Located
in northeast Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico, the British
Virgin Islands stretch for more than 30 miles around
Sir Francis Drake Channel – one of the finest and
most protected sailing areas in the world.
Only a 20 minute taxi ride from Beek Island Airport, our
new base at Wickhams Cay II marina is centrally located
in the heart of Road Town. At the heart of our Crystal
Green environmental program, our new base was developed
with the preservation and protection of the marine and
waterside environment in mind. The great amenities include
a hotel with a full service restaurant, bar and swimming
pool overlooking the marina.
These islands have everything you could wish
for in a sailing holiday. All year round, you can enjoy
short hops from one blissful anchorage to another with
easy line-of-sight cruising in steady, comfortable trade
winds. This is a great choice for people of all ages and
abilities, families or groups of friends and couples looking
for a romantic getaway. If sailing isn't a passion already,
you will fall in love with it by the time the BVI has finished
with you.
BVI Regatta
With a reputation for serious yacht racing and serious
partying, this event is non-stop action and non-stop
fun for all, on the water and ashore. Before, during
and after the races, the Regatta Village takes on a carnival
atmosphere with food, drinks, games, live music and lots
of entertainment for everyone. Racing enthusiasts return
year after year from all over the world for this major
event in the worldwide yachting calendar to compete in
the perfect conditions of warm, steady trade winds, and
weave their way around these lush green islands of long
sandy beaches.
Provisioning
It’s good to have a rough idea of how many nights
you plan to eat ashore and how many you’d like to
cook or barbecue onboard your yacht. This will help when
provisioning. Some people prefer to dine ashore at a different
restaurant each night, others like to get away from it
all and stay onboard.
Good winds and medium seas make for superb sailing
and some really exhilarating openwater cruising.
You may decide
to embark on an exciting adventure over longer distances
to the sophisticated shores of St. Barts and St.
Kitts. St.Martin is the smallest island in the world
to be
divided between two principalities: French in the
north and Dutch
in the south.
Saint Maarten is the smaller, Dutch part
of the island shared peacefully with France’s St.
Martin. It’s the world’s smallest island on
which two separate nations, with two very different characters
and sets of laws and customs, co-exist on either side of
a border marked only by welcome signs.
The Dutch section of the island, only 17 square miles,
has become one of the Caribbean’s most popular holiday
and shopping destinations. Not only can visitors hop across
the invisible border to get a taste of French Caribbean
life, they can also enjoy the advantages of shopping in
one of the world’s few completely tax-free ports.
In the capital Philipsburg there are more than 500 stores
in pastel-colored, clapboard Dutch-style buildings selling
luxury goods at 25% to 50% below normal prices. For truly
local shopping with a Caribbean flavor, don’t miss
Philipsburg’s Saturday market.
The sporting highlight of Saint. Maarten is the March
Heineken Regatta which draws yacht crews from across the
world providing an excuse for parties and steel bands shows
on both the Dutch and French sides of the island. The annual
carnival, after Easter, is an extravaganza of calypso competitions,
costume and dance, as is the official holiday celebration
marking Queen Juliana’s birthday on April 30. If
that isn’t enough partying, islanders and visitors
can pop across the border to the French side to enjoy the
festivities on Bastille Day – June 14. Another advantage
of this one-island, two-nation destination.
St. Martin is 21 square miles of French territory with
a strikingly French way of life. The currency, the language,
the goods in the shops, the escargot and frog legs in the
restaurants and the pastries and breads in the bakeries,
the cars, the fashions and the sheer style – it’s
all unashamedly French, with the added Caribbean attraction
of superb beaches on which to spend the hot, sunny days.
At the centre of a spectacular bay is the small capital
town of Marigot, with 50 restaurants and as many shops
where visitors can take advantage of the town's tax-free
port status. Every Wednesday and Saturday there are festive
open markets with stalls selling tropical products, fruits,
vegetables, fish, spices and local art and crafts.
Grand Case, known as the dining capital of the Caribbean,
has the greatest concentration of restaurants, including
French, Italian, Vietnamese and West Indian and away from
the busy towns, visitors will find a wide choice of breathtakingly
beautiful beaches and bays, some of them popular and lively,
others quiet and secluded. Entertainment comes in the form
of organized parties at some of the larger resorts and
discos at some of the restaurants, but mostly you’ll
find music, in the shape of reggae bands and piano players,
in the bars and bistros.
THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Prevailing winds in the summer months are southeast averaging
between 10 to 15 knots. The winter winds are generally
northeast from 15 to 25 knots. The waters are sheltered
with a tidal range of 12 inches. Sailing passages range
from 2 to 15 miles.
ST. MARTIN
St. Martin experiences year round northeast to southeast
winds from 10 to 20 knots in the summer months and between
15 to 25 knots from November to May. Winter season winds
are generally east to northeast with July and October
northeast to southeast variations for short periods.
