Beginner Sailor in the Caribbean

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Kalle Wirsch

Your posts are extremely helpful, thank you. I’m reading each one carefully.

It sounds like the ideal conditions of BVI can be a blessing and a curse - easier to navigate but might keep you from learning as well?

Our main goal of this trip is to get better at sailing (in a place as magical as the Caribbean). To take in more experience, get proficient at sailing. So, attractions, restaurants, relaxation, alcohol - we’re not well suited for any of that

So, think of us as nerds with a crate full of homeschooled children - would you still recommend BVI/Abaco? What about Spanish Virgin Islands?

I’ll literally go where you tell me to go

Where are you starting from is probably more important than anything.... ?
Bahamas/Exumas is super easy. USVI and BVI are easy. Getting to certain parts of the Northern/E Caribe including any of the VI's is the harder part for a rookie. Spanish VI are a small area.
So the Bahamas, being only 60 miles from Florida is easy to get to and easy once you are there. Charts are good, shallows are noted. But it's mostly point and go. My first Bahamas excursion was with 6'5" draft, with a cat you'll be far easier...

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Kalle Wirsch

It sounds like the ideal conditions of BVI can be a blessing and a curse - easier to navigate but might keep you from learning as well?

You can sail as little or as much as you want in the BVIs, and you can switch off the chartplotter and practice your skills with compass and map, if you choose. Always stuff to learn. For us, a bunch of smaller-boat sailors, the learning was how to make a 41' monohull go like a rocket.

[seandepagnier]

the bvi are not very beautiful islands compared to the windward islands. banana cost $1 each, and most of the other boaters are overprivileged. The locals stole my kayak paddle twice as well which is pretty uncommon.

My friend was running a charter there and one of the guests died from drinking too much and the other guests on the boat didn't really care just wanted to get his body off the boat so they could continue their cruise since they still had a few days left and had payed 28k for the week.

Otherwise it's very nice; I was able to camp on many of the small islands where it was not allowed to anchor or moor overnight as I traveled by sailing kayak (which did 9 knots downwind and kept up with the charter cats) leaving my main boat in an anchorage. I also went to richard branson's private island and used the showers and more as no one was there when I was.

[Kalle Wirsch]

Hahaha, that’s awesome @lake effect

Initially, we wanted to do Bahamas/Exumas! But we were told over and over again that it’s too difficult because of its shallowness.
No?

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

the bvi are not very beautiful islands compared to the windward islands. banana cost $1 each, and most of the other boaters are overprivileged. The locals stole my kayak paddle twice as well which is pretty uncommon.

My friend was running a charter there and one of the guests died from drinking too much and the other guests on the boat didn't really care just wanted to get his body off the boat so they could continue their cruise since they still had a few days left and had payed 28k for the week.

Geez, Sean! Way to quash Kalle's hopes for a nice holiday! (And I disagree. I think the BVIs are incredibly beautiful.)

Maybe I'm biased, though, since I lived there for 5 years working as a charter skipper. I also experienced nothing like you describe above. No theft of any kind, ever. (Never heard the story about the drinking-too-much guy, although I did hear about the heart-attack-on-holidays guy out in Anegada... Stuff does happen, though, no matter where you go.)

We're in two different baliwicks, however: you're a modest keep-it-simple circumnavigator, while I was a charter skipper catering to all the tourists with dosh. So I expect our experience of the islands might have been different.

For a further bit of background, please allow me to introduce one of CF's resident geniuses (I mean that sincerely), as well as passionate climate advocate:

Town Dock - The Shipping News - Sean and S/V Alexandra
https://towndock.net/shippingnews/se...-and-alexandra

Fair winds,
LittleWing77

[PaulvR]

The whole Caribbean chain is a great place to cut your sailing teeth, and homeschooling is always possible, I did it!

When exploring the islands, you can sail in the hurricane season, just make sure you can exit south if needed in the Hurricane season...to Grenada or better yet, Trinidad.

[Kalle Wirsch]

A banana for 1$ - that IS a bit brutal

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Kalle Wirsch

Hahaha, that’s awesome @lake effect

Initially, we wanted to do Bahamas/Exumas! But we were told over and over again that it’s too difficult because of its shallowness.
No?

My first Bahamas excursion was with 6'5" draft... I had less issues there than in Florida... The water's so clear you can see any coral heads. Charts are good. Anchoring is simple usually. Not loaded with drinking palaces or fancy restaurants though. I've sailed Fl to Trinidad twice and the Bahamas are still my favorite of all of it. Going to the BVI is a bit like going to Honolulu to see Hawaii... OK, not fair, BVI are much better than Honolulu... but there's a tad of that in there... :>)

[P3sailor]

The BVI's are nice but very crowded, at least they were prior to Covid and their last hurricane. If you're fairly new to sailing I'm not sure I'd recommend the BVI's, it's just too busy, boats everywhere, and you'd better get to your destination early because moorings in most locations fill up by mid to early afternoon, so you must plan ahead or you'll have to consider anchoring which you will have to do in some locations anyhow. You just don't want to be in search of an anchorage or mooring ball as evening approaches, in my opinion. The entire island chain from the BVI's down to Granada are great and offer excellent sailing opportunities, why fight the BVI traffic and prices when the other islands have much to offer.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, kwilder.