"This was probably the best vacation I've ever taken."

-John Gugliotta, New York, NY.  March '06 trip (then Greece '06, January '07, and skipper of his own trip, Jan. 08.)

"I had some of the best moments of my life on our sailing vessel "Near Enough" - from the best night's sleep (I slept through a squall), to sitting on the bow of the boat in contemplation, while gazing at the stunning horizon lines and the distant islands. While snorkeling, I experienced amazing underwater biodiversity,  renewing my appreciation and respect for nature. I enjoyed the trip immensely as well as the company of my shipmates who really added to the pleasure of the whole trip. I can't wait to visit this area again next year and hopefully take more trips with Captain Steve to other parts of the world."

-Lydia Furuta, New York, NY.  March '06 BVI trip  (then Greece '06, and January '07.)

Read on, and see some pictures and video, to learn about taking an instructional sailing vacation in a tropical setting!  The British Virgin Islands are the ideal grouds to get started, and it's hard to outgrow them: many serious bluewater cruisers make ocean passages to return year after year.  A large percentage of students taking Bareboat Charter courses, such as our Start Bareboating^sm course, seek to cruise in the Virgin Islands.  This is a great way to get started.

We offer special trips where you can not only get training while you sail and handle the vessel in all aspects, but also enjoy a proper vacation at the same time.  There's plenty to do besides sail.  Food and drink are excellent ashore, and preparing meals on board is surprisingly easy and satisfying.  Watersports abound down here: you can try board sailing ('Windsurfing'), snorkeling (equipment provided), beachcombing, hiking & exploring, zipping around in the yacht's dinghy tender, bird watching, even fishing.  There are some very interesting spots scattered around for nightlife, too, such as the Bomba Shack on Tortola, Foxies and Sydney's Peace & Love on Jost Van Dyke, and others.

For relaxation time on board, the vessels are all spacious and well appointed.  We use yachts ranging from 34 to 51 feet, depending on group size.  We never overcrowd a boat beyond it's realistic capacity to accommodate everyone.  Each vessel has hot and cold running water & shower in the heads (marine bathrooms with toilet), refrigeration, proper electronics and instruments, electric anchor windlass, bimini shade for cockpit, rigid bottom inflatable (RIB) dinghy with outboard engine, etc, etc...

When you're done, you'll probably wind up with Basic Cruising or Bareboat Charter certification, depending on your prior experience and how much you pursue it on the trip.

From time to time we schedule trips in other locations for variety.  Here are some places we're considering for future trips to supplement our BVI jaunts:

• Australia: Whitsunday Islands
• Mediterranean: Greek Isles or Croatia
• South Pacific: Polynesia (Tahiti, Bora Bora, etc)

Below are some pictures and a synopsis of our March '06 trip to whet your appetite.  If we succeed, here's some info on our next trip, Saturday through Saturday:

(Pricing normally varies from trip to trip, but averages out to be around $1600 per person including everything but airfare, local transfers, and meals ashore (which is typically most dinners).  Price fluctuates depending on which boat/s we're on, seasonal price fluctuations, and how many people we have.  You won't have any nasty surprises, however.   You will know the price in advance.)

• Charter fee
• Fuel
• Water
• Provisioning (food, beverage, water, but not alcohol*)
• Cruising and National Park permits & taxes
• Vessel insurance
• Instruction
• Certification exam and processing as relevant

We have several video clips below from our January '06 trip, with more to follow. (To see videos from a previous trip, visit our VIDEO PAGE here, and look through our British Virgin Island series.)
 

Everyone arrived in stages.  The boat was not ready early, but rather a little late this time.  No matter, as the base location is quite attractive and one can linger over a meal or drink, relax in the shaded veranda by the water, or explore other boats on the numerous docks.  To make up for the fishing, we were treated to tarpon swimming around under the lights on the docks that night.  (Tarpon are large fish related to herring; small ones are 50 pounds and under, while trophy fish start at around 100 and go on up to over 200.)  These fish were around 40 to 50 pounds as near as we could tell.  Video coming soon!

Left: partial view of the Sunsail fleet from staircase landing in the Hodges Creek Hotel at the base.

We go over the boat and get our walk-through from the Sunsail staff.  Dockmaster requests an upgrade to the PFD inventory on board (personal Flotation Device), and this is graciously accomodated.  Several of us attend the Skipper's Meeting, which Sunsail conducts every morning.  There's always something new to learn, or at least a new perspective to be gained, as all staff who conduct the meetings are very knowledgeable about the area.  They are also highly entertaining! (just like the little guy to the right)

The meeting room has a super-sized chart on the wall for easy reference, and attendees can also consult their charts and cruising guides (supplied by Sunsail).  We always bring supplemental charts and sometimes a different cruising guide as well. 

We settle on a rough itinerary for the week, with the first two days locked in: Norman Island, followed by Jost Van Dyke.  We plan our departure from the dock based on the wind conditions and John, who is pursuing Bareboat Charter certification, takes us out.  We immediately encounter a "dinghy train:" this is a Sunsail staffer towing a very long string of the rigid-bottom inflatables supplied for every vessel.  They get towed to or from a staging area on a mooring.  Here's what it looks like, made to appear worse than it really is with a telephoto lens:

He comes around the bend way too fast and we hardly have time to put the engine in reverse to hover briefly.  Then, the wind catches us, and it's time to engage in forward instead.  Despite this obstacle, John manages quite well, and we're back underway without having impaled the vessel on the dock (or popped one of the inflatables like a balloon!).

Winds are lighter than a few months ago on our January trip.  Substantially lighter, in fact, on average - but that just means easier sailing and a little extra motoring before/after sailing.  Despite that, we have enough wind on several occasions during the week to put the boat through her paces upwind, responding to gusts and lulls.

En route to Norman Island and again departing the next day, we pass Pelican Island and The Indians, a great snorkeling/diving stop.  Took a picture of it; like to see it/here it is:

Our goal is to get to The Bight at Norman Island early enough to get a mooring, as it can be a crowded anchorage with little room to set an anchor.  Upon arrival, we appear to be doing very well, but all the empty moorings are reserved, and there are numerous other vessels zipping around finding out the same thing.  Karin spots a couple of moorings on the far side of the anchorage, relatively close to the Willie T (William Thornton), a floating bar/restaurant converted from an actual sailing vessel.  We grab what turns out to be the last open mooring and breath a sigh of relief.  Of course, it's close enough to the Willie T to be loud throughout the night, but most people on board slept through it and the rest of us just lost some sleep at times.

(Our back-up would have been to leave the Bight and head back to Peter Island, anchoring in Little Harbor, which has no moorings and no restaurants or facilities, and thus is easier to anchor in.  It's also very idyllic.)

Almost as soon as we checked our swing on the mooring and double checked boat systems, most of us got in the dinghy and headed around the corner to the main attraction: "The Caves," a snorkeling and exploring area along a rocky point at the west end of the Bight and the Island.  (Imagine The Indians all jammed side by side, with a couple of small caves at the borders, and you've got an idea of what it looks like.) The Caves are on the exposed side, so if there are swells it's not safe.  However, we were lucky to get enough waves to limit the number of dinghies but not too much for safety.  We moored the dink and splashed in for some snorkeling.  Immediately, we were rewarded with a school of violet fish under the dinghy that didn't mind our presence.  These might have been a species of angel fish; have to double check the fish chart.  From there right to the caves and everywhere around, fish life was very abundant, with majestic schools and inquisitive singles and pairs.  The Caves frequently have turtles, and Mary is lucky enough to see one.  Karin saw a large puffer fish, and everyone saw multitudes of schooling and single fish.

The caves are also reputedly the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

The Willie T's claim to fame is this: women who jump naked off the top level of the boat are rewarded with a T-shirt commemorating this brave act.  (One member of our group had been there/done that, and was proudly (?) sporting her trophy T, possibly to discourage any encouragement once aboard the bar boat.)  The Dockmaster was not duly diligent and did not capture any video of women engaged in this pursuit, although we all got an eyeful on approach to the dinghy dock (let's just say there were some extra fenders in the way of our landing).  What do men get if they jump off naked?  Apparently, nothing except applause and cheers.

Dinner: we opted to go ashore where there is one casual restaurant on the beach with a reputation for excellent baby backs.  It did not disappoint.  Due to there being two race week events going on, including the popular BVI Spring Series, it was crowded but the restaurant was prepared with a buffet that was quite good.  For awhile they rationed the baby backs, but a little patience and charm got us seconds and thirds.

The gift shop was extremely overpriced - ridiculously so, in fact, with t-shirts starting at a little under $30 (the logos were almost cute enough to swing one or two shoppers).  However, there was one good find: $6 coffee mugs with a cranky skeleton pirate holding a mug, complaining, "Dead til I gets me coffee!"

And then there was the carousing on the Willie T.  We got that out of the way before dinner, and didn't go back afterward.  That didn't stop what sounded like the rest of the anchorage but was really only a handful of relatively energetic boaters.  And most of us slept right through it.