Following the delivery of Margalo to the BVIs in November, I had the opportunity to head back in January for a “boys week” of cruising. Like cruising in the Bahamas two years ago, the BVI archipelago offers a variety of interesting places to visit at reasonable distances so you can be leisurely about getting underway every day and still have time when you get there to explore. I know this is a bit of “duh research” for those who have cruised in the BVIs for years, but It’s been a long time (almost 40 years) since I cruised in the Virgin Islands with Joe Prahl in the late 80s. After all the work to get there, it was time to enjoy the fruit of the labor.

I drove up to Boston so I could be on the same flights to the islands with the other guys. It was a bit of a triple play because I brought a double trailer to pick up the two AYC Snipes at Jibe Tech and got to visit in New Bedford. After a 4am wakeup and drive to Logan, we landed in St. Thomas, took a cab to Red Hook and a ferry to West End. It takes some time and you have to clear customs but’s pretty easy. We did some chores when we got to the boat and decided what we were going to do for the next few days.

For those who not familiar with the islands, here’s an overall map:

The next day, we had a beautiful upwind sail pretty much the entire length of the chain up the Sir Francis Drake Channel from West End to the Bitter End. We just chilled at the Biter End on a mooring for two nights. During the day we swam, snorkeled, and Hew did a wing foiling lesson (on a non-foiling board) and of course we went over to Saba Rock both evenings for cocktails and a “you can’t make this shit up” interaction with a nut job. So many questions…. But that’s a story for another day.

The next stop was a 15 mile “passage” northeast to Anegada in search of some great kiteboarding for Chip and Zander. It was a glorious sail over and after inching (almost) into the anchorage we managed to find just enough water to have a good holding spot and swing space. The channel was very skinny water and we “brushed “a few times with an 8’6” draft, but it was an adequate enough spot for the conditions.

The guys got their kite equipment out and we dinghied ashore to rent a jeep to get to the north shore beaches where the good kiting was. Anegada is an outlier topographically. The rest of the archipelago is very hilly with lots of vegetation, but Anegada is basically a sandy island like the Bahamas. And it was just weird that they had jeeps and other vehicles to rent there; not what I would have expected. Hew and I dropped Chip and Zander at the Anegada Beach Club, watched them launch for their their kite sessions and then drove to the other side of the island in search of a good snorkeling spot.

We decided to stay another day for more kiting, but the next day the breeze picked up into the mid 20s and came around to a more easterly direction which was much less protected and our holding ground was not great (we started to drag a bit in the morning). We attempted to move to a different spot more in the lee around Pomato point but despite there appearing to be enough water, it was way too skinny and no one was comfortable being there, especially after bumping pretty hard a few times, fortunately in the sand. So unfortunately, we had to bail and sent Hew and Zander to collect the kite equipment and get back to the boat. But we had a spectacular sail back down to Marina Cay near Great Camanoe/Scrub Islands in 25+ knots. After the skinny water stress, we just chilled and got some supplies at the Scrub Island Resort store, and of course went ashore for a pre dinner cocktail.

The next day we had a great beam reach up the channel to The Bight Bay on Norman Island. We all thought it might be a little much with all the boats there and the party crowd craziness of Willy T’s. But it was surprisingly quiet and pleasant (and amusing watching some anchoring antics), and it was quite the view at night with all of the boat lights. Of course we went in to The Pirates Bight for late afternoon cocktails. It rained a bit overnight and the next day but never enough to cramp anyone’s style, and it rinsed the deck off!

It rained off and on as we headed back to West End, but the best part of that was rainbows! We stopped for lunch at Foxy’s Taboo on Jost Van Dyke and in two separate times there, had the best fish sandwiches ever. We sailed leisurely back to the marina at West End and got the boat cleaned up from the week since we were taking the 8am ferry the next morning. We went out to dinner that last night at Pussers at West End (the only place open on Monday night), but we ate all other dinners and most lunches on the boat. Zander brought a foam cooler packed with various meats to cook (amazing that got through customs!) which we typically grilled. We definitely ate well!

Another of the really fun things about the BVIs for us boat gawkers, is the plethora of large and interesting boats. Here’s a sampling of the varied kinds of boats we saw:

The next day was a long travel day and it was brutal to walk out the door at 10pm at Logan after a 50 degree temperature drop. After another day visit in New Bedford, it was a long drive back to Annapolis. But after such a fun week relaxing and sailing with friends new and old, I’m not complaining by any stretch.