Bitter End Yacht Club To Finally Reopen This Winter

Bitter End Yacht Club ReopensLast time I sailed past the Bitter End Yacht Club on the island of Virgin Gorda, it was in tatters in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Cottages were torn to pieces or upside down, capsized boats dotted the shoreline. It was February 2018 and we were sailing with our friends Amy and Josh on a 41-foot sailboat out of Tortola. For the past 4 years since Irma, it has been the sailors and boaters living aboard their boats in the British Virgin Islands that have greatly enhanced the recovery of this classic cruising ground. And what a memorable trip it is! Snorkeling in the Baths of Virgin Gorda, walking the long stretch of beach on Anegada, and sleeping under the stars at any number of serene anchorages.

Stopping at the Bitter End for drinks, dinner, or a good night’s sleep in those cottages has always been on everyone’s itinerary. Thankfully, that will happen again once Bitter End reopens in January 2022. The 64-acre grounds will be a little bit different with a new Waterfront Plaza as its central hub. Have drinks with other sailors at The Quarterdeck Marina, a two-story, open-air venue featuring an upstairs lounge and waterfront views.

If you’re hoping to charter a sailboat this coming winter in the Caribbean, please let ActiveTravels know! We have a great relationship with Horizon Yacht Charters, located in Tortola and St. Vincent and are happy to design a route for ActiveTravels clients in both the BVIs or the Grenadines.

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Another Relaxing Day on the Schooner Mary Day

We wake up to blinding sunshine at Buck’s Harbor in South Brooksville, best known as the spot where children’s book author and illustrator Robert McCloskey (“Make Way for Ducklings,” “Blueberries for Sal”) summered. FDR would also stop here on his way to Campobello Island for a short ice cream break. We found some of those famous wild Maine blueberries in our pancakes that morning before hoisting the sails and setting a course for that hump atop Big Spruce Island. Each one of these Penobscot Bay harbors and islands has a legacy and Big Spruce Island is no different. This is the place where artist Fairfield Porter and his brother, photographer Eliot Porter, would spend their summers and there’s still a working artists’ community on the island today.

We sailed close to an 8-knot clip passing a gray seal who popped his head out of the water like a periscope, stocky razorbill auks, and more porpoises. Pulpit Harbor on North Haven was far too congested for Captain Barry so we continued on to Islesboro, the ridge of mountains on the mainland not far off. We anchored in a placid harbor where there were no other boats. 
       “What do you call this place?” I asked Captain Barry. 
       “Snug, beautiful harbor,” he said.
       “You’re not going to tell me the real name, are you?”
        “Nope,” Captain Barry said. Then he reached for his guitar and started to sing a Woody Guthrie tune as we watched another magical sunset. 
 
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Sailing Aboard the Charles W. Morgan

This past May, the historic whaling ship, Charles W. Morgan, left Mystic Seaport for the first time in more than 70 years and sailed to several New England ports of call, giving folks from New London to Provincetown an unprecedented opportunity to explore the ship. Built in New Bedford in 1841, the Morgan is the last remaining wooden whaling ship in the world and the oldest merchant ship in America. In its heyday, the Morgan traveled across the globe in search of whales, the source of oil for illumination and lubrication in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

 
To commemorate the latest sailing, my longtime colleague, Rob Burbank, had the good fortune to spend 24 hours aboard the ship. Rob’s great-uncle served as a crewmember on the 35th voyage of the Morgan in 1918, and this summer’s sail gave him the opportunity to imagine what life was like on the Morgan nearly a century ago. You can read about that once-in-a-lifetime experience in his recent Boston Globe story. The Morgan is now back at Mystic Seaport and open to the public to tour. For more about visiting Mystic in autumn, see my article in the Boston Globe and definitely make a pitstop at B.F. Clyde’s to visit the oldest steam-powered cider mill in America. 
 

Top Travel Days of 2020, Sailing to Anse La Roche on the Island of Carriacou

Sailing the GrenadinesSouth of St. Lucia and west of Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines are known as the world’s best cruising grounds. With a prevailing northeasterly trade wind, you can sail at a good 9 to 10 knot clip, zipping through the swells while watching the fly fish take flight. But what makes this 100-mile sail from St. Vincent to Grenada so enjoyable are the anchorages, wondrous sheltered bays ridged by the hillside and lined with often desolate crescent sand beaches. These are the sights Lisa and I, friends Amy and Josh, and our highly competent 24-year-old Captain Bry, would savor on our weeklong joint in early February. We chartered the 48-foot Andiamo Piano from Horizon Yacht Charters out of St. Vincent, the same outfitter we used two years prior when sailing the British Virgin Islands.

This is the Caribbean of yore, where you anchor and then go snorkeling with turtles near the shoreline or with the multi-colored fish at one of the most pristine reefs in this part of the world. If terra firma calls your name, you can simply swim over to the beach and walk in the sand, practically deserted except for the lone fishermen sewing his nets. At twilight, you zodiac over to the requisite beachside bar and restaurant, dig your feet in the sand, and have a stiff rum punch spiced with local nutmeg, before dining on freshly caught lobster, conch, and red snapper.

We had many memorable meals on this trip, but my favorite dinner was at Anse la Roche Bay on the Grenada island of Carriacou. After another day of fantastic sailing, we dined barefoot in the sand on a sublime stretch of secluded beach lit up by torches. We devoured our last grilled lobster of the trip and ended the night with the chef’s special potion, a shot of homemade liquor that burned my throat called “Under the Counter.” It’s no surprise that Forbes chose our trip as one of the best bucket list trips in the world.

Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights, Sail the Grenadines

Sailing GrenadinesThere has been 60 total cases of Coronavirus in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and zero deaths. No wonder music tycoon David Geffen got out of Dodge earlier this year and headed to the Grenadines on his mega-yacht. But you don’t have to be rich to savor these Caribbean islands of yesteryear. Just follow in Lisa and my wake and sail these blissful cobalt waters like we did this past February. Hire a Captain, possibly a chef, choose another couple or go with the extended family on a private catamaran and monohull. It’s no surprise that Forbes chose our trip as one of the best Bucket List trips in the world. With a pandemic at our doorstep, there’s no better time to get on your own private sailboat. ActiveTravels can set you up with Moorings or Horizon Yacht Charters, who we used in both the British Virgin Islands and the Grenadines. We’ll help with all the logistics, including flights, recommended Captains, provisions, and sailing itinerary.

10 Ways to Enjoy Acadia National Park, Including Sailing a Friendship Sloop

Sail a Friendship Sloop, Acadia National ParkIf you truly want to feel like a local on Mount Desert Island, take a day sail on a Friendship Sloop from Northeast or Southwest Harbor. Sail Acadia offers the opportunity to take a 3-hour guided sail on three Friendship Sloops, vessels that were used during the late 1800s to fish for lobsters along the Frenchman Bay shoreline. We sailed on the Helen Brooks, past the estates lining the Northeast Harbor shores. Soon we were gliding at a good 5-knot clip towards Great Cranberry Island and the many lobstermen picking up their traps. With a 6-foot keel, these sailboats can weather the strong gusts and fog often found along the Maine coast. Edged with spruce wood, the Helen Brooks is also a stylish ride. Near the beach at Manset, we spotted two porpoises gracefully arching their backs in and out of the choppy water. Then we sailed past Southwest Harbor into Somes Sound, Acadia Mountain to the left and Norumbega Mountain to the right, standing tall as gatekeepers to this long inlet. The mix of mountains, offshore islands, and granite-lined shoreline could easily entice the most jaded sailor to buy his own sloop and sail these legendary cruising grounds on a daily basis. Far too quickly, we were back on the docks of Northeast Harbor.

This entry is excerpted from my latest book, New England in a Nutshell. The book/ebook is slated to published on July 2nd and you can pre-order now at Amazon or at the independent bookstore, Northshire, located in Manchester Center, Vermont and Saratoga, New York. The ebook includes all hyperlinks to listings. The paperback includes front and back cover illustrations from Manhattan-based artist, Sarah Schechter, and a small sampling of photos from Lisa Leavitt, who accompanied me on many of my assignments, resulting in published work for the Boston Globe.

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Sail the British Virgin Islands on Your Own Luxury Catamaran

Sailors know the British Virgin Islands as legendary cruising grounds. Here, in places like Virgin Gorda, Peter’s Island, and Tortola, you’ll find sheltered marinas where you can dock or throw down your anchor, shopping, restaurants, and small hotels that are popular with yachters. Even better, you can sail to these various islands without going outside the reefs into the open ocean. But you won’t have to worry about navigational charts on Festiva Sailing Vacations 7-night night cruise around the BVIs, because a skipper comes with you. Their 45-foot Lagoon 450 catamarans, which sleeps 8 passengers in 4 guest cabins with private bathrooms, also comes with a chef and liquor to make this the ideal all-inclusive package. The weeklong jaunt starts in Tortola and includes snorkeling with sting rays in The Baths of Virgin Gorda, a stop at Cane Garden to listen to the steel band play at Stanley’s, and a night anchored off Norman Island, the treasure island author Robert Louis Stevenson made famous in his book. Cost of the trip starts at $3595 per couple, including meals, a berth onboard, and, of course, transportation. They still have one berth available on the March 19-26, April 9-16, and April 16-23 sailings. Please contact ActiveTravels and we’ll be happy to make the booking. 

 

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