BVI sailing: Why we sail the Caribbean in winter

Why a BVI sailing holiday is unlike anywhere else

The British Virgin Islands shares something important with our home waters in Greece: the distances between islands are short. This matters more than people realise. Short distances mean relaxed sailing. You’re not grinding through long crossings. You’re moving between islands at a comfortable pace with plenty of time to swim, explore ashore, or simply sit in the cockpit watching the water change colour.

In the BVI the distances are even shorter than the Dodecanese. Some days we’re picking up a mooring ball by early afternoon. In Greece that would be a 5:00 pm arrival sometimes. The pace is genuinely unhurried in a way that suits first-time sailors and experienced sailors equally.

From November through February, the BVI trades blow from the north-east at a consistent 15 to 20 knots. This is about as good as sailing conditions get: predictable, manageable, and reliable enough that you can plan your days around them. Compare that to the Greek Meltemi, which can sit at a pleasant 12 knots or build significantly with little warning. Greece keeps you on your toes. The BVI lets you exhale. Both have their place on the calendar, which is exactly why we sail both.

Mooring balls: a new skill for Greece veterans

If you’ve sailed with us in Greece, you’ll know Mediterranean mooring: dropping the anchor, reversing to the dock, attaching lines. The BVI does things differently. Here, almost every anchorage uses mooring balls, a buoy on a fixed line that you pick up and attach to rather than setting your own anchor. The technique is its own small sport. You approach slowly, heading directly into the wind, and pick the ball up with a boat hook as you approach. Guests are very welcome to try, and most do. We know where to go to find available balls without booking ahead, which keeps the itinerary flexible and means we always have options.

For a helpful overview of sailing the BVI and practical arrival information, the BVI Tourism website is worth bookmarking before you travel.

The places that define a BVI week

The Dogs and The Indians: snorkelling

We’ve made it our mission to try every snorkelling spot in the BVI. The best two, without question, are The Dogs and The Indians, two rocky outcroppings that sit above some of the most diverse reef in the archipelago. Sometimes you have to wait a few minutes for a mooring ball to free up. It’s always worth it. We go on every single trip.

Guana Island: the private beach breakfast

Guana Island is privately owned, with a resort on land where guests aren’t permitted ashore. What you can do is anchor off the island, load a beach breakfast into the dinghy at sunrise, and motor to one of the quietest beaches you’ll find anywhere. We’ve sat there with coffee and fresh fruit in the early morning, the island completely still, with the feeling that nowhere else needed to exist. That’s a BVI memory.

Oil Nut Bay: Nova Restaurant

Not everywhere in the BVI serves food worth writing home about. Nova at Oil Nut Bay is the exception. Asian fusion, exceptional sushi, the kind of menu that genuinely surprises you when you’ve been eating barbecue and rum punch all week. We go on a regular basis.

Saba Rock

If you ask anyone who has sailed the BVI about Saba Rock, they’ll know it immediately. A tiny island, a legendary bar, sunset cocktails, great dinners. We’ve rung in New Year’s Day there. We’ve gone for quiet evenings and stayed until midnight. Whatever the occasion, Saba Rock is always the right call.

And if you’re sitting in the cockpit in the North Sound one afternoon, call Rum Runner on VHF channel 72, or wave like crazy if you spot his dinghy. He’ll pull up alongside, take your frozen cocktail order, and return shortly after, dog Drake in tow. It’s one of those BVI experiences that never gets old.

Is the BVI different from Greece?

Honestly, yes, and that’s the point. The BVI is more crowded than our corner of the Dodecanese. It’s more developed, more touristy in some anchorages, and the food, much as we love Nova and the beach bars, doesn’t compare to a Greek taverna on a quiet island at 10pm. We will always prefer Greek food. That’s not a close contest.

But the BVI offers something Greece doesn’t: perfect winter conditions, a completely different sailing style, and the specific magic of the Caribbean. The water colour, the trade winds, the rum, the warmth in December when the rest of the northern hemisphere is cold and dark. We offer it because it’s genuinely exceptional, and because past Greece guests who sail with us in winter consistently tell us it’s one of the best trips they’ve ever taken.

The two destinations complement each other. Greece is the summer. The BVI is the winter. Between them, there’s barely an off-season.

What the BVI season looks like

We sail Good Vibrations out of Nanny Cay Marina, Tortola, from late December through the end of February. Our first week is always the New Year’s Eve cruise, one of the most popular weeks of the season. Cabin charter places are available for solo travellers and couples. The season is short and weeks fill quickly. If the BVI is on your list for this winter, the schedule is the place to start.

Ready to see what weeks are available? View the current schedule →