BVIs Chapter Two - "Virgin Gorda"

Sailing along the north side of Virgin Gorda, we decided to anchor one night in a small bay off the Channel. We were east of the Dogs and south of Necker Island and our anchorage was inside the curl of the reef that protected the bay. First, just a word for you about the Dogs and Necker Island…

The Dogs are a set of four smaller islands that got their name from the Monk seals that used to inhabit the islands. From a distance, the sounds made by the seals sounded like dogs barking – hence, sailors named the islands “The Dogs”. FYI, the seals became extinct some time in the 1950’s.

As for Necker Island, it is privately owned by Sir Richard Branson. You may have heard of him – a British baby-boomer who became a billionaire by first creating Virgin Records in the late 70’s followed by Virgin Atlantic Airways in the 80’s. More recently, you may have seen news clips of him attempting a round-the-world hot air balloon ride. He does not live on Necker Island but I’m sure he visits on occasion. Just so you know, the island is available for rent. You can have it for as little as $45,000 per day (yes, per day) – plus 18% tip (so that can round off pretty quick to $55,000)! Now you aren’t left there alone – the rental comes with full-time staff for the house and marina operator for the shore equipment (zodiacs, sailboats, power boats, kite-boards, etc.) And you can bring up to 28 friends with you! Take 5 minutes to dream and browse through www.neckerisland.virgin.com

OK back to reality (or sort of)… the next day we moved the boat around the end of Virgin Gorda to the North Sound and docked at the Bitter End Yacht Club (BEYC). We stayed there three glorious days and nights. The dock gave us the chance to put our feet on the ground and tour the island. Jimmy and Amanda were excited to be there ‘cause the North Sound offers great wind action – in the past year or so, they have taken up kite-boarding!

Yes, they kite-boarded and and kite-surfed. Meanwhile, John and I watched all the action from a little dock at that end of the resort – these lovely wooden lounge chairs looked after us VERY nicely.

Let me tell you a bit about the BEYC. The bay offers a true safe haven for sailors and boaters and is cruiser-friendly. Small cruise ships (50 pax) come by on occasion and the passengers get to off-load for the day. Hotel guests stay in private small villas like these in this photo:


The beach sand was white and the water beautiful and warm. There were very few guests there - apparently a bit of a reprieve between US Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. I sat at the small beach front near the boat and read for an entire afternoon and no one joined me on any of the chairs.

The resort was definitely first class. Despite this, guests were relaxed and in regular attire – shorts, T-shirts and bathing suits. It was an interesting couple of days and the “Painkillers” they served at the bar were better than phenomenal! I took this shot of one of the dining room tables – so beautifully decorated with bougainvillea and hibiscus flowers:
Come on back in a few days… I hope to show you some kite-surfing photos that I took from that lovely wooden lounge chair… m.