The Beautiful BVIs - Our Arrival

This was our second trip at the same time of year to this beautiful area of the Caribbean. I was pretty sure last year but, after our trip this time, I am almost convinced it’s as close to heaven as one can ever get.

Blue almost turquoise waters, snorkelling at its best, laid back approach to life, warm weather that is purrrrfect at 80-85 degrees, boats of all shapes and sizes everywhere you look and friendly islanders at every turn – these are all things that make it seem like heaven! It’ll take me a few chapters to share our experiences so this piece is just about “Our Arrival”.

The trip between Brownsville and Puerto Rico was essentially uneventful and that’s a good thing. My interest moved way up the scale though for the Cape Air flight to Beef Island, Tortola (45 minutes). Here’s a picture of the plane:


As you can see, it’s small. It was a full flight so that’s a grand total of 9 pax + pilot! The baggage handlers scoop everyone’s carry-on right at the aircraft and sort them into various compartments in both the nose and the wing. Only then do they assign seats and that’s based on your weight. How lucky was I to get the co-pilot’s seat! And a female pilot besides! So I propped myself up as best I could (just like a kid) and peered over the nose of the airplane – the best view in the house except for the pilot’s!

As we approached the airport at Tortola, we flew over the bay and I could see below all kinds of yachts and boats anchored – and one of them was waiting for us! The landing was quick and passage through Immigration and Customs easy. Jimmy and Amanda, John’s son and daughter-in-law, met us at the airport. We headed out towards the airport parking lot, then hung a quick left about 50’ and, imagine, we were already on the dock! We climbed into the tender and rode out to the boat. Cool, eh?

We had a quick tour – it’s a new boat for Jimmy and Amanda this year – and I might add all 62’ of this sailing vessel is VERY high-end! The boat is a catamaran so she’s 31’ wide and quite stable in the water. The fly bridge offers even additional space and the floors of both the bridge and stern decks are in teak and holly. All the cushions and most of the pillows are tailored in navy to match the hull – some pillows are in yellow to offer a sunny accent. The interior is a highly polished cherry-wood and the furniture leathered in white. She’s made by Sunreef Yachts in Poland with four cabins + a crew cabin. The tender is a centre-console, is 15’ long with a brand new 70 hp Yamaha outboard.




Here’s a photo that I took from the beach – trust you agree she’s a beauty...












That first night, we had a great steak dinner, recognized how lucky we were to be aboard this brand new yacht with Jimmy and Amanda for 6 more days and then suddenly realized we had just traveled for 15 solid hours! This combination sent us to our cabin not long after dinner. We woke up the next day well-rested - there’s just nothing like sleeping on a boat.

Here is the view of the bay from the fly bridge - almost looks concave.








Away we sailed out of view of the airport, Trellis Bay and into the Sir Francis Drake Channel, we passed the “Dogs” and then skimmed across the entrance (about 1’ deep) to Blunder Bay to the island of Virgin Gorda. Our destination was the Bitter End Yacht Club – about 4 hours in total by boat.

I’ll get back to you in a few days with a few stories about what we did when we reached Virgin Gorda, our snorkelling and hiking adventures and our subsequent return to the Willy T’s and Norman Island. I’ve got some good pictures so tune in when you get the chance… m.