Why are the BVIs now a tidal destination!!

[RichardS]

I'm a bit behind the times but just reading my January 2011 issue of PBO (was probably in the shops in October 2010!) and it says on page 83 "The British Virgin Islands recent reclassification as a tidal destination means your RYA Day Skipper (taken there) will let you charter anywhere else in the world".

Has the moon moved it's orbit in the last few months?

Has that global warming / climate change thing (delete as applicable) raised sea levels overnight?

Perhaps a major drift northwards of the Caribbean techtonic plate explains it?

I think we should be told!

Richard

I've sailed three times in the BVIs and I've never seen any tides, tide tables, tidal curves or tidal stream data. What, exactly, are the RYA using for test purposes?

 

[sarabande]

oooops ?

http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/3525.html


(the tidal range is about a foot, or 0.3m in new money. )


And perhaps they want you to take wind-caused current into account as well ? Look at the data from the offshore buoys.

 

[photodog]

Oh, Cmon! Nothing to do with tides or lack there of.. entirely down to the fact that the RYA havent had much of a impact in the past there with training, as most of the stuff being offered was ASA.. But if you can do a Tidal RYA course in the BVI's then this will be good for European visitors.. and more importanty the Yanks will start taking the RYA courses more....

Cheapens the whole differentiation.... but good for the RYA and Good for local businesses...

 

[RichardS]

(the tidal range is about a foot, or 0.3m in new money. )

Actually, now you mention it, I do remember heaving-to just off Foxy's Bar on Jost van Dyke whilst we waited for high tide in order to squeeze over the bar.

Once over the bar, I had a couple of "painkillers" and then went under the bar

Sorry!

Richard

 

[KellysEye]

All the Caribbean islands have a small tide but you don't notice it because of the west going current. It's certainly not enough to qualify for sailing (say) the Raz. I think the RYA is behaving irresponsibly .

 

[RobF]

It's tidal inasmuch that there is a 30cm tidal variation (as Sarabande correctly noted). There is also a tidal stream of up to 1.5 knots in the SW corner of Tortola between West End and Great Thatch Island and up to 3 knots in the St Francis Drake channel itself.

 

[Seajet]

I'm used to tides. I hereby volunteer selflessly to go out on a fact-finding mission for the RYA, as long as one of them would kindly fill in this 'expenses ? Have it on us' form I've just run up...

 

[prv]

Sounds like it's about as tidal as the Baltic then?

Pete

 

[FistralG]

... "The British Virgin Islands... your RYA Day Skipper (taken there) ...

Is anyone running a Dazed Kipper course in the BVI?
I wish I'd known before. I did my course in Falmouth last summer before chartering a cat in the BVI's last November. 'I could have killed two birds with one stone' and saved a bit of dosh at the same time!

 

[KellysEye]

>and up to 3 knots in the St Francis Drake channel itself.

Most of that is the normal west going current. If you are going up to North Sound you can get out of most of the current and get a better wind angle if you sail close to Virgin Gorda.

The worst is further down the island chain - just north of Grenada and Grenada down to Trinidad. With the leeway what should be a reach turns into beat.