Good morning, it's Matt with the Yacht Warriors, your sailing trip partner in crime.

Here's what I have for you today:

• ⚠️ An update on the Panema wreck + more BVI groundings
• 🚀 Facebook charter groups are taking off
• 🏝️ Visiting Anegada, the Sunken (and once forbidden) Island

Panema update and more groundings in the BVIs

If you missed it, a Sunsail catamaran lost its mooring ball and wrecked on Dead Chest Island last month. I did a full write up here and include some lessons learned. Two updates since I posted it:

• Even though the skipper reported the vessel stolen, a search was initiated that night. It was found at 2:00am - 3 hours after they returned from dinner in the dinghy to find the cat missing
• While not confirmed yet (I've reached out to the boat owner), there are reports they tried to use the anchor bridle to hook the mooring ball pennant eye 😲 - this is not a secure connection at all

Since this mishap occurred, there have been four other incidents in the British Virgin Islands!

• ⚓ Fouled anchor - White Bay
• 🪨 Grounding - White Bay
• 🪨 Grounding - Anegada
• 🪨 Grounding - North Sound channel

Is this trend going to continue? Or is social media making it easier to share info about these incidents?

Your guess is as good as mine, but it does highlight the inexperience of some charterers. I'm also curious which charter companies are frequently involved - are they doing a good job qualifying the experience of their guests?

As I hear about these incidents, I'm going to collect them here in a database. You can also use the form to submit your own if you witness one. Let's see what we learn.

Facebook charter groups on the rise

I joined several Facebook groups about chartering in the BVIs. Since then, the groups have nearly doubled in size! Here's a link to one of them. It now has over 11k members.

What's to like:

• People are very helpful! The community is eager to answer questions quickly
• Good moderating from the group owners - not much spam or business promotions to clog your feed

What's not to like:

• Lots of the same questions, asked frequently
• It's difficult to respond to in-depth topics and you have to filter through the comment noise

I would argue less popular charter destinations such as the Exuma, Bahamas would benefit more from FB groups since there is less information available.

So, I started two of them! Feel free to join these very small (but growing!) communities. Come share your experience or ask a question.

🐟 Exuma Bahamas

🐢 Spanish Virgin Islands​

I'm also a huge fan of TravelTalkOnline - a great forum with very knowledgeable participants.

Sailing to the Sunken Island - Anegada

There are frequent questions from beginners about sailing to Anegada and whether or not to include it as part of a BVI sailing itinerary. My view - absolutely! This post has everything you need to know - how to get there and what to do:

• Go for the north shore beaches, fresh spiny lobster, and Horseshoe Reef snorkeling
• The navigation offshore can seem intimidating and requires some extra care, but I think it's relatively straightforward
• I visited Anegada on my first ever bareboat trip 10 years ago, and so can you
• Even if you can only fit in one day, it is still worth the trip. Anegada is best, however, enjoyed over two days
• Day 1️⃣: rent mokes and explore the secluded north shore beaches - Flash of Beauty, Loblolly, and Cow Wreck
• Day 2️⃣: link up with a local for a tour of Horseshoe reef and experience some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean

Anchorage of the month: Green Beach, Vieques

AKA Punta Arenas - makes for a perfect first or last night stop for a trip to the Spanish Virgin Islands. The sunsets here over the Puerto Rico mainland are 🤌.

If you enjoyed the newsletter, I'd appreciate if you could share it with others who do the boat trip thing! Here's a link you can use. Thanks!!

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