BVI notes

[brigadoonboat]

we had a great week in the Bvi and chartered with Conch Charters and have done so in past years. they have older boats, but they are fine, and the price is right.
- at the briefing, find out the best places to anchor. moorings are in short supply and fill up early. Then be careful not to anchor in coral. we saw some do that, and it is so sad. Learn how to use your anchor and windless.
_ use the holding tank! everyone is swimming and so are you. empty it out from shore, and be sure you are far enough out.
-Road town groceries are great, Leverick Bay, and Trellis Bay are good also.
-By far the best meal was Beef Island Guest House, in Trellis Bay. The atmosphere is relaxed and pretty too.
- have reasonable expectations about seeing various islands. As close as they are, sailing takes time, and the point is to relax!
- Catamarans are getting bigger and bigger, with big engines, great for a party, but if you want to sail, get a monohull, and sail. we are amazed how many boats are motoring just going from island to island.
-one couple 37-38 foot is a good size.
two or three couples, 45-48 is best, and
four couples, 50-52 would be alright. don't be afraid of taking a big boat out.
- common sense is key. follow the guide book and charts that came with the boat. all navigation is by sight. all the islands are visible, and its no more then an hour's sail between anchorages for the most part.
- it gets dark at night and it happens fast, be somewhere by then.

[Zanshin]

The BVI really are a great and easy place to sail.

I would have to add that the food at The Last Resort is great as well, but De Loose Mongoose makes up for that by having a beach. I had some fantastic steak at Leverick Bay, but it was rather pricey.

[SVAuspicious]

There are tons of good places to eat in the BVI. Check out the arm-wrestling on traveltalkonline.com . My favs are the Pussers at Marina Cay, Sandcastle in White Bay JVD, Myett's in CGB (work around the cruise ship schedule), the restaurant at Leverick Bay, North Sound, VG, Cooper Island Beach Club, and Brandywine on Tortola. Spaghetti Junction in Road Town is my first night dinner every visit.

A moment of silence if you will for the late lamented Donovan's Reef on Scrub Island.

[Zanshin]

What about moments of silence for two ex-restaurants that were in my top ones in the BVI:

Giorgio's (demised due to landslides removing the dining area)
Fat Hog Bob's (various rumours abound as to how that came about)

[BoxedUp]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

What about moments of silence for two ex-restaurants that were in my top ones in the BVI:

Giorgio's (demised due to landslides removing the dining area)
Fat Hog Bob's (various rumours abound as to how that came about)

We ate @ Fat Hog Bob's 2x when the Sunsail Base was there. I guess moving the base to Road Town was the reason for it's demise.

[Zanshin]

BoxedUp - I heard several rumours but the one from the most authoritative source (a cruiser who know someone who docked at a marina where the guard had a sister whose cousin is married to the cook...) was that Pusser's wanted the location and subsequently Fat Hog Bob's owner had immigration issues which finally ended up in the sale.

[BoxedUp]

Zanshin - very interesting. Have you heard of any plans for the former Sunsail Base there? It was nice and quiet over there and I would think the new base @ Wickham's Cay is not so much. We'll be there in only 13 weeks, but who's counting?

[Zanshin]

The base won't be resurrected and the building which had Sunsail in it remains empty. Business at the docks has picked up (partly because of good monthly dockage rates). The hotel is still open and is used by airline crews and arriving/departing guests and at least one smaller charter company is based there. The fuel dock and maintenance sheds remain property of Sunsail/Moorings and are very active since they have a travelift to do maintenance on boats. I don't think that the fuel dock is open for use, though; so any filling up would need to be done elsewhere.
I was at Calamaya about two months ago and it hadn't changed (food tasty, service lacking). The new Pusser's was quite busy, but I didn't go in.

[XTR]

That sucks that Fat Hog Bob's is gone. I think I ate there ever time I went to BVI, and I always enjoyed it.