BVI Sailing Fair Winds and Following Seas
With deep channels and harbors between inviting green islands and sandy cays, the British Virgin Islands are among the finest sailing areas in the world. This makes it an ideal vacation spot for anyone who loves the ocean, and especially anyone who loves boats and boating.
There are very good reasons the British Virgin Islands are so perfect for sailing. First, the weather is warm year-round, with excellent trade winds blowing nearly constantly up to 25 knots, and a little stronger in winter - perfect for catching in sails. The islands are pocked with little bays and small anchorage points ideal for anchoring and snorkeling, swimming, or just enjoying the views of the closely-placed islands. Because the archipelago is so dense with islands, the waters stay exceptionally smooth, even where the channels run deep - this is great not just for sailing, but also for protecting the many beautiful reefs scattered throughout.
There are dozens of tiny islands throughout the British Virgin Islands. On those islands, you’ll find sunlight striking sugary sands that almost touch living reefs, a perfect place to stage water sport excursions from snorkeling to windsurfing. Though every water sport invented has a place on the BVI, the real attraction here is the yacht chartering. The British Virgin Islands hold the largest fleet of charter yachts in the world, from the small budget yachts to beautiful luxury yachts, all available for you to charter with crew or bareboat.
If you charter your own yacht, you’ll soon find that on ship is the very best way to explore the fifty islands and cays of the BVI. The islands are almost magical, many of them uninhabited, others with only a scattering of small villages to perfectly offset the green mountains and valleys, or provide picture-perfect surfer bars on the quiet beaches. Located only sixty miles east of Puerto Rico, this remarkable paradise isn’t hard to find on a map, though its atmosphere is nearly impossible to find in real life.
In fact, the BVI vacation experience won’t feel like a vacation at all. You won’t see the typical tourist casinos or tall hotels; instead, you’ll find friendly people, light or nonexistent traffic, beautiful isolated villas, and more peace and tranquility than you have ever known in your life. Tropical rainforests butt up against swimming pools and sophisticated restaurants, or you can spend time sailing between island exploring the deep coral canyons below the waters.
This unspoiled quality is no accident. The government of the British Virgin Islands has toiled for years, studying the islands and the underwater ecosystems nearby, seeking ways to protect and preserve the region while still allowing humans to enjoy it. The National Parks Trust is the primary agency administering the unspoiled sections of the BVI, and they administer underwater parks throughout the islands and cays. With many of the smaller cays inaccessible except by water, there really is no better way to explore the region than a bareboat yacht charter, allowing you to skip from island to island at your leisure. With your own chartered yacht, you can feel like a millionaire while observing one of the most beautiful regions on earth.
Tags: bareboat, British Virgin Islands, BVI's, chartering, luxury charters, Sailing, Tortola Sailing, yacht chartersBarry Monteiro is a world traveler specializing in great tropical destination getaways. He enjoys writing about his favorite subjects Tortola Beaches and Tortola Yacht Charters
