DIXIE

2003 Holiday

Sail the British Virgin Islands

Having booked a two week bareboat charter at the last Earls Court Boat Show with The Moorings to start at the end of October we decided to go the whole hog and extend it to four weeks.

First off was a week in St Lucia, during which we snorkelled, swam and took day trips out on a 40 foot skippered yacht. A splendid time was had by all, despite the fact that it kept raining. At least it was warm and when the sun came out it was glorious.

Next we decamped to Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, where we stayed in a hotel for four days. Whilst there we hired a car and explored the island, as well as a day trip to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

Finally we arrived at the Moorings base in Road Town where we were introduced to our boat, a modified 33 foot Beneteau. A nice clean well appointed yacht, bigger than anything we were used to, but everything was explained clearly and we settled in for the night. Before booking the holiday we had filled in a sailing resume, detailing our previous sailing experience, which The Moorings agreed was sufficient to charter one of their boats. We did however book onto a Flotilla for the first week, just to get our hand in in company. We picked the British Virgin Islands because it promised sheltered sailing in winds of about 15 knots, well within our capabilities. However, from the moment we arrived it rained, and boy did it rain.

Day 1

Briefing nice and early were we met the lead crew and the rest of the flotilla. Mostly British and Americans, some of whom were serious sailors. Then back to the boat and prepare to leave. Unfortunately we were somewhat hemmed in by huge great catamarans and it took till noon to even get the boat out of it's corner. Once out we motored off through the harbour entrance and raised the sails, setting course for Virgin Gorda, several miles to the east. This was just as we had imagined it, close hauled in sparkling blue waters, with a nice gentle breeze. We were holding our own against the rest of the fleet as we approached Virgin Gorda, which was clearly visible in the distance from the moment we set sail. Then with about 3 miles to go it started to rain again. We could see the rain coming, a great big grey curtain of water falling from the sky. As the rain approached it obliterated everything in sight. No Tortola, no Virgin Gorda, just us surrounded by grey.And the wind rose, as it does in squalls, so we lowered the sails and motored on to St Thomas bay, arriving after the rain cleared in glorious sunshine. Anchor down and break out the rum punch. Day one over and no mishaps or embarassing foul ups.

Day 2

Briefing on the lead boat in Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour. Today we are going south to The Baths and then north to North Sound. The baths are only 2 miles away so everyone motors down there in the early light winds, pick up a mooring buoy and snorkel over reefs and rock formations teeming with fish etc. There is even a turtle under the boat. After lunch we're off again, this time under full sail, downwind and following the coast of Virgin Gorda. It's hot and sunny and the wind is light, except when it's non-existent. We notice that other identical boats are passing us but no matter, it's a lovely day. Eventually we arrive at the entrance to North Sound, where we will be mooring at Leverick Bay. The entrance runs between two reefs and naturally as we arrive the wind picks up and more heavy rain arrives, so it's time to get the sails down and motor in, before picking up a mooring buoy and settling down to a rum punch party on the beach.

Day 3

Briefing on the beach. Today is the trip to Anegada, a coral island which stands about 8 feet high at the highest point and is surrounded by coral. It is usually out of bounds to charter boats, but as we are with the flotilla we can go there. The lead boat is going to race ahead and sit at the entrance to the anchorage, so that no one ends their cruise early. And there is no wind. None at all, so we motor 15 miles in a red hot flat calm, arriving in plenty of time to negotiate the channel in bright sunlight. This means we can see the coral, as well as shoals of fish and rays, on the way in. Anchoring in the bay allows everyone to take a trip to a bay on the north coast for snorkelling. It's a bit rough, with a heavy swell crashing on the reef, but the snorkelling is superb under the conditions. That evening sees everyone ashore for dinner. By the time we returned to the boat the wind has returned with a vengeance, and there are quite substantial waves through the anchorage. A somewhat bumpy night.

Day 4

The morning dawns with some wind. Not too much for us, just force 3. Today's destination is Cane Garden Bay on the northwest coast of Tortola, so after the daily briefing we all sail away in convoy. And again it's just what we hoped for. Downwind (very broad reach) all the way in winds of about force 3/4. It's a long way again and is going to take most of the day, but this is what we came for. Again we seem to be keeping up with everyone else, until we get close to Cane Garden Bay. There the wind shifted so that we ended up on a close reach. At this point we find that identical boats are passing us with ease. We tweaked the sheets and adjusted away, but to no avail. We still fell behind. But then these are serious sailors with lot's more experience than us. Finally we're anchored in a corner of what must be one of the finest bays in the islands, and we pop ashore to visit the landmark bars (Myetts, Rhymers, Quitos, Big Banana).

Day 5

It's lunacy time on a flotilla. The day starts with a briefing then a treasure hunt, digging up buried goodies from the beach, finishing up with dinghy racing. Then it's off to Jost Van Dyke, a big island only two to three miles away. As we leave the shelter of Cane Garden Bay another huge squall arrives from the NorthEast. This combines heavy, visibility destroying rain and a swell of epic proportions, which means that we can only motor through it. Dashing across the channel we shelter behind Green Cay, dropping anchor and exploring ashore. The swell is pounding onto one side of this island but where we are it's quite calm and peaceful. By early afternoon conditions have returned to the idyll we expected and we sail away along the coast of Jost Van Dyke to Great Harbour, home of Foxy's bar. As one of the last to arrive we find that much of the rest of the flotilla has visited the Soggy Dollar Bar in neighbouring White Bay for most of the afternoon. Another Rum Punch party on the beach in the evening, entailing a great many samples of Rum Punch.

Day 6

Today is regatta day. We are going to sail round Sandy Cay, (close to where we went yesterday), back round Great and Little Thatch Islands and into Sopers Hole by evening. There are prizes as well. It's all proper start line and finish line stuff. Everything is prepared and the route is clear so off we go. Naturally we aren't the first through the start line but we're not last either so we settle in and start sailing. Close hauled for the first bit, tacking away with the rest of them. The weather is great and we're enjoying ourselves but it's apparent we are not gaining on anyone. Round Sandy Cay and the downwind leg, running goosewinged like the rest of the fleet. And they still get away from us. Round Great Thatch Island and it's back to tacking along a channel. Now we find there is no one behind us and everyone is in front. Try as we may we just don't seem to have the ability to go any faster. Finally through the finish line and into Sopers Hole where we pick up a mooring buoy for the night. That night at the Jolly Roger we are presented with a trophy for coming last. And it's not as if we weren't trying.

Day 7

Last flotilla day and we have a leaky holding tank. So it's straight off to Road Town and the Moorings Base to sort it out. And the wind is howling down the Francis Drake Channel raising an enormous swell. It's flying spray from the bow while we pitch up and down. Apart from one very keen sailor everyone else motors. Then into Road Town, tied up to the marina and time for a nice long hot shower. Shore power recharges the batteries, water and fuel topped up and there's even England playing Rugby on the telly in the bar. Ever tried explaining the rules of rugby to Americans?

Day 8

First day on our own so we start with a trip across to The Caves on Norman Island. Excellent snorkelling even with the heavy swell. Then a sail round Pelican Rock and The Indians before heading into Benures Bay for the night. Only one other yacht in there, the rest all seem to be going into The Bight. Norman Island is also known as Treasure Island and is supposed to have provided Robert Louis Stevenson with the description of the island in Robinson Crusoe. It's certainly a lovely place and once again the snorkelling is excellent. Anchored in 20 feet of water just before the wind really got up. Although we're sheltered from the worst we can still hear it, and we swing all night.

Day 9

More snorkelling in the morning and an explore ashore. Then, weather conditions having moderated (the white tops to the waves have vanished), we sail off towards the western end of Tortola, to Frenchmans Cay and Sopers Hole. A good broad reach all the way gets us there comfortably and we're soon through the channel and close reaching towards Jost Van Dyke, before a good beam reach to Cane Garden Bay. Then up pipes the wind again and the swell increases. White horses appear on all the waves as we enter Cane Garden Bay and anchor in the North East corner.

Day 10

Sailed out in glorious sunshine and a gentle breeze, heading north east along the coast, but before long the weather deterorated and we found ourselves bashing into some very short steep waves. Somehow we never imagined we would be sailing in conditions where the bow buries itself in the waves. This was actually uncomfortable and our confidence in our ability to control the boat diminished as the waves and swell got bigger. While lots of sailors would actually relish the conditions we now found ourselves in a situation we had never come across before and were quite unprepared for. So we abandoned any ideas of sailing, even with reefs in the sails, and motored into the shelter of Guana Island, where we decided to head for Trellis Bay, which should be sheltered from the strong North Easterly wind and the swell. It was, just, and we picked up a mooring buoy just off The Last Resort, where we spent an enjoyable evening with the singing chef and the donkey. Then it started to rain, and by rain we mean tons of water falling out of the sky in lumps. This was rain which reduced visibilty to yards.

Day 11

Still blowing like a mad thing and the anchorage has waves in it, for all it's shelter. Took a taxi into Road Town for supplies, returning by lunch time. Decided to give it another go, but as soon as we got out of the comparative shelter of Trellis Bay we found that conditions were no better. So instead of more sailing we went straight to Marina Cay, which was only a mile away, and was one of our intended stops anyway. And there was a Pussers Store there so we could stock up on goodies.

Day 12

Morning was not too bad, so we explored Marina Cay and snorkelled the reef. By the afternoon conditions had improved and the surf pounding on the reef had diminished, so we left intending to revisit The Baths on Virgin Gorda, which we could see from the mooring. It was still bumpy close in, but as the water deepened the swell smoothed out and we started to sail. All went well until we had gone about half way. Then the wind died away, leaving us bobbing up and down on the waves, and the sun came out. However, this was not to last and within ten minutes the wind had returned with a vengeance, together with heavy rain. Now the seas heaped up again, and white water flew off the tops of the waves. We have no idea what the wind speed was, but it was the sort of wind you have to lean into to stand up. So once again we gave in and returned to Marina Cay, mooring to a buoy as close to the lee of the island as we could. We went ashore to Marina Cay for dinner that night and met several other sailors who had all holed up for the night. Without exception they all described the weather as the worst they had ever seen for the time of year.

Day 13

One more day before the finish of our cruise and the wind is howling across the anchorage. The sea outside is covered in breaking waves, and there are white caps on the waves in the shelter of the island. Trying to look upwind hurts your eyes and the rigging is making whistling noises. We were certainly not going out in that. A neighbouring boat contacted The Moorings by phone and was informed that the weather wasn't forecast to improve. This couple, who were far more experienced than us, made a dash for Road Town during a brief lull in the afternoon, but we stayed put. We could see them ploughing through the waves, dipping the bow into the waves and throwing great sheets of water off the deck, before they vanished into the murk. Speaking to The Moorings they agreed that we could actually leave the boat there the next day and go straight to the airport. And that is how it appeared our cruise would end, as we packed most of our bags to the accompaniement of whistling rigging and driving rain.

Day 14

Last day and at first light conditions are more favourable. It's still not sailing weather for us, but the wind has eased and the seas have lost the white caps. Rather than just abandon someone elses yacht we decide to make a dash round the coast back to base. Most uncomfortable, with confused seas, and we were pitching and rolling all the way. Entering Road Town we were overtaken by a grey wall of rain which blotted out any sight of land, buoys or other boats for ten minutes, making the entrance to the marina invisible, so we had to approach very slowly until it cleared. And then we were in and tied up, floating in muddy brown water where last week it had been sparkling and clear. One couple we spoke to had just cut their holiday short and were going back to the states, as the weather was the worst they had seen for fifteen years. And it continued to rain all morning as we unloaded our luggage and it continued to rain as the taxi took us to the airport. Most of the road was under water and in several places the rain had washed large rocks off the hillsides.

Lessons learned

All in all we had a great holiday. When the weather was good it was excellent. The boat was well equipped and maintained and the flotilla was organised just right. The only failing of the entire period, apart from the weather, was us. When we booked the charter we filled in a resume of our sailing experience, necessary to allow the charter company to know if we could handle one of their boats. We filled this in honestly, and if the weather conditions had been as expected that would have been sufficient. However, as the weather got worse, we found some large gaps in our abilities.

Sailing out of Wells in the summer has always limited us to short trips in good conditions. We've sailed about for several years in relatively light winds and relatively calm seas, choosing when to go out and when not to. We have learned to sail on all points and can moor up and anchor. Those are the conditions we had expected to find in the BVIs and for some of the time that's exactly what it was like. What we have never learned is how to get the best performance from a yacht and how to deal with sailing in waves over three or four feet high. Watching other people sailing in an identical yacht demonstrates that under the same conditions we were just not doing it right. When conditions got uncomfortable for us, other people were still sailing away and making it look easy. We found that as the seas got bigger we just couldn't control the boat on our desired course. Steering downwind with waves catching up with us left us corkscrewing around, simply because we have had too little practise at it. And that sort of thing rapidly erodes your confidence, to the point where the fun goes out of it.

So next years holiday is going to be different. We are going to book some courses with sailing schools on the east coast so that we can be shown what to do under differing conditions. We need someone to explain things to us, show us how it's really done, and watch us doing it until we get it right.

And then we'll do another charter, and this time we won't come last.

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