March 9-20, 2026 British VIrgin islands

Monday March 9th

Up early for an 0800 flight from PHL to MIA.

Found the empanadas I so fondly remember from previous layovers in Miami.

Next flight to EIS, which used to be called Beef Island Airport, but is now the Terrence B. Lettsome airport. It’s named for a BVI legislator who served 36 years with an outstanding record of service. During his tenure, there were multiple improvements to the community in cluding building multipurpose community centers, establishment of police stations on all major islands, provision of electricity and potable water, development of ports at West End, Port Purcell and Road Town, completion of the Central Administration Complex and sea defense work on Drake's Highway. We arrived in Tortola at 1615. They do not observe Daylight Savings Time, and would normally be an hour ahead of EST, but is the same currently, which is nice, since the clocks just changed yesterday. First attempt of our flight landing was an interesting touch and go because of strong 15-20 kt crosswinds. We were in an Embraer 175 jet and basically ran out of runway. The pilot circled around and landed successfully on the second try. Disembarking into warm sunshine was very welcome after a long cold winter. A bit of a line for customs, but we had filled out the customs declaration on line previously on Laz’s phone, so not bad overall. We were met outside by Sebastian taxi, who was kind enough to get us to Conch Charters at the Fort Burt Marina by 1800. He waited for us to drop our bags off, then drove us to Rite Way. Conch provides vouchers for a free ride there and back, which was nice. As always with grocery shopping, things are forgotten like butter and Kleenex, so we would have to pop out again in the morning. After putting the cold stuff away, we headed to the Pub, which is the restaurant right at the marina. Service was exceedingly slow, which was unfortunate as we were quite hungry after putting off dinner in favor of provisioning. We had a shrimp bruschetta that was not what was advertised, although reasonably tasty and my grouper Creole was not very Creole, with the fish a bit dry and overcooked. Perhaps they were having a bad day, as I recall meals there in the past were pretty good. Back aboard Good Decision, a 44’ Jeanneau Sun Odyssey to put away our gear and the rest of the provisions. Good Decision seems much larger than baji-naji; it could be easy to forget where you stowed things. The fridge is much bigger, which is nice, with a decent freezer, so I was able to store some meat in there. We were able to get into our aft cabin by 2300. Tomorrow for the provisions we forgot, and checking out with the Conch team.

Tuesday March 10th

Up at 0830. Had to figure out how to make coffee in the classic boiling pot. 2 tablespoons seems to do it, but I had to guess on how much water to add. We had the St. Pierre brioche sweet rolls and I had my usual yogurt with strawberries and granola. The coffee was decent (Gevalia Costa Rica coarse grind). Headed to the charter office to pay for base charges and chat briefly with Hazelle. Rasika is 34 weeks pregnant with girl #2! Very exciting. We had met her in Annapolis at the boat show a couple of times. Bernie in the office was selling Girl Scout cookies, and they were Little Brownie Bakery, so of course I bought some Thin Mints. Also got some Croakies for my new sunglasses, and a firestick, since both of the ones on board were empty of fuel. Match sticks were provided, but I prefer a fire stick.

We had a nice boat briefing with Ben, who is from Croatia. We went through all the systems and while different than baji-naji, all the same systems are there. There was a watermaker, but it was not set up for use. The batteries are AGMs, we are so spoiled by the LiFePO4. We also had a chart briefing with Hazelle and she marked up a paper chart with areas that you can anchor or need a mooring ball, as well as many snorkeling and restaurant recommendations. Lunch aboard was wraps and sandwich meat. We popped over to the Rite Way just up the street to pick up Kleenex, butter (they only had a big one pound chunk) and some Shirley coconut biscuits. They also had blueberries, so i got some of those.

We then headed out of the marina around 1400. We are not allowed to take her out ourselves as there are shallows and rocks. So Ben took her out, then one of the other guys came out in a chase boat and picked him up. There was a lot of chop and waves in the harbour, about 20 kts of apparent wind, and a zaftig Norwegian Cruise Liner leaving the cruise ship dock just across from us. It felt like Havre de Grace with barge traffic! Yes of course the behemoth had right of way. With the wind as it was, we put out only the jib to sail across to Peter Island. Gusts up to 25kts from the East. Wheee! We were doing 5.5kts over water in 20 kts of wind with just a jib, in sunshine. Life is good. we got to Peter Island around 1530 and had our pick of mooring balls. We paid on Dockwa (the only place in the BVI that uses Dockwa) $55 for a ball for the night. The waves settled down in the lee of Peter I. I went for a swim around the boat. Unfortunately the snorkel mask I picked was not good, very leaky. The fins were great! Showered when I came back; you created your own shower stall by moving some clear panels that magnet together properly.

It was too windy to grill so oven baked chicken with lemon and garlic was what I did. I used a garlic press for the first time, it was pretty good. Messy though. The chicken thighs were frozen solid in what seems to be a very efficient freezer, so I had to thaw those while marinating in the lemon and garlic. Made mashed potatoes (no oil, just butter and milk), with stir fry/steamed broccoli for the veg. Thin Mints and proper British Cadbury Fruit and Nut for dessert.

There was a downpour while I was making dinner, and unfortunately Laz left my phone in the cockpit during the deluge. He brought it down when we were battening down the hatches, but my phone was complaining about water in the USB port, so I could not charge it. It still worked, and had 50-55% charge. For some reason, Laz’s cell was not picking up the roaming network, so we were depending on mine for now. Laz talked to Debbie and Todd while I was in the shower; we are excited to see them again. We met them when they were cruising the Chesapeake a couple of years ago. They have the 50’ Dufour, Soul Mates. We made plans to meet at Cooper Island tomorrow. Debbie told us how to use the BoatyBall website. There are both reserved and First Come First Served (FCFS) mooring balls available there. Apparently you have to be signed on and request a mooring exactly at 0700 to get a reserved ball.

Beautiful sunset between the rain showers. Discovered a lovely hatch aft that brings air right into our aft cabin. It is across the back and nicely above the waterline. With the great winds we have, and the 70+ degree temps, no need for AC as long as there is a good breeze. On the mooring balls or at anchor, you’re always into the wind.

In bed by 2140 and set the alarm for 0645 to get a mooring via BoatyBall!

Wednesday March 11th

Alarm went off at 0645 and I was able to create a Boaty Ball account. No luck on getting a reserved mooring for Cooper though. I made a breakfast of waffles (also St. Pierre). Mine had Greek yogurt and strawberries and Laz had his with just strawberries. Did not get maple syrup. They were delicious! We also enjoyed some pineapple and canteloupe. Unfortunately, Todd and Debbie can’t meet us at Cooper as Debbie has developed an ear infection. She is headed to an urgent care in Tortola, and was not sure that she could be seen in time and then sail over to Cooper. Bummer!

Since we were up, we were off the mooring ball at 0900 and heading to Cooper I. It was quite windy, so we reefed the main, we think. It’s an in mast furling main, which was OK but how we prefer. You have to have the sail a bit to port to furl and unfurl smoothly. We had the jib out all the way. The port jib cleat jammed when we were tacking and Laz had to stomp on it to get it to behave. She sailed sweetly on port tack all the way to Cooper, which wasn’t that far, and we got a FCFS mooring ball for $40 instead of the $55 for the reserved one we could not get. There were 5 other FCFS balls when we arrived at 1100 and all were gone by noon! Turned out to be a good thing that we were up early!

There was a lot of boat traffic and being exposed to Sir Francis Drake channel traffic meant rocking and rolling, but it settled down once everyone got to where they were going. We had lunch aboard; turkey and salami roll ups. Just after lunch a turtle popped up right on our starboard side. It hung around until s/he heard an engine and then dove. So cute! We took the dinghy to shore. The coffee shop had delicious gelato; we had the Dolce Biscotti and a lemon sorbet. I headed to the bar and found they had fresh coconut drinks, yum! The coffee shop also had great wifi and we were able to get Laz’s phone set up with travel pass and internet, yippee! Cooper Island Beach resort is beautiful. Plenty of people were staying on land, in addition to the yachts on moorings. There is a nice gift shop where I got a sticker. I may return for other items later.

Back to Good Decision to relax and read. We had 6pm reservations for dinner. Helped a couple of couples tie off their dinghy at the dinghy dock. Turns out one of the guys is an ICU doc, mostly retired, but does some remote work, and his wife is an RN! We do get around, us physicians. Dinner was good: great conch fritters. unfortunately my fish (grouper) was a bit overcooked and dry. The sauce was excellent. Laz’s seafood medley with wahoo, shrimp and scallops was excellent.

Back to Good Decision, where we put the Luci light on to read in the cockpit and enjoy some McVities Dark Chocolate and caramel cookies and some more Cadbury Fruit and Nut for dessert. Up early tomorrow to catch Boaty Ball for a mooring in Marina Cay where we will hopefully meet the McKellars.

Thursday March 12th

Up at 0650 to BoatyBall! I am not an early bird, but apparently this is the way to ensure a mooring. I got mooring ball #3! Definite dopamine hit when that happened! Debbie got a ball as well, yay! I was still tired so went back to sleep til 0830. Apparently that is what Debbie does as well. Since we had a mooring guaranteed, we took the dinghy over to shore to get breakfast. Unfortunately there was nothing like eggs or yogurt, only a very large and very delicious cinnamon roll. Got that and an excellent mocha. Laz realized that his quick dry Panthers shirt really didn’t fit, so we went into the gift shop and got a bright blue quick dry for him and Tshirt for me, both with the Cooper Island Beach Club logo. We headed back to Good Decision and realized we had not run the generator. Turned it on for the ½ hour it took to change out of breakfast attire, sunscreen and close hatches. Off the mooring ball and headed for Marina Cay. The water was relatively flat compared to the last couple of days, with a nice 10-15kt breeze. Marina Cay was quite close, just in from Beef Island across the channel, so we decided to sail a bit more on our heading and pass the Dogs and Virgin Gorda. There was a small rain shower over us. We watched a much larger one travel from Virgin Gorda to Beef Island and Great Camanoe. Luckily we only got a short sprinkle. We headed back south after the squall passed. I had my leftover grouper as a sandwich. Laz had a deli sandwich. The winds picked up on either side of the squall but never over 20kts. We were able to sail most of the way in, alongside Beef I in towards Marina Cay. It was a great 3 hr sail. Going through the mooring field, we spotted Soul Mates; lots of waving and yelling hello as we passed. We found mooring ball 3 then we dinghied over to Soul Mates to hang out. Saw our friend Bailey; he is getting older, but still enjoying the boat. Helped Debbie hang the laundry to dry and we caught up on the last 2 years. They are still enjoying living aboard and really enjoying sailing the Caribbean. We headed back to Good Decision to shower before dinner. Met up with the McKellar’s at the dinghy dock.

Some great lobster traps there with live Anegada lobsters. Dinner was absolutely fantastic. Anegada lobster and corn fritters to start as well as mahi ceviche served with plantain chips. Todd had the ½ lobster with lobster mac and cheese filling, Laz had ribs and the mac and cheese. Debbie opted for the coconut shrimp and I enjoyed the chopped salad with shrimp. All quite delicious! Sadly, they ran out of the pina colada panna cotta before we could order dessert. We had so much fun catching up and enjoying this excellent meal together. We got some nice group photos, and headed back to our respective sailboats just before 2100. We are planning to meet at Leverick Bay in Gorda Sound tomorrow. Alarms set for BoatyBall in the morning!

Friday March 13th

Up at 0650 to catch a Boaty Ball at Leverick...got one no problem, lucky #7. Went back to sleep as there is no rush. We had cinnamon roll leftover and the sweet brioche pastry for breakfast, as well as the yogurt. Laz saw Todd and Debbie put up the main while still on their ball, then sail off. I was in the head at the time. We were off our mooring by 1115 or so, motored past the reef off Marina Key and put up the main as soon as we cleared that. Jib followed shortly thereafter. Good winds 10-15 kts usual E or just S of E.  Headed towards Scrub Island first then tacked towards Ginger. Went a fair ways then tacked towards the Dogs. Tacked in towards Spanish Town and then back towards Necker. Able to sail into Gorda Sound. Found our mooring ball at Leverick Bay Resort at 3p. Had a late lunch of yesterday's shrimp, bacon and egg salad as a wrap. Went ashore to check out the provisions and things and book our reservation for dinner...the BBQ! Found some nice pastries at the Chef's Table as well as some kitchen garbage bags and marine TP and some more Cadbury.  Not much in the gift shop that was interesting. Headed back to GD to chill and read. We had 7p reservations for the BBQ and were given a delightful waterfront table for 2. BBQ was excellent, complete with a roast pig. The crackling skin was fantastic. Ribs, chicken, pulled pork, salad, grilled corn on the cob, fresh sauteed veggies...all yummy! Cookies for dessert, I had a wonderful coconut cookie. Bonus was the live music! They were quite good and able to play well with a backing track. 3 guys, they all could sing, one a bass player, one a keyboard player and a vocalist. Everything from Shaboozey to Sting, Ed Sheeran, Bob Marley, Black Eyed Peas, Bill Withers and more. Our signal to leave was YMCA.  The Jumbies, 3 people on high high stilts walking around at halftime. We headed back to GD and read on deck enjoying the music from afar. Got a great view of the stars and a couple of pix as well.

Likely heading to Guana tomorrow.

Saturday March 14th

I had a rough night, ended up throwing up at 0400, made it to the head in time. I might have had too much BBQ to eat. Still getting used to the tirzepatide and how it affects my body. Slept til nearly 0900. Decided to go to BEYC today as we have never been. Mooring balls are $75, not the $55 for Boatyball reserved or the $40 for FCFS balls. But what the heck. Not far so we left at 1130 to top off water at the dock, at 15¢ a gallon it cost $6 for the aft tank. I do wonder if it's 86 gallons not 186. Hmm. Anyway we motored over to the mega yacht land and found 4 of the 100' Maxis up at dock. We found our ball (# 1) with Kaimana still on it! She was leaving and working out how to get off the mooring so we did a circle then came back.  It's out of the wind tunnel so hope it won't be too hot.  Changed into bathing suits and beelined for shore. Got a lovely Hobie Getaway with trapeze and had a blast bombing around. I clocked 15-20 kts when we were motoring over and it was at least 15 and maybe more with gusts. Had such a nice conversation with the guy helping us when we got back. We had some feedback on the trapeze lines (were not working properly) and got to talking about sailing. He's from the UK (Poole) and told us the Maxis will have a regatta in a couple of weeks. We showed pix of the F50s foiling by Boji and got along well. A large crowd showed up and we thought that he probably should get back to work and asked how much the Hobie was for the hour or so we were out...he told us not to worry and said no charge.  I guess the charge was the great conversation. Went to the boutique and spent $233 on 3 shirts! One quick dry and a t-shirt for me and a polo for Laz. Seems like we paid for the Hobie anyway.  Walked over to the restaurant area and made reservations for 6p. Needed a snack or something as we missed lunch and it was 3:30p. Had some tofu veggie spring rolls at the bar, then back to GD to shower and get cleaned up for dinner. Had an amazing dinner: chicken roti with a lovely salad with grapefruit vinaigrette, watermelon radishes and some citrus. I was so excited for this meal and it was absolutely delicious! Laz had the Caribbean lobster roll, which came with fries. Dessert was shared bites of key lime pie (it IS π day) and took out a dark chocolate brownie with ice cream for another day. There was a charming marina cat who didn't exactly beg, but was clearly waiting for scraps to fall from tables. Gorgeous sunset. Back to GD on the dinghy. We remembered the flashlight which was needed; this is a pretty dark mooring field. Decided to turn on the AC to cool the aft cabin a bit and it kept getting warmer, without cool air. When we looked in the bilge we saw that the AC pump was not working at all, motor not working. Hmmm. Oh well, hatches open. Will call Conch tomorrow maybe. 

Bitter End Yacht Club 3044.4 hours

Sunday March 15th

Breakfast aboard, the delicious waffles with strawberries. Watched a guy learning to use an e board. Off the mooring at 1000 with winds 20+ in the Bay. Motored out of Gorda Sound then after passing the reef we put out the jib for some motor sailing. The job added a kt to our speed, very nice. Usual small wind shifts and following sea made me feel the soreness in my arms from getting on and off the Hobie via trapeze. Dinghy got swamped by some of the bigger waves so Laz had to jury rig something to keep it right behind us. Gusts to 25 but often a friendly 18-19kts.  As we turned the corner to get around Guana it became necessary to furl the jib. It looked like all the mooring balls were taken, but one sailing cat was leaving as we approached. Lucky us! Had to circle around to approach the ball then a little reverse to position us as the mooring balls are pretty snuggly placed. The sailing cat to our port side is from Jersey UK, called Moose. Three other cats are from Moorings. Seem to be a total of 9 mooring balls and some folks coming in after us have had to anchor. Laz's gilly hat went into the drink, apparently not secured well enough so he dove in after it. The water is fine. I sorted out the swim platform so he could come back up. We read for a while and then went snorkeling. Unfortunately my mask still hasn't got a decent seal so I could see some but I had to keep adjusting it. I did see some parrotfish, some sergeant majors, and some others I can't remember the names of. On the way back to to the boat I saw what my folks nicknamed ET because of how this fish looks. I think it's a boxfish or a puffer fish. Did not get close enough to test. Headed aboard for more reading and relaxing. Too windy to grill outside so tried to use the broiler for the steak. It would not heat up well at all. Ended up searing the filet in a pan, along with grilled onions, and reheated the mashed potatoes in a pan to crisp them up a bit. Baked zucchini with garlic rounded out the meal. The dark chocolate brownie from BEYC with some chocolate and caramel sauce and ice cream was dessert. Earlyish to bed as we needed Boatyball for tomorrow at Cane Gardens.

end 1230 White Bay Guana Island 3046.8

Monday March 16th

Up early and got Boatyball #8 at Cane Gardens! Clicked on it right as the clock turned 0700. Within seconds, all the balls were taken.  Breakfast of fried egg with cheese on whole grain toast with a side of chocolate croissant. Gusty for sure, all night and again this am. Decided to get going by 0900 as it will build this am. The bridle was wrapped around the mooring ball, so Laz had to use the boat hook to help get us free. Off we went! I noticed a gust up to 30kts but mostly 15-20. Put out the jib as we were on a  downwind run again. Decided to furl it before we turned into Cane Gardens and it was 25kt gusts on our beam. Hoping no one was on our ball as they aren't obligated to leave til noon. In luck! #8 was empty and waiting for us. Nap time when we got here!

Lunch aboard then headed to shore to check things out. Made reservations for dinner at 1830 at Myett's, went to Latitude 18 for some souvenir tank tops and a collared short sleeved shirt for Laz, walked the beach and got a fresh young coconut to drink. So good! The woman told me it was not local...from Martinique...more local than Thailand! Met a nice couple from Erie PA (she noticed my coconut) and chatted about chartering and other things. The woman next to them in her beach chair is a GYN urologist, who is on a cruise with her family. She has stage 4 breast cancer, been in treatment for 10+ years. Hard for them, she was very nice.  Dinghy back to GD. Relaxed aboard, took showers before dinner.  Dinner at Myett's was very good but marred by the trio smoking pot up wind from us. No matter where we sat, it was pretty strong. Finally we moved to the bar area and it was better, except the young French and Croatian couple in front of us were smoking cigarettes. According to our waitress, smoking is not allowed on the beach front but the guys smoking pot are locals and not inclined to move. Nor, apparently care about tourism. The young couple in front did not light up again. Laz had a lovely penne with sundried tomatoes cream sauce and shrimp. I had a chopped salad with grilled shrimp. We split a key lime pie for dessert. Service was slow so we weren't back to GD until 2030. Generator on for an hour then to bed.

Tuesday March 17th St Patrick's Day ☘️

Up around 0730...the sun is bright! Motor sailed out of Cane Garden Bay at a friendly 120° but noticed gust to 27kts. For the most part 20-25. We needed to go around the Western tip of Tortola, heading towards Sopers Hole, then dog leg South into Drake's Channel. A fair number of ferry boats through there, and we were told to stay on the British side of the waters as we were quite close to St. John. Winds on our nose 20-25kts, we had furled the jib before rounding Tortola, and there were big waves (4-6ft) coming at us. Keeping 20-30° port was a bit more comfortable. At some point I decided that it was silly to honor the line between US and British waters as no one else seemed to be paying any mind to it, especially in this wind, and went straight to the Bight. Wow, so many moorings, big ships, beach chairs. I don't remember it too well from 2017, but it is nothing like 1999. It was blowing 20 in our face, and it took 3 tries to get on the mooring ball. It was even more entertaining to watch a 50' Dufour try and pick up a ball. They were trying from amidships, which is just weird. They lost the boat hook in the water, luckily a passing dinghy got it and gave it back to them. They went to a different ball, same story. It was likely their 5th try before they finally got on. We missed the actual event as it was taking so long we decided to go in for lunch.

The virgin Pina colada at Pirates Bight is just as good as I remember from the old Billy Bones. Fish n chips were great too. Laz had a chicken sandwich. I stopped in the gift shop and found a cute tank top with a turtle and Pirate's Bight on it. Back to GD to relax and then grab showers before dinner...we were both salt encrusted from the crossing. Dinner was at 1900 and we headed over a little early. They were, no surprise, hopping. Service was a little slow, but our server Rachelle had tables all over the place. I had the smoked wahoo salad which has come nice macadamia nuts and avocado slices as well. Laz had the swordfish which was quite good. We split the chocolate cake for dessert, it was huge and really good. Moist and the icing was not too sweet.

Wednesday March 18th

Up at 0830 but leisurely breakfast as we did not have far to go. It was 15-20 kts when we got out of the Bight and we set forth with the main out 75%, the jib reefed a bit for better shape and at a friendly 60° towards Road Town and the cruise ship. We thought we might head out towards Virgin Gorda. Tacked just before Beef Island, heading south. Shortly thereafter Laz saw a big squall line approaching. After debating for a a moment or two we decided to fall off and head for Peter. We got wet anyway and the winds were up to 20 with gusts to 25. Picked up a mooring ball at Peter and made lunch...leftover salad from Myett's with shrimp etc. added some roast beef and cheddar for surf and turf. Sailed off the mooring after lunch with just the jib and a friendly,  slower (5kts instead of 6-7.5) tack back to Road Harbor. Called when at the meet up spot and Ben and Andy came out to see us. Went to the fuel dock; we used 12.3 gallons the whole trip for 10.5 engine hours and 17 generator hours. Both engine and generator are quite efficient. Ben checked us out boat wise; we went through the items we noticed and he had some other questions. Later he helped us put the middle part of the bimini back on. Went to the office to return the phone, tablet and other stuff and bought two Conch Charters long sleeved sun shirts. Filled Hazelle and Rasika in our our trip and gave some feedback on restaurants. Back to GD to relax, read, cheese and crackers. Dinner of chicken, zucchini and onion stir fry then in a wrap. AC on as we are not on a mooring into the wind. 

Thursday March 19th

We had a 1530 flight to Miami, so had a leisurely morning breakfast and packing up. We are able to leave all leftovers aboard, no need to bag them or pack, as the cleaners will take what we can’t. Conch also has a donation program for local food bank, so I brought some unopened items, like the local honey that I thought i would use for yogurt, to that donation box. We caught up with Ben for a debriefing and mentioned the starboard door magnet for the aft cabin which had come off, and some other small items, including a dead Luci light. Sebastian taxi took us to the airport via a different scenic route. It was lovely to see the island from the hills. We saw flamingos, and some of the bays we sailed by. Got to the airport well in time and had a nice lunch at their coffee shop. went through security after lunch and found a shop with some meat pies. I bought a chicken and a beef pie. Turns out to be a good thing, as our flight was delayed so much that we were going to miss our connection in Miami.