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BVI: Alternative to Full Provisioning

15K views 49 replies 25 participants last post by  Minnewaska 
#1 ·
We have booked our first BVI charter for April 2012 and I'm beyond excited.

I received some good provisioning advice while hanging out in the chat room earlier, but something just dawned on me.

Rather than loading up the boat with tons of food for the week, is it naive to think that I can get away with buying some essentials to get us going (and for emergencies when we can't get to shore) and then buying food where the locals buy food on the various islands that we visit? They have to buy food somewhere, correct?

Our preferred way to travel is to wander around neighborhoods, eat where the locals rather than tourists eat (OK, we will be going to Foxy's) and see how people in other countries live. Isn't there street food available? We have no desire to sit on the boat 24/7 no matter how blue and crystal clear the water is. Why spend all that money to isolate ourselves with the same couple for seven days? Nice as they are.

So, to all you cruisers who call the islands your second (or first) home, is this realistic?
 
#33 ·
We just got back from a 10 day charter with Sunsail in the BVI's with just my husband, daughter and I. Provisioned most of the liquor at Tico's since they had my favorite wine at a decent price, and used Bobby's for the staples, (although we found out we could walk to the store across the street once we were there). We bought only enough for 4 days, knowing we would provision again in Spanish Town. We ate one meal ashore each day. Worked great. We could choose from lunch or dinner, although we found the best bang for your buck is with the lunch menu. Good food at a more reasonable price. When we returned the only thing I had to throw was a small assortment of condiments and half a loaf of bread. Have a fun trip!
 
#35 ·
Thanks, Boxed. Good point on the painkillers. I'll add them to my list.

We ditched the Sunsail provisioning and we're ordering direct from Bobby's and planning a few meals at restaurants.

I did buy the cruising guide as I'll use it again in the future and I'm a note-taker. I want to have it to reference both for future trips and to look back on our first trip.
 
#37 ·
I bought the cruising guide as well. There is no way i would want to go with out having done my homework first. Im my opinion the guide is a must have for a first timer. Donna I'm going to be expecting a full report when you get back.lol The only complaint that i have about the cruising guide is every place in it sounds amazing and i want to see it all!

We never would have thought about hanging out in Road Town but the cg said it had some great shopping and a historical museum etc etc. so when my wife saw that, it was a must see on our (her) list. On second thought maybe the guide is a bad idea.
 
#38 ·
You will be glad you bought the cruising guide. I suggest you take the map(s) most cruising guides have loose inside the covers to your local copy store, and have a couple of (oversize) copies of the maps made for the trip. Then each evening you can annotate the maps with notes of the days experiences. Makes a great record of the trip, and a wonderful remembrance.

Since you ordered from Bobbi's (good move) you need to be ready for when they deliver the provisions. Well before the trip decide who will a)check off the provisioning list, and b)who will stow things away. The provisioning companies are good at filling the orders, but usually something on the list will not get on your boat. Therefore someone must take the invoice, and check off each item as it is placed on board. The delivery crew will cheerfully take the list of missing items, and bring them back to you in a short while. b) Some ONE person should stow everything. That ONE person will be able to find the relish for the hotdogs for lunch three days out without emptying the whole locker.

The whole bit of getting on the boat, sorting things out, getting briefed, and getting underway is a mad scramble. Suggest you have the provisioning company include a fresh made sandwich from their delicatessan for everyone aboard. It just works out well to clear the inner harbor, raise the sails, and then have a sandwich all ready to eat.

I have never had a liquid that did not taste better with a splash of Mount Gay.

On Tortola there was a shack making smoothies on nearly every beach, + the sidewalk market in Roadtown. Delicious. Many owned by a BVI native who went to Washington and Lee. Fun guy to talk to.
 
#42 ·
we've done a number of charters, including BVI. We focus on having breakfast items, lunch items, snacks and beverages, plus plan about 3 dinners on board during a week's charter. One dinner is usually omelettes and salad (using up the eggs). We bring things like coffee/tea/sugar/crackers/cookies/tuna/cereal with us from home, and use the "a la carte" page on the charter company's provisioning list, to pick and choose only the items we want. (cold cuts/cheese/yogurt/fruit, etc). Go out for dinner. On a few nights, grill chicken/burgers/pork tenderloin on board, with rice pilaf or couscous (boxes we bring from home) and salad or veg. Keep it simple with the onboard cooking... you're on vacation! I am not a big fan of grocery stores when on vacation, so I like having the a la carte items delivered to boat. When trying to decide amounts of things, less is more. You can always add to what you bought, and usually there will be stuff left over at the end of the charter. We get creative the last day or so, using up what is left. Everyone's tastes and habits are different, but think about how you eat on your boat when weekend cruising at home and go from there.
 
#43 ·
for a week...take a cooler full of the protein you want to eat since it is the most expensive part of the provision and you can take up to 40lbs of food into the BVI and Airline will allow a cooler in exchange of a check bag. men usually only need a carry on :) so you can still take all the usual stuff. Eating out in the BVI is not that expensive TICO in the British Virgin Islands is the best place to buy booze their a wholesaler and sell to the public as well as deliver to your boat in most cases if you buy enough, their across the street from the Ample Hamper. Bobby's supermarket is on the cheaper side for the basic stuff and Rite way has everything Ample Hamper for specialty foods
 
#47 ·
My understanding is that it is YOUR responsibility to tell them, not their's to ask you for it. Obviously, they cannot ask for any piece of luggage if you happen to have dry ice in it (or any of many other unusual items that may require special handling) so it is up to you to tell them.

Just remember next time. I have traveled with dry ice and it was never a problem.
 
#48 ·
Yes you are correct Dry Ice should be labeled Dry Ice on the cooler and state the weight of the ice which you should estimate at 5.5 lbs... if you purchase the dry ice 2 days before your flight it will convert to a gas at 5 to 10 lbs per 24 hr period depending on the insulation of the container. I purchase 25lbs 2 days before travel I pack the cooler the night before so timing the arrival at check in so 5lbs will be left in the cooler when we arrive at the airport. This gives enough time to get to the boat and unpack the frozen food.
 
#50 ·
This past winter, we chartered out of St. Thomas at CYOA and sailed over the BVI. I would have assumed that was tougher than it turned out to be. The convenience of not dealing with the Ferry and the cattle pen of customs at Road Town was outstanding and the boat never had a single breakdown!

Wasn't sure if you already booked directly out of BVI. By the way, we used Grocery Goddess to custom provision at the dock at CYOA. They did a great job.
 
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