British Virgin Islands Sailing Destination Guide

The British Virgin Islands are the easiest place in the Caribbean to sail a chartered boat. The islands ring the Sir Francis Drake Channel, so you can usually see your next anchorage from the one you are leaving, and almost every overnight stop is a mooring ball rather than an anchor down in coral.

The cruising ground

Distances. Most legs are 6–15 nm, one to three hours of sailing, which leaves the rest of the day for snorkelling and going ashore.
Wind and sea. Trades from the east and north-east, typically 12–20 kt, with the channel sheltered by the chain of islands.
Charter bases. Road Town and Nanny Cay on Tortola, plus Hodges Creek and Soper’s Hole.
Overnight stops. The Bight at Norman Island, Cooper Island, The Baths and Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda, North Sound, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Cane Garden Bay and Soper’s Hole.
Moorings. Orange BoatyBall balls are reservable at $55; white balls are first come, first served at roughly $30–40. See BVI moorings and BoatyBall.

BVI itineraries by length

5-Day BVI Sailing Itinerary — a short week that drops Anegada and stays in the channel.
7-Day BVI Sailing Itinerary — the classic charter week, Norman Island to Jost Van Dyke.
10-Day BVI Sailing Itinerary — two nights at Setting Point on Anegada without rushing.

All the BVI weeks sit together on the British Virgin Islands itineraries hub, and the region page is Caribbean sailing destinations.