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Several BNers have expressed an interest in considering a sailing vacation in the BVI......so having done 3 such excursions myself I thought I'd start this thread.

There's a lot to discuss, but for starters, especially if you've never sailed or even visited the BVI, here's a great little slide show that gives a real good introduction: http://www.ed-hamilton.com/A/BB/1.BBslides.html

If there is interest I'll follow up with regular postings and links over the winter to possibility lead to a "Buffett News Flotilla" sailing the beautiful British Virgins, OK? Just as a heads up, you generally need to confirm your booking a year in advance to get the boat(s) you want for the week you want. My wife and I have always gone in mid-April (just as the rates drop from their highest levels) and found the weather and wind conditions to be perfect!

Anchors away......

We have never sailed but have fancied something like this for a couple of years.

Have just booked this for next February, we don't normally stay anywhere as good as this.

http://www.buccamentbay.com/

If you're talking 2012 I'd be interested - the bulk of my 2011 vacation time and money are going to St Barts again. But this is something I have always wanted to try.

Realistically, we'd have to confirm bookings around April 2011 for an April 2012 charter.......that's what I was thinking any way!

More questions anybody?????

how long are you thinking of sailing for. Having never done anything like this before I don't want to commit to too long in case it's not for us. Having said that the cost of flying from the UK might mean a land and sea vacation. BVI is not easy to get to from the UK.

In the past, I've flown into the BVI on a Friday and stayed at the Moorings (a charter company) base on Tortola that night (they have a motel adjacent to the marina). Most sailing charters run Saturday to Saturday.

Here's a FAQ link from the Moorings site that might help with other questions at this point: http://www.moorings.com/faq And here's another link to the Moorings' BVI home page: http://www.moorings.com/vacation-option ... ds/tortola

I'd recommend that we all consider renting a catamaran since these vessels provide much more usable space than a monohull sailboat. Most catamarans have 4 staterooms. If you aren't an experienced sailor, you can hire a captain for the week and he or she would occupy one of the staterooms. Then the total costs for the trip are split up among 3 couples occupying the remaining staterooms. Our last trip, we chartered a 47-foot catamaran and, although we do sail, we had a captain on board since none of us had sailed a yacht that large. All captains we've met are very personable and provide useful knowledge about each anchorage (and restaurants!). You can help as much or as little as you wish on board, so being totally inexperienced is no obstacle to having a great vacation!

Because most all of the islands in the BVI are close and you are sailing in the protected Drake Channel, you seldom sail more than a few hours each day or experience rough conditions as you visit each of the islands......hope this helps!

Looking at the moorings site the price seems to be about $3500 per couple for a week plus supplies. That might be a bit rich for us.

he came from london wrote:Looking at the moorings site the price seems to be about $3500 per couple for a week plus supplies. That might be a bit rich for us.

Sorry thats £ so about $4500 t0 $5000 depending on exchange rates

Which charter company have you used in the past? The earlier link or Moorings?

We'd be interested in the April 2012 sailing.

he came from london wrote:

he came from london wrote:Looking at the moorings site the price seems to be about $3500 per couple for a week plus supplies. That might be a bit rich for us.

Sorry thats £ so about $4500 t0 $5000 depending on exchange rates

It's been a few years since our last charter, but with 3 couples and captain on board a 47-foot catamaran my wife and I spent around $5,000 total for the week.....that included the boat (which is also your lodging), air fare from Baltimore to BVI through San Juan, PR, food, and spending money. Obvously I'd need to research today's costs once I knew how many people were seriously considering the trip.

You're right, it's not cheap (and your coming from Europe adds to that cost).....that's why we don't charter there every year (I would if I could). Still, I can say without any hesitation, the 3 weeks I've spent sailing in the BVI have been the 3 most relaxing weeks of my life!

nutmeg wrote:Which charter company have you used in the past? The earlier link or Moorings?

We'd be interested in the April 2012 sailing.

The last 2 times to the BVI we have booked through Ed Hamilton & Co., a leading charter travel agency booking sailing vacations around the world. We discussed the various trip options with an agent at this company we've come to know and he, in turn, made all arrangements for us through the Moorings as well as found us discounted air fare. It costs no more to use the broker than to book direct with the Moorings and making plane reservations on your own. The agent has done an excellent job for us.

The agent has up-to-the-minute info on each charter company and keeps the clients informed. For example, there was a fire at the Tortola Moorings facility that closed the pool and restaurant on site on our 2nd trip down. The agent called before we left, told us of the situation, and made arrangements with Moorings for dining our first night there at a sister property. Other people, upon arriving, had to make other arrangements for dining. We simply unpacked, caught a taxi to the other restaurant, and had a relaxing, enjoyable meal......

Here's a link to the broker's "About Us" page: http://www.ed-hamilton.com/A/ABOUT_US/1.company.html

we've used Moorings every time we've gone. I'd recommend them. They've seemed to have survived the economic downturn better than many. Their boats aren't as new as they used to be, but nobody's are.

Bfan53again wrote:

nutmeg wrote:Which charter company have you used in the past? The earlier link or Moorings?

We'd be interested in the April 2012 sailing.

The last 2 times to the BVI we have booked through Ed Hamilton & Co., a leading charter travel agency booking sailing vacations around the world. We discussed the various trip options with an agent at this company we've come to know and he, in turn, made all arrangements for us through the Moorings as well as found us discounted air fare. It costs no more to use the broker than to book direct with the Moorings and making plane reservations on your own. The agent has done an excellent job for us.

The agent has up-to-the-minute info on each charter company and keeps the clients informed. For example, there was a fire at the Tortola Moorings facility that closed the pool and restaurant on site on our 2nd trip down. The agent called before we left, told us of the situation, and made arrangements with Moorings for dining our first night there at a sister property. Other people, upon arriving, had to make other arrangements for dining. We simply unpacked, caught a taxi to the other restaurant, and had a relaxing, enjoyable meal......

Here's a link to the broker's "About Us" page: http://www.ed-hamilton.com/A/ABOUT_US/1.company.html

Neat website...I looked at the list of yaghts and there is one named Nutmeg I didn't check to see where she was based...

I like that they have an escrow system for holding the money.

nutmeg wrote:

Bfan53again wrote:

nutmeg wrote:Which charter company have you used in the past? The earlier link or Moorings?

We'd be interested in the April 2012 sailing.

The last 2 times to the BVI we have booked through Ed Hamilton & Co., a leading charter travel agency booking sailing vacations around the world. We discussed the various trip options with an agent at this company we've come to know and he, in turn, made all arrangements for us through the Moorings as well as found us discounted air fare. It costs no more to use the broker than to book direct with the Moorings and making plane reservations on your own. The agent has done an excellent job for us.

The agent has up-to-the-minute info on each charter company and keeps the clients informed. For example, there was a fire at the Tortola Moorings facility that closed the pool and restaurant on site on our 2nd trip down. The agent called before we left, told us of the situation, and made arrangements with Moorings for dining our first night there at a sister property. Other people, upon arriving, had to make other arrangements for dining. We simply unpacked, caught a taxi to the other restaurant, and had a relaxing, enjoyable meal......

Here's a link to the broker's "About Us" page: http://www.ed-hamilton.com/A/ABOUT_US/1.company.html

Neat website...I looked at the list of yaghts and there is one named Nutmeg I didn't check to see where she was based...

I like that they have an escrow system for holding the money.

Yes, the nice thing is your fee is payable in installments over the 12 months prior to your charter.....

Has anyone done the little lattitudes of Trinidad, Tortola, Grenadines??

wandarintoes wrote:Has anyone done the little lattitudes of Trinidad, Tortola, Grenadines??

Tortola is part of the BVI......but I've never sailed to the other locations you mentioned.

I have a friend who is building a house on Carriacou which is part of the Grenadines. It's still very primitive but, from what he tells me, it's beautiful and unspoiled.

wandarintoes wrote:Has anyone done the little lattitudes of Trinidad, Tortola, Grenadines??

Tom and I took a boat out of St Vincent in the Grenadines some years back. We went to Bequia, Mustique and
the Tobago keys. It was Paradise.

We also took a Windjammer out of Grenada that went to several islands in the Grenadines as well.

We're still interested in the 2012 sailing. Anyone else????

nutmeg wrote:

wandarintoes wrote:Has anyone done the little lattitudes of Trinidad, Tortola, Grenadines??

Tom and I took a boat out of St Vincent in the Grenadines some years back. We went to Bequia, Mustique and
the Tobago keys. It was Paradise.

We also took a Windjammer out of Grenada that went to several islands in the Grenadines as well.

We're still interested in the 2012 sailing. Anyone else????

I thought this thread had faded away........but we'll keep 2012 a possibility, OK?

If we can find a 3rd couple to share the yacht we'd be likely to look into making reservations this April for next April.......

Feel free to PM with questions, ideas, etc.

Bfan53again wrote:

nutmeg wrote:

wandarintoes wrote:Has anyone done the little lattitudes of Trinidad, Tortola, Grenadines??

Tom and I took a boat out of St Vincent in the Grenadines some years back. We went to Bequia, Mustique and
the Tobago keys. It was Paradise.

We also took a Windjammer out of Grenada that went to several islands in the Grenadines as well.

We're still interested in the 2012 sailing. Anyone else????

I thought this thread had faded away........but we'll keep 2012 a possibility, OK?

If we can find a 3rd couple to share the yacht we'd be likely to look into making reservations this April for next April.......

Feel free to PM with questions, ideas, etc.

Yooo Hoooo! We need a third couple. Anyone????? Or a couple of compatible singles....