Blog - Part 2

Pacific Wave moored Marigot Bay St Lucia

Pacific Wave Latest Newsletter NO Price Rise to cover the increased charges & taxes for Sailing in the BVI

05/16/2017/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

Read our latest Newsletter and find out how Pacific Wave is retaining our 2016 rates and NOT increasing Charter Prices to cover the increased charges & taxes for sailing in the British Virgin Islands. Pacific Wave is covering ALL of the additional costs, unlike other yachts that are passing these charges onto the Charterer by increasing their Charter Rates or by charging a Pickup and Drop-off Fee for charters starting in St Thomas. We will pickup and drop-off our guests in St Thomas at NO Additional Charge. You can enjoy a BVI Crewed Yacht Charter onboard the beautiful SY Pacific Wave at NO additional cost.

SY Pacific Wave sailing down the Sir Francis Drake Channel BVI

Find out what our Guests have to say about their recent sailing holiday onboard the stunning Pacific Wave.

Chantal, Gary, Bianca, Carter & Dempsey on a BVI Crewed Yacht Charter onboard SY Pacific Wave

Pacific Wave is still currently available for an Independence Week Charter and for Christmas in the BVI. You can charter Pacific Wave in the Grenadines during the summer months.

Snorkel time from Pacific Wave Dinghy at The Caves BVI

What are you waiting for book that sailing vacation to paradise today www.sy-pacificwave.com

Pacific Wave moored Marigot Bay St Lucia

Watching a stunning sunset from the Bow of Pacific Wave

Kids just want to have fun onboard SY Pacific Wave

04/19/2017/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

Whether we’re sailing Pacific Wave down the Sir Francis Drake Channel in the British Virgin Islands, or anchored in a quiet anchorage there’s so much for the kids to do on a BVI Crewed Yacht Charter, after all the kids just want to have fun on vacation!

Spring Break Family Vacation onboard SY Pacific Wave

Taking our new Abaco rigid kayaks for a spin around the anchorage is a firm favourite with both Mum & Dad and the kids. These kayaks are great, very stable and fast and you can easily zip into the beach to play in the stunning white sand.

Kids love kayaking from Pacific Wave

Snorkeling in the crystal clear waters of the British Virgin Islands is another big hit! For most families it’s the first time for the kids to try snorkeling and here in the BVI it’s easy, we take everyone to a nice quiet beach so that they can try out our new Genesis snorkel gear in the shallows until they are happy with their snorkeling technique. Then it’s head under the water and a whole new world develops beneath your very eyes with reef fish of all shapes and sizes swimming past you. Back onboard Pacific Wave afterwards the kids love to look at our Fish Identification books to point out all the fish and critters that they saw on their last snorkeling trip.

Kids love snorkeling from Pacific Wave

At the end of the day enjoy a Pacific Wave Grog the perfect sundowner as the kids watch the sun say goodbye for another evening and the sky turn from blue to gold to red, it’s stunning!

Watching a stunning sunset from the Bow of Pacific Wave

Sailing onboard Pacific Wave is great as a family because your valuable vacation time is spent away from every modern distraction so that you can enjoy pure quality time with your family, sailing in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean feeling the breeze blow through your hair.

Kids having fun sailing onboard Pacific Wave

Don’t just take our word for it, take a look at our glowing testimonials and see for yourself just how much our families loved being on vacation onboard SY Pacific Wave.

I Love Pacific Wave by Nina

Sailing in the BVI onboard SY Pacific Wave

Sailing in the British Virgin Islands onboard SY Pacific Wave

04/19/2017/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

The British Virgin Islands, that ring of islands sheltering a cruising ground renowned as Nature’s Little Secrets, provide a unique and perfect sailing vacation that is difficult to equal anywhere else on the planet. Maybe on other planets there’s something that might come close, but Pacific Wave doesn’t have the charts for them yet.

The Narrows BVI from Pacific Wave

Nature

There is a lot of nature about. A typical week in the BVI onboard Pacific Wave gives opportunity for snorkelers to see a lot of FISH. The biodiversity is staggering. The reefs are home to more than you’ll have seen in Finding Nemo. Cool dude green turtles cruising, purple clouds of blue tang, pufferfish, damsels close to the reef, majestic spotted eagle rays gracefully flying by, octopus, and pelican’s fishing with beaks stretched full. Everything except the S word. No fish starting with S here. And Nemo, sadly you won’t see Clownfish. The fish are mostly in the water. Some jump out onto the grill. It’s sad, but you don’t get to the top of the food chain by eating pulses, otherwise the world would be run by guinea pigs.

Turtle swimming in the BVI

Spotted Eagle Ray swimming beneath SY Pacific Wave in the BVI

Caribbean Reef Squid in the BVI

Terrestrial nature is a little thin on the ground, other than chickens (everywhere) and GOATS. Now our caprinae friends have a long and distinguished history in the BVI, and are still something of a strategic reserve in the event of a complete Tropicom shipping disaster. Peter Island, at one time called Goat Island, is goaty paradise. This is where other more spiritual goats dream of going after they’ve been curried. You are likely to hear the kids in the morning at Great Harbour, will probably not actually see them, and will most definitely never ever catch one.

And birds, all of them jumping with no bathing costume from the Willie T.

Chickens everywhere in the BVI

Goats Galore in the BVI

Little

The islands are small with a total population similar to the town of Charlotte Amalie on a quiet three cruise ship day. Perfectly distributed as if by divine intervention to be a two or three-hour gentle sail apart the islands provide a new and interesting anchorage every night. Imagine beach front bare-foot in the sand restaurants, locally caught fish (see above) sizzling, and sitting with your favourite cocktail in a tall ice filled glass while watching the sun set and Venus rising. Sound like heaven? Ummm…it is.

Secret

There is a risk that in revealing detail on these ‘secrets’, in sharing our experiences of days sailing in the sun on warm clean breezes with crystal blue water cascading like champagne poured down the deck, we’ll publicise them to a state of overcrowding. In that unfortunate situation we may have to move anchorage – to one with fewer than three other yachts.

Join Pacific Wave in the British Virgin Islands for an experience of a lifetime and let us show you our version of Nature’s Little Secrets. For us it is days cheerfully spent showing you paradise, for you it is a vacation unlike no other on Earth.

Sailing down the Sir Francis Drake Channel onboard SY Pacific Wave

Safely Anchoring Pacific Wave

02/26/2017/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

Pacific Wave rests calmly at anchor every night. Other than making it convenient to board or disembark with bags at the beginning and end of your vacation, or in a storm, we just don’t see how you can have a great Caribbean charter if you are tied to the dock in a noisy, smelly, busy, and expensive marina. Instead we have dinner under the stars, a fresh cooling breeze flowing through the boat, and we are always close to a great snorkel spot for an early morning swim before breakfast. Anchoring, however, is an art and how we do it is one of the most frequently asked questions onboard Pacific Wave. We are at anchor over three hundred nights a year and are now into our ninth year in the BVI. We have picked up a few tips we’d be happy to share.

Pacific Wave anchored off Guana Island BVI Crewed Yacht Charter.jpg

Pacific Wave anchored off Guana Island time for a morning swim.jpg

Know your bottom.
The sea bed isn’t the same everywhere. Some bays have excellent holding in silt, some good in soft sand, some poor on slippery fine coral rock. Some bays have obstructions, often shown on navigation charts but sometimes not. There are hidden rocks and coral heads, or uncharted wrecks to snag. In North Sound off the Bitter End Yacht Club there are power cables which you really don’t want to drag. At Peter Island in Great Harbour there is an un-marked private hurricane mooring, a thick rope buried in the sand and impossible to see – but you’d know it if you found it. We are familiar with them all. Needless to say the best place to drop the hook is often in the deeper water. Due to the topography in the BVI this can be surprisingly close to shore. For us deeper water means over 60 feet. This is a typical depth for us in all the bays we are likely to visit in the BVI. For us it means that it is important to…..

SY Pacific Wave anchored in North Sound with a silty sea bed

Know your tackle.
Pacific Wave is a heavy boat. Our Gross Weight is registered at over 56 tons but she’s probably put on a few pounds over the years. As part of our licensing, which we call Coding, we are inspected every year by a marine surveyor to verify that we still have the correct size of chain and weight of anchor to ensure trouble-free anchoring. For those interested in the detail we have over 400 feet of 1/2 inch high test chain attached to a 110 lb CQR anchor. We have additional anchors attached to chain and warp for storm conditions. They are carried onboard for safety but we’ve never needed them. People do wonder how a 100 lb anchor can hold a 100,000 lb boat. The answer is it doesn’t. The boat isn’t held by the weight of the anchor but by the friction of the chain on the seabed. Think of it as if the anchor holds the chain, and the chain holds the boat. Crucial to this of course is putting out the right length of chain.

SY Pacific Wave anchored off Long Bay Virgin Gorda BVI sandy bottom

Know that it is long enough.
The rule of thumb is to put out a minimum of 4 times the depth. In 60 feet of water we would put out nearly 250 feet of chain. Usually we add a bit to this. If we know that the wind is forecast to increase in the night we may put out 5 or 6 times the depth, or if the holding is poor we’ll also put out more chain. To enable us to do this we communicate from the front to the back of the boat by radio to know the depth under the keel at our anchor spot. The chain is marked every 30 feet with colour coded markers so we know when the correct amount is in the water.

Pacific Wave anchored North Sound BVI

Be safe.
The art of anchoring is often picturing in your head where you may end up, where you’ll swing if the conditions change, and how that interacts with other boats in the anchorage to ensure you don’t end up too close to each other. All we can say is, we have enough experience to visualise this, and also when to be aware of other boats anchoring after us if they aren’t as experienced. Very occasionally we may need to have a polite word with other boats if it appears they are anchoring without being able to visualise it! When the boat has settled we attach a snubbing line, a thick strong rope with a hook on the end, which transfers the pulling load on the chain from the anchor windlass directly to a strong cleat on the deck. This takes some of the shock load away from the windlass and its expensive gearbox. We hoist an anchoring day shape on the bow, a black ball, and a white night light to tell others that we are at anchor. Finally, we set an alarm on the GPS to tell us if we are moving.

SY Pacific Wave anchored in the Virgin Islands

After all of that you can rest easy with a sundowner knowing that the crew are responsible and experienced at anchoring. Taking care of you is their number one priority.

SY Pacific Wave anchored off BEYC BVI

Judges and Photographer Interviewing Mark Miles at the Antigua Charter Yacht Show

An Interview with the Chef Mark Miles onboard Pacific Wave

02/11/2017/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

Winning dessert St Thomas Yacht Show SY Pacific Wave

Winning dessert St Thomas Charter Yacht Show SY Pacific Wave

Congratulations on your first-prize win as the overall best chef at the charter yacht show on St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. What did you cook?

Thank you very much. It was a meringue-based Pavlova with quite a lot of whipped cream, fresh strawberries and mangoes on top, and an orange and mango sauce. About forty boats entered the competition, so I was very pleased to win.

You have been a co-owner and operator of Pacific Wave for about nine years now. Were you a full-time chef on land before moving onboard?

Chef Mark Miles onboard Pacific Wave

My background is farming and straight agriculture. I was farming in the U.K. and in southwest Portugal. Initially, I was big into livestock, principally sheep. I was going to show the Portuguese how to do sheep properly. That was my aim. I ended up growing vegetables because the sheep thing didn’t quite work out as I’d planned. The vegetables turned out great. The climate was superb, the soil was excellent, and I grew a lot of root vegetables. Mainly baby carrots, baby red beets, little tiny specialist potatoes, that sort of stuff.

How did you get from farming to cooking?

While I was in Portugal, a local woman from the village would come and look after the house for me, and she introduced me to the local Portuguese way of cooking food. That’s what really got me into cooking properly. The local dishes include a lot of seafood, and they use salted cod for a baked cod pie that is pretty yummy. There are a lot of pork and chicken dishes mixed with seafood, too. There’s one called Alentejano where they mix pork with clams, tomatoes, and garlic. It’s fantastic. This is not fancy cooking. Nobody is decorating plates. But it’s quality, strong, robust, earthy food using the best, freshest local ingredients. That was the message that I took from cooking in Portugal, and that I still use everywhere we go today.

Judges sampling the cuisine onboard Pacific Wave at the BVI Yacht Show

Judges sampling the cuisine onboard Pacific Wave at the BVI Charter Yacht Show

Do you incorporate your favourite Portuguese recipes into the charter menus?

I like to throw at least one of those dishes in during a week’s charter, but it would be a bit overpowering to make everybody eat a week’s worth of Portuguese food if they weren’t used to it.

So you’re an entirely self-taught chef, and you just won the cooking competition at the boat show. That’s impressive.

I did formal training to get a degree in agriculture, and there were some food hygiene and food preparation courses in that. But cooking courses, no. I’m not a formally trained chef.

How have you enjoyed your time running Pacific Wave as a charter yacht?

We’re starting our ninth winter season now. Being a two-crew boat, there’s always a lot going on. I envy the bigger boats with a dozen different people, and the chef can just be the chef and spend the whole day cooking. Our day doesn’t work out like that. Lynn and I both drive the boat, we both share the work of the boat, and we share the food preparation. Lynn does a lot of the starters, and I do the hot meal cooking. The hardest part is doing a full day’s work, and getting to a destination, and then having to swap hats and turn myself into a chef. Managing that balance between working the boat and doing the cooking, that’s the hardest part. But with that said, our guests seem to really enjoy the food.

Are you doing three meals a day for your charter guests?

Yes, we offer three meals daily plus hors d’oeuvres before dinner. Lunch is lighter fare—two courses, generally with pasta or salad as the principal dish. Then it’s three courses at dinner plus hors d’oeuvres. And cooked breakfast as well.

SY Pacific Wave desserts to be judged at the Antigua Charter Yacht Show

Antigua Charter Yacht Show Desserts

Beyond the Portuguese background, do you have any specialties?

I like to make my own pasta on the boat. We do a shrimp, tomato, garlic, and chili dish on top homemade pasta. It’s simple, but it’s a fantastic lunchtime dish when people have been out swimming and exercising all morning. Everything is fresh and delicious. For dinner, one specialty we do is a dish of layers. On the bottom would be aubergine (eggplant). Then there are sliced beef tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella cheese, and on top of all that you put a fresh mahi-mahi steak, and over the whole you put a salsa verde made of capers, anchovies, garlic, gherkins, parsley, white wine vinegar, and oil. The fish is hot, and the rest is cold, and served as a dinner dish it’s a fantastic range of flavours.

Sounds tasty. What else can charter guests expect from the galley aboard Pacific Wave?

Being a farmer, I understand where the raw materials come from. We’re very keen on using the freshest organic eggs, for example. If a dish requires an egg, then make it a good egg. If a dish is based in tomato, then don’t get un-ripened, watery tomatoes. Get fleshy, juicy, red, ripe tomatoes—and use lots of them. The understanding of the raw materials is what is important to us when it comes to cooking, and I think that really sets us apart.

Judges sampling the cuisine onboard Pacific Wave at the Antigua Yacht Show

Judges sampling the cuisine onboard Pacific Wave at the Antigua Charter Yacht Show

Sailing in the Grenadines on Pacific Wave

Pacific Wave sailing south for hurricane season St Lucia to Grenada spotting Sperm Whales alongside the yacht

10/25/2016/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

Pacific Wave sailing through the Caribbean island hopping from St Lucia to Union Island and then on to Grenada on our final leg of our journey south. Encountering a pod of Dolphins followed by Sperm Whales right up alongside the yacht just off Bequia, read our sailing adventures to find out more….

We sliped away from the mooring buoy located in-between the Pitons in the UNESCO World Heritage site. What a stunning view as we sailed south, looking back at the Pitons towering up into the mornings deep blue sky, set against the dark shimmering Caribbean Sea.

Departing the Piton St Lucia onboard Pacific Wave

This was going to be a long sail as we headed for Union Island in the Grenadines. What delights will the voyage have in store for us on this route l wonder?

It wasn’t long before we were rewarded. Approaching the North tip of St Vincent a pod of leaping Dolphins sped towards us with great delight. These Dolphins were so happy to play around Pacific Wave, leaping in our bow and stern wake and circling the yacht; it’s all a game to them. After a while the Dolphins decided that fishing is more important than play, so they headed off out to sea to catch their lunch. As we sailed past St Vincent we were making really good time, with fresh winds. By the time we reached Bequia it was still early afternoon and so we decided to continue further for the day. We were really eating up the sea today as we steamed south!

Sailing past St Vincent on Pacific Wave

Off the south coast of Bequia the winds died and the seas flattened, so it was engine on and motor sailing. In-between Bequia and Canouan all of a sudden right alongside Pacific Wave two small Sperm Whales surfaced. They were so close to the yacht that you could have reached out your arm and touched them. They stayed on the surface and were visible for a long time as we continued our journey south. It was incredible to witness this spectacle so close to Pacific Wave.

Sperm Whales off Pacific Wave between Bequia and Canouan

We continued on our journey and just arrived at Union Island in time for another stunning Caribbean sunset.

The following day we got up with the birds and departed the anchorage at the break of dawn. The skies were stunning with lots of unusual cloud formations. It was time for some fishing so out comes the rod and we started trolling for our supper. Within no time we got a bite, and it was a good size fish on the hook. After a good struggle we landed a 15lb Dorado, such a beauty!

Fishing from Pacific Wave en route to Grenada

We were galloping along and soon we were sailing past Kick’em Jenny, outside of the exclusion zone of this underwater volcano that was erupting this time last year. Soon we were sailing down the side of the beautiful green island of Grenada.

Sailing down the Caribbean island of Grenada onboard Pacific Wave

What a great sail, arriving in the anchorage off Grand Anse Beach to relax and watch the beautiful Grenadian sunset, dining like kings on delicious freshly caught Mahi Mahi, otherwise known as Dorado.

Sunset from Pacific Wave in Grenada we’ve arrived at our destination

Another successful transit accomplished by Pacific Wave to take her safely south for the hurricane season.

Pacific Wave sailing to the Pitons St Lucia the UNESCO World Heritage Site

Pacific Wave island hopping from Dominica to St Lucia as we sail south through the Caribbean island chain encountering dolphins & turtles as we sail through the Caribbean Sea

10/25/2016/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

Pacific Wave Island hopping from Dominica to St Lucia as we sail south through the Caribbean island chain encountering dolphins & turtles as we sail through the Caribbean Sea.

Our second leg of our sail south for hurricane season as we island hop from Dominica to Martinique finally arriving in St Lucia.

We departed Roseau Dominica late morning and set sail for Martinique. The fishermen were dotted about off the south coast of Dominica, the favored fishing grounds by the locals. They’re constantly on the look out for Sargassum seaweed as beneath these long trails of weed lie the crown jewels; shoals of Trevally, a delicious fish! En route we’re joined by Brown Booby’s fishing from the bow of Pacific Wave, waiting for the shoals of Flying Fish to leap out of the water as Pacific Wave’s bow cuts through the waves; it’s not long before they are heavily rewarded. The seas are up today and so the fishing is good! Above the Booby’s high in the sky are Frigate Birds waiting to swoop down and snatch the catch out of the Booby’s mouth.

Pacific Wave departing Dominica

Sailing past Scotts Head Dominica the southern tip of the island

Sailing down the coast of Martinique we were greeted by an eager pod of about 20 dolphins. They have great fun jumping in front of the bow of Pacific Wave as we slice through the water. Dolphins always come over to join us at this location every year when we make this transit.

Dolphins swimming alongside Pacific Wave

Sailing along the northwest coast of Martinique onboard Pacific Wave

As we sail into Grand d’Arlet Martinique the sun is already getting low in the sky, so we drop anchor and wait for another beautiful Caribbean sunset. What better way to watch the kaleidoscope of colours in the sky.

Anse d'Arlet Martinique onboard Pacific Wave

Anse d’Arlet Martinique taken from Pacific Wave

Morning breaks and it’s time to set sail again, this time for the lushious tropical island of St Lucia. The seas have calmed a little today so we made good progress cutting through the waves on our journey south. Just as we approached Marigot Bay in St Lucia we were greeted by a loud welcome cry from numerous Brown Booby’s fishing around Pacific Wave closely followed by a very determined female Frigate Bird swooping down pecking the heads of the poor Booby’s trying to steal their lunch.

We dropped our sails and headed for Marigot Bay, and as we motored up the buoyed entrance channel we were greeted by two huge turtles, just on the water’s surface taking a few breathes of air. We continued into Marigot Bay Marina where we moored alongside the dock. This little bay is famous and every tourist boat pops in to take a quick look around because the old film Doctor Doolittle was filmed in this location in the 1950’s.

Pacific Wave on the dock in Marigot Bay St Lucia

You may have heard of the saying Liquid Sunshine – well it’s certainly true in St Lucia! One minute the sun is shining, followed by rain, followed by more sunshine and of cause numerous pretty rainbows. Your crock of gold awaits you in Marigot Bay St Lucia!

Your crock of gold awaits you in St Lucia

St Lucia sunset from Pacific Wave in Marigot Bay

It was time to sail down the coast of St Lucia to the UNESCO World Heritage Site where we were going to spend our last night moored in-between the stunning Pitons. This is truly amazing; to look out from Pacific Wave and see the Pitons looming up on either side of the yacht is awe-inspiring!

View of the Pitons from Pacific Wave moored in the Unesco World Heritage Site

View from Ladera Hotel St Lucia

Follow us on our next voyage St Lucia via Bequia to Grenada with Sperm Whales right alongside Pacific Wave.

Magnificent sunset from Pacific Wave in Dominica

Pacific Wave’s amazing sail south from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to Dominica

10/24/2016/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

Pacific Wave’s amazing sail south from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to Dominica

Follow Pacific Wave on our first leg of the sail south for hurricane season as we sail through the tropical islands of the Caribbean visiting Saba, Montserrat, Guadeloupe and finally arriving in Dominica. We’re always very sad to leave the beautiful BVIs but it is a necessity to sail south to 12 degrees and hopefully avoid any Tropical Storms and Hurricanes. We know, however, that we will be returning again at the end of October to offer BVI Crewed Yacht Charters in this fantastic archipelago of islands.

Our first voyage required an early start so the alarm went off at 4am to ensure that we were up and ready to leave North Sound in Virgin Gorda, BVI prior to sunrise. We were rewarded by a brilliant pink sunrise behind Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. It was a treat, see the photograph below, as the island looked so beautiful at this early hour.

Departing the BVI onboard Pacific Wave watching a pink sunrise behind Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island

Pink sunrise behind Necker Island BVI

As we sailed past Necker Island the red ball of the sun rose and reflected on the sea as we sailed on towards Saba.

This is the longest passage taking 13 hours so we took it in turns at the helm steering Pacific Wave through the Caribbean Sea toward an island that rises steeply from the seabed and is surrounded with steep clips and no beaches.

Saba on the bow as we sail on Pacific Wave towards the Caribbean island

Sailing on Pacific Wave towards Saba

As we got closer we could see the steep sheer cliffs of the island. Anchoring on the west side of the island close to the steps means that you’re in for a treat with a brilliant sunset, perfect after a long days sail. As you look up the mountain you can see villas clinging onto the edge of the cliff face of this dormant volcano.

Tiny houses perched on the steep cliffs of Saba

Caribbean sunset from Pacific Wave in Saba

Day two and yet another early start this time to sail to Montserrat. After a full day of sailing we arrived at the anchorage in Little Bay. Another wonderful Caribbean sunset awaits us.

Arriving in Little Bay Montserrat on Pacific Wave

Montserrat sunset from Pacific Wave

Day three and dawn was breaking as we left Montserrat, a beautiful sight. Sailing outside of the exclusion zone and you can smell the sulphur in the air from the volcano; the stench of rotten eggs is so strong! You can see the steam streaming out of the top of the volcano.

Departing Montserrat at sunrise on Pacific Wave

Sailing past Montserrat on Pacific Wave with a strong smell of sulphur from the volcano

As we head out of the south corner of the island the big swells hit us, the seas are usually high around the island. We set our course initially for Iles des Saintes however we change our plans due to the weather. The forecast was good when we left Montserrat, however the weather conditions were deteriorating so we changed course for Basse Terre on the southern corner of Guadeloupe. When we were in the lee of Guadeloupe we dropped our sails and motored backwards along the island to the shelter of Deshaies, a tiny fishing village to the north. Arriving early evening this bay offers good shelter for the tropical wave that was now forecast to pass through on the updated weather forecast. Just as we thought, we were in for a lively night with regards to the weather with lots of wind, rain and thunderstorms.

Day four and due to the weather conditions we decide to sail to Anse de la Barque further down the coast which is a tiny anchorage which offers some shelter, but not as good as Deshaies. So late morning we sailed south arriving a few hours later in this pretty bay, perfect timing for an afternoon swim.

Anse de la Barque Guadeloupe onboard Pacific Wave

Day five and the alarm rings out at our usual time of 4.30am. With big seas and lots of winds forecast we have a brisk sail ahead past Iles des Saintes to the lush tropical island of Dominica. As we arrive in Roseau we are met by the marine security who escorts us to a mooring buoy. We are the only visiting yacht in the anchorage; it is very quiet for this time of year. The seas are so deep around Dominica that you need to pick up a mooring because you need to anchor closer inshore and the current in the anchorage switches so you don’t want your anchor to flip over and drag.

View of Dominica from Pacific Wave

It’s sunset we can finally relax as we are staying for a few days to let more bad weather pass through, so it’s time to enjoy the stunning Caribbean sunset accompanied with a Pacific Wave Traditional Rum Punch, delicious.

Dominica was devastated last August when Tropical Storm Erika hit this tiny island. It’s good to find out that the island is well on the way to recovery with a lot of work being undertaken to repair the roads and bridges that were washed away with the sheer volume of rain that fell on the island.

Old stone church on Dominica

The fruit and vegetables that you can buy on this tiny island are outstanding! Their mangoes are the best in the Caribbean, with tiny stones and lots of delicious sweet juicy flesh. And we’re lucky enough to be able to spend some time in Dominica on our journey south.

The best mangoes in the Caribbean found on Dominica

Follow us on our next voyage Dominica via Martinique to St Lucia with lots of Dolphins & Turtles along the way.

Jost van Dyke (JVD) a lot more than bars on this tiny island in the British Virgin Islands

03/10/2016/in Blog /by Lynn Griffiths

Jost Van Dyke is renowned for it’s fun nature and bars! In Great Harbour you have the famous Foxy’s Bar owned by Philicianno ‘Foxy’ Callwood MBE; the appointment was made by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as part of her 2008 New Years Honours List for his exemplary contributions to the Territory’s tourism industry and the preservation of it’s culture. Foxy’s is the famous bar that rocks every New Years Eve! You also have Wendell’s Bar owned by Foxy’s son, Corsairs Bar, and as you walk down the sandy Main Street you come across numerous tiny bars that all look out to sea.

Main Street Great Harbour JVD

In White Bay you have the famous Soggy Dollar Bar. Aptly named due to the surge that is always present in the bay, you have to jump off your dinghy and swim to the beach. Hence your dollars are a bit soggy when you reach the shore. White Bay is now lined with bars all competing for your business including One Love which offers great locally caught lobster for lunch.

One Love Bar White Bay JVD British Virgin Islands

One Love Bar on White Bay JVD

In Little Harbour you have Sidney’s Peace & Love that serves a simple tasty dinner of Fish, Lobster or great Ribs and it has an honesty bar, so you become the bar man or bar maid for the evening, writing in a little book what your party has consumed.

SY Pacific Wave at anchor JVD British Virgin Islands

SY Pacific Wave at anchor Little Harbour JVD

However the beautiful island of JVD has a lot more to offer, it’s not just about the bars.

Hiking on JVD is great! There is a limited amount of traffic as you walk alongside the roadway which offers great views of the anchorages and over to Tortola and to St John USVI. If you walk up to the very top of the hill there’s a disused Sugar Mill. As you walk around you’ll come across Bananas growing wild, lots and lots of goats roaming around freely and beef cattle. And as you hike around this lovely island you’re never too far away from light refreshments.

Bananas growing wild JVD

Visit the Bubbly Pools at Diamond Cay. Tie your dinghy to Foxy’s Taboo Restaurant and walk around to the headland. Here you will find a pool of water that bubbles as the northerly swell surges through the gap. If a strong ground swell is running from the north then it’s best to postpone your trip until another day.

Sandy Spit is a fantastic anchorage. You anchor behind a tiny sandy spit that has a palm tree growing on it, and an area of shallow reef between the spit and Green Cay. It’s great for snorkeling. Under normal wind conditions this anchorage is quite comfortable overnight because the waves are broken by the reef, which reduces the swell.

Green Cay lies to the North of Sandy Spit and is uninhabited except for numerous goats. You can hike around this island, but watch out for the tiny cactus.

Sandy Cay is a popular day anchorage. This tiny island was owned by the Laurance Rockefeller Estate, however on 1 May 2008 the ownership of the island was transferred to the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands. Sandy Cay is considerably larger that the smaller neighbouring Sandy Spit. Again this tiny Caribbean island is covered in pure white sand and coconut palms. You can walk around the Cay and the snorkeling is great.

Great Tobago is an island that lies due west of JVD. This uninhabited island is the only nesting site in the BVI for the Magnificent Frigate Birds.

Pacific Wave regularly visits Jost van Dyke. Why not join us on a BVI crewed yacht charter and explore this fantastic island on your private cruise of the stunning British Virgin Islands.

JVD on the Map of the BVI