We have booked a 2 week bare boat charter in the BVI in May. During
this period we want to sail to the Leeward islands for a few days and
back to the BVI. Is any one familiar with this trip - best route,
departure point (Virgin Gorda??), time enroute, go to point, etc.

The boat will be a 413. We are experienced sailors with some open
water experience and good GPS navigation skills.

Dick Smith wrote in message news:p8COb.81169$5V2.104009@attbi_s53...
We have booked a 2 week bare boat charter in the BVI in May. During
this period we want to sail to the Leeward islands for a few days and
back to the BVI. Is any one familiar with this trip - best route,
departure point (Virgin Gorda??), time enroute, go to point, etc.

The boat will be a 413. We are experienced sailors with some open
water experience and good GPS navigation skills.

I've crossed the Anagada Passage from Bitter End to St. Martin twice.
The winds will certainly be on the nose, the question is how much
wind? We sat anchored off of Bitter End for 8 days the first time and
for 6 days in late April the 2nd time, when the winds blew a steady
25-30 kts. When we did get a break in the weather, we were able to
lay St. Martin on a single starboard tack motorsail. As far as "go to
points", you'll take whatever the wind gives you. You can certainly
beat yourself up and sail it, but I'd hope for a flat motorsail across
and play on the other end. Of course, coming back will usually be an
easy one.

Regards, Mark
S/V Shooting Star

Dick Smith wrote in message news:p8COb.81169$5V2.104009@attbi_s53...
We have booked a 2 week bare boat charter in the BVI in May. During
this period we want to sail to the Leeward islands for a few days and
back to the BVI. Is any one familiar with this trip - best route,
departure point (Virgin Gorda??), time enroute, go to point, etc.

The boat will be a 413. We are experienced sailors with some open
water experience and good GPS navigation skills.

I've crossed the Anagada Passage from Bitter End to St. Martin twice.
The winds will certainly be on the nose, the question is how much
wind? We sat anchored off of Bitter End for 8 days the first time and
for 6 days in late April the 2nd time, when the winds blew a steady
25-30 kts. When we did get a break in the weather, we were able to
lay St. Martin on a single starboard tack motorsail. As far as "go to
points", you'll take whatever the wind gives you. You can certainly
beat yourself up and sail it, but I'd hope for a flat motorsail across
and play on the other end. Of course, coming back will usually be an
easy one.

Regards, Mark
S/V Shooting Star

In article p8COb.81169$5V2.104009@attbi_s53,
Dick Smith wrote:

We have booked a 2 week bare boat charter in the BVI in May. During
this period we want to sail to the Leeward islands for a few days and
back to the BVI. Is any one familiar with this trip - best route,
departure point (Virgin Gorda??), time enroute, go to point, etc.

The boat will be a 413. We are experienced sailors with some open
water experience and good GPS navigation skills.


In my never humble opinion, the BVI offerings can only be scratched in 2
weeks. Pat and I would budget 4-6 weeks to revisit most of the spots on
our pages (below) and the places we intentionally don't mention. When we
had only 3 weeks, we had some hard choices.

In the charter companies' opinion, St. John and Anegada are often not in
their regular service areas. Forget about service even further away.
[Things break, even on brand new boats.]

Going windward of the BVI is a long hard slog. That will cost at least a
day, and some of the crew will be incapacitated for a day or so after.

If you really want to do the Windwards on a bareboat, start there. They
have a couple weeks' activity by themselves.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

In article p8COb.81169$5V2.104009@attbi_s53,
Dick Smith wrote:

We have booked a 2 week bare boat charter in the BVI in May. During
this period we want to sail to the Leeward islands for a few days and
back to the BVI. Is any one familiar with this trip - best route,
departure point (Virgin Gorda??), time enroute, go to point, etc.

The boat will be a 413. We are experienced sailors with some open
water experience and good GPS navigation skills.


In my never humble opinion, the BVI offerings can only be scratched in 2
weeks. Pat and I would budget 4-6 weeks to revisit most of the spots on
our pages (below) and the places we intentionally don't mention. When we
had only 3 weeks, we had some hard choices.

In the charter companies' opinion, St. John and Anegada are often not in
their regular service areas. Forget about service even further away.
[Things break, even on brand new boats.]

Going windward of the BVI is a long hard slog. That will cost at least a
day, and some of the crew will be incapacitated for a day or so after.

If you really want to do the Windwards on a bareboat, start there. They
have a couple weeks' activity by themselves.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/