Thursday March 26th
We arrived in the BVI on Thursday March 26th, one day before our departure, because the mandatory “Boat Orientation” & “Safety Briefings” begin at 8:00am on your day of departure.
Our first night (Thu March 26th) was called a “Sleep Aboard” night.
You are allowed to stay overnight on the boat you have chartered, but can’t leave until after Boat Orientation & Safety Breifings.
The Moorings Complex is very large, with 2 Restaurants, a Large Pool, Grocery Store, Liquor Store, Gift Shops, Spa, 10 Showers, etc
We paid extra for a Yacht that was supposed to be “less than 1 year old”.
The boat did not disappoint – it looked new, smelt new, and had only 150 hours on the engines.
As the trip went on, it was really cool to be piloting a million dollar boat.
It was my first time driving a PowerCat & first time driving a boat with Bow Thrusters.
I loved it !!!
We spent a lot of time Thursday night, loading/storing our pre-ordered “Provisions” onto the boat.
We ordered the provisions about a month before arrival – Liquor, Beer, Food, Kitchen Supplies, Etc.
The Provision store delivers the supplies directly onto the boat, and included a list of supplies ordered by each couple, with each order identified by our email address.
Thursday Night ended with dinner at The Moorings Yacht Club – sorry, no photos.
Friday March 27th.
8:00-9:30 am = Boat Orientation/Training – Engines, Generator, Chart Plotters, Water Maker, Electrical Panel Breakers, Shore Power/Generator Breakers, Air Conditioning Controllers, Etc
9:30-10:30am = Safety Briefing – Areas of caution for boating, areas to stay out of.
Time for The Fun – We departed The Moorings at about 11:30am
First Stop = The famous Willy T’s Floating 2-story Boat Bar.
Willy T’s is a famous floating bar and restaurant in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) off Norman Island, Known for its “anything goes” atmosphere,, shots, and top-deck jumping, it has operated on three different vessels, with the current 110-foot steel boat operating since 2018 after hurricanes destroyed its predecessors
It was about a 10 mile ride from Tortola to Norman Island & The Famous Willy T’s
We had to moor on a first come/first serve mooring ball (FCFS), and dinghy over to The Willy T’s.
Our first connection to the mooring ball & the dinghy ride over to Willy T’s went very smoothly.
This is one of the locations that you cannot advance reserve a mooring ball.
There were still several balls available, when we arrived about 12:30pm on Friday (noon).
Note = We had Headsets for communication between the Captain & Crew while Mooring & Docking.
The headsets prevent all the yelling during these normally stressful times.
Willy T’s 2-Story Floating Boat Bar was packed, luckily we arrived just as another dinghy was leaving.
The Willy T’s was very crowded, with a big crowd at the upstairs jumping pad and smaller crowd at the downstairs bar.
The place was full of excitement.
This place was A BLAST !!!
We began our visit with “the 1st Jump” – everyone was nervous
Then some of us (Anita) needed some liquid encouragement with the Shot-Ski !!!
After receiving her liquid courage, it was time for Nita’s first jump.
It was funny to note this sign after all the jumping & diving
The Crew was quite Happy & Lively after Willy T’s on the dinghy ride back to our Yacht.
Watch this video and remember – The Cooks & Hinmans just met 2 days ago 🙂
The BVI is a great place to make new friends.
The next stop was The Cooper Island Beach Club.
It was about another 10 mile ride from Norman Island to Cooper Island.
The Cooper Island Beach Club is highly desired.
This is one of the reservations that we made about a month ago.
We had Reserved a Mooring Ball (Boaty Ball) just off of the Cooper Island Beach, and took the dinghy to dinner.
As with most of our dining venues, it was a beautiful location on the water.
It created some beautiful photos, but I don’t remember the meal (humm).
After dinner, we went to the Cooper Island Beach Club “Rum Bar”.
200 different types of Rum (Dave Sylver, you would luv it).
After the Rum Bar, we took the short dinghy ride back to the boat.
Ashley hooked up her Disco Ball & Disco Lights, and the first of many nights of Dancing began !
Recommendation:
The disco lights make for a great way to identify our boat, in a bay of PowerCats.
Leave them on before you go to dinner (w/o the music 🙂
It was a long, but very fun first day !
We were wiped out.
Nite Nite time.
Tomorrow; Day-2
The Island of Jost Van Dyke & exploration on the Island Scooters.
Thanks for reading.
Send Questions/Comments
Mike/Ashley, Rich/Anita, Dave/Ginger