Posted by Grant Headifen on October 26, 2009 under Bareboat Charter | 
Thursday 1st October
Savannah Bay BVI: There is nothing like a swim ashore and a morning run on a white sandy beach and that is exactly what I did on Thursday morning. We’d anchored in about 15 ft of water which meant the boat was about 200 meters from shore which made for a nice swim. Then I ran 4 lengths of the beach. Ahhhh.
Savannah Bay BVI's. Makes for a really nice morning run.
After the run and fruit with yogurt for breakfast (which by the way is a really easy breakfast when you’re on a charter boat) a few of the others came ashore.
Savannah Bay BVI's
The weather was warm and the bay was very sheltered from the east. Plus the outer reef shelters the bay from any swells. Alexandra cam e ashore and we had some fun introducing her to small waves in the shallow beach.
Playing with Alexandra in the water in Savannah Bay
Granpa also had some fun.
Gramps and Alexandra
We bought the dinghy up onto the beach so that the waaves could not pull it back out in to the water and drift away. One way to stop this happening is to use the dinghy anchor and spike it into the sand. Under heavier waves we have in the past dug the anchor into the sand a little more to give extra holding power.
Using the Dinghy anchor to stop the dinghy from drifting away
And of course you need to pull the engine up out of the water to stop sand getting into the water intake and causing the engine to over heat. Tilting the engine up also protects the engine and the mounts and propeller etc. There is a tilt lever under the engine and behind the transom. It’s a bit difficult to operate when you first start using it but after a while you get familiar with its operation. To put the engine down you pull the lever again and it unclips the engine.
The Dinghy outboard tilts up and clips in with the tilt lever.
Savannah Bay was completely empty and it was a delight having such a beautiful place on the planet all to our selves. Then we pulled anchor and motored around to the other beaches in the bay. Very impressive! Around the corner to the east is another part to Savannah bay which is a little more inhabited with some cottages.
A few cottages on the east end of Savannah Bay
Another view looking west.
At the east end of Savannah Bay looking west.
To exit savannah Bay you must exit through the west end to clear the reef. But there is also another reef inside the reef that you must pay attention. The beauty of the bay may lull you into a false sense of safety so just read the guide and watch the charts, guide book and especially the depth sounder.
A short motor to the south on Virgin Gorda is Spanish Town where we topped up with ice for the cold drinks.
Filling up with water at Spanish Town.
At each place you have to pay for water and since we only had two days to go, we only filled one tank.
Spanish Town has a very nice marina with a full grocery store and chandlery. You can stay overnight in Spanish Town Marina if you like but it’s advisable in peak months to call ahead and make a reservation.
Empty marina in Spanish Town
However this time of the year the marina is almost completely empty. So we had our choice of spots. There is also an internet wifi in the marina which is free so you can down load email if you REALLY have to.
After a sort stop in Spanish town Marina we motored a mile south to The Baths were we spent the afternoon exploring the cave and swimming.
The Baths: One of the high lights of the BVI's
The Baths are NOT to be missed. Even with 6 visits to The Baths now I would still return. It is a giant rock field all tumbled on top of each other creating strange shaped walk throughs and fun sea water pools.
You can spend hours there exploring the caves created from the giant rocks piled on top of each other.
You can even be silly (Deb and Susan) and pretend to hold the rocks up.
Holding rocks up in the Baths on a yacht charter trip to the BVI's
And of course, the swimming is awesome to.
Swimming at The Baths in the BVI's
Here are some other random shots of The Baths – just for proof that they are not to be missed.
The Baths
The Baths
The Baths
Get the picture?
Also not to be missed is snorkeling at the south end of the baths. The rocks continue into the water where coral has grown onto them populated by the most amazing colored fish life. In one place we found a small swim through under the rocks which was about 30 feet long also completely populated by fish.
Having spent an incredible day in The Baths, and having enjoyed Savanna Bay so much we elected to return there for the evening. A most spectacular sunset gave us an awesome end to another day in the BVI’s.
If you want to go to the BVI’s on a sailing yacht charter vacation – no worries – just get a NauticEd Sailing certification
Posted by Grant Headifen on October 17, 2009 under Bareboat Charter |
Wednesday 30th September 2009
Bath time on a catamaran is pretty easy and fun for the little one. The catamaran galley is so big that there is plenty of room and the sinks are big. Consequently, Alexandra loved this time of day.
Alexandra Loves Her Catamaran Bathtub
The crew set out in the dinghy to explore the rocky coastline and came back quite impressed. Lee Bay is certainly a nice stop for overnight or an exploring lunch, not with a Northerly or Westerly Swell however.
We then motored through the Cut between Little Camanoe and Great Camanoe through to Marina Cay to meet up with the other Catamaran in our fleet. They had spent the night in the lee of Marina Cay and reported a very flat sea due to it’s protection from Scrub, Camanoe and Beef Islands.
Marina Cay in the BVI's provides a very sheltered mooring
We sent the dinghy ashore to grab a few bags of Ice at Marina Cay and then we moved 4 miles North East over to Great Dog Island were we had lunch and a swim.While waiting for the Ice, Kay tried her hand at maneuvering the Catamaran in amongst the buoys. She did well and got the hang of the dual engines and how maneuverable the catamaran is. NauticEd is currently building a flash interactive Catamaran maneuvering game which should be released by Oct 25th 2009. It will be embedded into the Catamaran Sailing Confidence Course.
Great Dog Island - British Virgin Islands
We then moved over to George Dog island where the snorkeling is reported to be great and we were not let down. The BVI parks provide two mooring buoys on the south west of George Dog.
Excellent snorkeling at George Dog in the BVI's
We then snorkeled around the point to the North West of Kitchen point. We’d highly recommend the snorkeling here. There was lots of coral and colored fish. Other boats reported that the snorkeling off Kitchen point was also impressive. Some of the crew also found some impressive rock cliffs to jump off into the sea. If you’re chartering a yacht on a sailing vacation in the BVI’s do not miss The Dogs.
Excellent Snorkelling at George Dog inthe BVI's
Jumping from a cliff on George Dog BVI's
West Dog - The Dogs BVI's
After a very fun day at the Dogs we set sail for Savanna Bay on Virgin Gorda 2 miles South East of The Dogs. Savanna Bay entrance is not too tricky but you must follow the directions in the Cruising Guide as there are several reefs to miss.
Savannah Bay British Virgin Islands is truly awesome
However, once inside, wow, it’s a spectacular bay with three long beaches and clear water. Again with a swell from the north or North West this would be not advisable because it is completely open to those directions. If the weather conditions are right, Savanna Bay should not be missed. Several thatched shades are set up on the middle beach which is about 500 yards long. You can anchor about 200 yards off shore in about 15 feet of water.
At the end of the day we were rewarded with a stunning sunset. This picture was taken through the lens of sunglasses. Savannah Bay was one of the high lights of our sailing vacation.
Sunset in Savannah Bay
Posted by Grant Headifen on October 15, 2009 under Bareboat Charter |
Tuesday 29th September 2009
A classic yacht chartering blunder was made on Monday. Instead of filling the tanks with water when the conditions were calm at the east end of Cane Garden Bay we elected to do it Tuesday morning because we were having so much fun on Monday. Overnight, a swell began running out of the North which made the water surge next to the dock. This created a very uncomfortable situation for refilling the water tanks. Even with spring lines, the boat was moving around quite a lot and created potentially dangerous situation. The lesson there was – when conditions are right do what you need to do.
The swell did create some fun waves over the reef and so on Tuesday morning we took the sea kayaks into the waves to play.
After refilling with water, we needed to get away from the dock safely. Simply engaging reverse would have sent us side scrapping the boat along the dock all the way back with the swell surge slamming us in. Not good!
Using a spring line to get off the dock with a catamaran
We used a classic spring line – reverse out method. We left the spring line running from the forward cleat aft to the dock and released all others. We positioned a buoy between the dock and forward hull, turned the wheel towards the dock and engaged forward on the engine opposite the dock. When the spring line was taught, the aft end of the boat begun rotating away from the dock due to the opposing forces creating a turning moment. We helped this with a little reverse on the dock side engine all the while keeping the buoy between the hull and dock and spring line taught. When the aft of the boat had rotated sufficiently away from the dock we engaged reverse on both engines, released the spring line and back quickly away from the dock.
This and more is described in the Catamaran Sailing Confidence Clinic
Clear, we then pulled the dinghy up on the dinghy davit and set sail for White Bay on Guana Island next to Monkey point. Using the dinghy davit is usually a good idea. It reduces drap on the boat and thus increases speed, reduces wear on the dinghy and boat cleats and reduces the jerking on the painter line as the swells pass. A Catamaran is well suited for raising the dinghy on the davits because the catamaran is so wide and having a dingy of the back presents no interference.
Dinghy Davit on a catamaran
The winds to Guana Island were 15 knots out of the east and just below the reefing threshold. It’s important to reef a catamaran at the designated wind speeds because since the boat does not heel over, the full area of the sail is always presented to the wind. More about this in the NauticEd Catamaran Sailing Confidence course.
We set out the two fishing rods and trolled for a yummy Tuna which I have caught on many previous trips to the BVI. Alas, we were skunked for the whole week on any fish. Not even a Baracuda!
White Bay on Guana Island
The sand on White Bay, Guana Island is so soft and almost silky like. Guana Island is a private island and so you can go on to the beach but not too much further. However White Bay made for a very nice stop for a long lunch. Unfortunately due to time we missed the snorkeling at Monkey point which has been very impressive on previous trips to the BVI where two mooring balls are provided for day mooring.
We then made tracks under power to Lee Bay on Great Camanoe Island. Lee bay is a small bay with a rocky beach.
Lee Bay on Camanoe Island
The rocky cliffs on each side are impressive and the swell was creating a blow hole into a cave next to our anchor point that made a very ominous whooshing sound with a shooting high blow of water. Its obvious that a swell out of the North could make this bay uncomfortable, however today it was slightly North west and laying down. We therefore elected to stay the night in Lee Bay.
We took the dinghy ashore so that we could walk across the low saddle of the island to Cam Bay on the other side. The waves on the beach made for an interesting landing onto the beach with the dinghy. We had to wait for the swell surge then ride it in slightly behind the wave. We pulled up onto the beach and tied off around a large rock. Cam Bay was relatively unimpressive with washed up seaweed and some trash on the beach so we didn’t stay to long. There were some very impressive homes overlooking Cam Bay. The night produced a heavy but short lived thunderstorm and so there was a great scramble to close all the hatches about 3am.
Posted by Grant Headifen on October 14, 2009 under Bareboat Charter |
Monday 28th September
On Monday morning the wind was out of the east. We left the beautiful White Bay on Jost Van Dyke and set sails for Sandy Spit which took about 2 tacks on a beat into the wind.
Sandy Spit at the East end of Little Jost Van Dyke
Sandy Spit is located at the east end of Little Jost Van Dyke and is a little sandy island all the way around with a few palm trees and scrub trees in the middle. Don’t confuse Sandy Spit with Sandy Cay which is much bigger and to the south. The guys challenged each other to a sprint run race around the island. It took about 90 seconds sprinting in the sand which was not easy. A cool dip off in the clear clear water was welcomed afterward. You can easily anchor at sandy spit on the west side in about 20 feet of water although be careful if there is a swell running. Sandy Spit is well worth a visit because of the sand and the clear water next to it.
Michael drinking underwater at Sandy Spit BVI
Next our friend Arun texted us to say that he had arrived and was waiting for us at our prearranged meeting place in Cane Garden Bay 2.5 miles to the South East of Sandy Spit with a fishing License in hand – yah!
Cane Garden Bay BVI
Cane Garden Bay is a really beautiful spot with a long beach and lots of nice vacation homes dotted up the steep hill behind. There is a grocery store, post office and lots of restaurants. The Bay is fairly well protected but if a swell is running from the north the swell can wrap into the bay. We picked up Arun, his wife Jo and their 2 1/2 year old daughter to add to our 1 year old.
The girls on the Catamaran trampoline in Cane Garden Bay
Annie K joined us a few hours later and we all spent the afternoon and night in the wide bay. The afternoon was spent playing in the warm Caribbean water.
Swimming in Cane Garden bay BVI
Only two other boats were moored in the whole bay. This is very different from high season where dozens (and dozens) of boats stay over night there. We highly recommend a stay in Cane Garden Bay (especially in low season).
For Dinner on Bobcat, Vanessa whipped up an incredible Mediterranean Tuna Salad which is a highly recommended staple to the yacht chartering lifestyle.
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
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Posted by admin on October 9, 2009 under Bareboat Charter |
Sunday September 27th 2009
Having a 1 year old on board is a total enjoyment but it takes some extra thoughts. Fortunately, we’d prepared for her sleeping arrangements. We’d selected the Leopard Catamaran based on the forepeak in each hull for Alexandra to sleep. Then we bought a cargo net and some clamps from home depot to clamp the net in place each night and during nap time. We also bought her favorite stuffed animal which happens to be a Leopard.
Alexandra netted into the forepeak of the catamaran
On Sunday Morning we pulled away from the mooring ball and motored our catamaran around to the west to “The Caves” for a kayaking and snorkeling experience.
Getting into the Sea kayak has a few challenges 
The Caves are just outside the Bight and are cracks and openings in the rock wall. Legend has it that Treasure is hidden here somewhere.
Alexandra and GranPa at the Caves
We then motored over to the Indians for more snorkeling. The Indians are a small formation of rocks and have excellent snorkeling with lots of colorful fish life. There are a couple of underwater swim throughs that are quite fun for the adventurous types.
An abundance of fish life at the Indians
The Indians are not to be missed.
The Indians - just west of The Bight near Norman Island - great snorkelling.
At about 1pm we set sail for White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. We sailed past the east end on St Johns then hrough Thatch Cut next to Sopers hole on the west end of Tortolla. The wind was light so we motor sailed which works to also recharge your batteries for the fridge and freezer. Here’s a tip – in the morning you need to turn on the engines to charge the batteries. This slightly disturbs your breakfast in a beautiful location with the noise and diesel fumes. So – when ever you wake up in the morning and realize you will need to motor sail to a location – enjoy a quiet breakfast realizing that the batteries will be charged when you motorsail.
On this trip we have chosen to do less traveled path around the BVI because we have been to the BVI’s 5 times before. This is then also a testament to the BVI’s – there is always something to come back for.
White Bay on Jost Van Dyke
White Bay is the bay to the west of Great Harbour Bay where the Famous Foxy’s bar is. The Soggy Dollar bar is at the west end of White Bay and is where the Pain Killer Drink was invented. It is on an incredibly beautiful white sandy beach and is justly named because most people swim ashore to the bar with money in their pockets.
Entrance into White bay is easy but you must enter in between the green and red buoys lest you end up on the reef. Once inside the reef you can anchor or pick up a mooring buoy (for $25). Our experience of White Bay on Jost Van Dyke is that is is not to be missed. We’ve been to Foxy’s next door plenty of times. It’s a bar that you have to put on your life resume but for a nice beach and mooring experience go to White Bay.
One of the best experiences on a Catamaran is sleeping on the trampoline at night, Monday night was no different however at about 3am I was chased inside by rain.
Take the NauticEd Catamaran sailing Confidence Clinic
Posted by Grant Headifen on October 8, 2009 under Bareboat Charter |
Saturday September 26th 2009
Catching the ferry from Charlotte Amarlie was easy the next morning. The ferry terminal is about 15 minutes away from the Marriot. We took the “Fast Ferry” which motored us at about 15 -20 knots to Road Town. The trip was about 1.5 hours. We cleared BVI Customs in Road Town with very friendly customs agents then another taxi ride of about 5 minutes to the Sunsail Base.
ferry ride to Road Town
Upon arrival, we sent some of the crew to the two grocery stores to provision. Cash and Carry is a bulk shopping place which is quite inexpensive but you have to buy a lot of each item. Shop Rite is next door and is more of a traditional grocery store. Between the two stores you can get everything you need for the week including precooked chicken which serves as a great idea for cold dinner and lunch the next day. Take a Van Taxi to the stores so that you can lug everything back to the base.
Boats on the dock at Sunsail
We were disappointed to learn that Fishing Licenses are only issued on weekdays in the BVI’s and from only one place through the entire island chain – Road Town. And since today is Saturday and we’re not returning here until the end of the trip – our spirits of eating Tuna Sashimi are waning. Also we are warned by the locals that the fines for fishing with out a license are very heavy.
Come on BVI Authorities. Make it easier for your tourists – allow local sporting shops to sell fishing licenses.
We learn however that if you call Last Stop Sports on (284) 494-0564 a few weeks ahead of time, theywill arrange to get a fishing license for you. Take note.
A few other things not to forget or check before you leave the dock.
- Adequate sheets and towels
- Mask and Snorkel supplied free by the base if you need
- Boat hook
- Boat brush
- Swim Ear for after swimming
- Sea Kayak
- Cooler with properly operating plug
- And lastly unplug the yellow dock line (power cord) before you pull out.
- A more extensive list is given in our NauticEd Bareboat Charter Clinic
- Also in our Bareboat Charter Clinic is an excellent Crew Brief list prior to leaving the dock.
With charter yachts, you can never tell what kind of music system you’ll get on the boat. Some come with just CD players some have mp3 connections. So I recommend that you bring some favorite CDs as well as your iPhone/mp3 player and don’t forget the cable plus you can also bring your FM transmitter. Between all those you should be covered music wise.
Anthony Wighting is the Sunsail Base Manager and was very helpful in getting us underway early enough for us to get 5 miles to the south to The Bight on Norman Island.
We pulled out of the dock at 4:30 which is about the latest we should have in order to get to Norman island before sun down at 6:30 this time of the year. Norman Island lies on about compass heading 212deg Mag once you clear Road Harbor and is about 5 miles away. We chose Norman Island for our first night because it was a Saturday night and we didn’t want to miss the Famous Willy Tee’s floating bar.
Willy Tee’s lies in “The Bight”, which is a large bay on Norman Island. A famous rock out cropping called The Indian’s is just outside The Bight. The Indians is an excelent place for snorkelling and has a few underwater swim through caves and lots of colorful fish. Given the time – we elected to leave the Indians until tomorrow but we did get this stunning photo of The Indians with the setting sun light.
The Indians - famous for its snorkelling. Just outside The Bight on Normal Island
Folowing our entrance into The Bight, we moored to one of the Mooring Balls far enough away from Willy Tee’s so that those that wanted to sleep would not be awoken by the party noise that would surely come later.
A stunning sunset from The Bight.
Our advice for Willy Tee’s is take a maximum of $20 ( the entire BVI’s run on US dollars). When you have spent that – go back to your boat. The place is entirely encourageble and it seems like the energy field surrounding the vessel removes all your common sense and knowledge about alcohol consumption.
Swinging from the rafters at Willy Tees floating Bar. The Bight - Norman Island
Remember what your dinghy number is.
The Infamous Ski Shot on Wille Tees
Don’t take your wallet and camera’s WILL end up full of sea water. Otherwise we had a fun evening at Willy Tee’s. Seriously however, the real problem with Willy Tee’s is that it usually is your first night out and your excitement level is at it’s height.
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Posted by admin on October 6, 2009 under Bareboat Charter |
To follow over the next week, are the chronicles of this year’s yacht charter sailing vacation trip by NauticEd staff and friends. Although we’ve sailed through out the Caribbean and Mediterranean, once again we elected the BVI. Mostly because this year we were bringing along many new comers who’d not visited the BVI’s before and this is a place not to be missed.
The beautiful beach of Savannah Bay in the BVI
September in the BVI’s is considered totally out of season. Most of the restaurants are closed and charter companies are down to skeleton crews. However we were looking this year for a quiet, out-of-the-way trip with few other boats to deal with and so despite being in the middle of hurricane season, this was an appealing location.
In the BVI’s there are many charter companies. This year we elected to charter with Sunsail. We have chartered 2 Catamarans. One Leopard 43 named “Bobcat” and one Lagoon 41 named “Annie K”. Our crew consists of 16 friends and family from Austin, San Antonio and South Africa. Included are our 1 year old daughter and a friend’s 2 year old daughter.
Friday September 25th 2009
Traditionally we have flown into Beef Island (Tortolla airport) via Puerto Rico which works well but if you do this you have to make sure that you have sufficient turn around time for your luggage. I’m not sure but I don’t think there has been 1 time that all bags have arrived.
This time however because of airline schedules we flew into St Thomas on the USVI, stayed the night at the Marriot Frenchmans Reef and Morning Star Resort with the ntension of taking the ferry from Charlotte Amarlie to Road Town on the British Virgin Islands main island -Tortolla.
The Marriot is about 15 minutes from the St Thomas Airport. The resort is very nice for a quick stay over. It has a lovely beach, a swimming pool and a tennis court. But we’re more excited about getting on our boats and setting sails tomorrow.
Beach at the Marriot Frenchmans Reef on USVI
There are a few strange creatures on the USVI.
Iguana
Follow our week long BVI blog series posted every day for the next week.
