Starting in June, American Airlines is offering daily nonstop flights from Miami to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands—reportedly the first time since the 1980s that visitors will have an everyday option without a connecting flight via Puerto Rico or St. Thomas.

The BVI is one of the world’s top cruising destinations. Multiple companies have bareboat bases there, and iconic spots such as the Bitter End Yacht Club and Foxy’s have been luring yachtsmen for decades.

The airline says the nonstop flights will be available through August 14, and then will restart in November, ahead of the winter cruising season. Planes will depart Miami at 10:07 a.m. and arrive in the BVI at 1:06 p.m. Return flights will take off at 1:47 p.m. and land back in the United States at 4:25 p.m.

“We have one of the most beautiful collections of isles and cays anywhere in the world, and look forward to offering our new and returning visitors an assortment of experiences in the Sailing Capital of the World,” said Clive McCoy, director of tourism for the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board & Film Commission.

Even for boaters who have cruised in the BVI before, there’s plenty to see and do. The Bitter End Yacht Club, which has been rebuilding after hurricane damage on Virgin Gorda, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. There’s also a new Dream Caribbean Blue bareboat base at Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina, with 14 sailing catamarans out of Tortola.

And, of course, there are longtime favorites like The Baths. Beautiful scenery simply never goes out of style.

He’s The Man

Philicianno “Foxy” Callwood set up a bar on Jost Van Dyke in 1968. He thought sailors in the British Virgin Islands might want to stop in for a drink. Today, his bar is a destination unto itself.

The Baths

Granite boulders at The Baths National Park on Virgin Gorda can be as big as 40 feet wide. Visitors can make their way around this protected piece of natural beauty by using steps and rope handrails to stay steady along the trail. Moorings and a dinghy dock are in place for cruising boats to use, and there are marked channels for swimming. Bring a snorkel for exploring the caverns, grottoes and waters off the beach.

The post Easy Cruising in the British Virgin Islands appeared first on Yachting.

The British Virgin Islands offer the cruising crowd a plethora of rest-and-relaxation opportunities, but every great location has some can’t-miss attractions. For boaters who are planning a voyage through the BVI, these three spots have something to offer everyone on board.

The Baths 

The Baths National Park, along the southwestern tip of Virgin Gorda, is the crown jewel of BVI attractions. The rounded forms and very presence of The Baths’ iconic massive granite boulders—as large as 40 feet in diameter—are a testament to the volcanic and geological forces at work over millions of years.

Rope handrails, arrows and wooden stairs guide visitors through this natural playground of cave-like passages and secluded turquoise pools tucked between the boulders. It’s a choose-your-own adventure, with some nooks requiring a tight squeeze or army crawl and other stretches perfectly suited for a leisurely stroll or dip. Sunlight spills through the openings, illuminating social-media-worthy spots such as the triangular-shaped path known as “the cathedral” and creating entrancing dancing reflections off the pools onto the rock walls. The route ends at the white-sand expanse of Devil’s Bay, a tranquil spot for swimming or snorkeling.

Cruisers should arrive at The Baths early to avoid cruise-ship crowds and to secure one of the coveted mooring balls and spots along the offshore dinghy dock line.  

Anegada 

The only all-coral island in the BVI, Anegada is a favorite destination for world-class snorkeling as well as spiny lobster. Its annual Anegada Lobster Festival is one of the BVI’s top events of the year. Anegada is an easy day trip from the Bitter End Yacht Club, which is located about 10 nautical miles to the south.

Rising a mere 28 feet above sea level at its highest point, Anegada is easy to explore on foot. Look for rock iguanas, wild orchids and tropical birds along the Bones Bight nature trail. Spot flamingos from the Flamingo Pond Lookout. Or chill out on Cow Wreck Beach.

Anegada’s surrounding reef, however, is the far bigger draw. Check out more than 300 shipwrecks, tunnels and caves, Volkswagen-sized brain coral, and such species as stingrays, angelfish and parrotfish.

Foxy’s

If you’re in the mood for an incredible story or a great joke shared over a rum drink, then seek out Philicianno “Foxy” Callwood at his eponymous bar, Foxy’s, which has anchored the beach at Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke since 1968. Foxy is a Member of the British Empire as well as an inductee into the CYBA International Hall of Fame for his contributions to the island’s heritage and yachting tourism industry, but there’s no need to stand on ceremony. Instead, raise one of his signature libations—perhaps a Dread Fox or a Sly Fox—and toast this BVI legend.  

The post Cruising in the British Virgin Islands appeared first on Yachting.

In the winter months of December through April, the high season of Caribbean bareboat chartering, the Sir Francis Drake Channel that courses through the cruising paradise known as the British Virgin Islands is surely one of the world’s busiest, most picturesque yachting destinations. Named after yet another pioneering British seafarer, the thoroughfare bisects the main island of Tortola, to the north, with a series of popular smaller isles (Norman, Peter, Salt, Cooper) to the south. In the busy weeks and months starting around Christmas, the channel is trafficked by an astounding number of chartered boats, ferries, inter-island traders and private cruising craft. It’s quite the scene to swallow.

I’d been to the BVI on multiple occasions over the years, always during busy season. These islands have been referred to as a “nautical theme park,” and with good reason; such is the wealth of fine trade-wind sailing; taut anchorages; great snorkeling; countless beach bars; and all the related waterfront attractions on which the reputation has been built. Still, I’d always wondered what these islands were like in the offseason, the summer months during hurricane season when activity crawls to a standstill.

Last August, while on a fingers-crossed journey to Tortola to shoot a series of videos for The Moorings (one of the BVI’s most popular charter outfits), I got my answer. What, exactly, is happening in the BVI in the summertime? A whole lot of not much.

It’s understandable. The last truly vicious storm to rake these islands—Hurricane Irma in 2017—was named a tropical storm on August 30 and spent the next couple of weeks wreaking major Caribbean havoc. It’s no wonder that many charter operators haul or stash much of their fleet in hurricane holes for the summer’s last weeks. But the summer months of 2022 were odd indeed; in fact, it was the first August in 25 years that the Atlantic basin did not generate a single named storm. One theory for this was that the dry Sahara air and dust that permeated the Eastern Atlantic for months tamped down the formation of tropical systems.

So, we proceeded cautiously with our video plans and, save for an occasional quick squall, were rewarded with fantastic weather. Which actually made the entire trip even stranger. Why were we the only ones enjoying it?

The Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke happened to be doing brisk bit business on the afternoon we visited, but not for long: The beach umbrellas were yanked by 5 p.m., and the bar closed down soon after. On Norman Island, another popular watering hole called Pirates Bight was completely closed, and nary an inebriated soul stumbled across the infamous deck of the nearby floating bar known as the Willy T. On the beach and grottoes known as The Baths on Virgin Gorda, the few people in attendance were locals. Everywhere, in every harbor, empty mooring balls bobbed in the waters as far as the eye could see.

That even included the Indians, a set of four rocky islets near Norman where every vacationing sailor worth his swim fins must enjoy a snorkel. Sometimes in the high season, boats jockey for hours to pick up a mooring. We nailed the closest one to the cliffs and had our choice of several more. It was fantastic. Yet eerie.

So too was our last day in the BVI, when we took a cat out on the Sir Francis Drake for one final sail and some drone shots. There, smack-dab in the middle of the whitecap-flecked waters, we were the sole vessel underway, our wake the only one in sight. As souvenirs of sailing trips go, I’ll take that one every time.

The post Off-season Cruising in the British Virgin Islands appeared first on Yachting.

It’s no secret that Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin Islands is a bucket list destination for most sailors and yacht lovers. Most have probably been there! When Irma hit in 2017, the future of Bitter End was unknown, but now, five years later, Bitter End is BACK and ready to welcome sea-farers once more! Yachting’s Patrick Sciacca sat down with Bitter End owners Richard and Lauren Hokin to get the full scoop on the property’s nostalgic history, rebuilding story, and all of the new improvements that have recently been completed and are still on the horizon. Check out the video for the full inside look. To learn more about Bitter End Yacht Club, visit beyc.com.

The post Yachting Q&A: Bitter End Yacht Club Returns appeared first on Yachting.

When Richard Hokin arrived on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands 30 hours after Hurricane Irma passed on September 6, 2017, he wasn’t particularly shocked. He fully expected that his Bitter End Yacht Club had been destroyed. After all, the BVI island had endured a Category 5 storm with relentless 180 mph winds—and a storm surge that wiped out anything the gusts had spared. 

He was correct: What was essentially a pile of rubble greeted him where the resort, which had been in his family for 44 years, once stood. There was one surprising thing though. The oldest fleet member was missing. What had happened to the faithful boat that predated his family’s ownership of Bitter End, the one that was integral to its development in the early days and still loyally served the resort? Where was Reef Sampler? 

“The fact that the boat had disappeared was kind of mysterious because some of her superstructure had washed up on Prickly Pear Island, which is right next to us. But there was no sign of the boat,” Hokin says.

When Irma hit, Reef Sampler was approaching its 50th birthday. In need of a platform for fishing, diving, exploring and picnicking, the Hokin family commissioned the 34-foot downeast fiberglass hull from Webber’s Cove in Blue Hill, Maine, to be finished at Essex Boat Works in Connecticut. Named for the family’s favorite pastime in the vibrant Virgin Islands waters, Reef Sampler was delivered in 1969.

“She started out as our family’s just-messing-around boat in St. Thomas and eventually became the workhorse for Bitter End,” Hokin says. “She hauled most of the building materials from St. Thomas up to North Sound in the early days when we were just starting to remodel and expand, and then she was our principal source of fun there. We’d take off and go over to Anegada for the day and go diving or go out fishing. Our life really centered around the boat.”

Reef Sampler rode out Irma holding on to the heftiest mooring. As it turned out, it never let go. In early 2018, the UK Hydrographic Office, conducting its first BVI survey in nearly a century, discovered an anomaly in its soundings. Further investigation by Sunchaser Scuba revealed Reef Sampler’s hull, sitting neatly upright on the bottom of North Sound, still tied to the sunken mooring.

Abandoning the boat in this watery grave was never an option. “Next to me, she’s the oldest member of the Bitter End crew,” Hokin says as he readies for his 82nd birthday. “I wasn’t going to walk away from her—we’ve been together for over 50 years. How do you walk away from someone or something that’s been important to your life? And not just to my life but to the whole Bitter End lifestyle, which is what defines us.”

Using air bags, it was floated and dragged onto the beach. Then, Hokin had an idea.

“I have always had a bee in my bonnet about a beach bar—and that a boat would make a really cool beach bar. This was the opportunity. We’re starting from scratch [rebuilding Bitter End]. We had the boat, and the boat was integral to Bitter End’s story. I figured she’s worked hard for us for close to 50 years; let’s give her a place where she doesn’t have to work so hard and everybody can enjoy her.”

Now, Reef Sampler, freshly varnished and painted in its original hue, has pride of place on Marina Beach at Bitter End 2.0. On its foredeck is a navigation table with seating for 8; along its sheerline aft, there’s a bar for resting a drink; and within its cockpit is a fully equipped bar for serving. Above it floats tent fabric, shading patrons and protecting the boat from the weather.

It’s one of the new additions to the revived property. For the quiet reopening over the past holidays, everything a sailor needs was up and running, including the Quarterdeck Club with a panoramic second-floor lounge, the Watersports Shack, The Buoy Room a salty sailor’s bar , and an expanded provisioning market that also offers prepared foods and a full wine-and-spirits shop. Opening soon are two shore accommodations called Marina Lofts, which extend alluringly over the water, and two more restaurants will be ready to serve by spring. 

Re-imagined to be more closely aligned with Mother Nature, the new resort is both different and the same. “We knew we weren’t going to build an exact replica, but we’ve tried really hard to employ the character, vibe and lifestyle that define the place,” Hokin says. Nothing encapsulates this spirit better than a beach-bar boat that started life as a vehicle for just messing around on the water. 

It’s not the only physical reminder of the past. The major docks survived the storm, and bits of memorabilia salvaged from the debris are displayed among the new buildings—but Reef Sampler is perhaps its most evocative.

“I think a boat is pretty close to a living entity. After 70 years of messing around in boats, I’m absolutely sure boats have lives because they’ve treated me well at times and also have had a few tantrums,” Hokin says with a smile.
To learn more about the re-opening of Bitter End Yacht Club and stay up to date on new updates, visit beyc.com. To see more footage from Bitter End Yacht Club, follow them on YouTube.

The post A New Beginning for Bitter End appeared first on Yachting.

Thirty-six hours after hurricane Irma smashed into the BVI in late 2019, Lauren Hokin was standing on the property that used to be instantly recognizable as the Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda. She was with her father, both of them part of the family that had owned and built up the property for about 50 years.

“The place was just decimated,” she says. “We were used to storms, but this was orders of magnitude worse.”

It took a full year just to clean up what used to be about 70 buildings on 65 acres, with all the debris needing to be burned or sent off by barge. Then, it was time to think about how to rebuild—which was going to take even longer.

Meanwhile, fans of the Bitter End Yacht Club wanted to help. The family created Bitter End Provisions, a line of “seaworthy goods for salty people,” with $1 from every sale going to the Bitter End Foundation. The money supports the broader BVI community as well as the marine environment.

All the items for sale harness the spirit of the original Bitter End Yacht Club, which is what Hokin says the family is trying to do with the reconstruction as well. The marina is there now, and phase one of rebuilding along the waterfront is expected to be done soon, with the property reopening in early November.

To start, there will be a new marina building with a sunset-view lounge on the second floor; a multiconcept restaurant; a formal dining room; a pizza-and-wine bar; and a sports pub with foosball and a pool table. There also will be a market with prepared foods, groceries, beer and wine, as well as a shop with Bitter End Provisions products and more.

“All of these buildings are in a pedestrian plaza,” Hokin says. “We have gotten rid of—as much as possible—vehicular traffic. There won’t be any golf carts by the water. It will all be pedestrian. Having a meal when a golf cart drives by as you’re enjoying a sunset—that’s not ideal.”

From the wreckage, the team also was able to salvage some of the original building beams, ship lanterns, signs and other meaningful items.

“We can put it out on display in the redeveloped property. It can help to tell the story and contribute to the character of the place,” she says. “The last thing we want to do is plunk down a brand-spanking-new, inauthentic, shiny bunch of buildings.”

Check out the new gear: bitterendprovisions.com

The post Bitter End Yacht Club Helps Rebuild the BVI appeared first on Yachting.

As restrictions on travel continue to ease worldwide (we all hope), planning a bareboat getaway of friends and family will be a great socially distanced vacation. For those in colder climes, bareboating is a chance to find warm water and palms blowing in tropical breezes. For others, bareboating can be an escape from local waters.

Bareboating means that the boat is supplied sans captain or crew. The bareboater handles everything, including anchoring, cooking and planning the itinerary. In terms of dollars and cents, a bareboat charter competes favorably with a vacation at a good resort hotel, especially when all those shoreside extras such as resort fees and room service are factored into the cost equation. Aboard a bareboat, all meals come with a view, as do watery delights such as snorkeling on coral reefs or exploring sandy beaches.

Like everything, a bareboat charter is going to be what boaters make of it. I know people who have gone off to exotic locales with incredible scenery and then returned complaining about high humidity. On the other hand, I enjoyed a delightful charter in Scotland where wind and rain were the one constant. My memories are of a warm cabin with friends and of shrugging off my foulies by the roaring fire in a pub. Those who get the most out of bareboating are those who are flexible, willing to adjust their plans, and believe the important thing is to enjoy the journey.

Relatively benign areas to try bareboating are in the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and the San Juan Islands. These locations have protected waters, short runs between harbors, well-marked aids to navigation and predictable weather forecasting. Skip the swirling Hebrides off Scotland until some miles are under the hull, and remember that foreign waters mean unfamiliar navigation aids as well as foreign languages.

Location should also be dictated by the time of year, as well as the desired cruising climate. Winter eliminates much of Europe and parts of North America, while the midsummer Caribbean can be downright steamy. The Pacific Northwest is temperate in summer, cool in spring and fall, and wet in winter.

For the experienced helmsman, everything is explained during a comprehensive pre-charter briefing that used to be done entirely at the bareboat hub, but that is now becoming a social-distancing-friendly hybrid of at-home learning and in-person checkout. When clients leave the dock, they have a good understanding of the boat, its systems, and everything from hazards to restaurants on local charts.

And for clients who need a little more help to feel comfortable, Ian Pedersen of The Moorings says, “If desired, we offer a friendly skipper at no charge for a half day to provide one-on-one instruction to familiarize yourself with your yacht or brush up on your skills.”

A skipper can also stay aboard for the duration, and this can be a good thing. The skipper will take one of the staterooms and will need to be fed, but clients will save on the cost of an insurance waiver for damage. The skipper also knows the best anchorages, beaches, reefs for snorkeling and small bistros.

Packing for a bareboat or skippered charter should be light; some bareboaters get by for a week with a bathing suit, two shirts and a pair of shorts. Realistically, and depending on the area, take foul-weather jackets, comfy clothes for the boat, and dressier clothes for going ashore for dinners (even in the casual Caribbean). It all goes into a duffel bag, which can be stowed on board. Some charter companies will store a hard suitcase ashore, while charter guests can repack into a duffel before the trip starts.

In fact, charter companies come in all shapes and sizes, including international corporations and mom and pop bases. The larger companies have the advantage shared by car-rental companies: They standardize their fleets and often have boats built specifically for their needs. Larger companies tend to have stockpiles of equipment for repairs, while smaller companies have more-eclectic offerings, making them perfect for anyone wanting to try out a boat model before purchasing.

Raul Bermudez of MarineMax Vacations, for instance, says the company’s Aquila powercats are available for charter in the BVI and for sale through MarineMax dealerships.

Deciding whom to bring along on the boat is another consideration. Guests should be people who can live together for a week or so in close quarters. Family is one thing, but consider personal habits such as smoking or drinking, as well as common interests.

Deciding on the boat can mean all kinds of options. Catamarans have swept the bareboat-charter industry, offering voluminous accommodations with separation (no shared bulkheads to hear anyone snoring), plus open salons, cockpits and flybridge areas. Cats and monohulls are available in all shapes and sizes, in both power and sail. When looking at accommodations plans, note that using convertible dinettes for sleeping is a pain of making and remaking beds daily, so try to get a stateroom for all aboard.

Whatever the platform and wherever the destination, remember that taking a bareboat charter is all about attitude. Go into it expecting fun, relaxation and excitement, and that’s exactly where the trip will lead.

Read the Contract

Before signing on the dotted line, understand all the fine print of a bareboat contract. How much is the deposit, and when is it refundable? What is your liability, and how much is indemnity insurance through the charter company? What if your boat has a problem? When is the boat available to you, and when do you have to return it?

Coronavirus Protocols

Charter companies have always faced the challenge of cleaning returned boats and preparing them for new guests, but COVID-19 has amplified the issue. Ask what the company’s protocols are to ensure a hospital- style scouring. “We had a head start at MarineMax Vacations since we always spaced our returns and departures at least a day apart,” says Raul Bermudez, vice president of charters. “That gives us more than enough time to thoroughly sanitize our boats before handing them to new guests.”

Need a License?

For all destinations, guests submit a résumé of boating experience to the charter company before booking. That résumé should show not only the client’s time on the water but also their familiarity with similar boats. In many bareboat destinations in Europe, clients need a formal license such as the International Certificate of Competence. Americans can get an International Proficiency Certificate from the American Sailing Association or an Inshore Powerboat Cruising card from US Powerboating. A VHF radio operator’s license is also required in many areas.

Take the next step: marinemax.com/vacations; moorings.com

The post Bareboating Basics appeared first on Yachting.

When Hurricane Irma unleashed the fury of her Category 5 winds on the BVI’s Bitter End Yacht Club in 2017, reducing nearly every building to rubble, the destruction was so complete that you would be forgiven for thinking it was the end of the Bitter End — but you’d be wrong.

Thirty hours after the storm the owners, Richard Hokin and his daughter Lauren Hokin, were on a plane to the islands. “We made up our minds on the way down that we would make this an opportunity, not a catastrophe,” Richard says. The rebuild began with a massive cleanup that left the area as virgin as Richard and his parents first found it in the mid-1960s. They fell in love with the perfect anchorage tucked within Virgin Gorda’s well-protected North Sound, framed by verdant hills and blessed by the reliable tradewinds. When they purchased Bitter End less than a decade later, it was a quaint gem with just a couple docks, a restaurant and some very basic guest cabins.

Over the ensuing decades Bitter End grew in amenities and scope parallel to the BVI’s blossoming charter business, and in the ’90s it doubled in size to 64 acres when the Hokins acquired an adjacent property. When Irma hit, it was essentially two resorts put together back to back, as Richard describes it. “Use of the shoreline and land was very inefficient and didn’t take advantage of the natural features of the place.”

Then Irma gave them a reset button. “Mother Nature scolded us with Irma for having created all this sprawl on her masterpiece, so we’re taking her at her word,” he says. “We are putting it back together in a way where we are better stewards of the land.”

“We’re trying to be very sensitive to our environmental footprint, returning as much of the shoreline as possible to its natural state,” Lauren adds. “The beach is coming back in a really beautiful way, wildlife are returning and we’re planning a mangrove restoration project.”

An unexpected gift from Irma is a much larger beach than before. From here, the transition to the nautical village on shore is gentle and organic. Guests can expect timber construction and very little glazing, with plenty of open-air ventilation and AC only where needed. It’s rustic yet beautiful, with soft surfaces underfoot that lend themselves to bare feet and seamless integration of the indoors and out.

The new development will be a fresh and exciting departure from the pre-Irma resort but at the same time it will be sweetly familiar. Over the last three years, the resort has kept in constant communication with what they call their extended family across the globe and they got the message when 2,000 nostaglic guests answered a survey with the overwhelming sentiment of “keep it the same.” While replicating the old development would not have been practical, the new resort preserves a sense of history and place by incorporating memorabilia and artifacts that were discovered amid the storm debris. Signage, vintage lanterns and bits of nautical hardware will remind returning guests of the old days.

Perhaps more importantly, though, Bitter End 2.0 will honor the resort’s unique character and communal spirit. Originally built by a charter captain, it was a quirky spot attracting an odd cast of salty sailors before the Hokin family entered the picture, and when they did they weren’t looking to get into the resort business. First and foremost, they wanted a family retreat where they could do what they loved: sailing, fishing, diving, beachcombing. The commercial operation was merely a justification for the purchase, and this relaxed ethos has prevailed over the years. It’s a place where fast friendships are formed, where America’s Cup yachtsmen can mess around on boats alongside a family who is just learning to sail.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We are about having an awesome time on the water, letting your inner kid free. That’s the spirit of the place,” Lauren says.

Hence informal beer can regattas will be central to the sailing program when Bitter End reopens in 2021. Phase one, to be completed in the first half of the year, focuses on the marina. It will offer a similar capacity as before with 26 slips and 72 moorings, but amenities will be much improved, like wifi that reaches throughout the mooring field and upgraded bathing facilities. The new two-story marina building will feature a panoramic members’ lounge, and the clubhouse will encompass a multi-concept restaurant, including the all-important pub. Adjacent to this will be a gourmet grocers offering expanded wares. The nautical village’s retail shop will showcase a new addition to its select nautical goods and gear: Bitter End’s own apparel and accessories line called Bitter End Provisions, which was launched online during the rebuild to stay connected to the yacht club’s loyal fan base.

Of course, the famed fleet will be restored, providing favorites from paddleboards and Hobie Cats to one-design keelboats, as well as new additions with foils — something Richard’s “inner kid” is personally looking forward to.

“In the early days, we did some kind of wacky stuff,” he says, recalling “the Good Ship Bert and Ernie” — two Lasers strung together with plywood and duct tape for one big party. “I want to get that going again: keep the fun meter all the way over at full bore.”

A reopening date will be announced after the New Year. beyc.com; bitterendprovisions.com

The post Bitter End is Back appeared first on Yachting.