18 48.19 N, 64 38.92 W (published October 2014)
Every time we go to the B.V.I. to charter for a week during the winter, we inevitably end up in Virgin Gorda’s North Sound with the anchor down between Saba Rock and the Bitter End Yacht Club. North Sound is so well protected from the prevailing easterly trade winds that it can get airless and hot at night. But right off Saba Rock the cool wind blows all night. That particular spot gives you access to the Bitter End Yacht Club and the Saba Rock Bar, and there is some good snorkeling around the rocks and reefs out near Eustatia Island and around Eustatia Sound.
There is a lot to do at the BEYC. You can rent Hobie Cats and Lasers for some small boat sailing. You can laze away an afternoon on the beach before a sundowner at the beach bar. Or you can splurge on a big night out at the Clubhouse Steak & Seafood Grille. The Crawl Pub is the place for an informal meal and one of the best places at the resort to get an Internet connection.
If you are there on a Friday night, you can take the dinghy across the sound to Leverick Bay to hear the famous Michael Beans sing and entertain you. Finding your way back to the boat later in the evening is simple since the BEYC and Saba Rock are lit up like night clubs…which they are.
Behind the BEYC there is a two mile trail that takes you by Deep Bay, Oil Nut Bay and Biras Creek. At the end, you climb to 630 feet above sea level to find a great view of the Sound and surrounding Caribbean Sea.
It is easy to while away a couple of cruising days in the pleasant and civilized confines of North Sound and we often do before setting off for the half-day sail northward to Anagada for a much more rustic Caribbean experience. As we sail past Necker Island, just north of the sound, we always tip our hats to Sir Richard Branson, who owns the island, in the hope that one day he might return the gesture.