This is a letter we have sent to those who like us have researched bareboat chartering in the BVIs. Hope you find some good information.
CAR RENTALS
Driving in the BVI's wasn't somethind we wanted to try, so I don't have much info on car/jeep rentals. One comment I can make is you'll be best off with 4-wheel drive.
RESTAURANTS (on shore):
Tortola's West End is beautiful. Some of the most noted restaurants on the island are located there. We ate dinner at The Sugar Mill, a restaurant owned by a couple(Jinx and Jefferson Morgan) who are writers for Bon Appetit magazine. They serve a sort of French/West Indian cuisine, and have an excellent wine list. We were told that The Apple and Sebastian's are other good choices. The Verandah at the Mooring's Treasure Isle Resort is decent but quite. The restaurant at the Mariner Inn is as good and quite a bit livelier. Try a Roti. Look for the Limin' Times weekly newsletter for local happenings and entertainment.
GROCERIES:
We tend to visit grocery stores on most vacations. The best one we found was The Ample Hamper in Soper's Hole, West End. Everything on the islands is imported (with the exception of fish and some meats) so expect prices to be higher than we see in the States. We provisioned our boat with a lot of items we packed from home: pasta, tuna, and our favorite snacks. We also found our that we could carry a small cooler on the plane and through customs without a problem. We packed a premade frozen stew, some chicken wings, and a steak. If you're fussy about quality, or afraid of high prices you may want to pack a few things. Also, the Riteway Supermarkets (downtown Tortola and Paseo Estate near the Moorings Mariner Inn) are pretty well stocked with the basics. Their booze was less expensive than TICO Distributors. Next trip we plan to let the Ample Hamper do most of our provisioning and start sailing earlier.
BOOZE:
Prices for alcohol tend to be the opposite of the food. Wines from France are much cheaper than California, so you'll see different brands. Rum is probably the best value. We found it to be cheaper that the water! Try a "Pain Killer" at any bar! Please bring me home some more $6.95 bottles of Pusser's.
BAREBOATING
We rented a Mooring's Oceanis 352. Just the two of us. No proble handling it, but more hands make for less work. If we were a foursome I would get a 38 of 43. 3 couples should get nothing less than a 43. Four can definitely survive a 51 (four seperate cabins with heads, no problem). There are two different layouts of the 352. If getting that boat ask for a straight through galley rather than a corner galley. The head on the straight through is huge (5 people could shower together). We were barely able to squeeze into ours (only if one person sits down). The Moorings were excellent. I have done 30+ charters and found them to be top notch. Worth the extra money. One day the switch on our anchor windlass broke (lifting 90' of chain wasn't much fun). The next morning, they met us and replaced it, no problem.
SAILING DESTINATIONS
In the Bight on Norman Island we went to the William Thornton A fake pirate ship for drinks). Looked like fun for a very casual dinner. In Trellis Bay, Beef Island (next to the airport) we dined at the Conch Shell Point Restaurant. The Dawson family serves rich, delicious food. We stopped at the Last Resort on Bellamy Cay for drinks. They had a casual buffet that looked ok. Finding the waitress to pay the bill was next to impossible. Go after 9 pm if you want live entertainment. The Baths were packed and difficult to anchor. Plan to go very early or you might as well skip it. Other have docked in Spanishtown and gone by taxi. On Virgin Gorda we spent most of our time in Gorda Sound. We heard there are several places to eat in Spanishtown. Two mentioned to us were Little Dix Bay Resort, and The Olde Yard Inn. The cool bar is The Bath & Turtle. We had a fabulous buffet at Pusser's Leverick Bay Resort. On Thanksgiving we were ripped off by the $30 buffet at the Bitter End Yacht Club. The resort is nice but overpriced. We later found out that the Pirates Cove Bar on the little cay across from the bar was the place to go. If you get to Jost van Dyke stop in Great Harbor and visit Foxy's. Very "touristy" but worth the stop. We ate one of the best meals ever at Harris' Place in Little Harbor, Jost Van Dyke. Fresh Caribbean lobster, side dishes and a beer for $25 per person. Water taxi is $20 roundtrip from Great Harbor. Ask for Bun at the bakery behind the Government Building, very fast boat. We stopped in Soper's Hole, West End for lunch. Very picturesque. Wish we had stay longer.
SNORKELING
Snorkling is incredible. Try to do a day trip to The Caves on Norman Island. You can swim into the caves! You can only get there by boat,so try to make sure your boat has a swim platform of some kind. Your inexperienced friends will thank you. Also near The Caves are The Indians, four rock pillars with excellent snorkeling. Both stops could be done on a day sail from West End. The Baths are the most famous spot to snorkel. Only bring what you want to carry, because there's no place to leave anything. You'll also need reef shoes or old sneakers to protect your feet. All around Gorda Sound is exceptional snorkeling, if you venture up that way: Necker Island, Saba Rock, Eustatia Sound, and Mosquito Island. On St. Thomas don't miss Coki Beach. Cooper Island is another nice day trip, with good reefs for snorkeling. They also offer other watersports and there is access to a beach.
SCUBA DIVING
To save money we rented equipment ($150 each) to bring on the boat. We used the dive shop located at the Moorings Mariner Inn (they and all the dive shop operators we met for refills were a little daffy). We ended up diving at the Indians (little rocks of Pelican Island, west of Peter), the Chimney on the west side of Great Dog and the wreck of the Rhone. Anchoring/mooring, getting the equipment in and out of the lazarette, getting set up, in the water, navigating the reef, finding you boat, getting back in, getting equipment off, rinsed, and stowed before raising anchor and sailing/motoring to the evening's anchorage turned out to be a pain. The snorkeling is as good if not better than the diving. It's easier, quicker and gets you to your anchorage earlier. Next time we plan to keep the sailing and diving seperate. Maybe we would take a lay day from sailing and go on an expensive rendevous dive. The lack of a hassle is almost worth it.
RESORTS
Little Dix Bay Resort - didn't visit, heard this is quite lux
Pusser's Leverick Bay Resort - casual, not many facilities
Bitter End Yacht Club - very nice
Peter Island Yacht Club - big time snobby
Biras Creek - wow, breathtaking views of 3 seas, exclusive
USVIs
I can't say much about St. Thomas. I've only stopped for the day on a cruise ship. We did hear
that Charlotte Amalie isn't safe at night. This strongly contrasts the BVI's where our boat didn't need a key to start the motor! If you're at a resort area I'm sure you'll be fine.
DISTILLED ADVICE
Don't try to do too much. We had 3 to 4 activities planned per day. Next trip we are taking things a little slower, relax more. Take others with you to share the work and fun. Get in to anchorages early in the day (1 to 3 pm). Late arrivals don't get mooring buoys and have to anchor. The $15 rental is well worth the restful sleep you will have. Keep sailing trips and dive trips seperate. In the BVIs, snorkel rather than scuba dive. Quicker, easier and almost as beautiful.
