BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
YACHT WEEK // ADVENTURE RETREAT // JANUARY 21-28, 2017
Have you ever dreamed of practicing yoga while sailing in the Caribbean? Would you like to see beautiful turquoise waters, walk barefoot on white sandy beaches and experience the vibrant culture of the Caribbean? The British Virgin Islands (BVIs) are considered the best cruising grounds in the world, with consistent trade winds and warm temperatures all winter. The islands are close together, making it easy and quick to sail from harbor to harbor. The seven day sailing yoga retreat starts in Road Town, Tortola and will circumnavigate the Virgin Islands. Each day, we sail to a unique island where we spend the night on our yacht, practice yoga with sunrise and sunset, cook aboard or dine out, and dinghy ashore to explore the local culture, beautiful beaches, and incredible scenery.
TORTOLA
DAY 1
Arrive in Road Town, Tortola via Beef Island Airport or by ferry from St. Thomas by 5:00pm to meet your captain and your fellow passengers at the marina location. Relax by the pool as everyone settles into island time, feel the sun and lounge under the palm trees while the paradise sets in. There will be plenty of time to get situated into your sailboat and make last minute provisions and shopping before we depart the following morning. During the evening, we go over the week’s itinerary including sailing and yoga schedule.
COOPER ISLAND
DAY 2
Cooper Island is a rustic and unique island, with only 5 private residence and one small eco-resort beach club, Cooper Island is perfectly mellow. The Cooper Island Beach Club has a small beach perfect for afternoon chilling with two bars, one restaurant, a little coffee shop, and a gift shop. Along the beach, there are chairs and even an in-water bar table to relax in the water while enjoying beverages. Manchioneel Bay where we spend the evening at anchor is also a popular snorkeling location with a dense population of sea turtles. This evening we dine ashore with afternoon yoga on the dive dock.
THE BATHS, VIRGIN GORDA
DAY 3
The next morning we hit the archetypal Virgin Gorda bouldering locale: The Baths. With gigantic boulders lining crescent-shaped sandy inlets lled with crystal-blue waters, The Baths have been fascinating both sailors and climbers alike. Upon arrival, we will dinghy ashore to a magical magic followed by a hike through the caves. Here we spend an afternoon and head Bitter End Yacht club in the evening. We will have an early afternoon yoga session on the beach.
BITTER END YACHT CLUB, VIRGIN GORDA
DAY 4
With a newly constructed yoga dock nestled in beautiful mangroves along the Bitter End Yacht Club shoreline, this stop off is designed for absolute relaxation with stunning facilities of BEYC at our finger tips. Small dinghy sailboat rentals, day spa treatments, hikes and trails, this location has it all. This evening we will be docked at the BEYC Quarter Deck Marina with dinner aboard and afternoon yoga at the BEYC floating yoga dock.
ANEGADA
DAY 5
This unique island is perfectly lazy and beautiful, recently voted one of the top beaches in the entire Caribbean by The New York Times, there will be plenty of opportunity to experience the Anagada way of life by enjoying a rum cocktail along white sand beaches. In the evening a lobster BBQ dinner will be prepared for one of the most authentic Caribbean meals in all the islands. Upon arrival, we will dinghy ashore to take a short taxi to a magical place called Cow Wreck Bay where we will spend the day at one of the great beaches of this world. We will have an early afternoon yoga session on a platform looking out at paradise.
JOST VAN DYKE
DAY 6
Jost Van Dyke is the fourth largest island in the British Virgin Islands with a population of around 300 locals who primarily live around Great Harbor. Caribbean colors with hand painted signs of ice cream shops, bars and restaurants line main street which also doubles as the Great Harbor beach, this is an outstanding island with local charm and character. Ashore in the evening, we dine at a local restaurant serving us local foods in a home cooked style. Later that night, we walk down the street stopping by the famous Foxy’s bar for good old fashioned dance and party. Yoga takes place on the town dock in early afternoon.
NORMAN ISLAND
DAY 7
Wake up early to motor to the near by Sandy Cay for an amazing morning at the BVIs primer uninhabited islands. Take a nice walk around the parameters of Sandy Cay or lounge on this idyllic beach and take in the palm trees and blue Caribbean water. Setting sail to Norman Island, we will take up mooring on the west side of Normand Island where we will spend our last night at the infamous Willy T’s Restaurant, this oating bar/ restaurant/boat is a must for BVI visitors.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
AIRPORT & TRANSPORTATION
St Thomas Airport (STT) has the most affordable and frequent ights. After arriving at STT take a high speed ferry (~1 hour; approximately $35/ each way - payable with cash or credit) from St Thomas to Tortola.
Beef Island Airport (EIS), take taxi to the marina base, approximately 30 minutes. This is the most direct route but typically more expensive.
Taxis are readily available outside the airport and ferry terminals in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. The Moorings, Sunsail and Footloose company will provide shuttle service from the ferry station in Road Town, BVI to the Moorings base/marina where our boat is located.
ABOUT THE YACHT
The 46 foot catamaran is a true blue-water cruiser featuring a self-stacking mainsail with integral sail cover, roller-furling genoa, and twin 55 hp diesel engines. An electric windlass with handheld remote makes anchoring easy. The raised helm station is at the forward end of the spacious cockpit and above the cockpit’s hardtop roof, providing 360 degrees of visibility. A hardtop bimini shades the helm. The cockpit has walk-through access to the swim platforms, stereo/CD player speakers, a large table, and lots of seating. A wide door opens to the spacious saloon.
CURRENCIES & MONEY EXCHANGE
US Dollars and US travelers checks are used throughout the BVIs.
Visa and MasterCard are also accepted in most places.
ATMs can be found in Road Town, but it is recommended that you travel with the necessary cash. Travelers preferring to travel with travelers checks can cash them at most banks in Road Town.
WEATHER
The British Virgin Islands bask in a tropical maritime climate. Rainfall is moderately low for tropical islands. Scattered showers are common throughout the year, but all day rain is very rare. There is little seasonal variation in temperature ranging in the 80s during the day and the 70s during the evening. Brief rain showers can be frequent so please bring a light raincoat. Wind speeds vary throughout the year from 5-20 mph.
PACKING LIST
Life aboard our journey is uncomplicated so it is recommended packing appropriately. Collapsible bags in place of large rigid suitcases are ad- vised for ease of transport on and off the boat. Island attire is very casual at all times so we recommend packing light and embracing the simple life.
light rain coat / wind jacket
boat shoes or other non-slip shoes
hat / sunglasses / sailing gloves (optional)/ sun screen warm clothes just in case / fleece
swim / beach towels (bath towels are provided)
games
iPod/music player
camera
books
any special dietary foods or medications
toiletries
shower flip flops