Bermuda to BVI 2006

Upon nearing landfall in the early morning hours of Friday, Dec 15th, a tall gray mass began to appear on the horizon. Eventually a volcano mountain took shape and kept me entranced for miles. We reached the British Virgin Islands in less than 5 days thanks to steady 20-30 knot northeast winds that allowed us to sail 955nm on a one-tack beam reach. As recommended by many sailors, we cleared customs and immigration in Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda where all important services and amenities surround the harbour area.

I am happy to report it was a relatively bruise-free passage. I also thought we avoided any breakage but on the last day we realized the centerboard was down because its cable had broke. So despite our beautiful surroundings we (especially my captain!) are preoccupied with acquiring the necessary parts to fix the problem. Meanwhile we now have about a 14 foot draft, which is too much for most of the harbours so we need to anchor outside in less sheltered areas, which also means longer dinghy rides to shore and limited internet options. But the main thing is that we have finally arrived safely to the Caribbean where it is warm, beautiful and there are endless areas to explore.

Geography lesson. The Virgin Islands are an archipelago comprised of several small islands and cays that are considered two groups of islands, the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) and the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The USVI consist of 3 larger islands (St Thomas, St John and St Croix) and over 50 smaller islets and cays. The total area of the USVI is 133 square miles. The BVI (which lie to the north east of the USVI) are made up of 4 larger islands (Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke and Anegada) and 32 smaller islands. The total area of the BVI is 59 square miles.