Journal · 23 September 2026
The first night is a judgement, not a race — Saturday or Tuesday.
Most fleet weeks at Nanny Cay still turn on Saturday, so that dock is the noisy one. A Tuesday or Wednesday start is quieter and works the same way: the first night is decided by landing time and light, not by the day of the week. The temptation is to “get going” toward Norman Island because that is what an itinerary PDF showed as Night One.
Beef Island to the cay is short. A delayed American or a late St. Thomas ferry is not a reason to enter The Bight in the dark with a green crew. Eat on board. Sleep. Leave at first light. You still have the rest of the week.
An early EIS arrival, papers done, a walk-through complete: then a short hop down the Drake Channel is the right first night. Norman Island’s Bight, a Cooper Island mooring, or a quiet Peter Island hook. Not The Baths. Not Anegada. Not a bar on Jost. The group needs a first snorkel and a first dinner that does not feel like an airport.
Start day and landing time — Saturday is common, not required. How many people actually sleep on board. Whether anyone is arriving the next morning. The captain sets the first waypoint from that, not from a brochure map.
A week from Nanny Cay · Seven-day itinerary · A night aboard