Top Priorities for a Successful BVI Sailing Trip

In our previous post, Sailing in Paradise: Planning Our First Trip to the British Virgin Islands, we described the basics of our plan for a weeklong learning and exploration trip to the British Virgin Islands.

After working out the dates and travel arrangements, the next step was to select a boat. We worked with Dream Yacht Charters, whose consultant helped me pick the right boat for us. Our choice was Virgo Maris, a 40 ft Bali Catspace. This boat is a 2023 model.

We will arrive at Tortola’s airport, then take a taxi to the charter base at Hodges Creek Marina. There are a number of charter bases on Tortola: several right in Road Town (the largest community on Tortola), as well as Nanny Cay and Soper’s Hole. Our base, Hodges Creek, is the easternmost on Tortola.

The next step is to decide which of the BVI’s attractions we should prioritize during our relatively brief charter. An added consideration: we invited some family guests to join us, and they will arrive a couple days into the charter. We’ve told our guests and others: when sailing with us, we have three priorities in this order: safety, comfort and fun. While the lively beach bars are definitely something we want to enjoy, our aspirations are mostly about gaining catamaran sailing time, followed by beach and snorkel.

Clockwise or Counterclockwise

In addition to Tortola, the primary islands in the BVI include Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, plus multiple smaller islands. The first choice to make: shall we proceed our tour in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction?

The consistent winds of the islands are an advantage for planning, but it guarantees that at least one section of your trip will be upwind. While catamarans have a lot of enhanced livability, they are not the best performing sailboats, and that makes it more challenging to sail upwind–so arranging our trip so the upwind section leaves us plenty of time is vital.

Another consideration: is this a “sailing vacation” or a “vacation with some sailing.” Or, how much of our days do we want to spend on passage to the next island. This choice weighs heavy on the decision to include or pass on the more remote island of Anegada. Different in character to the volcanic main islands of the chain, Anegada is a flat, coral island surrounded by extensive coral reefs.

To Anegada or not to Anegada?

I really want to go to Anegada, but it’s going to require a lot of things to go just right. First, winds need to cooperate. The forecasted and typical winds will be fine, but one of the risks in October is variability. In addition, before we set out on a ~20-mile sail, we need to be confident are guests are comfortable with the ride. Because of this, I built an itinerary with a “safety valve”; if things are not just right, we can bypass that longest leg of the trip, and head for an easier destination.

Sometimes you approach a trip like this with some trepidation: is it going to be all we hoped? For us, because this is largely a “proof of concept,” we’ve decided that no matter what happens, we will meet our objective. If the entire time is misery, we will know that before we shell out a fortune for plane tickets for our kids. But I think it’s unlikely that it will be all bad. Instead, chances are that we will have a riot; that we will learn things to do and not do next time; we will show our guests a great time; and ultimately, we will be better prepared for vacations (and eventually a life) of sailing.

~Kent