TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Trip Report 12/1-10

A few general observations:
First time back since July 2021 when things were quite different with COVID protocols- good to be back with fewer hoops to jump through.
Winds were pretty much straight out of the North the entire charter, which was new to me.
North Swell was up the whole time. Only felt it in a few spots though.
However, no Christmas Winds as the breeze was pretty consistently in the 15-20kt area the entire time (but always N).
Saw something at White Bay that I’ve never seen before (though many likely have). More on that below.

Anyway, the trip:

12/1 Thursday
Flight to STT. Land Taxi to Ocean Dreams Water Taxi. Super speedy trip on a really nice boat. Through West End Customs and then to Voyage docks for sleep-aboard. We were a few hours early for check in on the boat, so over to Pussers for a bite and a few drinks. Boarded just before 5pm and found provisions from Riteway already stowed and pretty much as ordered with only a few substitutions. Unpack. Dinner at Omars Fusion. Delicious. Then back to boat and to bed.

12/2 Friday
Early and easy checkout from Voyage, then off the docks by 11. Motorsail over to Diamond Cay. Swim. Lunch on boat. Swim. Some of us went for a snorkel. Some went for a Bubbly Pool hike. Afternoon drinks over at B-Line where we were encouraged to try the Ribs, but did not. (More on this later.) Dinner at Foxys Taboo was good. Mooring field was fairly full up but there were a few First come balls available.

12/3 Saturday
Sail down to Norman. Usual day there. Willy T for lunch. Pirates Bight for Dinner. Willy T was great (Roti!). PB was ok. Early bed.

12/4 Sunday
Early wake and snorkel around at Water Point. Pretty good. Then back to boat and great sail up to North Sound. Took a ball at Bitter End. First time back since rebuild. I’m a fan. I think they have done a beautiful job thus far and we had a great dinner at the restaurant. Food and service both solid. North Sound was pretty busy (Saba particularly), but plenty of Balls available in the big field at Bitter End.

12/5 Monday
Up early for Anegada. Forecast had called for a pretty solid North Swell and it was in for sure. But long period, so the ride was comfortable. WIth winds out of the North, we were motoring most of the way, though did sail a bit east to get a better wind angle and try and get into the early lee of Anegada. Arrived to Anegada in normal fashion. Tried to rent a Moke for the afternoon, but none available. Went into Potters to arrange for dinner and a taxi and spent the afternoon up on North Shore for beach time. FIrst stop, Cow Wreck for lunch. Always great. Spent a couple of hours there and then walked down the beach to Anns Tipsy Bar. Loved it. Great set-up. Wish we had tried the food. Will be back. Dinner at Potters. Solid. Fun. Anchorage was crowded, but I dont think it was full- think the swell scared a few people off the trip.

12/6 Tuesday
Back to North Sound today. This time, with wind directly astern, and because we wanted to sail, we decided to commit to taking a gybing angle and sailed a broad reach to the east, then gybed around after about 90 minutes. Made the reef entrance and managed to find some relief from the swell in the lee of Anegada pretty much the entire ride. Took a bit longer, but better sail - made for a new interesting approach to North Sound (though watch for fish pots east of the rhumb line). Had a ball reserved at Saba. Lazy afternoon swimming. Dinner at Saba Rock. As with BEYC, we were pretty impressed with the rebuild at Saba, and enjoyed our meal there. Glad to see the energy back in that part of North Sound. Saba Rock mooring field was full, but still balls available over at BEYC.

12/7 Wednesday
We took a chance and decided we would try Cooper in a North Swell. Sail there was fantastic. I had a few concerns once we pulled into the mooring field because with the combination of North Swell and North Wind, there was quite of bit of wave action in the field. However the balls close in, tucked under the north side provided relief. Went for a snorkel over at Cistern Point. The sea state at the dinghy line was pretty active. But we tied off and swam around the point to the south side of the reef area and found an amazingly calm and beautiful area for snorkeling. I had been down on CP since last visit, but had never really swam around that far to south side to know what was there. With North Swell, it was the calmer area and it was a good snorkel. Just as we were finishing the snorkel, a big rail squall was visible along south shore of Tortola, We got back to boat just before the sky opened. Solid rain and wind for 10 minutes, but then beautiful the rest of the day, The winds following the squall settled a bit more into the east, so the anchorage calmed down considerably for the rest of the day and through the night. Dinner at CIBC. Was good. Crowd was light in the restaurant, which seemed a reflection of the generally light attendance in the mooring field that night. Was calm overnight (we were on a Cat)

12/8 Thursday
We all decided we needed to try the Ribs at B-Line, so back to Diamond Cay, JVD it was. Left Cooper and had a brilliant sail top the channel to West End and through back up up to JVD. Swim upon arrival and light snack because the plan was late afternoon lunch/dinner/drinks at B-Line. This is the kind of day we always end up having late in the trip but from now on will make it more of, say, a Day 2 thing. Forget the regular schedule and just go with the flow. The ribs were fantastic, the BBQ chicken was even better. The Shrimp curry was great too. Just chilled there for a few hours with drinks and food until sun was down. B-Line is awesome. Back to boat for cards and chill, then early sleep.

12/9 Friday
We have committed to making White Bay our final day stop for the last few charters and did so as well this time, even though North Swell made conditions less than ideal. People who know better than me: Is it rebound from the south? Or wrap around the point? Whatever the case, it was pretty rolly inside the reef and not as awesome as it usually is for a full day. In any event, we got a ball on the east side in front of Ivans. We prefer the quieter side in general. Things inside the reef were a bit…weird…because of the swell. Lot of boats trying to anchor in less than ideal conditions. And many trying to jockey around for any of the few mooring balls that did become available. Many boats coming in and then turning around to leave right away. It was here that I saw something I have never seen - watched a 50 foot Cat depart the anchorage area DIRECTLY ACROSS the reef in the middle of the bay (couldn’t make out boat name or charter company). They scraped across the reef (could hear the props hitting the reef, and see the hulls above waterline). It was painful to watch. If not for the surge from the swell, they would have been stuck there. But three successive waves picked them up enough to skip across (and nearly swamped their dinghy). As a frequent charterer with my own boat here at home, I was just absolutely cringing watching this happen. First, for the damage to the reef. Second, for the damage to the boat. Third, for the realization this probably happens more than I care to know. Made me really wish that charter companies held their customers to a higher standard than having a credit card. So sad, and left me with a pit in my stomach for a few hours. Anyway, lunch at Ivans was great. A few hours on the beach there and then back to boat to motor around for final night in Great Harbour. Friday night Beach BBQ at Foxys was solid. Great Harbour was, as usual, crowded.

12/10 Saturday
Early wake up and back to Voyage base. Check out. Pick up from Ocean Dreams and great trip back to STT. Airport was not too bad to get into, but the terminal itself was a zoo. Man, I hate that airport. We will look into other routes next time but direct flights to STT and Water Taxi to West End have worked so well for us for so many years. But I am not sure that its worth the hassle of that SATT terminal anymore. We will see.

All in all, great to see things back to essentially pre-covid operations.

//pk

Great trip report.

Really unfortunate situation in White Bay. I agree with you about the standards - I see more and more questionable behavior every time we are there. As an owner myself It makes me sick to my stomach. White Bay is hazardous on a good day and I wish our charter company would red line it.

Sounds like fun! Your STT problem is solved if you avoid Saturday departure, Sunday still busy but less so.

KF QUINN
S/V EVENT HORIZON

******** Your STT problem is solved if you avoid mid-day Saturday departure, true advice ! ******

Great report, loved the detail - thanks for sharing!

Did you catch a boat name for the yacht driven over the reef or the company it was from?

I did not. Wish I had.

great report, PK. Totally mind blowing to me about the grounding at Whites. The reef and the entrances are on all the charts, guide books, and chart plotters and the channel markers hard nearly impossible to miss. Crazy!

AND! Because of the swell, there were waves breaking over the reef. It would be impossible to have not known that it was a shallow area. It was truly mind-blowing.

I have watched two boats in the past do exactly what was just witnessed. It’s not really mind blowing it’s alcohol. Why people think everyone on a 750,000 dollar rental can be hammered eludes me.