Yacht Charter Road Town

Yacht Charter Road Town

Yacht Charter Road Town

On a Road Town yacht charter with Borrow a Boat you can explore much of Tortola and the British Virgin Islands within an easy sail. Whatever you want from a BVI yacht charter, from exploring the white sandy beaches to island hopping the Sir Francis Drake Channel, a Road Town sailing holiday is going to be a memorable experience.

Tortola's and the BVI's capital, Road Town is named after the 'roads' harbour anchorage (called Road Harbour) on which it sits. Even though it was founded in the sugar trade of the region in the 1600's, it has burned down several times and the oldest buildings there date from around 1842. In the 1700s and early 1800's Road Town was a notorious den for many a privateer and pirate, though today it has become equally notorious for being a base one of the best places to enjoy sailing on the planet!

Though a centre for sailing (and sailors' parties!), Road Town hasn't sold out to commercialism. You will find one or two excellent rum distilleries and amazing beach bars but it is more chilled like Exuma in the Bahamas rather than commercialised to its back teeth like St Martins in the Leeward Islands.

You will find good spots like the Royal BVI Yacht Club that hosts sailing regattas through the year, great pubs and restaurants and fantastic shopping (though no world leading boutiques). There are several marinas that serve the yachting community as we will see later in this piece. Book your Road Town sailing vacation with Borrow a Boat today!

Explore Road Town Bay By Renting A Yacht

The Tortola capital sits on the south coast of the island not far from the main airport, and has ferry services to the rest of the British Virgin Islands as well as the US Virgin Islands. From Road Town you can explore the 60 islands of BVI to your heart's content.

If beach bars are your thing, then you should head for Jost Van Dyke Island to the north of Tortola. This is known as the party island of the archipelago. The Soggy Dollar beach bar is a sailor's mecca and on a longer BVI charter you should see what the fuss is all about!

Most of the islands in the Lesser Antilles are volcanic outcrops. This means you will find high, dormant and extinct volcanoes covered in lush rainforest. For something different you should head around 25 miles NE of Tortola to the coral atoll of Anegada, the only major coral atoll in the region. Unlike the other islands you will find this is a lowlying island that is surrounded by beautiful coral reefs. Do check out Cow Wreck Beach with its white sand beach and excellent beach bars!

Virgin Gorda is another larger volcanic island, this time to the SE of Tortola. Should you follow the route of many charter yachts across the Sir Francis Drake Channel SW to Norman Island and then head west via Peter Island, Salt Island and Cooper Island you'll find the Virgin Gorda a great sailing destination with its resorts and sheltered anchorages a great place to seriously chill!

Your Road Town yacht charter gives you access to the whole of the British Virgin Islands and even if on a week long sailing holiday, it is one of the best yacht charter destinations in the Caribbean. Book with Borrow a Boat today!

How To Get To Road Town

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport

One of the selling points of BVI is that it is an out of the way holiday destination. For those heading from Europe this will usually mean two changes of plane. Out of London Heathrow you would change at Miami and fly to St Thomas in USVI.

If the idea of three planes to get to your sailing vacation isn't so fun you can take a ferry from Red Hook on the US Virgin Island of St Thomas to Road Town on Tortola instead - slightly slower but a chance to appreciate the beauty of these paradise islands.

Marinas In Road Town

Being a major sailing centre, Road Town has three mid-sized marinas close to the centre of town, several smaller ones closeby and the premier marina in Tortola (if not BVI) at Nanny Cay a short drive from there.

Nanny Cay Marina

Located on Nanny Cay at the western side of the mouth of Sea Cow Bay and a short taxi ride from Road Town, Nanny Cay Marina is a major yacht charter hub with charter companies offering crewed charter and bareboat yacht charters of sailing catamaran charter, power catamaran charter, monohull sailing yacht charter, luxury yacht charter and motorboat charter.

Berth Characteristics:

320 berths

Max Length 42m (140 Feet)

Max Draught 3.3m (11 Feet)

List of additional services: Shore power, water, WiFi, shower/WC, launderette, garbage disposal, cash machine, currency exchange, supermarket, restaurant.

Wickham's Cay II

This is the main yacht charter base in central Road Town with a number of charter companies offering crewed charter and bareboat yacht charters of sailing catamaran, power catamaran, monohull sailboat, luxury yacht charter and motor yacht rental.

Berth Characteristics:

140 berths

Max Length 55m (180 Feet)

Max Draught 2.5m (8 Feet)

List of additional services: Shore power, water, WiFi, shower/WC, launderette, garbage disposal, cash machine, currency exchange, supermarket, restaurant.

Village Cay Resort Marina

Village Cay Resort Marina is a mid sized marina with charter companies offering crewed charter and bareboat yacht charters of sailing catamaran, power catamaran, monohull sailing yacht, luxury yacht charter and motor yacht rental.

Berth Characteristics:

106 berths

Max Length 58m (190 Feet)

Max Draught 3.3m (11 Feet)

List of additional services: Shore power, water, WiFi, shower/WC, launderette, garbage disposal, cash machine, currency exchange, supermarket, restaurant.

Inner Harbour Marina

Inner Harbour Marina is a smaller marina and charter hub with charter companies offering crewed charter and bareboat yacht charters of sailing catamaran, power catamaran, monohull sailboat, luxury yacht charter and motor yacht rental.

Berth Characteristics:

50 berths

Max Length 20m (65 Feet)

Max Draught 2.4m (8 Feet)

List of additional services: Shore power, water, WiFi, shower/WC, launderette, garbage disposal, cash machine, currency exchange, supermarket, restaurant.

Manuel Reef Marina:

On the eastern side of Sea Cow Bay and just across the peninsula from Road Harbour, Manuel Reef Marina is a smaller marina but is a yacht charter hub with charter companies offering crewed yacht charter and bareboat charter of sailing catamaran, sailing yacht, luxury yacht charter and motor yacht rental.

Berth Characteristics:

40 berths

Max Length 18.2m (60 Feet)

Max Draught 2.2m (7 Feet)

List of additional services: Shore power, water, WiFi, shower/WC, launderette, garbage disposal, cash machine, currency exchange, supermarket, restaurant.

Other Marinas in Road Town

There are a smaller marinas in Road Town that include Road Reef Marina (home of the Royal BVI Yacht Club), Baughers Bay Marina (24 slips) Fort Burt Marina, HR Penn Marina, Prospect Reef Marina and Wheatley's Harbour View Marine Centre. Ask the boat owner or charter company for pilotage and access details should your boat rental be out of these locations.

Suggested Sailing Routes From Road Town

So, what do you want from a BVI yacht charter out of Road Town? Serious chill on sandy beaches? Snorkelling or scuba diving on a protected coral reef off your charter yacht? Your Tortola boat rental out of Road Town can take you around much of BVI in a week or two's sailing.

7 Days - Major Islands of BVI: Out of your yacht charter base you head SSW to Salt Island. Just to the west of here with Peter Island the other side, is the Rhone Marine Reserve, around a shipwreck where you will see a whole host of great marine life - get your snorkel and mask out! Your next night will be at at Leverick Bay Resort Marina at Virgin Gorda for some fun ashore. The next day will be a bit of a sail as you head north to Anegada, mooring off the north coast at Cow Wreck Bay. Enjoy the island for the morning and then head SSW to Guana Island for the nature reserve and ultra chill to be found here! To offset the silence, head WSW to Jost Van Dyke (the party island of BVI), staying at North Latitude Marina. Blackbeard is held to have lived on Great Thatch Island, now an uninhabited island to the W of Tortola, and this is where you'll spend your final night aboard before returning to Road Town.

14 Days: A longer sailing vacation can take you out to the US and Spanish Virgin Islands to the west. Head along the south coast of Tortola, perhaps pausing at the private Norman's Cay as a first evening ashore you will then cross national boundaries into the US Virgin Islands to Cruz Bay on St John. Charlotte Amelie on St Thomas will be your next port of call before heading out to the lesser known Spanish Virgin Islands of Culebra and Culebreta to explore what used to be a US Military bombing range until quite recently. North and then east to Magens Beach on the north coast of St Thomas. East again, this time to another private island, Lovango Cay off St John. Back to the BVIs again with a sail to Jost Van Dyke on a NE leg, and then after another night ashore off to Anegada for the next evening. South and west to Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour on Virgin Gorda, and then a quiet night at Beef Island on Tortola. Out and south across the Drake Passage to Cooper Island to enjoy the Rhone Marine Park. From there, back to Road Town to complete your Virgin Islands adventure.

Best Times To Hire A Yacht In Road Town

Unlike Europe, the sailing season in the Caribbean Sea runs from November to May - perfect for a dose of winter sun. The NE Trades are settled and you will encounter weather between 25-35 degrees C.

Within this period, March and April after the winter northerlies have passed are cooler yet the sailing is just as fun as the rest of the year.

For those who want to try something a little outside their comfort zone, August and September are said to be the very best sailing months of all.

There's a problem with this - many charter yacht fleets will not be in the area thanks to hurricane season that runs between July and November. If booked and a hurricane is on its way your holiday will be cancelled. There is no minimising the danger of being in the region in a hurricane - there is no high ground and with the general trend for ever fiercer storms, it is not an experience to even risk being around for.

The Climate

The sailing season runs from December to June with the hurricane season hitting in June and ending in November. Winds are dominated by the NE Trade Winds and can sit at up to 20 knots, firm and steady all day.

Hurricanes have recently given the region a big kicking and are not to be underestimated. Generally speaking it is impossible to hire a yacht during this time.

FAQs:

What should I consider when hiring a Yacht or Boat?

The main points to consider are what is your budget, have you got the necessary sailing experience and qualifications to manage the boat if it's not going to have a skipper, whom you are taking sailing, where exactly you wish to go and what will the weather be like on the proposed dates of your trip.

What are the Marinas in Road Town?

Nanny Cay Marina, not far from Road Town is the largest marina in BVI and can take 320 yachts in the inner and outer harbours, with up to four mega yachts of 140ft and two of up to 120ft in the inner harbour. In Road Town itself the major yacht charter hub is Wickhams Cay II Marina (140 berths), Village Cay Resort (106 berths) and several smaller ones such as Inner Harbour and Road Reef Marina.

When are the best times to hire a boat in Road Town?

Road Town is in the northern Tropics and this means blissful trade winds and comfortable temperatures year round. The cooler part of the year from November to May is better for yacht charters simply because the hurricane season coincides with the hotter and wetter part of the year. As ever, if serious chill is the name of the game, then come out outside of school holidays.

Do you have to pay a deposit when hiring a Yacht in Road Town?

You will typically pay 50% up front on booking the yacht hire and the balance on arrival. You will either pay a security deposit with your credit card on departure or can get insurance covering damage in advance. In some cases (such as the recent Covid situation) charter companies may be more flexible but this depends on the individual charter companies themselves.

What happens if my Yacht breaks down?

If you are at sea and in danger, call MAYDAY on VHF Ch16 or ring the coast guard on your phone if you have reception. If you have a mechanical fault and can make it to or are on a mooring you will be able to phone a help line number given by the boat charter company.

What should I think of before I hire a Yacht or Boat in Road Town?

You should consider do you have the experience to handle the yacht charter or boat hire before you book and where do you want to go along with what the weather will be like. Dress for warm weather but do have something for tropical rains - light but waterproof.

What Qualifications Do I need to hire a boat or yacht?

If you want to sail without a skipper then you will need relevant qualifications like RYA Day Skipper/International Certificate of Competence (ICC)/ASA 104 Bareboat certificate or the US Sailing Certificate. For small 'day boats' or if you choose to have a crewed yacht charter you typically don't require licences.