Browsing: Tortola

Charter
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The Moorings Reopens in the BVI with 100 Boats Ready to Charter Right Now

There’s more good news about the post-hurricane comeback in the British Virgin Islands. The Moorings and Sunsail, the power and sail charter powerhouses, just reopened their base in Road Town, Tortola, with a combined fleet of more than 100 yachts ready to go (see the picture above). In addition, the companies have invested $66.5 million to bring in more than 130 new boats that will arrive in early 2018. The people throughout the BVI have been resilient and working hard to build back after the devastating hurricanes just three months ago. Pirate’s Bight, Soggy Dollar Bar and Foxy’s are all…

Cruising Life
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Recovery in the BVI: Tortola Airport Reopens for Commercial Flights

Good news if you’re thinking of heading to the British Virgin Islands for a cruise or charter vacation. The Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport on Tortola has just reopened for commercial flights. The airport, a welcome sight on Beef Island for generations of travelers to the BVI, had been closed after Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused “severe damage,” according to Denniston Fraser, the head of the BVI Airports Authority. It had been closed to commercial flights but it was open to some humanitarian, relief and evacuation flights. Now it is open to commercial flights on Cape Air, which already operated…

Cruising Life
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Irma Clobbers Tortola and BVI. Decimates Charter Fleets. See Videos and Pictures

Hurricane Irma demolished marinas and decimated charter fleets as it pounded Tortola and the British Virgin Islands. The storm damaged the Bitter End Yacht Club, badly damaged Leverick Bay and destroyed many boats in Nanny Cay. It absolutely destroyed Paraquita Bay on the south side of Tortola (pictured above), a hurricane hole where many charter companies had boats. Sir Richard Branson’s luxury estate on Necker Island was completely destroyed, according to his son, but no people were injured. And there’s no word yet from the outlying island of Anegada, where the storm surge was 16 feet. Here’s a complete story…

Cruising Life
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Great Guide to Soper’s Hole: Welcome to the British Virgin Islands

It’s hard not to want to go back to the British Virgin Islands once you’ve cruised there. In fact, I keep going back again and again, discovering something new in some of the best, easiest and most welcoming cruising grounds on the planet. Here’s a guide to Soper’s Hole, at the end of Tortola, the largest island there and the base of most of the BVI’s charter fleet. The story is geared a bit toward sail, but all the points apply to powerboats as well. Indeed, the last time I was there was to clear Customs on a trawler my…