Our sail to the BVIs was a short and quiet motor from Christmas Cove (apt for this time of year) to Soper’s Hole on the main island of Tortola’s west end. Leaving early around 6.30am we were pleasantly surprised to have picked up a mooring ball and already stood in Customs and Immigration at the ferry terminal by 8.30am. Any hurrah! was short lived however as the queue ahead of us was laden with the ferry passengers from USVI and about a dozen charter boats who had all had to come here as the Customs office on Jost Van Dyke was closed.
It was a pretty cheery group however and we waited to be seen chatting with the charter captains for any tips on good anchorages and snorkeling spots for when our guest arrived in about a week's time.
Around noon, we finished the check in, but still needed to get our national parks permit which meant a trip to the capital Road Town. Deciding a taxi would be easier, we paid for our mooring at the marina, now planning on staying overnight and got a coffee and some lunch (our breakfast) at a lovely cafe on site before jumping in a cab to find the national parks office. This proved to be more difficult than anticipated as no one seemed to know where it was and Google maps appeared wrong. After a beverage as it was roasting hot, we made our way to customs and finally found someone who could give us clear instructions.
Heading back, ironically, to the place we had been dropped off in the taxi we finally found a staircase and a small sign showing us the way. 15 mins later, permit in had we headed to the famous Pusser’s Rum bar and a needed beverage.
Over the next few days we needed to make our way to the east of the main island to pick up our Christmas and New Year guests at the airport, which was conveniently a 5 minute walk from the anchorage at Beef Island. Assuming there would be an ATM at the airport (their wasn’t) we left the next morning to motor east to beef island to sort ourselves out for our guests' arrivals.
The mooring cost 40$US a night and I had exactly that amount of cash, but we had three nights to kill. Luckily the lovely couple who came to collect the fees understood our plight and let us pay them the following day after we’d got a taxi to the local supermarket and closest ATM. He even gave us a discount for a multi night stay, this wasn’t our only win in those few days. As whilst stood trying to phone a taxi at the supermarket, a wonderful women asked if we needed a ride and gave us and our shopping a ride back to the boat… we were loving the BVI so far!
Walking to the airport on the 19th, our guests arrived for what we hoped would be a fantastic few weeks exploring the islands. Staying that evening on Beef Island we enjoyed sundowners at the Loose Mongoose and planned our adventures.
The next morning we made our way early to The Baths in Virgin Gorda, this is one of the main sights to see in the BVI but you need good weather with little to no swell. Today wasn’t to be our day, so we postponed this trip, deciding to head round the headline into the North Sound and check out Leverick Bay for the night.
Picking up a mooring to the north of the small marina and resort, protected by the reef line we settled ourselves in. The resort was pretty quiet, but we wandered around to look at the stores onsite and finally sat down for a few “Painkillers” and Gin ‘n’ Tings.
We booked into Saba Rock for Christmas Day which was the other side of the sound close to the Bitter End Yacht Club, we relocated the next day and spent a few days exploring the surroundings and trying the different ‘Painkillers’ at the various bars.
Christmas Day was spent snorkeling and enjoying the sunny weather before a wonderful meal at the Saba Rock restaurant, Turkey, Lobster and all the trimmings.
The weather still had an element of northern swell so as we drove past The Baths on Boxing Day headed for Cooper Island, the Red Flags where still waving and the mooring fields was closed.
Our next few stops included Cooper Island and
Norman Island with a stop at the Indians to snorkel and the Bight for a drink at the famous Willy T’s bar… yes we did jump off the top deck into the water.
Our New Year plans where to head to Jost Van Dyke and the party at Foxy’s beach club, following a provisioning stop at Soper’s hole on the 29th we sailed across to JVD initially picking up a mooring but then happily finding a sneaky anchoring spot quite close to beach for the New Year.
On the 30th we took our guests to the original home of the ‘Painkiller’ cocktail and relaxed on the golden sandy beach at the Soggy Dollar Bar and Hendo’s Hideaway. It was a beautiful day and a perfect end to the final days of 2023.
New Years at Foxy’s was huge fun, enjoying the live music and dancing, the only disappointment was the lack of fireworks which we learned later they could no longer do because of the amount of boats in the bay. The next day we lifted anchor and headed back for a short but lumpy ride to Soper’s Hole and a day trip to the BVI capital city. It rained for pretty much the whole day, as soon as we arrived we had to hide from a shower and by the time we arranged to visit the Rum Distillery the drive across the island was shrouded in mist and rain.
After the distillery we got a taxi back to Soper’s Hole, this time though the rain had stopped and we enjoyed the stunning views across the west end of the island and the bay towards JVD, a wet but fun day to start the new year.
Still hoping the weather would turn and the swell would drop, we decided to make our way back toward Virgin Gorda with a stop at Peter Island Great Harbour for the evening, as time was ticking and we needed to make our way back toward Beef Island for our guest departure.
Luck was on our side as we made our way back to Virgin Gorda we found a mooring at The Baths free and a yellow flag indicating we could go to shore and enjoy, this was a real win as we had been worried we’d not get a chance to visit. There was a huge queue all keen to walk through the amazing boulders and wave battered landscape but it didn’t diminish from their beauty, although some of the walk throughs were a crawl for Ross.
We stopped in Spanish Town on VG for the evening before we moved back across towards Beef Island and the airport. Staying one evening at the very rolly Guiana Island, although the snorkeling was great , octopus, rays and all sorts. The last day and evening for our guest we spent on the mooring off Marina Cay and enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Scrub Island exclusive resort.
The next morning we made our way the 1NM back to Beef Island for our guests' lunchtime check in back to Miami and then home to the UK. It was a fantastic few weeks and we were sad to see our friends leave.
In the month to follow we planned to explore the BVIs further, hoping to get the dive gear out and back in the water as it had been so long since we explored the underwater world.
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