British Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands (BVI, USVI and Spanish Virgins)

British Virgin Islands · United States Virgin Islands · Puerto Rico

The Virgin Islands are the most popular bareboat charter ground in the world: dozens of steep green islands and cays wrapped around the Sir Francis Drake Channel, with short line-of-sight hops, steady easterly trades and protected water inside a ring of islands. Three political jurisdictions share the archipelago. The British Virgin Islands (Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, Anegada and some 50 smaller islands) pack the famous stops into a day-sail radius: The Baths, the Norman Island caves, the RMS Rhone wreck, White Bay's Soggy Dollar Bar, Cooper Island, North Sound and the low coral atoll of Anegada behind its 18-mile Horseshoe Reef. The US Virgin Islands add St Thomas (the main airport and USVI charter bases), St John (about 60 percent national park, with an orderly National Park Service mooring system), and St Croix, 35 to 40 miles south across open water, with Buck Island Reef National Monument. West of St Thomas, the Spanish (Puerto Rican) Virgins, Culebra, Culebrita and Vieques, are a quieter world of former Navy islands, wildlife refuges, Flamenco Beach and the brightest bioluminescent bay on record, backed by the large marinas and charter fleets of Fajardo on Puerto Rico's east coast. Most anchorages in the BVI and St John are now mooring fields; moorings fill early in high season. Hurricanes Irma and Maria (September 2017) devastated both the BVI and the USVI; nearly everything has been rebuilt, but check that a business is open before planning around it.

Top of the list

1. 1The Baths National ParkVirgin Gorda's granite boulder grottoes, tidal pools and the scramble trail to Devil's Bay; a BVI National Park since 1990 and the single most-visited stop in the islands. Go early on the day moorings.
2. 2The Caves (Norman Island)Three water-level sea caves west of the Bight, a classic snorkel that gets darker the deeper you go; the Treasure Island legend lives here.
3. 3RMS Rhone WreckRoyal Mail steamer wrecked off Salt Island in the 1867 hurricane; bow at about 80 ft and stern at about 30 ft, so it works for both divers and snorkelers. A national park since 1980.
4. 4The IndiansFour pinnacles between Norman and Pelican islands with reef from the surface down; one of the best day-mooring snorkels in the BVI.
5. 5Soggy Dollar BarWhite Bay, Jost Van Dyke: swim ashore, pay with a wet dollar and order the bar's famous Painkiller.
6. 6Sandy SpitThe postcard sandbar islet off Green Cay and Little Jost Van Dyke, a lunch-stop swim in clear turquoise water.
7. 7Loblolly BayAnegada's north-shore reef snorkel with coral heads close to the beach, on the inside of Horseshoe Reef.
8. 8Setting Point Mooring Field & AnchorageThe only practical anchorage on Anegada, the low coral island 13 miles north of Virgin Gorda, reached by a buoyed channel; lobster dinners ashore.
9. 9Flamingo Pond (Anegada Salt Ponds)Reestablished Caribbean flamingos (about 200 by 2016) in a Ramsar-listed salt pond system, plus the endangered Anegada rock iguana.
10. 10Bitter End Yacht ClubThe heart of North Sound, Virgin Gorda's big protected sound; base for Saba Rock, Prickly Pear and Eustatia Sound.
11. 11Cane Garden Bay Mooring FieldTortola's most beautiful north-shore bay, with beach bars and the Callwood Rum Distillery a short walk inland.
12. 12Trellis Bay Full Moon Party (Fireball Sculptures)Beef Island's monthly full-moon gathering, with Aragorn's fire sculptures burning on the water.
13. 13Cooper Island Beach ClubEco-minded beach bar and restaurant in Manchioneel Bay, a favorite overnight on the mooring field between Salt and Virgin Gorda.
14. 14Foxy's Tamarind BarGreat Harbour, Jost Van Dyke's legendary beach bar and the island's port of entry anchorage; famous for its Old Year's Night party.
15. 15Bubbly PoolA natural rock pool near Diamond Cay on Jost Van Dyke where swells crash through a gap and turn the water to champagne.
16. 16Waterlemon CayLeinster Bay, St John: a cay ringed by reef with turtles, rays and starfish, a short swim from National Park moorings beside the Annaberg ruins.
17. 17Francis Bay Moorings & AnchorageSt John's quietest north-shore mooring field, one of only two places anchoring is allowed in Virgin Islands National Park.
18. 18Trunk Bay Underwater Snorkel TrailSt John's famous beach with an underwater trail of interpretive plaques inside Virgin Islands National Park.
19. 19Hurricane Hole (Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument)Mangrove-lined bays off Coral Bay where USGS found corals growing on mangrove roots; the only coastal part of the national monument.
20. 20Christmas Cove (Great St James)St Thomas' east-end mooring and anchoring cove, known for its floating pizza boat and good snorkeling.
21. 21Buck Island Underwater TrailSt Croix's marked snorkel trail in Buck Island Reef National Monument, protected since 1948 as one of the finest marine gardens in the Caribbean.
22. 22Flamenco BeachCulebra's mile of white coral sand, with old Navy Sherman tanks rusting on the beach.
23. 23Tortuga Bay (Culebrita)A crescent anchorage on Culebrita inside the Culebra National Wildlife Refuge, with a hike to the 1886 lighthouse and the natural rock jacuzzis.
24. 24Mosquito Bay Bioluminescent BayVieques' bio bay, named the brightest in the world by Guinness World Records in 2006; visit by licensed kayak tour.
25. 25Cayo IcacosThe best of the La Cordillera cays off Fajardo, a white-sand cay with reef snorkeling, a short hop from the Puerto Rico charter bases.

When to go

Sailable year round. High season is December through April, with sunny weather and steady easterly trades; the 'Christmas winds' of midwinter can reinforce the trades and build bigger seas in the channels. May through July is quieter and often lighter, with good value. August through October is the heart of hurricane season; many charter companies and businesses close or slow down in September and October. Winter cold fronts send north swells (typically November to April) that make north-facing anchorages such as Cane Garden Bay, White Bay and Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke, Brewers Bay, Magens Bay and Flamenco Bay rolly or untenable.

Weather and hazards

Easterly trade winds dominate, so the classic route works upwind (east) early in the week and runs downwind later. The Sir Francis Drake Channel is well protected, but the wind accelerates around headlands and through cuts (Thatch Island Cut, Soper's Hole, the Narrows, Pillsbury Sound, Current Cut) and the gaps between islands can be gusty. Open-water legs are the exception: Virgin Gorda to Anegada (about 13 nm, landfall on a low island only about 28 ft high, with Horseshoe Reef's hundreds of wrecks to the east and north; many charter companies restrict or forbid sailing there, and you should arrive in good light), St Thomas to St Croix (about 35 to 40 nm of open Caribbean), and St Thomas or Fajardo to Culebra. Reef hazards: Horseshoe Reef (Anegada), Colquhoun Reef and the reefs at the North Sound entrances, Johnson's Reef off St John's north shore (stay outside its markers), the reef approaches to Culebra's Ensenada Honda and the La Cordillera cays off Fajardo. Do not anchor on coral: anchoring is restricted or banned in many marine parks. Saharan dust episodes can bring haze and reduced visibility, and the BVI Department of Disaster Management has advised keeping hatches closed during heavy events. On Vieques, the former Navy bombing range at the east end is severely contaminated with unexploded ordnance and closed; obey all restricted-area signs and charted danger zones.

Hurricane season

Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, with activity peaking around September 10 and most storms falling between mid-August and mid-October (NOAA National Hurricane Center climatology). The region has been hit directly: Hurricane Irma (Category 5) struck the BVI on September 6, 2017 and devastated St John and St Thomas, and Hurricane Maria followed two weeks later across all three USVI islands and Puerto Rico. Culebra's Ensenada Honda is widely described as one of the most hurricane-secure harbors in the Caribbean, and Hurricane Hole on St John is a traditional storm refuge (now within the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument; National Park Service moorings must be vacated when tropical storm warnings are forecast). Most charter insurance and many charter contracts restrict August to October cruising; have a haul-out or storm plan and watch nhc.noaa.gov.

Entry and clearance

British Virgin Islands: clear in at a port of entry before anchoring, mooring or landing anywhere else; Noonsite commenters reported fines of US$2,500 to US$10,000 for stopping before clearance (2022). Ports of entry for yachts: Road Town and West End (Soper's Hole) on Tortola, Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke, and Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda (Gun Creek reported still closed). BVI Customs told callers in April 2026 that it operates 8:30 am to 4:30 pm every day, including weekends and holidays, with revenue collection ending at 4 pm; Immigration charged a US$40 overtime fee for a Sunday check-in (2026 report). All passport holders should attend in person. The BVI is listed among the territories using SailClear, the regional online pre-arrival notification system (sailclear.com): skippers can register the boat and file arrival and departure details before reaching port, but must still clear in person at the Customs and Immigration office. Confirm on arrival that the office accepts it. Charter guests normally have clearance and cruising permits handled by their charter company. US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico: US jurisdiction. Yachts arriving from the BVI or any foreign port must report to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on arrival; non-US crew need a US visa or ESTA-eligible status as appropriate. St John's port of entry is Cruz Bay; St Thomas and St Croix have CBP offices in Charlotte Amalie and Christiansted, and Culebra and Fajardo are used for Puerto Rico arrivals. Confirm the current reporting method (CBP ROAM app or in person), office locations and hours with CBP before you sail, because they change. The USVI sits outside the US customs territory, so check with CBP whether a passage from the USVI to Puerto Rico needs reporting. Bareboat charters crossing between the BVI and USVI must clear out and in each way; some charter companies offer clearance services.

Permits and fees

BVI: the Cruising and Home Permit Act 2021 (in force October 12, 2021) sets cruising permit fees for charter boats per person per day: US$4 for home-based (BVI-based) charter boats and US$16 for foreign-based charter boats (for example a USVI-based charter coming over), with a 14-day advance notification required for foreign-based charter boats; amendments to the Act's fee schedule took effect June 1, 2025, so verify current rates. A 2026 Noonsite report for a private 42 ft yacht with two people listed US$38 Customs plus US$41 Port Authority on entry. BVI National Parks Trust: a Marine Conservation Permit is required to use the National Parks Trust day moorings (The Baths, the Indians, the Caves, the Rhone, Dogs and others); buy it online at bvinpt.org (processed within 5 business days), at the Trust office at 57 Main Street, Road Town, or at The Baths office; charter companies usually include it. Park moorings are for day use only; older figures (US$25 per week for 4 guests to US$55 for 10) are dated, verify locally. Private overnight moorings at resorts and bars typically ran US$30 to US$45 per night in 2019 to 2022 reports (verify locally). An Environmental and Tourism Levy (US$10 per visitor since 2017; vessel crew exempt) also applies. USVI: Virgin Islands National Park overnight moorings or anchoring cost US$26 per night between 5 pm and 7 am (US$13 with an Interagency Senior or Access pass), paid before you spend the night through the Recreation.gov app (scan the QR code at the floating pay stations in Leinster, Francis and Caneel bays, or land stations at the Cruz Bay Visitor Center, Salt Pond Beach and the VIERS dock in Lameshur Bay). Limit: 7 consecutive nights per bay and 30 nights per calendar year. Anchoring in the park is allowed only offshore Francis Bay and Lind Point (sand only, never on coral). Mooring colors: white with blue stripe for boats up to 60 ft, larger white-blue 'big boat' balls for 61 to 100 ft, orange-blue for snorkel and dive use. Trunk Bay charges a US$5 per person amenity fee (card or mobile only). Buck Island Reef National Monument (St Croix) is open 7 am to 5 pm, anchoring only in the West Beach area, and the park asks private vessels using the lagoon moorings to get an annual permit (email CHRI_Permits@nps.gov; allow five business days).

Tides and currents

Tidal range is small, so depth is rarely the issue; currents matter more, especially through Current Cut (St Thomas/Great St James), Pillsbury Sound, the Narrows and Thatch Island Cut, where wind against current builds a short steep chop. NOAA CO-OPS tide stations: Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas (9751639); Lameshur Bay, St John (9751381); Christiansted Harbor, St Croix (9751364); Limetree Bay, St Croix (9751401); Culebra (9752235); Isabel Segunda, Vieques (9752619); Fajardo (9753216). Use tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov predictions; for the BVI use the nearest USVI station (Lameshur Bay or Charlotte Amalie) as a guide.

Money

US dollar (USD) throughout: the BVI has used the US dollar since 1959, and the USVI and Puerto Rico are US territories. Cards are widely accepted in Road Town, Charlotte Amalie, Cruz Bay and Fajardo; carry cash for small beach bars, moorings collected by boat and Anegada. Provisioning is best in Road Town, St Thomas (large supermarkets and warehouse stores) and Fajardo; outer islands have small shops only. Note: driving is on the left in both the BVI and the USVI, on the right in Puerto Rico.

Radio and phones

VHF 16 for hailing and distress; marinas and businesses often use their own working channels (for example Safe Harbor Puerto del Rey on VHF 71); confirm each marina's channel in its entry. US carriers work in the USVI and Puerto Rico; the BVI is a separate country, so check your plan's roaming terms before crossing. Recreation.gov notes that some remote park areas have little or no cell service: download the app before arriving at St John moorings.

Charter bases

• The Moorings Yacht Club (Wickhams Cay II, Road Town)Road Town, Tortola, BVIThe Moorings (flagship base at The Moorings Yacht Club), Sunsail (re-verified Oct 2026 on sunsail.com: its BVI base is The Moorings Yacht Club in Road Town; on-site pool, Moorings Market & Deli, provisioning, laundry, showers, Charlie's Bar & Restaurant and Island Roots Coffee Shop)
• Ritter House Marina (Wickhams Cay II, Road Town)Road Town, Tortola, BVIBVI Yacht Charters (bareboat monohulls and catamarans of about 30 to 54 ft, plus crewed all-inclusive yachts; the company site gives its base as Ritter House Marina, Wickhams Cay 2, not Inner Harbour Marina)
• Fort Burt Marina (Road Town)Road Town, Tortola, BVIConch Charters (BVI bareboat monohulls and catamarans since 1987; charters under 7 nights by request)
• Nanny Cay Resort & MarinaTortola south coast, BVIHorizon Yacht Charters (home base since 1998), Waypoints Yacht Charters BVI (office 8:30 am to 5 pm; RiteWay Nanny Cay supermarket open daily 7 am to 7 pm; fuel dock, pump-out and ice on site), MarineMax Vacations (luxury power catamarans, 423 to 545 models; guest reviews on its site refer to its Nanny Cay base), 302-berth marina with full-service boatyard, fuel and water
• Hodges Creek Marina (Maya Cove, East End)East End, Tortola, BVI (about 15 minutes from Beef Island airport)The Catamaran Company / Catamaran Charters (Lagoon, Gemini and Aquila catamarans; base renovated in 2023), Dream Yacht Charter (its 2026 and 2027 'Tortola Dream Premium' cabin-charter itineraries board at Hodges Creek Marina on Saturday evening and spend the first night in the marina; its site blocks automated reading, so confirm bareboat base details with the company), Few transient slips because of the resident charter fleets; approach via the Maya Cove channel
• Soper's Hole (West End)West End, Tortola, BVISeveral yacht charter companies start and end trips here (Yacht Warriors); BVI customs office, fuel and water on site. Voyage Charters' website did not state its base marina when checked in October 2026, so confirm current West End operators directly
• Frenchtown Marina (Charlotte Amalie west)Frenchtown, St Thomas, USVI (about 10 minutes from Cyril E. King airport)Waypoints USVI (formerly CYOA Yacht Charters, acquired by Waypoints effective January 25, 2022): sailing and motor catamarans and 38 to 50 ft monohulls; bareboat, skippered and learn-to-sail charters; 3562 Honduras #4, Frenchtown Marina
• Red Hook (American Yacht Harbor) and Benner Bay (Compass Point Marina)East End, St Thomas, USVIAmerican Yacht Harbor (IGY): 123 berths including 4 megayacht berths, VHF 11 and 16, office +1 340-775-6454, Compass Point Marina, Benner Bay (sister to Independent Boat Yard; office 340-775-6144), Neither marina's own website names resident bareboat fleets (checked October 2026); several crewed and day-charter operators run from both, so confirm operators with the marina office, USVI-based boats pay the BVI foreign charter cruising-permit fees when entering the BVI
• Safe Harbor Puerto del ReyFajardo, Puerto RicoSail Caribe, Caribe Bliss, East Island Excursions, Marina has 900+ wet slips, fuel dock 8 am to 5 pm and a 150-ton travel lift; VHF 71

Getting there

• Cyril E. King Airport — STTSt Thomas, about 2 miles west of Charlotte Amalie. Main jet gateway for the whole region: nonstops from Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta, New York JFK, Newark, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Washington Dulles and more. Ferries run from Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook to St John and to Tortola and Jost Van Dyke.
• Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport — EISBeef Island, linked to Tortola by bridge, next to Trellis Bay. American Eagle from Miami; InterCaribbean, Winair and seasonal Tradewind service via San Juan, Antigua, St Maarten and other islands.
• Henry E. Rohlsen Airport — STXSt Croix, about 6 miles southwest of Christiansted.
• Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport — SJUSan Juan, Puerto Rico. Largest airport in the region and the main gateway for Fajardo charter bases (about an hour by road); commuter flights to EIS, STT, Culebra and Vieques.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (Culebra) and Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (Vieques) — CPX / VQSSmall-aircraft service to San Juan and Ceiba; ferries also run from Ceiba to both islands.

Charts and guides

• The Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands (Cruising Guide Publications; 2026 edition), the standard BVI/USVI charter guide with anchorage sketch charts
• The Complete Diving Guide: The Virgin Islands (Cruising Guide Publications)
• A Waterproof Planning Chart of the Virgin Islands (Cruising Guide Publications)
• NOAA electronic navigational charts (ENC) for the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (verify current cells at charts.noaa.gov); UKHO Admiralty charts cover the BVI
• Virgin Islands National Park marine rules and interactive mooring map (nps.gov/viis)
• US Coast Pilot 5 (Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands)
• Noonsite British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico pages for clearance reports

Sample routes

• Classic BVI loop from Road Town (7 days; distances approximate)Day 1 · The Moorings Base (Wickhams Cay II) → The Bight Mooring Field (Norman Island) · 6 nmShort shakedown across the Drake Channel; afternoon snorkel at The Caves, sundowner at the Willy T or Pirates Bight.Day 2 · The Bight Mooring Field (Norman Island) → Manchioneel Bay Mooring Field (Cooper Island) · 9 nmEarly snorkel at The Indians, then the RMS Rhone on a day mooring off Salt Island; dinner at Cooper Island Beach Club.Day 3 · Manchioneel Bay Mooring Field (Cooper Island) → Saba Rock Mooring Field · 14 nmArrive at The Baths early for a day mooring, scramble to Devil's Bay, then up the coast through the North Sound entrance to Saba Rock or the Bitter End.Day 4 · Saba Rock Mooring Field → Setting Point Mooring Field & Anchorage · 13 nmOpen-water reach to Anegada in good light; taxi to Loblolly Bay or Cow Wreck Beach, the flamingo pond, and a lobster dinner.Day 5 · Setting Point Mooring Field & Anchorage → Marina Cay Mooring Field · 17 nmBroad reach back south and west; Monkey Point snorkel, Trellis Bay (full-moon party if the dates line up).Day 6 · Marina Cay Mooring Field → Great Harbour Mooring Field (Jost Van Dyke) · 18 nmDownwind along Tortola's north shore with a lunch stop at Cane Garden Bay; Foxy's in the evening.Day 7 · Great Harbour Mooring Field (Jost Van Dyke) → The Moorings Base (Wickhams Cay II) · 14 nmMorning at White Bay and the Soggy Dollar, lunch swim at Sandy Spit, then back through Thatch Island Cut and up the channel to Road Town.
• USVI and BVI from St Thomas (12 days; distances approximate)Day 1 · American Yacht Harbor (Red Hook) → Christmas Cove (Great St James) · 3 nmProvision in St Thomas, short hop through Current Cut, snorkel and pizza boat.Day 2 · Christmas Cove (Great St James) → Francis Bay Moorings & Anchorage · 9 nmThrough Pillsbury Sound to Cruz Bay for the National Park visitor center; north shore to Francis Bay; Maho Bay turtles.Day 3 · Francis Bay Moorings & Anchorage → Leinster Bay Moorings · 2 nmWaterlemon Cay snorkel and the walk to the Annaberg ruins.Day 4 · Leinster Bay Moorings → Great Harbour Mooring Field (Jost Van Dyke) · 6 nmClear out of the USVI at Cruz Bay first if required; clear into the BVI at Great Harbour.Day 5 · Great Harbour Mooring Field (Jost Van Dyke) → Cane Garden Bay Mooring Field · 7 nmSandy Spit and Green Cay in the morning; Callwood Rum Distillery.Day 6 · Cane Garden Bay Mooring Field → Marina Cay Mooring Field · 12 nmAlong the north shore, Monkey Point snorkel.Day 7 · Marina Cay Mooring Field → Saba Rock Mooring Field · 10 nmBeat or motor-sail to North Sound; Prickly Pear and Eustatia Sound.Day 8 · Saba Rock Mooring Field → Setting Point Mooring Field & Anchorage · 13 nmAnegada: beaches, flamingos, lobster.Day 9 · Setting Point Mooring Field & Anchorage → Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour (Spanish Town) · 15 nmProvisions at Spanish Town; The Baths early the next morning.Day 10 · Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour (Spanish Town) → Manchioneel Bay Mooring Field (Cooper Island) · 8 nmThe Baths at first light, then the Dogs or straight to Cooper.Day 11 · Manchioneel Bay Mooring Field (Cooper Island) → The Bight Mooring Field (Norman Island) · 9 nmRMS Rhone, The Indians and The Caves; clear out of the BVI at West End or Road Town before returning (or on day 12).Day 12 · The Bight Mooring Field (Norman Island) → American Yacht Harbor (Red Hook) · 10 nmClear back into the USVI at Cruz Bay, then return to Red Hook.
• Spanish Virgins from Fajardo (7 days; distances approximate)Day 1 · Safe Harbor Puerto del Rey → Cayo Icacos · 6 nmShakedown to the La Cordillera cays: Icacos and Palominito snorkeling.Day 2 · Cayo Icacos → Ensenada Honda Anchorage (Culebra) · 18 nmAcross Vieques Sound and through Canal Luis Peña; Dewey and the Dinghy Dock.Day 3 · Ensenada Honda Anchorage (Culebra) → Tortuga Bay (Culebrita) · 6 nmCulebrita lighthouse hike and the rock jacuzzis; settled conditions only.Day 4 · Tortuga Bay (Culebrita) → Flamenco Bay Anchorage · 8 nmFlamenco Beach and the tanks; Carlos Rosario snorkel; avoid in north swell.Day 5 · Flamenco Bay Anchorage → Esperanza Anchorage (Vieques) · 27 nmRound the west end of Culebra and cross Vieques Sound to Vieques' south coast (about 25-28 nm by either end of Vieques); night kayak tour of Mosquito Bay bio bay.Day 6 · Esperanza Anchorage (Vieques) → Green Beach / Punta Arenas Anchorage · 10 nmVieques' west end refuge beach and snorkel.Day 7 · Green Beach / Punta Arenas Anchorage → Safe Harbor Puerto del Rey · 9 nmAcross the Pasaje de Vieques back to Fajardo.
• St Thomas to St Croix and Buck Island (8 days; distances approximate)Day 1 · Frenchtown Marina & Waypoints USVI (formerly CYOA) Charter Base → Christmas Cove (Great St James) · 9 nmProvision in Charlotte Amalie, then run east along the south shore of St Thomas to Christmas Cove for a snorkel and an early night before the crossing.Day 2 · Christmas Cove (Great St James) → Christiansted Harbor Anchorage · 37 nmOpen-water reach across the Virgin Islands Basin (St Croix lies 32 miles south of St Thomas and St John). Leave at first light so you run the Christiansted entrance with the sun high; give Buck Island Bar 2 miles or more; allow for 1 to 3 knots of current off Christiansted. Anchor west of Protestant Cay; the Boardwalk and Fort Christiansvaern in the evening.Day 3 · Christiansted Harbor Anchorage → Buck Island West Beach Anchorage · 5 nmBuck Island Reef National Monument: pick up a lagoon mooring for the Underwater Trail (no boats 42 ft and over in the lagoon), then anchor in the buoyed West Beach zone for Turtle Beach and the Overlook Trail. Day use only, 7 am to 5 pm.Day 4 · Buck Island West Beach Anchorage → Green Cay Marina · 3 nmLeave Buck Island by 5 pm and take a slip at Green Cay Marina (fuel, water, laundry, resort pool) for the night; Chenay Bay Beach and the Green Cay wildlife refuge nearby.Day 5 · Green Cay Marina → Salt River Bay National Historical Park · 9 nmWest past Christiansted to Salt River; enter only in good light through the 6 ft reef cut. Columbus Landing Site, a Salt River Canyon wall dive and a night kayak tour of the bioluminescent bay.Day 6 · Salt River Bay National Historical Park → Frederiksted Anchorage · 12 nmAlong the north shore past Cane Bay and around Hams Bluff to Frederiksted; anchor north of the pier, night-dive or snorkel the Frederiksted Pier, Rainbow Beach and Fort Frederik.Day 7 · Frederiksted Anchorage → Christiansted Harbor Anchorage · 20 nmMotor-sail back east along the north coast (upwind and up-current, so start early); final evening in Christiansted with dinner on the Boardwalk.Day 8 · Christiansted Harbor Anchorage → Frenchtown Marina & Waypoints USVI (formerly CYOA) Charter Base · 38 nmReach back north across the basin to St Thomas, arriving in daylight; crew who prefer not to sail it can take the QE IV ferry from Gallows Bay to Charlotte Amalie.