Sailing

Bill:

I am sending you by FedEx tonight a copy of the most recent edition of the
cruising guide to the Virgin Islands. It's not required reading but I
thought you might find it interesting to see a bit about where we will be
sailing. Please be sure to bring it along with you since we will need it if
we try and go to any spots we haven't been to before and since it will have
the most up to date information on navigation, restaurants, bars, etc. (you
will see little hand-drawn charts of the most popular anchorages - these are
surprisingly useful).

There's a lot of information in there. If you want to focus on just a few,
the places we are (in my humble and easily overridden opinion) most likely to
visit are:

Road Town - that's where we will pick up the boat so we're pretty certain to
be there
The Bight on Norman Island - deserted island but a floating bar/restaurant,
good snorkeling nearby
Jost Van Dyke - we have always liked Sydney's Peace & Love in Little Harbor
and Foxy's in Great Harbor
Sandy Cay - the classic deserted island, very small - probably just a lunch
or quick swim stop
Cane Garden Bay - a little tricky getting in but well worth it - the
quintessential Caribbean beach (swath of white sand, palm trees, steel bands,
etc.)
Trellis Bay - closest anchorage to the airport and where there used to be a
restaurant called The Last Resort
Cooper Island - nice quiet resort on the island with a good outdoor dining
option
The Baths - wouldn't be a trip to the BVI without a stop here
Bitter End Yacht Club - probably about as far as we'd want to go

There are some great beaches and secluded anchorages over on St. John but it
is in the US Virgins which means clearing the boat out of immigration and
customs in the BVI, then clearing into the US at Cruz Bay on St. John and
then back into the BVI when we go back over there. Kind of a lot of trouble,
particularly since the anchorage in Cruz Bay is so crowded it's impossible to
find a good place to leave the boat while we go to clear in. We've done it
before but my view is that with limited time it just isn't worth it. Of
course, we started this with the assumption that my view isn't necessarily
controlling here and I know that Linda particularly likes the restaurant at
Caneel Bay (fancy resort) on St. John. So stay tuned.

We will need to be sure we are anchored somewhere near Tortola (which
probably just means not at the Bitter End or on St. John) the night before
your flight so we can make sure you get to the airport. One alternative is
to stay at Trellis Bay - or right across at Marina Cay - that night and just
dinghy you over to the dock - it's a 5 min. walk to the airport. Or we can
drop you anywhere else there's a phone since there are taxis that can be
called and the island just isn't that big - I don't think it could take more
than an hour by car to get from any one spot on the island to any other!

I put the Moorings luggage tags in with the cruising guide. They aren't that
important unless you check bags. Please be sure to use them if you check
anything since that will make it much more likely that they will catch up
with us some day. I'm not sure, but it may also make it just a tad easier to
get through BVI customs when they see those familiar tags.

Here are some BVI links if you have time to do a little surfing:
http://people.we.mediaone.net/gkunkel/bviphoto.htm
http://www.b-v-i.com/

Call or e-mail with any questions.

Mark
(713)853-7459 (work)