Sailing into another age

Yacht club has no phones or TV but plenty of relaxation

Author: By Stephanie Seacord, Globe Correspondent

Date: SUNDAY, March 29, 1998

Page: M11

Section: Travel

You've arrived to turn back the clock for a week, where no phones, faxes, or TVs will intrude on the two of you. You'll do a little relaxing, a lot of sailing, drink a little rum, see lots of stars. And Bitter End YC, which bills itself as offering ``the best sailing on earth,'' is an excellent place to situate youself if a non-chartering sailing vacation is your objective.

Bitter End Yacht Club specializes in sailing vacations, from its day-sail fleet of 100 boats to its racing seminars, which attract some of the world's best match-racing sailors, Olympic, and America's Cup skippers included. From October until right before Christmas, BEYC schedules on-the-water seminars ranging from women-only instruction to the famous ``Fast Tack'' pro-am event sponsored by the inveterate regatta sponsors, Mount Gay, Champagne Mumm, and American Express.

But we were visiting in April -- snowbirds escaping the gray Northeast landscape, hoping to see the sun again. And our timing couldn't have been better. Taking advantage of the reduction in rate that comes around the middle of April at Bitter End, we had also managed to avoid school vacation week. The mix of guests included a windsurf champion, his expectant wife and small daughter; another pair of New Englanders on their way to a two-year posting in Poland; a couple of sailing families with teenagers who preferred being on the water to just about everything else; and two retired couples who spent their ``regular lives'' doing heavy hands-on volunteer work for the Red Cross -- filling sandbags, manning soup kitchens, and the like. Clearly, Bitter End Yacht Club attracts the active affluent vacationers we read about so often.

Active is the key. Neither one of us is patient enough to lie on a chaise on a beach for long -- nor is this a good idea in the early April sun at around latitude 18N. We'd much rather take one of the J's for a cruise around North Sound. (Since our visit, we've learned that the aging J-24's, which were familiar friends to us after many seasons cruising and racing them in New England, have been replaced with new J-22's, which are even easier and more forgiving boats to sail for the number of guests who come to Bitter End for Nick Trotter Sailing School ``Learn to Sail'' vacations.) Gliding over the coral heads in a Hobie Cat, past Saba Rock and out along the beaches and bone-fishing flats was another pleasant diversion. And each time it started to get a little chilly from the breeze drying our suits, we'd tack to get another splash -- the water being warmer than the air.

This trip was actually a birthday present for my spousal-unit, and a Bitter End Yacht Club vacation is like a fancily-wrapped package for anyone who loves to sail (especially if the companion isn't sure about committing to a bare-boat cruise, just yet). The sailing alternatives at Bitter End make up the gift itself, but the wrapping of the accommodations and facilities, tied with a colorful and generous food and beverage bow, makes the entire presentation pretty special. One might quibble with some of the ``wrapping'' at times, and you do have to make accommodation for the fact that there are no roads to Bitter End, so everything from supplies to staff comes in by boat, but the total experience is more than memorable.

Our accommodations were in the older and, to us, much preferable section of the Club -- a series of terraced Hillside Villas that step up the hill on the northeast side of the main compound of The Club House, offices, and Grille. These villas are exceptionally private, although they are positioned in duplex clusters with a separate entrance on either end. In classic Caribbean style, the rooms are simple and as open as you want, with wooden rafters covered with thatch, palapa-style for a roof, and a covered deep wooden porch wrapped around two sides.

The chaise and hammock on the porch were often where we'd fall asleep, listening to the wave action on the distant reef and watching the stars, and comet Hale-Bopp, which was making its final appearance over the palm trees on our trip. The bathroom/dressing area (complete with coffee maker and mini-fridge) stretches across the end of the room, with a large shower extending into the porch area where air and light can circulate through its louvered shutters.

Water from the sink and shower drains directly onto the foliage, allowing the villas to be surrounded by lush hibiscus and bougainvillea even though the natural landscape allows only for more arid plant material. The furnishings are bamboo and rattan; the king-sized bed, dressed with crisp cotton sheets and batik-covered pillows.

Each of our mornings in this paradise started at dawn, as the sun nudged above the hillside beyond our villa. We'd sip coffee on the porch, watching anchored yachts out toward the reef or feeding the yellow and black Banana Quits who were particularly fond of the bread and orange slices we'd collect from dinner each night. By 8, we were ready for the breakfast buffet in the Grille, compelled by the thought of the fresh-sliced mango and papaya that rewarded the early-risers. The generous selection of fresh fruit juices and fresh-baked pastries or breads, plus the fruit and coffee were usually enough for us, but a couple of times we added steak and eggs or a waffle ordered from the menu. Then we'd spend the morning with one of the boats from the Boat House (we never had to take a second choice) or amble off to the other end of the resort and its pool (which was also usually empty) overlooking the anchorage and the breakfast exercises of a couple of pelicans and fish.

The new Commodore's Club accommodations are clustered around this end of the resort, with their air conditioning, telephones, and well-lighted paths. The Pavilion, with its English Carvery Restaurant (open for one of the dinners each week) and adjacent Conference Center are also located here. Again, we much prefer the flickering lights of the pierced-tin lanterns, rustling foliage and ceiling fans of the open-air Hillside Villas on the south end of the resort, and hope Bitter End Yacht Club won't lose its focus, trying to be all things to all people, instead of the sailor's resort it has made so successful.

After the morning's activity, we'd wander back for the lunch buffet and its fresh soups, salads, and sandwich-makings (different each day) around 1. One day, we took one of the Boston Whalers over to the Pusser's Landing at Leverick Bay in North Sound. After conch fritters, Bajan fried chicken, and a couple of British Navy Pusser's Rum punches, enjoyed overlooking the swimming pool and anchorage at Leverick Bay, we took a look in the Pusser's Co. Store before pushing the boat back off the beach for the trip back across the Sound. On the day we took the run over to Leverick for some milk for our early-morning coffee, we found both Pusser's and our favorite Barboncourt rum -- for about $9 -- in Buck's Super Mini Market, which has a wide selection of goods for yacht provisioning. Leverick Bay is also the only access by car from North Sound to the mainland of Virgin Gorda. Taxi and rental cars can be hired here.

And that's the beauty of Bitter End Yacht Club. No locks on the doors, because there's no opportunity for thieves to escape detection. No phones, no demands. Slip out of your shoes at dinner and step over the patio wall onto beach sand. Order a beer, glass of chardonnay, or rum punch at the bar -- under its fluttering yacht burgees from clubs around the world -- and find a shady spot in the Almond Walk garden (another dinner venue, for a theme party on another night of our stay).

Want to take a box lunch and a snorkel to have a picnic on the beach at Prickly Pear Island, across the sound? Great! When would you like it ready? Prefer a schedule of activities? Check the daily posting for the Prince of Wales excursion boat trip to The Baths and Anegada or the sunset cocktail cruise on Paranda, BEYC's 48-foot oceangoing catamaran.

Rates start at $2,940 for Summer Vacation Season (April 21-Sept. 8); Celebration Season, from Labor Day to the start of the Fast Tack program in late October is a little less. Bitter End Yacht Club also offers a Yacht/Villa package: five nights aboard one of the Club's Freedom 30 charter sailboats and four nights in a hillside villa.

The yacht club accommodates just a small number of guests -- there are 20 Commodore Suites and 30 villas.

For information, call the US Reservation Office, which is located in Chicago, at 800-872-2392.