In August 2017 we did a week-long catamaran sailing excursion from St. Thomas, USVI through the BVI. That was our first exposure to sailing, and our way of deciding if we thought living on a catamaran full time would be possible. It was a vacation, but also lots of learning as we obtained our sailing certifications – ASA 101, 103, 104 and 114. In September 2017, hurricane Irma devastated the BVI (among other island nations). Most of the places we visited and loved just a few weeks earlier were gone. The BVI continued to rebuild, and now over two years later we are visiting again on our own catamaran. It’s amazing to think how far we’ve come!
Overnight stop at Salt Pond
We arrived at Brewer’s Bay, St Thomas last night just as dark was setting in. We struggled to tell which areas were “allowed” for anchoring and which weren’t, but no one came to bother us – so I guess all is well. This morning we woke up and started doing some laundry. The forecast is calling for light wind and waves, so after a couple loads we decide to continue doing laundry while motoring over to St John (STJ). Not our best idea. It doesn’t take long before all our clothes drying on the life lines are being splashed with salt water. I guess we are just so excited to have our new washing machine, that we want to wash everything twice!
Upon arrival at Salt Pond, STJ we are disappointed to see all of the five moorings are taken. As we circle, a large power boat leaves one of the moorings, though, so we are able to pick it up! This puts us right up next to the beach, which makes for good paddle boarding. First, though – we finish our laundry. Next, we jump in the water as there is supposed to be good snorkeling. We see lots of people snorkeling through the mooring field, often spotting turtles, but otherwise looking at grass and rocks. That is definitely not our idea of snorkeling. We decide not to give up and swim further out past all the boats to some exposed rocks. Jackpot! There is good reef and great snorkeling. We spot a baby nurse shark and then an octopus completely out in the open (which is quite rare). Of course, I didn’t charge the Go Pro and it dies – but not before I grab one photo of the octopus.
By the time we return to the boat, the sun is setting and Monster is determined to get to shore. We paddle in, pay our mooring fee, and enjoy walking the beach until the bugs chase us away. The water remains perfectly flat all night making for a serene location and peaceful night’s sleep. In the morning, we take the scooters out for another quick snorkel before packing up to head into BVI.
The party is at JVD
We had to pre-schedule an expected arrival time at West End, Tortola so that an official from the Department of Agriculture could meet us and complete Monster’s check-in. This will be the first country that Monster is entering completely legally – well, sort of. Read all about our vet visits and permit application on our prior post in St. Croix.
We depart Salt Pond for our short journey to West End right on schedule – or a little ahead, because I hate being late. We pull into the large mooring field at West End, pick up an empty mooring, and launch the dinghy. We initially head towards Pusser’s (popular BVI bar) and the purple market store. This is exactly where we cleared customs/immigration in 2017 during our chartered sailing excursion. We are disappointed to learn that the market has not yet reopened and customs/immigration is actually on the other side of the bay. Back in the dinghy we go. The check-in procedure goes as smoothly as can be expected and Monster was given a stamp of approval!
After check-in, we immediately set off for Jost Van Dyke (JVD). Initially, we pull up to the gorgeous White Bay, where the infamous Soggy Dollar Bar is located. There are SO MANY boats anchored and on mooring balls, we can barely navigate around the reef. It’s also quite rolly, so no way this is where we want to stay the night. We motor over to the neighboring Great Harbor to see if we can find a spot. After a couple circles, we drop our hook and feel pretty good about the location. About an hour later, the boat to our starboard swings and is sitting like 20 feet from us – yikes. Pretty positive they do not have a set anchor or they actually have 4x the amount of chain out as they tell us they do. Time to move. Our next spot is actually better anyways though.
Tangent: The BVI is considered one of, if not THE best place in the world to enjoy a chartered sailing vacation. That means there are hundreds of catamarans (and some mono-hulls) being rented out each week. All the largest and most well known bays around BVI are covered in mooring balls to accommodate all these boats. That means a couple things for live-aboards like us: 1) moorings are very expensive to rent – $35-40 per night average, 2) it’s difficult to find good spots to anchor, and 3) even if you’re willing to pay it can be hard to find an open mooring. Most charter boats now use an online system, BoatyBall, where they can reserve a mooring ball. Bookings start at 7am each morning and all the good spots are normally full by 8am. Craziness.
Tonight we decide to try out the also very popular Foxy’s right here in Great Harbor. We grab a couple beers and find a table. We quickly wish we had brought our bug spray. We also quickly realize that we have the exact same view from our own boat and much better, much cheaper beer – so we head back after a walk around the area.
The next day, once Matt finishes up his work, we launch the dinghy and head back to White Bay. It is by far the most gorgeous beach in the BVI. When we came here in August 2017, nearly all the charters had already stopped for the season (we didn’t know that at the time). That meant that we had White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar largely to ourselves. That is NOT the case this time. This place is packed! We grab a couple painkillers – the only drink to order at the Soggy Dollar – and wander up and down the beach. This is one of those times where it all feels so worth it. This crazy adventure we’re on is amazing and worth all the blood, sweat, tears, and money – in this moment at least.
We spend a second night at Great Harbor, before moving over to Little Harbor the next day. This is the location of the lesser known, Sidney’s Peace and Love. In 2017, our catamaran tied up on the dock here Mediterranean Mooring style. We are seriously tempted to try doing this, but since we never have before (and probably never will again), we settle for just picking up a mooring ball. The main reason we are here is because last time I got this awesome, funny sailing shirt. Ever since Matt has been jealous and wishes he got one too – so we’re back. Fortunately, they once again have these shirts!
Sidney’s was destroyed and subsequently rebuilt after hurricane Irma. Overall, though, it looks mostly the same. It also still has an honor system cash bar, where you make your own drinks and record your own tab. Classic laid-back island bar at its best.
Burning scooter
On our way from JVD to Norman’s Island, we decide to do something we very rarely do – actually sail! Both sails up, both engines off, tacking back and forth across the wind. This is actually kind of fun, but only since we’re not in a hurry (for once).
As we approach Norman Island, we notice that a popular snorkeling spot, The Indians, has an oepn mooring ball. I’ve read these can be hard to grab and often require a long wait. We hadn’t planned on snorkeling today, but we decide to capitalize on the opportunity. We pull up, grab the mooring ball like pros (often not the case on charter boats), and quickly make sandwiches for a late lunch.
We get our underwater scooters ready to take with us on this dive since we known there can be a good little current flowing through. Matt runs downstairs to finish getting ready and I go on deck to get all our gear organized. I hear this soft beeping and immediately smell burning plastic! I run inside and see that one of the scooters is smoking, so I grab it and throw it into the ocean. Fortunately, I don’t get burned. Unfortunately, that aforementioned current is carrying the burning scooter out into open water away from the boat. I throw on my mask and fins, jump in, and swim after it. As I approach it, I feel like I’m choking on the fumes. I keep trying to grab it by one of the props (as far away from the burning battery as possible), but keep letting go in fear when bursts of smoke get worse.
Eventually I am able to swim the scooter back to the boat where Matt ties it off with a rope. We let it float out behind the boat, continuing to burn. This is an electrical fire (i.e. the battery is burning), so water doesn’t do anything to help put it out. It’s such a surreal experience, and we’re both so defeated that we just sit on deck silently for a while. The burning slows after about an hour, and we decide to go ahead and snorkel The Indians since we’re already here. It’s lackluster after that experience. We don’t see anything that great, and I’m feeling really shaken by the scooter incident. I start to feel rising panic, so we turn around and head back to the boat.
I’m nervous about bringing the charred scooter back onto the boat at this point, but Matt is confident there’s nothing left of the battery to burn. We pull it in and place it in the dinghy, so at least it’s not inside. Now we get to carry a burnt scooter around for who knows how long – perfect.
Norman Island
The sun is setting by time we leave The Indians. I’ve picked out a spot on Norman island where we’re supposed to be able to anchor. We pull up to find that info is clearly outdated. Defeated, we just pick up an empty mooring (at least this area isn’t busy) and pay our fee.
The next morning, we head around to the other side of Norman determined to find somewhere we can anchor (for free). We find a spot that seems pretty good and we’re the only boat around. Fast forward an hour and 4 captained charter boats show up and anchor near us. At least we are validated in knowing we picked a good spot I guess.
Off to the side a bit, we notice a couple dive moorings. It feels like a silver lining after such a rough day yesterday. We are excited to go explore. Once below water, we discover very similar topography as at The Indians and arguably better diving/snorkeling. We spot our first reef shark of the season and several sting rays. While we’re underwater, a group of scuba divers comes through the area. It’s only about 40 feet deep (or less), so we’re freediving.
After finishing up at Carvel Rock, we take the dinghy the opposite direction to the Norman Caves. These are another very well known and visited snorkel site in the BVI. It’s pretty late in the afternoon, though, so while everyone else is starting happy hour, we have the caves to ourselves. There wasn’t much marine life, but I must admit the caves are more impressive than I expected.
A visit to Norman Island wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Bight. The main bay at Norman’s Island has around a hundred moorings (I would guesstimate), a very nice restaurant The Bight, and is home to the infamous Willy T. The Willy T is an old barge anchored in the bay serving as a true party bar, dance floor, and jumping platform. No one has ever accused the Willy T of being a classy joint. We paid a quick visit in 2017, so don’t feel the need to go back again today. We do take the dinghy into the beach to walk around with Monster for a bit.
Peter Island
Continuing our way around the island chain, next up is Peter Island. A large part of the island is home to a luxurious and exclusive resort. The island was devastated by Irma, and while much has been rebuilt – the resort is not yet open to the public. Other than the resort, there isn’t much here. We’ve read there’s one bar in Great Harbor, but we decide to head around to Deadman’s Bay. Mostly because it has a cool name, and also because there are no mooring balls.
When we pull in there is one other catamaran anchored and the bay is beyond gorgeous. We’re excited to spend a couple nights here just relaxing with some (relative) solitude. Quickly we realize this is actually a popular day spot for captained boats to stop off. So boats continue to come and go all day, but by the nighttime we have the place all to ourselves! There are two (actually three) gorgeous sand beaches that we are able to paddle board to. Monster is in heaven!
Cooper Island
We head over to the Road Town, the main area on Tortola to do some provisioning. The coronavirus isn’t really much of a concern here at this point (early March), but we are starting to notice some limits on certain items, like bottled water. After our provisioning (and trash drop-off) run is complete, we decide to head back across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to an overnight spot that is more pleasant. Cooper Island is our destination.
Cooper Island is a perfect little gem with a small cottage-based resort, bar, restaurant, brewery, coffee shop, and ice cream parlor. As you can imagine, it is a popular spot for the charter boats and there is only one mooring field. We locate a small bay off to the side which is supposed to have some anchoring, so that’s where we head first. Unfortunately, the waves make it untenable. We circle back around to the mooring field and try to find a spot to anchor in the back. It takes a few tries, but we come up with a pretty great spot. It’s still rolly – but the whole area is.
We first take the dinghy over to a nearby snorkeling location, Cistern Point. It’s definitely a bit unimpressive, but that’s okay. There are several large tarpon circling the area which is fun. Normally we only see tarpon at night when the underwater lights are on. We can see that this area has been a target for growing additional reef, as well, – as evidenced by reef trees on the bottom.
We return to the boat and bask in the sun on the trampoline (such a luxury) for a while. Then we put on real clothes for a change and check out the brewery on shore. Happy hour includes 2 for 1 beers which is quite a steal around here. Everything is beautiful and we have a great evening relaxing on shore, watching the sunset.
Life in the BVI is pretty awesome!
