We've been to the BVI twice and injoyed it both times. Were now thinking about going again and wondering how the Bahamas stack up against the BVI? Also, what is the best time of year to go? I hope some of you more knowable sailors can help us out with this.
BVI vs Bahamas
- Thread starter Ron10127
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It's the weather. You'd most likely want to go in the winter. The BVIs are pretty constant except for the Xmas winds. The Bahamas get hammered with winter storms. We were there in Feb 1994 and froze our buns off one week being literally trapped in a house on a beautiful point with snorkeling nearby - never got outside. The next week with a boat was OK, but limited range because of the "rages" that kept us in the area around Marsh Harbor. It's simply riskier weather-wise further north.
The Abacos are beautiful and much less crowded with charter boats than the BVIs. If you need it to be warm then go after April 1. Navigation is more challenging here than the BVIs. The maximum depth I remember was about 12'. No line of sight sailing here. Keep a good chart and a GPS handy. The cruising guides and charts usually have very good waypoints to get you from place to place.
Here are some photos from my 2005 trip:
http://www.treilley.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album17&page=1
Here are some photos from my 2005 trip:
http://www.treilley.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album17&page=1
We went to the Bahamas near the end of March last year and the weather was great. The charter company, however, was a different story.
We've been to the BVI's twice in early December and are in the process of putting another trip together for this coming December. Great weather, great winds and not crowded at that time of year. Easy choice in my opinion.
We've been to the BVI's twice in early December and are in the process of putting another trip together for this coming December. Great weather, great winds and not crowded at that time of year. Easy choice in my opinion.
Which company? What is the story? Your experience could save one of us a bad trip in the future.
The company was The Moorings.
The boat was a Moorings 393 ( which is a Beneteau ) and it was a hunk of junk. It was missing a section of life lines, one gate wouldn't work, the out haul was disconnected and tied off to the topping lift, the lines were in terrible shape and led all over the place, the sails were even worse and the wrong bimini was installed. It was way too high so sheeting the main was impossible. We sailed with a lot of twist .
Our check out was about two hours late and for the most part the guy who did it had no idea what he was talking about. The company didn't seem much concerned about our concerns. They gave us the impression we should be happy with what we got. When we returned the boat the same guy did our inspection. It consisted of flushing the head. He sail as long as the head worked he was happy.
I've done a lot of chartering with a lot of different company's and never seen anything like these guys. I was really surprised because I had only heard good things about the company and their fleet. Maybe it was just this location, in Marsh Harbour, but The Moorings have seen the last dollar they'll get from me.
I went scuba diving during the spring break period twice (so assume march or April) in the Bahamas. The first trip we were in the water twice a day with awesome weather, great diving, lots of sharks and tropical fish. The second trip it was blowing too hard for the boats to go out and it was cold, we only had one single dive the whole trip. So it is very unpredictable. The casinos were nice to have at night for something to do and they have good entertainment in Port Lacaya at night. This was on Grand Bahama Island.
During mid January we took a trip to St. Thomas, every single day it was low to mid eighties and every night we slept with the sliding door open to the deck because it was perfectly comfortable. If you look up the average temperature year round in the virgin islands it ranges from maybe mid seventies up to 90. , it is incredibly narrow band of temperature. This was by far the most beautiful place I've seen and the fact you are still on US soil with full access to your rights and good medical resources and such is a big plus. I dislike leaving the country more all the time.
During mid January we took a trip to St. Thomas, every single day it was low to mid eighties and every night we slept with the sliding door open to the deck because it was perfectly comfortable. If you look up the average temperature year round in the virgin islands it ranges from maybe mid seventies up to 90. , it is incredibly narrow band of temperature. This was by far the most beautiful place I've seen and the fact you are still on US soil with full access to your rights and good medical resources and such is a big plus. I dislike leaving the country more all the time.
The BVI's are a much better sailing location than the Bahamas.
Better and more consistent wind; better destinations; better food; more interesting sailing.
I'm talking British Virgin Islands - Forget the US Virgin islands!
sam
Better and more consistent wind; better destinations; better food; more interesting sailing.
I'm talking British Virgin Islands - Forget the US Virgin islands!
sam
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