Photos and testimony- courtesy of Bob Laflam
We bring you the testimony of sailing vacation by the client Bob Laflam that has sailed the BVI that we got in an email. Here is what you can expect from a sailing vacation in the BVI when sailing with Navigare Yachting.
Bob`s testimony (as we received it):
Hello to all and just sending along with a quick trip report and at the very bottom a link to photos. I would like to thank everyone involved for all of their help in the planning and execution of a phenomenal vacation week for my family. Starting with Jackie who was super patient in the beginning & helped us find the right boat, as well as Lynne who answered multiple last-minute questions, and Avril, Rachel, and Bentley (sorry for holding your clipboard hostage for a week…) who were superb at the Village Cay Marina starred finish area with good pre-cruise prep sessions, thorough boat orientations and as well a thorough review at the end of the trip.6
The trip started as I anticipated with a complete, well-thought-out, and structured itinerary that changed the very moment we got there. We were there nice and early as we had stayed inside the night before, but it turns out our boat was rafted to another Boat who is leaving before us so even though we were prepped and ready to go we could not get on the catamaran for two or three hours until the other boat left as we didn’t want to crawl over their boat and intrude on their privacy… Oh well, it probably actually work out for the best as there was plenty of pre-cruise orientation time that I needed to spend with the staff with all my last-minute questions, and fortunately, they had a little breakfast-lunch café at the Village Cay Marina in Road Town, so we just tried to relax and enjoy the warm weather & spent time enjoying all the beautiful boats and talking to people coming off their catamarans to get their very helpful experiences.
I would also really like to mention as well that all of the dock staff were extremely helpful and pleasant even though they had numerous duties that did not relate to some guy wandering up and down the dock asking questions… Everyone had a smile on their face and was super patient so I tip my hat to the entire dock staff!
The next little adventure involves luggage which sadly for some did not arrive on time at the airport and was not going to be at the airport until 6 PM even though we wanted to leave at noon. We of course did not want to wait so went to Plan B which was to sail up and around the north end of tour Tortola to Trellis Bay ending in and yes getting the luggage by taking the dinghy in and just walking over to the airport when it arrived at the airport at 6 PM… So easy to do, and we ended up with a fantastic jerk chicken and roti meal at a tiny little café in Trellis Bay & could quite possibly have been the best meal of the trip and unplanned and unexpected!
Next on our list of unexpected plans was the fact that the New England Patriots were playing the Chiefs and we decided at the last minute we were going to watch the game somewhere somehow… After some web searching the only place, we could find that might have it on was up at Leverick Bay, a super easy sail, we left our morning super early and got to the Baths at about 8 AM, picked up a mooring there, and had almost 2 hours to ourselves to explore until the cruise ship folks got there, a perfect way to start the day. In Leverick Bay, next, a great mooring, and yes by the time we got there they were still watching the early game so we had a chance to settle in, get a table, order some painkillers, and ever so gently battle with the patriot haters and the Chiefs fans who were still very nice but not super happy to see the patriots again do so well. We were of course thrilled beyond description and continued to celebrate probably a little bit more than we should have… Oh well, I’m not making any apologies here!
And yes, our New England Patriots trip banner ended up in the best possible place, in the hands of our newest fan!
The next twist which I did not expect was a change in my older daughter's arrival time from evening to morning so the next thing I knew Our schedule changed again, and we were in Spanish town by 10 AM picking her up… Didn’t even really know quite what to do at that point, but winds were light and no chance to sail upwind to Anegada it at that point, so just took a long downwind run to Jost and had a great evening there at White Sands..... A bunch of our passengers had never been there, and I couldn’t miss the chance even though it was not on our original itinerary.
That left us the next day with a super long upwind haul to Anegada, which took all day, but we did some fishing and everybody was a good sport so we arrive late afternoon, walked the beach, and cooked on board which was a good change from going out… Winds picked up that night and the anchor may have slipped a little, but I slept up above and kept my eye on things so not a lot of rest but everything ended up secure with no adventures.
The next day was a truck rental and island exploration... both Loblolly Beach and Cow Wreck Beach...good fun, and dinner that night at the Wonky Dog...
The next day down to Marina Cay, a super easy downwind sale which everyone needed, then finished at Peter Island with a last night visit to the Willie T... Not going to tell any stories there but will simply say that I was in bed early, although that was not true for the rest of our party.
Probably overpacked so already working on my next pack list that will eliminate stuff that I did not need to bring!
The food ended up being fairly expensive for eight people as my kids are not quite ready to pick up the tab, so that was a little disappointing… If I had to do it again, I might eat on board just a little bit more and eat out a tiny bit less, but I am not complaining as it was a rare treat to get everyone together and watch them hang out and have a blast!
Overall I would rate “Summer” as a great boat for us and in great condition. Everything was new and functional and we had no problems with any of the equipment with the one exception of the wind speed gauge which seem to poop out halfway through the trip, and a minor furling line issue...I did mention these to Bentley in the post-trip briefing so I am sure it will get attention between trips.
Things we would do again...
Stay at Village Cay Marina the night before... a good experience, nice staff, and great proximity!
Have dinner at Trellis Bay... great Jerk Chicken... very affordable!
Baths early at 8 AM
Leverick Bay was a pleasant surprise
Jost - White Sands, although might try Little Jost next time...
Things we would not do again...
Rental Stand Up Boards... got very little use
Print Crew Shirts ahead of time... (note the Boat name was changed without us being aware...hence all the shirts read “Ragnar”)
We thank Bob for sharing his experience with us and allowing the experience to be shared with other sailors visiting our website. We hope Bob to see you again sailing with us!