Published: Friday, January 16, 2004 at:11:19 PM




The View From the Helm
"Traditions Make You Feel At Home”
By Sandra L. Grisham, Managing Director

In the wake of recent events, the Bitter End Yacht Club family would like to take this opportunity to convey our heartfelt sympathies to those who lost loved ones on that fateful day in September. While the BVI may seem a million miles away from the tragic events of September 11th, the ripples were felt more like waves when it became apparent that many of our extended family — our guests — were directly affected. We have been deeply moved by all we have seen and heard. May this holiday season, now more than ever, bring comforting breezes and joyous tidings to one and all.

Few hotels or resorts foster the type of homey feeling so commonly found at Bitter End. We began as a family retreat in the early 70s, and today we strive to provide an experience that offers relaxation, rejuvenation, and most of all “fun.” But regular visitors will know that we also strive to provide a “familiar” experience for our ever-expanding repeat clientele. With that in mind, we constantly ask ourselves what can be improved upon? What can be changed? And what do repeat guests expect year after year?

But I can honestly say that we’ve gotten a good handle on how to maintain, refine, and improve upon the traditions that have made us a popular destination over the years, while at the same time maintaining a sense of “where we came from.” The following are some of the time-honored Bitter End traditions, and how they’ve been upgraded and improved upon, while the “feel” has remained the same.

Arrivals
While the unique Virgin Gorda Airport arrival experience so familiar to guests from the 70s and 80s can be duplicated today, the majority of arrivals now come through Beef Island Airport on Tortola.

Don’t worry, one still ultimately arrives only by boat. Upon arrival at the Beef Island North Sound Express ferry dock (a short van ride from the terminal), our guests are greeted with a refreshing welcome drink.

The North Sound Express ferry’s schedule is designed so that guests do not wait too long for transportation to BEYC—a scenic 30-minute ride up Sir Francis Drake’s Passage to our front dock. For late evening arrivals we will have your meal waiting for you in your room. Earlier arrivals are still greeted table side at dinner by a member of our activities staff.

Food & Beverage
The best way to maintain traditions, particularly within restaurants, is to promote from within. With that in mind, former Food & Beverage Operations Manager Sarah Watts-Dowling was recently tapped to head the department. Additionally, Executive Sous Chef Trevor Nicely was recently promoted to Executive Chef. Sarah and Trevor will endeavor to fine tune an already popular menu, and improve customer satisfaction, while offering greater variety.

In keeping with tradition, our desserts and all our wonderful bakery items are still prepared on property. If you haven’t been to Bitter End recently, you’ll notice our enhanced Pub menu and expanded waterside seating area. The Pub now offers grilled sandwiches as well as all the traditional items such as rotis, cuban sandwiches, hot dogs, salads and pizzas.

Yacht Villa Combo
The Bitter End was first to offer split hotel/yacht packages, and still does it best. For a novice couple looking for a first-time charter, our Freedom 30s are the best boats afloat. While staying ashore, take a refresher cruising course from the BEYC Sailing School prior to moving aboard. We haven’t found a better 30-footer than the Freedom, and we continue to upgrade and modify them regularly, recently completing a major refit on the 4 live aboards in our fleet.

The Club Fleet
The club fleet continues to grow and improve. Our Boston Whalers were recently upgraded, and we are constantly putting fresh sails on all our boats. On the heels of the success of our Hobie Wave fleet, we’ve added Hobie Getaways. These exciting two-person Hobies add a jib and a trapeze. We’ve also dramatically improved our windsurfer fleet, picking up a bunch of new boards, including stable BIC Technos.

Yacht Clubs
We continue to keep close ties with yacht clubs small and large from around the world. Annually we host no fewer than 15 yacht club flotilla visits, providing venues for cocktail parties, dinners, and even daytime regatta events.

We also host multi-club gatherings for clubs interested hosting rival clubs for a little racing and socializing. And we still accept burgees for our Clubhouse. This month, we’ve added a “Yacht-Club Drink” sharing concept to our web site and our bars. The Bitter End also partners with the Royal BVI Yacht Club on various events, and we are involved in the BVI Spring Regatta.

Special Events
The Pro Am is in its 15th year, the Defiance Day Regatta its 7th, the Women’s Week its 10th. Families that first came in the late 70s are now bringing their great-grandchildren for organized multigenerational reunions. The Sunday Regattas, dating back to the late 70s carry on weekly, and a new “Winner’s Prize T-shirt” (see “Day at the Races” story) replaces the Sailing Staff t-shirt — a new tradition has begun! We’ve added some sailing school-specific theme weeks, and we’re involved as a sponsor in Expedition BVI, and exciting adventure race.

Dinghy Dock/Fish Pen
Our dinghy dock, often referred to as our shark pen/fish pen was an area that we wanted to enhance, making docking for dinghies much easier, and safer, than before. We have taken this pen and opened it up so all sea life are free to come and go at will. And we’ve enhanced the lights (both above water and below) for better visibility. Yes, all the same sea life that was there before still hangs out — tarpon, jack, barracuda, among others. For many first time visitors to North Sound, this area is their “welcome ashore.” Hence a new property sign at the head of the dock guides hotel guests and visiting yachtsmen alike around what we refer to as our “village.”

Staff
Ultimately any discussion of traditions at Bitter End would not be complete without further mention of our staff. It’s no secret that the wo

rld has had its share of trying times lately. And our staff has rolled with the changes these unique challenges have brought about. Through it all, the next time you come to visit, you will see many of the same smiling faces you might have seen on your last visit, whether you came and stayed with us, or just stayed dock side or on a mooring ball. Staff longevity and friendliness are paramount at Bitter End. After all, our aim is to make you feel right at home.

Sandra Grisham with two well photographed BEYC traditions.