We took our time leaving Maho Bay, no rush as we only had a short hop across to Jost van Dyke and the BVI. Leaving Maho Bay, we didn’t have much wind, but as we got further into the channel, the wind began to pick up as we made our final tack to Great Harbor, we were on a perfect line to make 7 knots. With the First Mate on the wheel, I trimmed the sails for perfection. If we weren’t towing the dinghy, we would have made 7.5!
Coming into Great Harbor, we had our VERY close shave of the trip. The wind was blowing ashore 3-4 knots, and as we came up to the mooring, it seemed the throttle cable snapped, and we weren’t able to rev the engine. As we drifted into 5.5′ shoals, we urgently got half the jib out and were able to painfully turn and weave our way out between the boats out of the mooring field. After about 3-4 missed attempts, we were finally able to grab a ball on the outer edges of the field, and go in and check through customs.
All this and Sarah and I never shouted, cursed or blamed once. We felt good about our teamwork. Much unlike our usual rule of docking which is “what is said when docking stays when docking.”
Sand Road Outside Foxy’s
We were actually not planning on staying in Great Harbor, but with a dead engine we had to. But we are glad we did! Foxy’s was having barbecue night and for $28 we got a massive plate of barbecue and salad. The food was delicious, and the best we have eaten on the island so far. If you have a chance, get the BBQ. We followed our advice from the previous day and fed the kids mac n cheese before we went to dinner so they weren’t mewling. They had a couple of ribs off our plate and then ran feral with a bunch of other kids along the sandy road in front of Foxy’s.
Sailing With Kids Tip
Feed your kids cheap food before going to an expensive restaurant.
The next day we planned to simply nip round the corner and head to Diamond Cay for another night on Jost van Dyke.
Great Harbor get’s 4 stars from Sailing With Kids
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