BVI with Anegada

DAY 1 · Nanny Cay Resort & Marina

Photo: giggel (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 3.0

Arrive 9:00 am · leave 12:30 pm

Start at Nanny Cay, a large marina and boatyard on Tortola's south coast with two sheltered basins. Use the morning for the chart briefing, provisions and a proper look at your charts, because this week ends with a reef approach where careful preparation matters. Fill water and fuel here: you will not find a fuel dock on Anegada.

• 10:00 amStudy the Anegada notesAsk the base about Setting Point's channel, and buy a paper or offline chart before you leave the dock.

6 NM · about 1 hto The Bight Mooring Field (Norman Island)

The Bight Mooring Field (Norman Island)

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Arrive 2:30 pm

Norman Island's deep western harbour is a short sail from Nanny Cay and a good first night. The steep hills block most swell, and the Willy T floating bar and a beach restaurant sit along the shore. Keep clear of Ringdove Rock, just off the island's northwest point, when you come in.

• 3:30 pmSwim and settle inEasy water for a first night on a mooring ball; practise picking one up before dusk.

6.5 NM · about 1 h 5 mto RMS Rhone Marine Park Day Moorings (Lee Bay)

DAY 2 · RMS Rhone Marine Park Day Moorings (Lee Bay)

Photo: O'Dea (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Arrive 10:30 am · leave 12:30 pm

A steamship that sank in an 1867 hurricane lies off Salt Island, and national park day balls let you visit it from your own boat. The stern and propeller sit at snorkel depth in clear water, with the bow deeper for divers. These balls are for day use only and anchoring is banned, so plan to move on by afternoon.

• 11:00 amSnorkel the sternLook down at the propeller and the coral growing on the hull. A marine conservation permit is needed; the charter base can tell you where to get one.

1.5 NM · about 15 mto Manchioneel Bay Mooring Field (Cooper Island)

Manchioneel Bay Mooring Field (Cooper Island)

Photo: giggel (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 3.0

Arrive 2:00 pm

Cooper Island's mooring field lies off a small beach with a bar and restaurant, and its first-come balls fill up by mid-afternoon in season. The shallows beside the beach hold decent snorkelling. Come in by about 2 pm, since this is a popular overnight.

5.5 NM · about 55 mto The Baths Day Moorings

DAY 3 · The Baths Day Moorings

Photo: P. Hughes (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Arrive 9:00 am · leave 11:30 am

Granite boulders the size of houses form a maze of pools and sea-filled passages at The Baths. Pick up a day ball early, because they fill by mid-morning, and swim to shore from the line. It is a day stop only, and a strong north swell closes the field.

• 9:30 amWalk through the bouldersFollow the trail from the beach through the caves and pools. Take water shoes and a dry bag for your phone.

1.5 NM · about 15 mto Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour (Spanish Town)

Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour (Spanish Town)

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Arrive 12:30 pm

Spanish Town is the main base on Virgin Gorda: a marina with fuel, a pharmacy, a bank and a small shopping area. Top up with diesel and water here, and buy ice and groceries for the long sail to Anegada. A dockside berth also gives your crew a quiet night before the open leg.

• 5:00 pmCheck the forecastThe Anegada passage depends on a settled forecast with moderate trade winds and no north swell. Be ready to change your plan.

6 NM · about 1 hto Saba Rock Mooring Field

DAY 4 · Saba Rock Mooring Field

Photo: kansasphoto (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 2.0

Arrive 11:00 am

The mooring field lies off a tiny island in the middle of North Sound, with a restaurant built over the water. Big tarpon gather at the dock for an evening feeding, which makes a good sunset show from the dinghy. The sound's reefs are well marked, but navigate by eye through the shallow patches.

• 5:00 pmWatch the tarponThe evening feeding is at the dock; arrive by dinghy and stand off from the pilings.

15 NM · about 2 h 30 mto Setting Point Mooring Field & Anchorage

DAY 5 · Setting Point Mooring Field & Anchorage

Photo: chrystof (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Arrive 12:30 pm

Anegada is flat, coral-built and barely 28 feet high, so you often see the breakers before you see the land. Follow the buoyed channel into Setting Point in good overhead light, leaving North Sound around 8 am to arrive by late morning. Shallow water, soft sand and a steady trade wind favour catamarans; look over any mooring pennant before you trust it, and lock your dinghy at night.

• 1:00 pmLobster dinnerBeach restaurants grill local lobster over open fires. Book when you arrive; most want the order by mid-afternoon.

DAY 6 · Setting Point Mooring Field & Anchorage

Photo: chrystof (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 3.0

A full day ashore on Anegada, the only coral island in the BVI. Take a taxi across the island to Loblolly Bay for reef snorkelling just off the sand, and stop at the flamingo pond lookout. The boat stays put, so you can leave the sails alone and have time to look at the island.

• 10:00 amSnorkel Loblolly BayThe reef is close to the beach, but there is a current, so snorkel with a buddy and drift back to the sand.

15.5 NM · about 2 h 35 mto Leverick Bay Resort & Marina

DAY 7 · Leverick Bay Resort & Marina

Photo: Jerrye and Roy Klotz MD (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Arrive 1:30 pm

Leverick Bay is on North Sound's southwest shore and the sound's main place for fuel, water and provisions. The Chef's Pantry store is close to the dock, and the resort pool and beach bar are open to visiting boats. Friday evening brings a beach barbecue and show, so a Friday arrival is worth timing.

• 4:00 pmProvision and refuelFill tanks and stock up before the last few days of the trip.

9.5 NM · about 1 h 35 mto Marina Cay Mooring Field

DAY 8 · Marina Cay Mooring Field

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Arrive 11:00 am

Marina Cay is a tiny island ringed by reef off the north coast of Tortola, with a bar and grill on the cay and moorings between it and Great Camanoe. The reef tames the Atlantic swell, giving smooth water behind it. Pay through the BoatyBall app and be careful of the reef edges when you pick a ball.

• 2:00 pmSnorkel Diamond ReefTake the dinghy to the reef wall on Great Camanoe if the water is calm.

13 NM · about 2 h 10 mto Diamond Cay Anchorage (Long Bay East)

DAY 9 · Diamond Cay Anchorage (Long Bay East)

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Arrive 10:00 am · leave 12:00 pm

A mooring field off Jost Van Dyke's east end, behind a small bird-sanctuary islet and a sandbar. The bay is quieter than Great Harbour, with a short dinghy ride to the Bubbly Pool trail. Arrive early because balls are in demand in season, and watch for the shallow ledge joining Little Jost to Jost Van Dyke.

• 10:30 amWalk to the Bubbly PoolAsk ashore for the trail; sea surge pushes water through a rock channel into a natural pool.

2.5 NM · about 25 mto White Bay Mooring Field (Jost Van Dyke)

White Bay Mooring Field (Jost Van Dyke)

Photo: Mattes (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 2.0 de

Arrive 12:30 pm · leave 3:00 pm

A long white-sand beach behind a reef, with beach bars at its western end and a quieter east side. Enter only through the marked gaps in the reef, and swim ashore for lunch. Day boats pour in from late morning, so arrive early or come after 4 pm if you can.

5.5 NM · about 55 mto Soper's Hole Mooring Field (West End)

Soper's Hole Mooring Field (West End)

Photo: giggel (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 3.0

Arrive 4:00 pm

A deep harbour at Tortola's west end with a ferry dock, a wharf with shops and a market, and moorings throughout. It is a convenient last night close to Nanny Cay, and the stores are good for last-minute gifts. Anchoring space is very limited, so plan on a ball.

4.5 NM · about 45 mto Nanny Cay Resort & Marina

DAY 10 · Nanny Cay Resort & Marina

Photo: giggel (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 3.0

Arrive 11:00 am

Return to Nanny Cay and finish the charter. Allow time for check-in, fuel and a clean-up. The boatyard and chandlery are close at hand if you find any damage to report, and Peg Legs makes a decent final sundowner.