We departed Sint Maarten at 0430 on Feb. 28 for Virgin Gorda, approximately 80 nm to the WNW, getting an early start for the lengthy journey. Winds were NE 20-25 and we sailed with 2nd reef main and full genoa. This was quite a sleigh ride for Wally and Larry. Once we got sails set and were on course, we averaged 9.5 kts until arriving at the south tip of Virgin Gorda and turned north toward Spanish Town. That was a 228 nm/day pace. We arrived at the Spanish Town anchorage at 1430 and went ashore to clear into BVI customs and immigration.  

Dave declared the next day to be Larry & Wally day and turned over all operation and navigation of the boat to those guys for their enjoyment. The only instruction was to get us to the vicinity of the Bitter End Yacht Club in North Gorda Sound. This was a thinly veiled ploy to get some relaxation for Dave and Donna under sail. We were underway by 0830, arriving at BEYC around 1130 after a windy beat. Good job, guys! The Bitter End Yacht Club is lovely and well kept. We picked up a mooring ball and proceeded ashore to cash in our four free drink and pool passes we obtained from the BEYC reps at the Annapolis Boat Show last October. The guys treated us to a rare dinner ashore to cap off a terrific day.

The next day, March 2nd, we completed some maintenance chores with Larry and Wally's valuable assistance. Dave and Wally performed troubleshooting on the starboard large alternator (it had stopped charging) and Larry singlehandedly disassembled and re-glued the wooden cockpit table where it had become loose.  

We also caught up with Ken and Joan again, meeting them on Saba Rock, a very small island adjacent to the BEYC. It’s also a very nice place to visit and has a restaurant very popular with cruisers and charterers. In the afternoon we made a short move to Leverick Bay, also located in North Gorda Sound. We planned to meet up with Ken and Joan to attend the Michael Beans Happy Arrrgh Pirate Show that evening and have dinner. Before leaving BEYC we sorted out and rigged the Code 0 (it was improperly furled during the Around St. Martin Multihull Regatta). This allowed us to unfurl it on the short trip to Leverick Bay, and then roll it back up properly. The winds were light to safely accomplish this without damaging the sail and we accomplished this without any problems. The Michael Beans show was a lot of fun and the six of us had a big time. We won some free drinks and Dave entered but lost the conch blowing contest.

One goal of this visit to North Gorda Sound was to decide on a safe location for Donna to stay on the boat alone on a mooring ball while Dave traveled to his Dad’s on March 8th for two weeks to assist him after surgery. BEYC, Saba Rock, and Leverick Bay were candidates, all having decent mooring balls. We decided that either BEYC or Saba Rock were the best locations and are essentially the same location, just managed by different businesses. We left open the final choice until our planned return to North Gorda Sound after Larry and Wally departed from Beef Island airport on March 6th. But there was more fun to have before that….