Leverick Bay Virgin Gorda BVIs

Charlotte’s plane for Sint Maarten – we waved at the correct one

We had to get Charlotte to the airport early on 15 April so that she could check in the instructed 2 hrs(!) before her flight from Beef Island to Sint Maarten.  A 0515 start is not the best way to begin the day when you know that the traveller has a an 8hr wait between flights but at least Charlotte was pretty sure of being in Sint Maarten in good time for her KLM flight to the UK (via Curacao and Amsterdam), even if there were technical hitches.  We waved goodbye to her at the airport and then waved at all (2) of the small aircraft that flew over BV at roughly the allotted take-off time.  Tour guide duty done, and with BV feeling somewhat emptier, we raised anchor in Trellis Bay at 1255hrs and headed off for a party.

Leverick Bay Yacht Club

The sail was fabulous with a good beat into a gentle wind to get us back up to the north end of Virgin Gorda.  The route was familiar but the destination was in the corner of North Sound that we had avoided last time, Leverick Bay Yacht Club.

The yachts gathered at Leverick Bay. Left:  Wild Irisand Right:  Stealin’ Time

This was a Cruising Association (CA) social event open to all members, but we both noted that it is not often that you arrive in an anchorage and find that you know nearly everyone there.  It looked set to be a good reunion!

The yachts gathered at Leverick Bay. Left:  Wildside, Centre-left:  Kealoha V

Leverick Bay Yacht Club’s anchorage is somewhat open and, with our late afternoon arrival, we tucked ourselves into a good anchoring spot at the back of the fleet having already picked up 2 invitations for evening drinks whilst we’d manoeuvred through the anchored yachts!

I nearly got a decent photo of the turtle that kept popping up by BV

And so started a lovely series of social events.  The Rendezvous technically took place at lunchtime on Monday 16 April, but those crews that had arrived early enjoyed sundowners ashore at the Leverick Bay Beach Bar on the Sunday evening.  With danger writ large – in our experience CA gatherings often end in later-than-planned nights and heavier-than-desired heads the next morning – it was slightly surprising that the party broke up ‘early’ (at 2100ish). But then there was the next day’s meet to look forward to…….  Before that, however, were further fun and games.  Most of us had seen fit to leave anchor lights on, despite it being fully light when we had come ashore for ‘a quick drink’ (some learning has taken place over the season!) but it was the after-dinner dinghy ride home, in the middle of the night trying to avoid the worst of the wind and rain, that caused the problem for one crew.  Part way between host yacht and their own, the outboard spluttered, coughed and died. Paddle-power became the name of the game, happily for just a few yards.

Leverick Bay’s facilities were still functioning but you didn’t have to look very far to see the hurricane damage. There were yachts which had been swept over the shoreline bushes and several villas that had been stripped apart. Unfortunately, Christopher (the CA’s Honorary Local Representative (HLR)), who had organised the get-together, was unable to attend the event having been called away from the islands for family reasons and his HLR stand-in, Sam Welch, was also unable to join us, being heavily involved in rebuilding his home.  It was a great shame that neither of them could make the event but in best CA fashion we soldiered on and, as ever, found that the mix of beer, rum, food and, of course, CA members and their friends produced a good recipe for conviviality and fun.

From L to R: Pam (Stealin’ Time), Reg (BVoS), Kate and Mike (Kealoha V), Andrew (Wildside), Nicky (BVoS), Kate (Wildside) and Mark and Lisa (Wild Iris).  Tom (Stealin’Time) was behind the camera

The venue for the Rendezvous ‘proper’ was the Grill.  We all met up again, this time along with the crew of Mañana(Alistair and Maria Forbes) and had an excellent meal with great conversation, catching up with old friends and making new ones.  Discussions ranged as far and wide as cruising plans. With the hurricane season beginning to loom, most of the crews had plans to head north up the eastern seaboard of the USA, to Charleston and/or Chesapeake, but from here there were differences with some crews planning to leave the boat and travel inland, some planning to return to the UK for at least a short period, whilst others were planning to carry on up to Maine and perhaps further.  Mañana’s crew had their eyes on Bermuda, the Azores and home and Wild Iris’son a voyage south to the ABCs and a cruise in the western Caribbean from November onwards.  With so many plans and experiences to discuss, it was no surprise that the party didn’t break up until very late in the afternoon.  It’s also no surprise that there were so few photos taken and, unfortunately, the ones that were taken miss Alistair and Maria.

The following day, feeling very short on food in the fridge, Nicky and I had plans to head off to Road Town, Tortola to stock up.  Most of the other crews, having arrived in the BVIs after us, intended to spend a little longer in and around North Sound before following us west. So, sadly, we did a quick goodbye tour of the fleet in the dinghy, very conscious that we might not see some or all of these people, some of whom have become very good friends who have over the past season, for a very long time.

Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda, BVIs