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating

Dan

The Scott book has a non navigation map inside it...I write on it as we go and give the map to one of the crew at the end

Agree re schedule

Thank you all for the great feedback. Also good to know the Captain bares the ultimate responsibility and I guess I just cover the deductible but hopefully with a Captain hired through the company it won’t happen. I thought since it’s a bareboat charter with just the Captain I took responsibility. Love the tips as well.
Last time we went we did 7 nights but never Anegada so the wife and kids really want to go there. We sleep aboard the first as an extra 11th night so I thought the very first day we would just to a quick sail to Snorkel and my son dive the Rhône followed by staying at Cooper. Then get up early, 8am, and make a straight sail to Anegada so we start there come back to VG and sail counter clockwise the rest of the trip. This way we get the long part out of the way. With the above feedback… would one consider….

1- Cooper. 2- Baths & BVI Art Reef staying in N Sound & eat Saba Rock 3- Sail to Anegada 4- Stay in Anegada 5- sail to Great Dogs and stay around Marina Cay 6- Scrub Island ( must with the wife ) 7- Monkey Point, Sandy, Bubbly 8- White Cay. 9- Norman. 10- open day in case anything just pushed back

Before the advent of quality electronic charts, we enjoyed using paper British Ordnance Nautical Charts. They’re big, detailed and fun to lay out on the kitchen table in anticipation of the upcoming trip. We would roll them up and put them in a cardboard tube to take along. That’s not really necessary anymore but they’re still fun for planning. You can get them for both the British and US Virgin islands overwiews as well as the individual islands.
You might be able to find them here: https://www.amnautical.com/products/british-virgin-islands

https://www.landfallnavigation.com/c-g-to-the-virgin-islands.html

Scotts guide

https://www.charts.noaa.gov/BookletChart/25641_BookletChart.pdf

PDF of chart

I second the comment about Navionics. Great app. Well worth the subscription cost....which is much less than quality paper charts....although paper charts are more fun. Have a great trip.

You might try Bluewater Charts in Ft. Lauderdale!