The trip video to support the report! -
BVI2016 Trip Video My BVI2016 trip has come to a close, but I wanted to share a report for any new folks who are making their plans. This particular trip included five guys for 9 days, so let’s just say it was a bit different than my previous charters with the kids. Yea. Crew included my cousin, two friends of 20+ years, and one of my cousin’s friends - who is now a close friend of us all! We all live in Austin, TX. This was the first sailing charter for the other four guys, so we were all pretty stoked. A couple of them had made day charters in the past from SJ/ST to White Bay for a day of drinking, so they claimed they had been to the BVI’s. By the end, they realized they had no clue how awesome the BVI’s were and how much more there was to offer beyond Foxy’s and Soggy Dollar.
The Boat - 2016 Lagoon 450 s/v Cattitude
My first charter through Catamaran Company out of Hodges Creek, and my first time on a boat this size (previously chartered Lipari 41s). Really fell in love with the L450 and will want to stick with it for the next couple of charters. The flybridge was absolutely awesome to have all five guys up there at some times during the trip. The day bed under the boom was great for naps under sail and just hanging out. The front lounge was great for the evenings (and to throw the fenders and lines into at times). The L450 came with four berths, but also included two pilot berths up front. We didn’t need them, but they were great storage for the duffle bags and such. Would have been good options for kids on future charters, as well. Really liked the port side pop-up hatch so you could clearly see down to the port stern during docking or leaving. Again, loved the view from top. Small downsides to Cattitude included no chartplotter at the helm, but I learned that in advance and was well prepared with my iPad and RAM connector. Crazy to think you can now do everything from an iPad. All manual heads - again very small luxury complaints. The inverter also gave us problems on the last two days even though we checked every breaker possible on the boat. The L450 has 180 gallon water capacity. We topped off about 1/3 into the trip and did fine making it through the rest. I would definitely charter Cattitude again.
I would say that our experience with Catamaran Company was good, but nothing too memorable. We arrived about 6:30pm or so and the office was closed. No staff to greet us. Just walked on the boat and did our thing. Check-in the next morning was a simple sit-down in the office to go through paperwork. Again, nothing to glowing in terms of a reception or service. But James (?) who did the boat walkthrough was great and did a good job getting us going. I think we were off the dock by 11am. Hodges Creek does have a pool, but it’s not as nice as, for example, the bar/pool setup at Sunsail/Moorings. But that was trivial given how little time we were at the base. The restaurant above was good enough for the arrival dinner. My crew tried to catch breakfast there after the return and was barely acknowledged. They ended up just leaving. Hodges Creek was also a bit further from the ferry dock than I expected, but no big deal in the big picture. Just have to plan for more time if you’re going to Riteway Pasea.
Friday, January 22nd
5:00 am flight from Austin to STT; connecting through Miami. So that means you basically get 2 hours of sleep the night before. No problem! All was good until we were backing away from the gate in Miami and BAM! The tow bar broke shaking the entire plane. Even as a frequent flyer, I’ve never felt that type of jolt on the plane. Sat on the runway for about an hour and went back to the gate. Several Northeastern folks were delayed coming into Miami and were going to miss the STT flight until that happened. One person’s problem is another person’s saving grace! They got on and we took off. Had a taxi reservation with Kevin Campbell and we were in contact by text the whole time. Landed in STT and heard another person talking about Kevin Campbell, too! Got to know Doug from TTOL and we shared the taxi over and talked on the ferry. Good to have TTOL connections. Had AC lined up on Tortola and he was there waiting, though the ferry was 45 minutes late that day. While in line for the ferry C&I, we ran into Captain Lee from Below Deck! He was happy to take pics and never complained a bit. Did most of his own lifting for bags. Seemed pretty cool (though we all know the other actors are a bit ridiculous). Sounds like they’re filming again in the BVIs, and the rumor was that it was on Valor. Arrived at Hodges Creek with no CatCo staff there. Riteway was showing up just in time (late) so we moved all on board. Our slip neighbors were from Utah and in heavy party mode! Ran into them a few times on the trip, and they never let up.
Saturday, January 23rd
Early morning start to the day. Picked up our fishing license from Caribbean Divers. Some crew rented their snorkel gear there. Took a stroll to check out the fuel dock for the return. Checked in at the office. Waited at the boat for our walkthrough and short chart briefing. Some crew went into Riteway to grab the veggies and breads, etc. Ready to get off the dock by 11:00 am! The first five minutes on a new boat with strong winds is always my pucker moment, but we got out without any problems. We understood that the Full Moon Party was that night, so we headed over to Trellis. Looked pretty full in there, so we grabbed a spot at Marina Cay. Ended up right next to a boat of nudist swingers. I’ll admit that we used the binoculars more that night that I have on entire charters. Funny stuff. Hung onshore for a bit getting into island time. Then we learned that the FMP was the NEXT night! Bummer, but we were still having fun. The crew was still fired up to go over to Trellis, though. So I said we would dinghy over to Bellamy Cay to check out things. Great guitarist that night and enjoyed hanging in the back. But I was already thinking about the return ride, so I said we should get going. Again, it’s nearly a full moon that night, so visibility was good. But I’ll admit that I was scared straight taking the dinghy back from Trellis to Marina Cay that night. About 3-4 ft waves coming through fast with some breaking. I told the crew when we safely got back that it was pretty stupid for us to make that crossing in the dink and I wouldn’t be doing that again. Too much risk for a flip to then be sucked out of the channel in about two minutes or less. Call me Captain Cautious, but I wouldn’t recommend others make that crossing; especially at night.
Sunday, January 24th
Got off the ball early and motored into the wind to the Baths. Great day for it, as the swells were coming in from the east. Had a little breakfast before swimming ashore from the boat, walked through the cave, hung at Devils Bay and then snorkeled back to the boat. Sailed up to Great Dog from there and caught a ball on the west side. Probably one of my favorite stops along the trip. Great snorkeling and awesome views backed up to the cliff. Did a little fishing from the back of the boat and caught (and released) a yellow snapper. Lunch and then head out for North Sound. Great sailing the entire time. Pulled into BEYC and went ashore to check things out. The Broncos and Patriots game was on at the Pub and the place was packed. Met some friends and started seeing familiar faces from the other stops. Great wings at the Pub. Over to Saba for hanging out back, drinks, and conversation with Josie. Back to the boat for some more fishing and fajitas. There was a boat next to us that was dragging a blow-up swan. Later that evening, I see a naked woman swimming past me with the stolen swan. They were going to deliver it to the boat next to ours when some of my crew jumped in to join the fun. While already it was the most naked people I’ve seen on a BVI charter, it would not be the last time on this particular trip.
Monday, January 25th
Woke up early for a hike over BEYC starting with Guy’s Trail. I love that hike. Later moved the boat over to Leverick for our slip reservation. As most have said on TTOL, the dock staff at Leverick are the absolute best. My crew were amazed how they got our L450 within inches of the electrical box and perfectly at rest. Grabbed one of the best hamburgers in the BVI at Leverick and later caught up with Nick and Monica. That was really my first time to sit down with them, and I can’t imagine meeting nicer folks. Nick has helped several of my friends who I sent over for a slip reservation, and I really enjoyed spending time with them. Met up with Gumption who took the day to hang with us. My crew had a blast! Necker was blocked that day for special guests, but we ran all around Eustacia Sound, had dinner at Fat Virgin, and then later head out for some nighttime turtle (and lobster) watching. The night tours are the best. Definitely a great plan for anyone who is looking for something to do after dinner. Just have Gumption pick you up from wherever and you’ll have a fantastic time.
Tuesday, January 26th
Up early again for picking up some provisions at Leverick (a GREAT stop for topping off provisions!), topping off the water tanks, picking up ice, and heading out for Anegada. Fantastic sail. About 20 kn winds, one reef in the main, and we got up to 10.5 kn SOG. Awesome! Grabbed a mooring ball and headed on land to pick up our scooters from Stephnie at S&K. Great rides. Went out to Loblolly to splash in the water, check out the lobsters being held for dinner, and hang with “Crazy Richard” and Mary. We had the privilege of hanging in their “house” and hearing some interesting stories. One of our crew had a slight mishap on the scooter heading back, which was the center for a lot of laughter for the rest of the trip. Stephnie was already waiting for us outside when we returned, so it seems someone spotted the fall and called ahead. No secrets on Anegada! Decided to have dinner on the boat that night since we still had another day on Anegada.
Wednesday, January 27th
Back to S&K to pick up our van rental (Stephnie let us come back even after scratching up one of her scooters). Off to Cow Wreck Beach without any delay. Met with Ann, Andrew, and Bell and had the best day of our trip. Nothing but sun, drinks, swimming, drinks, laughing, drinks, and cigars. Ann and Andrew have done a great job with the new merchandise shop, and they have some really good shirt designs in there now. I think we were the last to leave that day. Nearly hit a cow leaving Cow Wreck Beach. Also met some of the best people that day who we ran into throughout the rest of the trip. They were guests on Catatonic, so we met up with Rooster and Maya. All great people, and their guests had nothing but positive things to say about their time on Catatonic. While I was fired up for dinner at Wonky Dog, one of my crew made reservations that morning at Potters. Didn’t want to rock the boat, so I went along for the ride. Dinner was good, but the party afterwards was awesome! Met and danced with so many good people that night. So much fun.
Thursday, January 28th
Our crew was working hard to shake off the Potter’s hangover, but we got up and got off the ball for our sail to Jost Van Dyke. Nice ~3.5 hour sail, with all of my crew passed out throughout the boat There was a time or two that I was worried what would happen if I fell off the boat. It may have been an hour before anyone woke up to realize I wasn’t around. We sailed over to Diamond Cay, JVD with plans to make a quick stop for the bubbly pool and Beeline. We made it to the bubbly pool, but the limin’ got the best of us and we just chilled on the boat and recovered from the big night before. Little fishing from the back of the boat, saw a couple of small sharks circling us, and just enjoyed the quietness of the harbor. We knew we had a big day ahead of us on White Bay, so time for some R&R.
Friday, January 29th
Up early and motored over to Sandy Spit to set the anchor. A little breakfast and dinghy over to walk the circle a few times. A couple of the crew felt adventurous enough to walk the break over to Green Cay. Then back for the quick motor over to Great Harbor, where we again ran into some of our friends from the counter-clockwise route. Headed over for a drink or two at Foxy’s. Then down to talk with Pizza Dave at Corsairs. On the taxi over to Soggy Dollar and then let the games begin. Met up with the guests from Catatonic again and had a blast. Got a little addicted to the Nilla Killa’s, which I’ll have to begin making at the house. Walk over to Ivan’s. Hang in the water with some new friends, watch the cruise ship and day charter folks leave, and then soak up the sunset. Taxi back to the boat to drop our things and grab some dinner. Back on land for a night at Foxy’s. The house band that night was great, and we ended up talking mixer specs with the drummer for some time. But then someone convinced the band to let one of the guys dancing to give it a try. Try to imagine a pretty drunk Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. He wanted to sing Marley’s “No Woman No Cry”, so we expected this was going to be a quick flop. But he started singing and the place went nuts. Right on point with every word, sounded really authentic, and then freestyles like a pro. The band was even looking at each other pretty amazed. When finished, they asked where the guy was from and he said HOLLAND. We talked about that guy the rest of the trip and kept a watch for him. Never came across him again, but I caught a rumor that he was a chef on a crewed charter boat. Anyone know of him?
Saturday, January 30th
Another early but slow start to the day. The morning rain was welcomed by our crew so we could just drink coffee and watch it come down. The skies started to break, so we set off for Norman. Motored into the wind to the Little Thatch / Frenchman’s Cay cut and then raised the sail to begin tacking up the channel. Took that opportunity to let the rest of the crew do the sailing, and they all had a great time. Found our way to Norman to catch a ball right by Willy T’s. I knew that came with risks, but I figured the all-guy crew would have fun with it on the last night. Over to the Caves for some snorkeling. Got to explore a bit more of them without my younger kids fearful of swimming to the back of the caves. Need to bring a waterproof flashlight next time for the deepest cave. From there, went over to Pirates so they could check it off the list. Realized I’m feeling a little underclass for Pirates these days. Took advantage of their half-off happy hour prices, which still came to $5.50 per painkiller. (!) Checked it off the list and went back to the boat. Was happy to see TepeRacing pull up to our boat to introduce himself from our exchanges on TTOL! Enjoyed talking with him and his son about Cincinnati and their adventures in the BVI’s. He was unfortunately moving the boat to another harbor, but we wished they would have hung out more with us that night. Seemed like a lot of fun. More grilling from the boat while my two “social leaders” went onto Willy T’s to check it out. They returned about an hour or so later with big grins on their faces and they were anxious to get back. Of course, it was even crazier when we got back over and finding a place for the dinghy was the first adventure. Met some guys from New Zealand who decided 6 months ago to hop onto a boat, even though most of them didn’t know how to sail. Broke one of their masts out at sea. About as close to true pirates as I’ve met. The tempo picked up throughout the night with people completely naked walking around and jumping off the top. I suppose one well endowed guy found it his mission to demonstrate to everyone his God-given gifts. Helped a guy out of the water who seemed to be having some trouble. His response “Thanks. No worries. I was just really drunk and tired.”. Yea, that’s the classic recipe for drowning - especially in the dark. Crazy, place. Can’t wait to go again.
Sunday, January 31st
Had to make the haul back to Hodges Creek to refuel and step off the boat by 10am. Conservatively set off at 7:00 am for a motor sail up the channel. Short wait at the fuel dock and topped off with $125 of diesel for the week. Backed into the slip like I knew what I was doing and started to gather the things. Some of the crew wanted to go to the restaurant while I waited for the boat check-out. They said they were hardly noticed there and never received service, so they walked out. Caught the taxi back to the ferry terminal. I think it was the 11:30 that was delayed to 12:00pm, but no problem getting on an out. Lunch and drinks at the Petite Pump before heading back to the airport. Nice not having to fill out immigration forms again at the airport, now. Small lines, so we made it through in no time. Checked two bags and didn’t realize until I was dropping them that the check-in agent only tagged one of them. Be sure to watch them closely!
Back to reality and it all seems like a distant dream now. So excited to get back, but I also want to expand our horizons a bit. Most likely will head down to SXM/Anguilla/St. Barths next. Or SVI via CYOA. Let the 2017 planning begin all over again!
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