British Virgin Islands

[grahamph]

We have booked a weeks charter with Sunsail in May and would like some advice on provisioning the yacht. Is it possible to eat out in restaurants at most of the harbours we are likely to be in each night or do we need to get plenty of food in before we leave Tortola? We are used to flotillas in Greece where we never cook on board in the evenings.

 

[SoSageofLorn]

Take the easy on the cook option, we chartered with the Moorings for two weeks and ate on board in the evening only once, that was because we had stores to use up.

 

[Jobs_a_ good_ un]

Just come back from a week a xmas over there and didnt do any eve meals
Make sure you book a table at the restaurants as they get very full and may have to eat at 9.30 as we did in marina cay on new tears eve

 

[bestintentions]

We got quite a lot of food in and hardly ate any of it - ate out every night i think - get Sunsail to fill the boat full of bottles of water though! Enjoy - its a top place

 

[explores]

Look out for the gusts. We had a genoa blow to shreds one morning--rest of the day nice breaze.

 

[Moonshining]

If you're heading to the BVI, this site has loads of information, although it does have a very American slant.

 

[alldownwind]

Worth mentioning that some eateries are a tad expensive.

 

[tcm]

Yes, i reckon you would be able to eat out every night at BVI with only a bit of planning

Virgin Gorda has the Virgin Gorda Cafe, saba rock and the bitter end yot club.

Trellis bay has the cyber caff for acee brekky and internet, and other restos withinin dinghy ride

jost van dyke has foxy's and a coupla other places too

Norman isalnd also has whatever Boneys is called these days

peter island does a buffet i think, certainly lunchtimes anyways, walk over the hill from the little bay with moorings .The "fine dining" on peter island just next to the moorings is reportedly dissapointing, but not tried it meself.

One good tip for first nite, i think, when you arrive at the boat, dump yer gear and get one of your crew to find a load of nice snorkels and flippers cos the good stuff goes quickly, whilst another goes immediately to a restaurant and orders food. Else the rest of the planeload turns up and the kitchen is swamped and you're last.

Also though, the food is a bit rubbish, really. Exceptions are brunch at the cyber caffe, and bitter end cafe, which is reportedly closed evenings, but isn't.

Also, also...note that tyou may be jetlagged, and wake at dawn, early brekky and be dead tired by 7pm local cos it is 11pm GMT. Eating out at luinchtime mite be more realistic, really? That's wot we do mostly, anyways. It is also dead bleedin dark about 30mins after sunset, so evening out dining not a great experience imho.

 

[Csail]

So what do you do in the pitch dark? Surely eating and drinking is quite a good option?

 

[tcm]

Yes, possibly. Except that the eating out and drinking must be followed by a dinghy ride, making it not such a great option. And as above, your body clock means you are 4hours early everywhere, and hence waiting till 7pm for eveng meal is like waiting till11pm, not really worth it sometimes.

It's equatorial innit, so imho best option is to wake up when it's light, round 6am local and think about being back on the boat at 6pm. I usually crash out around 9pm ish local. Waking up early and clearing off may also mean you aren't around when the HM comes round for his 25 dollars, so i spose one would have to hang around and wait for him first, ahem.

 

[rickp]

[ QUOTE ]
Waking up early and clearing off may also mean you aren't around when the HM comes round for his 25 dollars, so i spose one would have to hang around and wait for him first, ahem.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're definitely getting into 'raggie' mode /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Rick

 

[AndrewB]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Waking up early and clearing off may also mean you aren't around when the HM comes round for his 25 dollars, so i spose one would have to hang around and wait for him first, ahem.

[/ QUOTE ]Or just stick the anchor down between the moorings, and pay nothing. There's nothing 'official' about most of them, just entreprenurial locals on the make. Expect some black looks though since anchoring will block four moorings.

 

[hocus]

Agree, plan to eat out but take plenty of fluids on board at the start.Quality of food may be limited but its usually in characterful surroundings. Don't miss out Little JVD...If sunsail dont get you a guide, get the Doyle's guide to Virgins, full of useful info including local phone numbers.

 

[Jeannius]

It is possible to eat out almost everywhere in the BVI but it is very difficult to eat well. Unless your idea of 'well' is all-you-can-eat and burgers that is.

It isn't impossible though. Excellent food can be had here http://www.brandywinebay.com/ in a great location on Tortola, just outside of Road Town. The other really excellent restaurant is http://www.dovebvi.com/ This is within Road Town itself, just near the ferry terminal. Other than the two places above you are into overpriced average food.

Good cheap food can be had at the excellent http://www.fatvirgin.com/ This is up in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda. This is probably the best value in the whole of the BVI.

If you decide to provision the boat then you don't need to limit yourself to what Sunsail offer. I and many others use the online provisioning service from http://www.bobbysmarketplace.com/ There is an online excel spreadsheet that you can use to order just about anything. All costs are calculated for you and the form can then be emailed and the stuff delivered right to your boat at a specified time. It is a great system that works extremely well.

You'll have a great time in one of the nicest cruising grounds anywhere.

BTW... I have no connection with any of the above places other than as a very satisfied customer.