BEYC day 1
2005-03-15

The water was that deep blue that you only get when you are over 100 feet deep in the tropics and the wind was a steady 15 as we sailed the Francis Drake Channel towards Virgin Gorda. The islands, Peter, Salt, Cooper, Ginger passed by like old friends and we kept our eyes out for sea turtles and whales.
We passed The Dogs (rocks) making great time and less than three hours we were just off Necker Island where Richard Branson the Virgin Atlantic billionaire lives. I never wondered why he picked here. It was time to take down the sails for the short motor into North Sound.
The reef into North Sound is well marked and the water color variation makes it fairly easy to stay in the deep stuff. Here the water was more shallow, with greens and lighter blues flitering in. It looked like a postcard. There was a huge sailing cruis ship anchored outside the entrance, but inside the harbor was 3/4 empty.
The mountain side cottages of the Bitter End YC welcomed us as we motored in and snagged a mooring in what looked like a good spot. We toasted our arrival with drinks and I announced my own personnal arrival by jumping over the side The 82 degree water was pretty easy to take. Pretty soon we all were in swiming and floating for the first time in a while.
We cleaned up and I took everyone into shore in the dink to give them the 5 cent tour. Getting into the dink was to be the most interesting adventure for more than a few of our party. Fortunately there were no major casualties and we all got into shore in one piece.
BEYC is a very spectacular place. The white sandy beaches, hammocks right by the water, outdoor beach bars, flowers, flowers, flowers. It is no wonder it is one of my favorite places on earth. Ken hit the store for lime juice and Cubans and the we wandered the trail to the pool for painkillers. I beat Ken in a game of teatherball when he went to make a diving save and crashed in some bushes. Our first injury. Fortunately for him it wasn't cactus. Yes, alcohol was a factor. Isn't it always?
Of course he forgot the cigars, but we didn't find out until several days later.
I cooked dinner, chicken kiev, jasmine rice, salad and it all got eaten so I guess it was OK. That night there were meteor showers in the cloudless and pristine sky. It looked like every star in the heavens was sparkling just for us. We all agreed, it doesn't get any better than this. I slept like a rock that night, wishing that life could always be this simple.

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