TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Mosquito Netting

We have some crew coming with us, first week of May, that are concerned about mosquitos. A concept that has been proposed is to bring bed netting, and suspending it with 3M Command strips that are removeable. The boat has cabin fans, but these camping folks are savvy about their success rate. Has anyone brought this up?

W.S.

Lots of charters under my belt and it has rarely, if ever, been a problem anywhere but on shore. Most of the hatches have sunscreens and screens built in. What kind of boat will you be on?

If they are prone to bug bites, make sure they rinse and wash their legs up to their knees and their flip flops when they get back to the boat. Definitely dont want to bring sand fleas into your bed.

Monohull, Jeanneau 519. There is a generator, so theoretically we could close everything up, and use the A/C, but that wasn't a first choice due to noise in the aft cabins, and fuel consumption.

I bought moz nets in Road Town for my home..that store by TMM and the yacht club

I bought moz nets in Road Town for my home..that store by TMM and the yacht club

I've been cruising the BVI for years and the only time that I've had mozzies is when the wind dies down completely. With normal trade winds any mosquitoes venturing out to the anchorage just get blown past the boats, their maximum speed is 1.5mph. I have screens aboard, but haven't had to use them. While docked it is a different matter, since that is ashore and usually in protected areas. But not at anchor or on a mooring.

Since Cooper is likely to not be available, we were thinking Brandywine, Ber, or Bluff (Bays) as back up, nicely sheltered anchoring spots. Too sheltered for breeze?
Or is it better to go to Trellis, or Marina Cay for the first night? We have had departure delays in the past.
The Baths will be first light, morning of the second day. Third trip for me and the wife, first time for some in the crew. The intention was Trellis for the second night.
We are planning to reserve slips at Leverick's on a Friday night, and Scrub on a Monday night (doing Anegada in between).

I would think twice about Scrub. Dockage rates went up astronomically. Slips are not well laid out and dock hands not great at assisting. Scrub changed hands this year and has gone downhill. Fast.

Pick Moorings away from the shore and you won’t have bug issues. I think you will find you run the AC. The generators are not bad at all noise wise and don’t use much fuel. I would absolutely avoid Brandywine Bay as an overnight. It’s a small shallow bay fringed by the main highway making noise all night long.

Marina Cay would be a terrific choice. We were there last week and thoroughly enjoyed the beach bar and restaurant.

As for mosquitos, I frankly wouldn't give it a second thought. In our decades of chartering in the BVI, it's just never been an issue for us. But maybe that owes to the fact that we spend our summers in Indiana, where they'll eat you alive😎

Sorry to hear that about Scrub. I checked Google and Trip Advisor for 2024 reviews. Several concur with your opinion, and they describe some really outrageous "resort" charges that were not disclosed prior to people booking. Shame. I guess we'll head back to North Sound after Anegada. There's BEYC and Saba for our upscale splurges. We were hoping to snorkel Diamond Reef that Monday, but we can do it Tuesday along our transit from North Sound to CGB. Are the Dogs too "open water" for newbies?

You can grab a ball at Marina Cay (lots of them now). The restaurant is now open on Marina Cay - we haven’t eaten there but Ratmanswife has and has given it the thumbs up. Snorkeling still as wonderful as ever on Diamond Reef.

I'm one who never got the vibe of Scrub and now it's even less attractive to me..so many other great choices...

I totally agree with you Manpot. I was never a fan of Scrub. But I still miss Donovan's Reef!

Scrub has renamed the outdoor restaurant Donovan's Reef, but newbies should not be fooled. Before even that it was a really gorgeous beach.