A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 1/15/2023 – 1/22/2023

Hello! I’m a bit late getting this up this week, so let’s jump right in.

On Monday, we sailed to West End, BVI, from St. Thomas, USVI. Well, we motored. Our batteries needed a good charge, and we wanted to make some water, so we opted to run the engines for this ~3hr trip.

We completed our SailClear arrival notification while we were underway and printed out the confirmation. The mooring field in West End was packed when we arrived, but most of the balls were being used just long enough for people to check in, so we snagged one as someone was leaving after about 15mins of hovering. We took our dinghy in and walked to the blue and white Customs and Immigration building. The process was disorganized and confusing, but everyone was very helpful. If you’re going, go to immigration first! Next time we go, I won’t bother printing out the SailClear confirmation; all they need is the number which you can read off your phone. 

Once we checked in, we left West End and motored over to The Bight Bay. We hopped onto one of the many available mooring balls around The Willy T for $30 per night.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and having cocktails with friends. 

That evening two of our friends moved aboard Sabado for the week, and together we went to The Willy T. I won’t be writing about all our shenanigans, but I will say we did (and drank) all there was to do (and drink). To everyone who saw us there: no, you didn’t. With absolutely no context or explanation, here are a few pictures:

The following day we were moving pretty slowly. We went for a swim off the back of the boat and nibbled on some bagels while a steady stream of friends dinghied over to Sabado to chat and piece together what had happened the night before. We made it to shore for lunch at Pirate’s Bight, then mustered up the energy to move the boat to Cooper Island. 

We were nervous about finding an available mooring ball since all the ones you could reserve in advance were booked, but we picked up a first come, first serve ball easily (there were four open when we pulled up!). That night we watched an epic sunset from the boat. 

We all took showers and naps, then went to Cooper Island Beach Club for a late dinner. I should’ve snapped a photo of our food. You’ll have to take my word for it- it was fantastic! 

The next morning we listened to a goat on the cliff behind us scream its head off while we sipped our coffee; how relaxing! Ray and I took the dinghy to shore to check out the beach club during daylight hours. We stopped by their coffee shop, browsed through the boutique, and bought some ice pops on the way home. We both picked the soursop flavor, a tropical fruit I’d never tried! It tasted like pineapple mixed with apple, and a little herb-y too… maybe basil? It was different but delicious! 

A rainstorm blew through that afternoon, but I was itching for a swim, so Ray took me to the nearby reef for a quick dip. It was a tad gloomy, but I saw some parrot fish, gar, and yellow head jawfish! 

Shortly after my swim, we left Cooper Island and motorsailed to Saba Rock. We used the main and jib the whole way but kept our engines on to help make up for an unfavorable wind angle. The boys loved being back at the helm together (the 4 of us spent months sailing together in 2020)! 

The trip took us ~2.5hrs. We hopped onto a mooring ball and blended up Ray’s latest cocktail creation: The Caribbean Smoothie. He uses Coco Lopez, vodka, ice, lime juice, topped with a dark rum float. 

We tidied up and headed to shore. We stopped in the Saba Rock gift shop to pay for our night’s stay and were pleased to hear the $30 mooring ball fee included a bag of ice and a few gallons of fresh water! We checked out the bar next, and two drinks in, we found ourselves surrounded by friends. 

The rest of the night is a blur, but I recall it involving lots of laughs and an excellent meal. 

The next day we moved Sabado over to Leverick Bay. We rented safari trucks and drove around the island with everyone. 

After lunch, we headed back to Sabado to move again. We settled in for the night at Bitter End Yacht Club and went to our friend’s boat for happy hour. Ray and I went home early to decompress. This week’s itinerary was faster-paced than we typically prefer, and the large group activities zapped us!

We woke up bright and early the next day to sail to Anegada. The trip took us ~2.5-3 hours, and Sabado performed so well. We flew the gennaker almost the entire time and our average speed was 7.5-8kn! Ray and I had a blast. 

Once we arrived, we rented a moke for the day. We zipped around the island, checking out every beach bar we could find! 

That brings me to today! We left Anegada this morning and sailed for ~4hrs to Great Harbor. So far, Ray and I have been hiding out on Sabado while the big group explores the nearby bars. We’ve hit our limit on social interactions. We’ve been relaxing, eating chips and queso in our PJs, and, well, writing this! We’re planning on venturing out for dinner soon; then, our friends are leaving us tomorrow. It’s been a hectic but FUN week! ❤️ We hope you’re doing well!