BVI bareboat power cat charter, please recommend less popular anchorages

[Mischief Managed]

My wife and I are fortunate enough to be close friends with 3 terrific couples from our marina that we love to cruise with on our individual boats (we also hang out extensively outside of boating season). We have explored the New England coast with them extensively and always have a great time. As a group, we tend to prefer anchorages off the beaten path over the popular places. We will be cruising with with them for a week on a 4 stateroom/4 head 46' power cat in the BVI at the end of the month.

I have done some research and know what the popular spots are for overnights, but I'm looking for less popular alternatives. We aren't really interested in bar-hopping like most seem to do in BVI (at least that's how it seems on youtube...). Any recommendations would be appreciated. FWIW, I have purchased and studied a cruising guide, just hoping for first hand accounts of experiences. TIA

 

[CPD]

Sailed the BVI throughout the 1990s, but fear the secluded anchorages are quite scarce these days. Some suggestions though my personal experience is now 20 years old: Anegada as many Charterers are not permitted to go there, Jost Van Dyke/White Bay (Soggy Dollar Bar) as it is shallow (6ft) so many charterers not permitted to stay there, Little Jost Van Dyke (if swell and waves are minimal) Peter Island anchorages, Virgin Gorda outside Spanish Town (can get quite rolly), Prickly Pear Island.

 

[SteveK]

Was there 3 years ago with a frequent goer. The only times we were in less crowded areas was when there was not a rental mooring field. I did not get the impression there were many without mooring balls, but it is a big area.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Thank you folks!

 

[hollywood8118]

I have made nine+ trips to the BVI in the past 20 years. It never really changed much except from the effects of hurricanes. It is still one of my favorite places to relax on a boat. One of our favorites is Cam Bay on the East side of Great Camanoe Isl. Charts show it as pretty skinny in depth, and it is. But its a flat sandy bottom that slopes from the protective reef to the beach. The trade winds hold you off the reef and I have probably spent over twenty to thirty days and nights there. I have been in there in up to 65' cats and even spent a few days/nights there in a Nordhavn57 ( it totally freaked the Owners wife out to have a foot under the keel at low tide ) but she really loved being in the water there as she was a timid swimmer. I absolutely loved the N57 time there even though it is mostly sailboats.
Hollywood

 

[Blissboat]

Sounds like Mischief Managed is staying on the British side, and there are plenty of great spots to enjoy there. I would add that on the U.S. side, I have found quiet anchorages on the east end of St. John, around Round Bay. They're quiet because of little shoreside development (i.e., no bars) and they are so protected from the trade wind that they can get buggy at night.

In the U.S or the B.V.I.s, popular anchorages became popular for good reasons. If you have to go there, better to stay away from the mooring fields, as Steve notes. Study your charter's ground tackle to be confident it's big enough, and then (as always and everywhere), choose your spot carefully and make sure the hook is well set.

 

[PracticalNavigator]

I go every year for work, here are a few less- travelled anchorages for normal trade conditions:

-Lee Bay, Great Camanoe Island
-Brewers Bay, Tortola (no good in north swell)
-Green Cay/Sandy Spit near JVD (there is a blowhole you can hike to)
-Key Bay Peter Island (now has moorings so maybe more popular)
-Salt Island Bay or South Bay on Salt Island
-Savannah Bay VG

Cheers

 

[Mischief Managed]

We got back Sunday night. Did not go at all as planned and we had a blast anyway. Wind was 20 to 30 knots, gusting to 40+ all week and we never anchored due to lack of confidence in the ground tackle on the boat and the crazy wind. Spent first night at Moorings base in Tortola because we arrived late in the afternoon and were really tired. Spent second night on a mooring at Benures Bay, Norman Island and the rest of the week we stayed in popular places, including two transient slips, Oil Nut Bay Marina (classy place, decent price and great sushi) and Scrub Island Marina (fancy, high price, and decent food). We used overnight moorings at Cooper Island, Bitter End and The bight at Norman Island. WE also used lots of day moorings for snorkeling and touristy stuff.

Discovered that there are no hidden gems in BVI during "high season". Every place we went had plenty of other boats and it was not really bothersome. The cruising area is just too small and too popular for our normal style of cruising so we just altered our expectations and went with the flow. Sometimes it's fun to just embrace being a tourist.

We paid dearly for pre-provisioning which worked fine because we had planned to start cruising on day one, but If we do it again, we'll plan to spend first night at Moorings base and provision the boat ourselves (except for the heavy stuff).

The 46 foot Leopard power cat was perfect for 4 couples. Other than the staterooms, it has a ridiculous amount of space and all kinds of areas to get away from the crowd aboard if desired. It also handled the 5 to 8 foot waves really well. Only complaints about the boat: 1. it has tiny props and rudders. The boat required lots of throttle to do anything at low speed. 2 The Raymarine MFDs worked great for controlling lights and systems on the boat, but they are frustratingly challenging to use as chart plotters.

I was shocked that the charter boats don't have radar. That said, they prohibit night time cruising and fog does not seem to be a problem there so I get it.

I enjoyed the lawlessness around dinghy use there, felt like home. Our whole marina is full of dinghy scofflaws and it's fantastic.