FAQ and other info

A Sailors BVI Packing List:​

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Must Have

• Your passport

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Other suggested items:

• Hat with a leash or neck strap

• Sailing gloves

• Sunscreen (35+ spf is recommended for the first few days)

• Sunglasses

• Text(s) (f you would like to have a set for reference)

• Music player

• Prescriptions/extra contacts/glasses

• If prone to sea sickness, or unsure, you may want to pack motion sickness medicine e.g. Scopace, scopolamine (patch- usually by prescription), or bonine (over the counter).

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Electronics

• If you're planning on bringing any electronics, the BVI uses the same current as the US (110v). There will an inverter on board to charge iPads, laptops, cell phones and other small electronics. There is an usb connection on board. The inverter cannot power a hair dryer.

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Safety Equipment

• The yacht is equipped with all required safety equipment, e.g. Pfds, first aid kit, flares, vhf radio, etc.

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Snorkel Gear

• If you have your own snorkel gear, you may want to bring it. To ensure a good fit, we do recommend bringing your own mask, but if needed all of part of the snorkel kit, We Be Divin' offers our guests a discounted rental rate. 

 

Linens and Towels

• Linens and towels (wash cloth, hand towel, 2 bath towels, 1 beach towel per person) are provided.

 

Attire

• The BVI is quite casual. A sundress for the ladies and a polo or tropical button down for the men is as dressy as you’ll need to be for dinners ashore. Bring several swimsuits/swim trunks. We recommend that you bring a pull over or windbreaker as  evenings on the boat can get "chilly" (relative to the very warm days) and a long sleeve, cotton shirt for sun protection. Also, a light rain jacket is recommended as brief rain squalls are common. Footwear is not required on the boat. However, if you prefer to wear sneakers or sandals, please make sure the soles are non-marking and have a heal and protected toe (flip flops are not recommended).

 

Attire and Gear Specific to Caribbean Coastal Passage Making Students:  

• Light foul weather jacket and light waterproof (shell) pants are recommended.  Boots are not necessary.  A couple of pairs of cotton socks are recommended.  

• Additional gear for passage making students:  

• Headlamp (white and red LED lights are best)

• Personal Handheld GPS (optional)

• Provided: Inflatable PFD , harness and tether, jacklines, life raft, SPOT tracking

Cell Phones and Internet Service

• Cell phones may work in most areas of the BVI. Unless you have called your carrier and added and international plan, roaming charges may apply which can be upwards of $2/minute for calls and .50 cents per text. ATT offers a $10 per day international plan. WIFI service is generally available at no charge in most of the resorts and anchorages throughout the BVI.

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Currency

• Currency is the US dollar. ATMs are not conveniently located around the BVI. Credit cards (MC/Visa) are generally accepted everywhere (sometimes with a $20 minimum), but AMEX is not widely accepted. Having enough cash/travelers checks on hand will make things easier.

• Specific to Passage Making Trainees: US currency is accepted in St. Martin, St. Barths, Antigua- most of the Caribbean. 

 

Gratuities

• We are often asked what is appropriate for instructor gratuities. A range of $40-50 per person for Basic Keelboat instructors and $250-300 per person is customary for our Cruising instructors.

 

Getting to Us

• Our local number is 284 547-6211. We receive texts and this number is available on WhatsApp. Our office address is Condo 1, Village Cay Marina; across from the Village Cay Hotel, through the green garden gates. Our boats are located on B dock in front of our office. We ask that our guests do not board our boats before checking in at our office.

• Please include your flight arrival and departure details on your provision menu and we will arrange your taxi pick up and departure. If flying into Tortola (EIS), the fare will be around $30pp for 1-2 passengers.  Fares decrease for a shared taxi of 3 or more . 

•  If flying into St. Thomas and ferrying to Tortola, there will be taxis outside the baggage area in STT to take you to the Charlotte Amalie ferry terminal. It's about a 5 minute taxi ride ($10-12 fare depending on how many pieces of luggage you have). There are several ferry operators with scheduled trips between the USVI and the BVI daily.  We recommend booking in advance and checking each of their schedules for the best fit with your flight arrival:

Road Town Fast Ferry

Native Son Ferry

Smith's Ferry

• If arriving by ferry from STT we will arrange your taxi pick up. As we will not know which ferry provider you are on or if they are departing promptly until you have purchased your ticket at the counter, please call or text our taxi driver, George, at 284 499-2656 with your scheduled departure time once you have boarded the ferry. 

• If flying into Beef Island (EIS), please provide your Airline, Flight #, arrival time.

 

Private Water Taxis

• Private water taxi service is available between St. Thomas and the BVI.  It's an expensive option, but may work cost-wise for larger groups.  

• Dolphin Shuttle

• Water Taxi Virgin Islands

 

Provisioning onboard

• We ask that you submit your provision menu one week prior to the start of your course. 

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• For Cruising (and Fast Track) trainees, please use this link to submit your preferences.

• For Coastal Passage Making/Advanced Coastal Cruising trainees, please use this link to submit your preferences.

• For our 5 and 6 day Charter clients, please use this link to submit your selections.

• For 7 day Charter clients, please use this link to submit your menu selections.

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If you have any food allergies or strong dislikes, please indicate that on the form in the comments section.

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​Drinks and Additional Items

• For our cruising courses we provide three gallons of drinking water per person and two bags of ice.  For additional drinking water, ice and other beverages, there is a grocery store located just outside of the marina; about a 2 minute walk.  Should you find that you need more water, there are water refill stations in most of the anchorages; and small markets for picking up additional provisioning.

• With regard to what to expect for your provisioning, plan for simple, balanced meals, i.e. standard breakfasts items, deli, chips and fruit for lunch. For the dinners provided: a protein on the grill, starch on the stovetop and side vegetable or salad. Hummus, nuts, chips and salsa will be provided for happy hour snacks. If you have any specific preferences (in addition to the provision menu) i.e. special herbs, additional snacks, you should be able to pick up a few wanted extras in the small grocery store just a short walk from our office.

• In general, we like to prepare students for what to expect with their provision order and remind everyone that this is the Caribbean, the stores do not have large selections and often won’t have what is requested. We submit a standard menu to the provisioning service with the items requested by our guests. We have no control over how the order is filled. It is important that students go through the original order confirmation that will be provided to you when stowing provisions so that you know if there are any items missing from the delivery order before you set off, and then we can substitute/replace what is needed through the small grocery store around the corner from our office. This is part of the way of the Caribbean, part of the experience and it’s good to learn what to expect when you return to charter. We encourage students not to get turned off and stressed about it but plan for the possibility that some provisioning may need to be done to correct for missing items. Our staff will assist with shopping for any missing items. Anything included on the menu that is not delivered and needs to be purchased, we cover that expense as it is included in your tuition.

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