Trellis Bay Bvi.
By da Wayward Sailor Saturday I motored over to Trellis Bay from Fat Hog Bay which are on more or less opposite sides of Beef Island where the Airport is located on Tortola. The passage was a bit rougher than I had expected during the channel passage around the tip of Beef Island. While it is almost always more confused seas Saturday the difference was between 1 to 2 foot seas and 4 to 6 foot seas and winds near 18 knots with a few gusts.
Trellis Bay is located on Beef Island, situated off the eastern tip of Tortola and is next to the Beef Island airport that serves Tortola and the BVI. Trellis Bay Market, located in the heart of Trellis Bay, British Virgin Islands is the home for all your bare boat provisioning needs while visiting the B.V.I. Nestled between coconut palms and sea grape trees 'The Mini Market' has been serving the BVI since 1990 and has since expanded into a Funky Island Bar, Mini Gift Shop and Laundromat. Hotels near or close to Trellis Bay Beach in Tortola, Beef Island, British Virgin Islands, Virgin Gorda area. Find deals and phone #'s for hotels/motels around Trellis Bay Beach.
Seas were from the East Southeast which put them on the beam for a bit and made for an uncomfortable motor and I had no sails attached due to the recent and anticipated storms. Since it was only an hour or so motor went ahead and did it and made it but had a few worries when I hit the larger than expected beam seas. Last evening we had a couple of rain showers, some were heavy but for only a short time.
Then the wind died and the mosquitoes came out really mad! I was up at my fav place in Trellis, da Loose Mongoose’s beach bar watching College Football. Used half a bottle of bug spray before the winds picked up again about 12 knots and blew them away. Later in the night and this AM, we had several showers and winds in the 18 to possibly 20 knots for a while. A couple of towels I had out to dry were making quite a noise through the night during some of the squalls passing through and one boat’s wind generator sounded like a turbo jet about to take off. Trellis escaped most of the damage that other parts of the island did but the Last Resort Restaurant had about 30 feet of its dock knocked down. The Last Resort is on the island in the middle of Trellis Bay.
Trellis Bay Bvi Grocery
There are two notably large New Years Eve parties in the British Virgin Islands. If you are looking for places with a lot of action and partying going on, you have the options of or Trellis Bay, Beef Island. The two 'big' parties are quite different from one another. Foxy's Old Years Eve party is decidedly adult entertainment, where you will often find thousands of revelers, while the party in is a little slower paced with up to a few hundred party goers enjoying the food, entertainment, drinks and much more subdued celebrations. If you have children in your group, I recommend Trellis Bay. Up until about midnight, it is relatively tame.
After that, it would probably be a good idea to take the kids back to your boat. Everyone loves to see Mocko Jumbies dressed in their brightly coloured costumes. But to see them traipsing around, towering over everyone and dancing on the beach is really quite a sight!
That combined with Aragorn Dick Reed's famous fireballs blazing in the background makes them even more mesmerizing. In the principal photo, you can see Aragorn (the man with the pole in his hands) after having just lit the Burning Man on fire.
Local Fungi bands (which is the BVI's own music style) are often invited to play at the party. The bands consist of many different musical instruments, some of which are home made. Fungi is a blend of different musical styles and (similar to Calypso) is often geared towards social and political satire, historical storytelling, romantic pursuits and day to day life in the islands. Lighting the Burning Man Artist Aragorn had just topped up the last of the fireballs that line the beach with kindling and wadded up bits of cardboard and paper and was getting ready to set them all on fire.
Note the pinwheels on the burning man. Every year, he looks a little different.
But this particular year, it had rained that morning and the burning man didn't really want to burn! A great deal of effort went into getting this guy to catch fire. There was a lot of smoke, combined with an onshore breeze which kept the mosquitoes away. But also drove the crowd way back. While several stalwart assistants kept trying to get the burning man to burn, Aragorn lit the pinwheels which provided a dazzling display. The man did eventually burn. But by then, some kind soul managed to trip, soaking both me and my almost new Nikon D70S in a large glass of her rum infused painkiller.
It was a rather soggy, smelly and very sticky ride back to West End from Trellis Bay for me. RIP my trusty friend!
Below is the last photo (fireworks) my poor abused camera managed to take before it made a very strange noise and died. Thankfully, the memory card was undamaged and I was able to get the lens professionally cleaned. Not even an apology out of the woman, she just stared at me with yellow liquid dripping from my hair and face, giggled and went on her merry way. Really, some people's children! Trellis Bay Beach Fireworks Warning: It is never a good idea to leave your boat unlocked when you go ashore, but on New Years Eve, it is an even worse idea. Do not leave cash on the boat and never leave valuables in plain view.
There are so many dinghies moving around the harbour with people coming and going, that nobody can keep track of who belongs where. In fact, situations like this create the perfect cover for thieves in dinghies to move about unnoticed. One of my clients had his Apple laptop computer stolen on New Years Eve in Trellis Bay. They had not locked the boat. Be smart, put your valuables away, take your cash, credit cards and any jewellery you may have brought with you. And for heaven's sake, lock the boat! I will never understand why people bring jewellery on a sailing vacation anyway!
You are bobbing around in the middle of the Caribbean on a boat and living in shorts, t-shirts and a bathing suit. Who needs it?