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Charter/Provisioning Questions

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nate
Navigator

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240 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/21/2002 : 14:16:33

We are headed for the BVI in a few weeks on our first bareboat charter and I wanted to pick the brains of you folks that have chartered in the past. We went with Sunsail and I have done some of the provisioning on-line through them....heavy stuff like beer/water/wine. (Hard to believe I'm spending almost as much for water as beer!)
Question: Are you allowed to bring any foodstuffs into a place like the BVI? We thought we might throw a small box of goodies together and check it as bagage. Obviously this would be non-perishable stuff like coffee and munchies....ect.
Next question: Has anyone provisioned in Tortola at the Sunsail base? We understand that a short taxi ride from the base is a supermarket where we thought we would buy meat/veggies to get us started. We don't want to shlep a ton of stuff back to the boat but also don't want to pay Sunsail prices for all our food either!
Any advice or pearls of chartering wisdom will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Nate Adams
C25 #5695 WK/SR/Trad
"Heeling Properties"
Lake Mead, NV

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bren737
Captain

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Response Posted - 10/21/2002 : 16:31:34

Nate,

Congrats on the BVI charter. You'll love it! My wife and I did one with another couple last year and had a blast. In regard to bringing food into the BVI, it shouldn't be much of a problem. At worst, they may take it from you and throw it away. Tortola depends HEAVILY on the cruisers for their economy, so tend not to be too much of a bother to tourists.

I can't tell you specifically how it would work with Sunsail, since they are in Maya Cove, but can tell you what we did with the Moorings, which is down the island a bit in Road Town. Just across the street and down about a block from the Moorings base is a full-sized grocery store (Riteway) that has just about anything you'd find here in the states, including a great deli and meat market, all reasonably priced. Right next door to the grocery is a "wholesale" liquor store. For CHEAP we provisioned with all the necessary beer/wine/soft drinks/juices etc. there. As this routine is carried out just about every day with charter customers, there is a line of taxis with minivans waiting in front of these stores. For $10 the driver loaded the van, drove us over to the Moorings dock and unloaded it all into a dock cart. Pretty painless, not that expensive. Just a guess, but I would think there is a similar set-up in Maya Cove. If not, its only a short ride to these stores which are at the very north end of Road Town. I would think that the cost of the cab ride would MORE than pay for the savings versus provisioning throught he charter company. We did it for about 30% what the Moorings wanted and this way we got exactly the items we wanted. We did breakfast and lunch on the boat and all but two nights we ate on shore at pubs/restauraunts. You've GOT to try the nightly buffet at the 'Bitter End Yacht Club' in North Virgin Sound! It's fantastic!

Additionally, while you're island-hopping, if you're in North Sound (Virgin Gorda) there is a small grocery at Leverick Bay which has a pretty decent selection but is a little pricey. I wouldn't recommend the little store on the north end of the sound at the Bitter End YC; a box of crackers there will run you $7.00. Finally, also on Virgin Gorda, right at the marina at Spanish Town is another full-sized, 'normally-priced' grocery store in which you can find plenty of fresh bread, fruits, etc. The whole little shopping center its in is right at the marina, about fifty feet from the visitor's dock, and has quite a few shops, resturaunts and pubs.

Hope this helps. You'll really love the BVI. It's really a sailor's paradise. Have a great time!<img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>

Bren Peterson
C250WB, #642, "Ruah"
San Antonio, TX

Edited by - bren737 on 10/21/2002 16:40:09

Edited by - bren737 on 10/21/2002 16:43:03

Edited by - bren737 on 10/21/2002 16:46:02

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nate
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240 Posts

Response Posted - 10/21/2002 : 17:25:01

Bren,
Thanks for the info....I think I might blow off the online provisioning through Sunsail and just plan on hitting the market. We have a full morning before we can board the boat so I think we will have plenty of time to do the shopping. If you're right about the savings my wife might insist we go that route!
We also are going with another couple....and the husband is a chef, so we plan to split dinner ashore with dinners on the boat. This weekend, he and I crewed a 2-day race on a friend's Catalina 310 and he did a fine job cooking aboard.
Needless to say we are getting pretty fired-up about the trip and are having fun with the planning phase as well. Thanks for your help!
Nate

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jandrus
1st Mate

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USA
79 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2002 : 15:47:12

There is a great service run from a small powerboat named Deliverance. Call them on the radio or flag them down in an anchorage and they'll get whatever you want from the big island and find you that night. Costs a bit more and you want to tip nicely but it means you don't have to over buy b/c if you forget something you can have them bring it.

I have a great picture of them tossing fresh (as in off the tree that morning) mangos up to me on the boat we chartered last time we were there - in six foot swells in the Drake.

c25 #1942 s/v tako kichi

Edited by - on

oldsalt
Admiral

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578 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2002 : 20:36:26

The last time I chartered with Sunsail, their base was in Sopers Hole on the other end of the island. The old base was really great, I hope their Maya's Cove base is as nice.

When you return, I hope you give us a report.

I Picked up a substantial amount of provisioning from the Sunsail base Pantry, and although it was somewhat pricey, the quality, especially the meat, was outstanding.

I topped off on the rest of our needs at the Rite Way when I sailed over to Road Town, and the selection and quality there was likewise excellent, at substantially lower prices. And the place was clean.

Here's a tip: don't count on the match light charcoal to light off if there is any wind at all. It's quite a BIG problem getting it started. Pick up some charcoal lighter fluid.

I've chartered with Sunsail, which is very British, as well as the Moorings. Sunsail wins hands down in my opinion. The staff and boats were top notch. You'll have a great time with them.

We took a 46 foot Beneteau with Sunsail, and though I never cared for them before, I would now buy one in a minute if the chance arose. Great sailing vessel; and well thought out for cruising.

Fair winds.

Oldsalt

Edited by - on

Kirk McKay
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111 Posts

Response Posted - 10/23/2002 : 09:41:23

Nate,
If you haven't heard of it already, there is a place called TravelTalk, a message board very similar to this one, that can help with many of these questions. They have a section just on BVI. 'll include a link at the bootom. I'll also be very intersted in your trip, as we are also chartering from SunSail starting on New Years Day! 10 days of Sailing and Island Hopping! What could be better? I can't wait. Please keep us posted! Feel free to use e-mail as well for any tips....Have fun!
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/wwwthreads/wwwthreads.pl

Kirk

Kirk

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