British Virgin Islands

March 14

We’ve boated in BVI several times so were looking forward to coming back again. It’s a little different doing it in a 64’ boat rather than a 38’ catamaran tho.

For starters these islands are steep and the water is deep right up to the shoreline sometimes. There are lots of mooring balls to tie up to but if your boat is longer then 50’ you’re out of luck. So we have to be careful where we anchor since we don’t have enouh anchor chain for more than 40’ of depth.

Another challenge is that BVI must be the charter boat capital of the world. We came thru a channel today, one big power boat in a sea of sailboats zigging and zagging as they tacked from side to side. If you are a sailboat under sail you have the right of way. So we zigged and zagged trying to avoid about 50 sailboats. It was an adventure!

BVI is still recovering from the hurricane 18 months ago.  Rebuilding is going on everywhere and lots of places still aren’t open. That really hit home today when we arrived at Soper Hole, the second largest harbor on Tortolla only to find that the market and dive shops hadn’t reopened yet. From now on we will call ahead to make sure things are operational before showing up.

We have found some great anchorages and some not so great anchorages. If you don’t choose wisely according to the prevailing wind and wave direction it can get quite “rolly”. Not comfortable and when your cat looks at you as if to say “please make it stop!” you know it’s time to move on. The issue was that all the neat diving sites we wanted to visit were no where near a decent anchorage. Because it’s so crowded with boats (charter boat capital of the world), if you don’t anchor by lunch time you will not find space.

We’ve managed to get a few dives in but one of the best experiences was a snorkel at the “Baths” on Virgin Gorda. I could have stayed there for hours meandering in and out of large boulders. Depths ranged from 3-30 feet so snorkeling was perfect. Although the coral has taken a hit from the hurricane the fish were out in abundance.

Our last night was at Bitterend on Virgin Gorda. This was a place we had visited before and loved. This time it was like a ghost town. Where there were marinas, mooring fields, restaurants and a thriving community now there was….the beginnings of a new marina and a few mooring balls. It was a bit eerie and again brought home that it will take quite awhile for these islands to recover from Irma. The devastation is enormous and recovery will take years.

Just outside of Bitterend is Nekker Island owned by Richard Branson. It was also flattened by Irma but is being rebuilt rapidly. Money really does help.