We recently revisited the British Virgin Islands in order to update our itinerary suggestions and report on any interesting changes since our last visit. We can faithfully report that all of the things that make the BVI the leading sailing charter destination in the world are still there – the BVI has a timelessness that makes it a familiar place to come back to, even 25 years after our first visit.
This series of blog posts will take you day-by-day through a typical crewed caramaran charter in the BVI. We retraced our “counter clockwise” itinerary of the islands, starting with Norman, then to Peter, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, and then back to Norman Island before the final sail back to Road Town. Here is our actual GPS plot of the itinerary.
A typical BVI Sailing Itinerary
Our Catamaran
We were aboard Soul’s Calling, a beautiful Lagoon 500 catamaran, captained by Alex Mulder. Soul’s Calling has 3 cabins, including a spacious Owners suite, and always gets high ratings and excellent testimonials. She has become one of Boatbooking’s favorite catamarans in the BVI.
Souls Calling in Village Cay Port – a Lagoon 500 Crewed Catamaran
We were excited to see Alex again and meet his wife and the boat’s superb cook, Carla!
Arriving and Boarding
While it is possible to fly directly to Tortola, St Thomas in the USVI is often more convenient because it is served by more and larger planes. We took the Road Town Fast Ferry from Charlotte Amalie (the main port on St Thomas) for the scenic 1 hour cruise. The ferry costs $60 round trip per adult, $35 for children.
We began getting excited for our charter as St Johns, Jost Van Dyke and Tortola rolled into view from the deck of the ferry, and then cruised the south coast of Tortola until we pulled into the Ferry Building in Road Town. Warning – the BVI is a different country from the USVI, and there is quite a bit of tedious paperwork to fill out – a small price to pay to enter paradise!
Arriving at the Road Town Ferry Building
Souls Calling was waiting for us just a short walk from the Ferry Building in Village Cay, one of the many marinas in Road Town. Alex welcomed us, introduced us to Carla, and then gave us a safety briefing and discussed the rules of the boat. We were reminded never to bring sand onto the boat – it ruins the floors and scratches the fiberglass. Because of this, the boat is in immaculate condition.
After the briefing, we cracked open a bottle of champagne, unloaded our bags, and quickly departed!
Have you ever dreamed that you could fly ? Well now you can with this new water powered jet pack. Your flight begins as a 200-HorsePower marine engine pumps water up a 33-foot hose at over 1,000 gallons-per-minute, generating over 420 pounds of thrust.When the water reaches the ultra-light backpack, it’s directed through two nozzles at up to 60 pounds-per-square-inch and you’re airborne!
Aiming the nozzles creates smooth, stable turns. And the motorcycle-style throttle lets you climb, dive and hover up to 30 feet above the surface. The safety harness and trapeze keep you in optimal flying position, while the fuel-efficient motor gives you hours of flight on a single tank of high-octane gasoline.
This water toy includes a jet pack made out of carbon fiber and is attached to a small boat (3 meters long) that sucks the water in, sends it through a big hose that brings the water up to the jet pack.
Given the “arms race” we see on super yachts competing for the coolest water toys, many will start adding the jet pack for the upcoming charter season!
At www.boatbookings.com, we welcome everyone from sailing professionals to complete novices and will help you at every step of the way to make your dreams a reality. We have a team of highly skilled professionals who are extremely knowledgeable in their destinations and will be able to help you with any questions you may have.
Watch this space for the latest industry show releases, news and gossip in the yachting world. If you liked the content on this page and our previous posts, please become a fan and like our Facebook page to receive up to date information on our publications. Follow us on Twitter and Google Plus too.
Chartering a yacht in Saint-Florent is a superb destination for your summer vacation in the Mediterranean. Saint-Florent is a port town located in the northwest of Corsica. Originally a commercial fishing port, today it is a stunning yachting destination because of it’s architecture and monuments such as the citadel built in 1440.
Along the coast you will see some beautiful ancient towers like the towers of genoese and a bit further you will see some amazing bays with breathtaking long sandy beaches including Saleccia beach, considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean sea. There is a beautiful contrast between the Corsican Maquis hills, the sea and the city of Saint-Florent.
If you charter a boat in Saint Florent, you can put it on anchor in the bay or negotiate a berth in the port. There are plenty of excellent local restaurants in the port, we recommend the restaurant in Hotel d’Europe.We also recommend a day trip to the port of Centuri to eat what some people call the best lobster of Corsica. If this is too far for you, you can go to one of the nearby bays and have swim in the beautiful sea, lay down and get a tan in the nice sandy beach or go snorkelling and discover the underwater world of Corsica.
For more information on Chartering a Yacht in Saint-Florent click here. At www.boatbookings.com, we welcome everyone from sailing professionals to complete novices and will help you at every step of the way to make your dreams a reality. We have a team of highly skilled professionals who are extremely knowledgeable in their destinations and will be able to help you with any questions you may have.
Watch this space for the latest industry show releases, news and gossip in the yachting world. If you liked the content on this page and our previous posts, please become a fan and like our Facebook page to receive up to date information on our publications. Follow us on Twitter and Google Plus too.
We are proud to announce that charterers and yachting enthusiasts have visited Boatbookings.com over 1 million times this year, a new record for us. People come to Boatbookings to charter yachts of course, and also for ouritineraries, charter advice, destination guides, technology suggestions, and our famous route planner that allows you to plan the distance, fuel consumption and course of virtually any itinerary.
While 1 million visits is an important milestone for us, we know it is just the beginning – we have plenty of new content, yachts, features and site functionality coming in the next few months. Stay tuned to this blog for all the news.
We want BoatBookings.com to be THE place you come for news about yachting, boating and chartering. Towards that goal, we’ve reached out to some of the most knowledgeable writers in the yachting industry with our new “guest blogger” program. They will be adding news about new yachts, trends, destinations and insider news to Boatbloggings on a regular basis.
We are thrilled to announce that our first two guest bloggers are Kim Kavin, successful book author and editor of CharterWave, and Phil Friedman, long time industry expert.
Kim Kavin is extremely successful in the yachting industry, having set up CharterWave and BoaterMouth. She is not only the author of several books, but she is a regular contributor to various magazines and websites. She has had three years experience being Executive Editor of Yachting Magazine, and for the past three years, has received international recognition of her expertise, in the shape of awards from the Boating Writers International Writing Contest.
Phil Friedman has been similarly successful, with 30 years in the marine industry, working as a yacht designer, a boat builder, a yacht surveyor, yachting writer and editor. He has not only gained experience in various different sectors of the industry, but has also been an industry educator. Before he moved into the yachting world, he taught logic and philosophy at university.
If you would be interested in applying to become part of our program, please email us at: [email protected]
