The Bitter End/Gun Creek in Bakers Bay, Virgin Gorda BVI

The Bitter End/Gun Creek in Bakers Bay, Virgin Gorda BVI
(June 20-21, 2013)

After a day of beating east, we decided it best to make an unplanned stop at the Bitter End, located in Gun Creek at the southwest corner of Bakers Bay, before tackling the Caribbean Sea on our path to St. Martin.  This required we go to Customs for an extension on our Visas and we were once again forced to take one of those expensive mooring balls, but this was a beautiful place, with lots of cool places to hang out so we didn't mind.

We had dinner and relaxed at The Crawl Pub followed by a stop at Winston's Bakery and a walk through Bitter End's Reception Building, which is filled with Honduran statues and lots of interesting artifacts.

It was time to turn in as we were heading out very early (2:00 a.m.) to begin what would become a very rough 20 hour sail across the Caribbean Sea to St. Martin.

We have loved every place we visited in Virgin Gorda, but have found need a LOT more time to explore the island so we will be excited to return here in the future.

Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor, Spanish Town, BVI

Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor, Spanish Town, BVI (June 17-20, 2013)

After leaving The Baths, we headed to the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor to rest up for a few days, provision for the upcoming overnight jump to St. Martin, and to check out of Customs.  While here, we hit the Chandlery for some much needed dock lines as ours were trashed after enduring the many weeks of strong surge back at the Ponce Yacht Club, in Puerto Rico. 

For eats, we visited the Bath & Turtle Restaurant a couple of times while here and enjoyed some pretty good pub food, which included some great chicken and our special request for a pepperoni and jalapeno pizza.  The pizza turned out to be top notch.  Afterward, a quick trip to the Ocean Delight Ice Cream Parlour set the vibe for a great passage to St. Martin.

The Baths, Virgin Gorda, BVI

The Baths, Virgin Gorda, BVI (June 17, 2013)

The Baths...if there is a heaven on earth, this is it!

Located on the southwestern tip of Virgin Gorda, The Baths are giant granite boulders or batholiths, which are the result of molten rock ("magma") seeping into layers of existing volcanic rock.  Because the magma did not rise to the surface, it cooled slowly and formed a hard crystalline granite layer, which over time continued to shrink and crack, forming blocks, which were exposed when the softer volcanic rock above eroded away.  The elements ultimately smoothed the round corners on the boulders we see today.

As beautiful as The Baths were, the snorkeling topped it off with an array of marine life with everything from the usual blue tangs, queen angels and parrot fish to eels.  One of the most incredible sights either of us has ever seen!  The combination of rocks, a beautiful beach, warm waters, and the multitude of exotic marine life made this the perfect spot for our great day.

Arriving at The Baths

Check out those boulders

 

The dinghy dock

With great music and being surrounded by beautiful flowers, tropical plants, a pool to die for, the Top of The Baths Restaurant was a perfect place to have lunch and Painkillers while soaking up some afternoon sun and relaxing in paradise beyond compare.  A perfect lunch for this perfect day!

Top of the Baths Restaurant overlooking Devil's Bay

Home of the $13.95 cheeseburger

The caves were beyond beautiful!

Through the caves

The Cathedral Room

One of the secret rock pools and we had it all to ourselves

Swimming through The Cathedral

Having a blast!

The caves are full of nooks and crannies with a series of ladders scaling the boulders that will eventually lead you to Devil's Bay.

Jim heading to Devil's Bay

Our only regret at The Baths was leaving the GoPro on the boat.

Trellis Bay, Tortola BVI

Trellis Bay, Tortola BVI (June 16-17, 2013)

Having heard great stories about Trellis Bay, we were excited it was our next stop.  Rounding the corner of Sprat Point into Trellis Bay, our eyes fell upon a disastrous site, a sailboat aground, another Sunsail charter no less.  How they make a profit with all these losses is beyond me. This was painful to see!

An excavator and a chase boat try to free the sailboat...

but, it was hard grounded

We moved into the Bay and caught a mooring ball for the evening.  As we would only be there for the night, we wasted no time in dropping the dinghy and going ashore.  What we found was a quaint little beachfront community with a few shops, restaurant/bars, and lots of steel fire sculptures quietly awaiting the next Full Moon Party.  We checked out the Aragorn's Studio, where several local artists were busy working on their wares.  After looking around a bit and finding nothing that would fit in our cruiser's budget, we headed down the beach in search of a beer and dinner.  We sat down at the bar for a beer only to realize the walls were plastered with anti-American propaganda. Yes, we were offended, but finished our beers and headed back to dinghy, deciding it probably best to have dinner on the boat.

We didn't get that good vibe we were expecting, but decided that, less the offensive propaganda, Trellis Bay might have been a better experience had we visited on a Full Moon Party night.

Trellis Bay on our list of places to revisit?  Safe bet to say, "That’s a NO!"

Next morning, we were off to The Baths.