Back at the BEYC

Sailing got in the way of running this weekend. I ran to Shirley Heights on Sunday morning. Ben and I were getting Dorade ready to sail to Virgin Gorda with a plan to leave around midday and sail overnight. As boating often goes, we had a bit more to do than we thought and ended up leaving the dock around 4pm. The sail to Virgin Gorda is approximately 170 nm from English Harbor, and we estimated 24 hours to arrive at The Bitter End. It is a reef protected harbor and we wanted to ensure we arrived in well before dark the next day. The wind had been up for over a week and had kicked up a big swell with a pretty big period. Our rhumb line course had us at 130 degrees off the wind, which is actually ideal for Dorade in big wave surfing conditions. We had a great sail overnight, the moon was almost full and we had plenty of light to see by. It was just Ben and I on board so we took turns at the tiller, driving for as long as we could before we started nodding off or getting tired. The helm on Dorade is a very heavy tiller, and you feel it in your arms and back pretty quickly. With big waves behind us it was important to keep an eye on the wind angle and not get stuck in a wave, ending up too close to a jibe. It was a beautiful night and we had a fast sail past the lights of St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Barths and St. Maarten. The sun came up on the last leg between St. Maarten and Virgin Gorda. With a few big squalls and a few jibes we made it into the North Sound exactly 24 hours later, and tied up at the BEYC dock.

I love coming back to the Bitter End. It is a resort in the BVI that I worked at after college. Many of the same people are still working here and it always feels a little like coming home. I was also very excited for the opportunity to show off a place that I love to Ben. He and I haven’t spent any time together in the BVI and we have a couple days before his boss arrives to get the boat ready. People often wonder how we could live on such a small island without getting bored, but somehow there is always plenty to do, I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to blog!

After we got tied up and washed down we headed to the Pub for a drink and to see who we would see. My week was made when I ran into Jerome and he mentioned that the next night was Full Moon Sail!! Full Moon Sailing is my all time favorite tradition. I might like it even more than Christmas! Every month the staff at the Bitter End get together and take out the Hobie Cats for a sail under the moon light. In the past we sailed up wind inside the reef to Oil Nut Bay and had a bonfire on the beach there. With new developments and construction Oil Nut Bay is off limits to us now. Thankfully Jerome had asked for permission to land on Sandy Spit, a little spit of sand on the edge of Necker Reef.

We didn’t last very long Monday night, even with Mashup happening at the pub. With a full work day ahead of us and a long night sail behind us, we made our way back to the boat to pass out. I slept in on Tuesday and we got into getting the boat ready for guests.

Last night we met at the watersports center to have our skippers briefing about where we were sailing to and how to get through the reef. We managed to get all 10 Hobies full and out sailing! The weather cleared up after being squally all day and we set off from the beach with a big beautiful moon and clear skies. It was blowing 20 knots and we had an awesome sail upwind and reaching through the reef! After the cut in the reef it was down wind and surfing to get below the reef on Sandy Spit. There isn’t a great way to describe full moon sailing in any way that does it justice. A big bright moon and lots of wind, sailing through big waves, it’s just an amazing feeling. I’ll include a few pictures that also don’t do it justice.

I got up this morning and ran before the yoga that is put on by the resort. There is a new road for the construction at Oil Nut Bay, which is a really nice place to run mostly because it is not straight up hill. These islands are steeper than Antigua because they are a lot smaller, and there are not a whole lot of options for running. Especially at the BEYC, which isn’t actually connected to any roads! Rob was nice enough to hold onto my running watch after I left it on Tenacity, and he returned it yesterday. I guess it’s time to start focusing on speed and goal setting. Right now it seems like a pretty daunting task, but I’m looking forward to getting my pace back down around 8 and really pushing myself again. But that will all start tomorrow, today we are going Kiting!!