It’s been said that every crisis leads to opportunity. Though it was difficult to picture the opportunity when the British Virgin Islands’ beloved Bitter End Yacht Club lay in pieces following back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes in September 2017. But not only did the boutique resort and marina on Virgin Gorda rebuild in a more sustainable way, it also launched a philanthropic arm of the family-owned business that has done a lot of good for the local community and the sea on which it depends.

“In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma, we had this incredible response from our audience. People just wanted to help in any way possible,” says Lauren Hokin, a member of the founding family that has operated the Bitter End Yacht Club since 1973. “Our response to that tremendous outpouring of concern and care was to create this foundation.”

Initially, the yacht club launched the Bitter End Irma Relief Fund to meet the immediate needs of the Virgin Gorda islanders, from distributing food, water and medical supplies to providing direct emergency assistance to employees and passing out toys during the holidays. In time, as the dire situation stabilized and the community got back on its feet, the fund evolved into the 501(c)(3) Bitter End Foundation, which has a much broader mission to care for the Caribbean community and the world’s oceans. 

“Since then, we’ve raised over a million dollars, and we’ve given away more than $800,000,” says Kerri Quinn Jaffe, Bitter End’s Head of Marketing. 

Much of the foundation’s success can be attributed to its loyal fan base. The Bitter End Yacht Club represents more than a vacation destination for many of its guests. It holds a special place in the hearts of families from around the globe who appreciate the retreat’s unique spirit. They return year after year to share in the relaxed, old-fashioned fun that can be had on and under the waterline of the spectacularly beautiful North Sound. The sale of resort memorabilia that was retrieved from the storm rubble brought in $40,000 alone, and the foundation continues to raise money through fundraisers and auctions.

“The overwhelming generosity of our past guests opened our eyes to people’s connection to Bitter End, to the place and to the local population in the BVI. We knew there was a connection, but we didn’t realize the extent of it,” Jaffe says. 

Individuals can also support the Bitter End Foundation through the Provisions for Good program. For each purchase made either online or at select marinas, yacht clubs and airports worldwide from Bitter End Provisions—the foundation’s lifestyle brand of apparel and accessories—$1 is donated to the foundation, which customers can augment with a discretionary donation.

Introduced six months ago, Bitter End Provisions’ newest addition is its Dritek collection, which quickly became its most popular line. “When we launched the 501(c)(3), we worked with our design partner to assess how we could design shirts from ocean plastics; there’s been a lot of movement in that area,” Jaffe says. Dritek’s sun shirts of at least SPF 30 are made from 76 percent recycled polyester manufactured from plastic bottles salvaged from landfills and ocean waste. So, each featherweight, super-soft polo, T-shirt and hoodie—which also feature Coolcore tech, a chemical-free solution to keeping the wearer cool—contributes toward a cleaner ocean. “It’s both a stylish and functional material. It feels good to wear and it feels just as good to help steward the oceans,” Jaffe says. 

The product line aligns with the Bitter End Foundation’s greater role as a steward of the planet’s oceans, protecting sea life and encouraging conservation efforts. Ocean cleanups, a local coral-reef restoration initiative and youth education have been a few of its beneficiaries. 

“Kids are the real answer to long-term protection of the marine ecosystems and the surrounding terrestrial ecosystems,” Hokin says. “Believe it or not, a lot of kids and adults who live in the islands don’t know how to swim, and obviously that poses a significant challenge to health and wellness. So, with our friends and neighbors at Unite BVI, we support a multipronged youth summer program that has components of learn to dive, learn to snorkel and learn to swim, and a curriculum around marine science and environmental stewardship. They’re doing all kinds of stuff, from addressing ghost nets and pots, which are basically abandoned fishing gear that wreak havoc on reef systems and shorelines, to some more sort of foundational programming around marine science. Those are the sort of things we are excited about.”

During the pandemic, the Bitter End Foundation supported a program that made sure that each child in the BVI had a Chromebook for remote learning, and it supported a meal program and food-voucher program to feed those in need. 

While the vast majority of its work has been focused on the BVI, the foundation has a broader mission to be a long-term force for positive change in other communities that similarly depend on the sea, through programs that support a stronger, healthier and more sustainable future. For instance, it made a gift to the P.E.C.E.S. organization in neighboring Puerto Rico to help restore the island’s fishing fleet lost in Hurricane Maria.

It all goes to prove that while Mother Nature has the power to literally knock island communities flat, the power of people to effect recovery and enduring change for good is far greater. 

Donations can be made at bitterendprovisions.com.

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If you’ve sailed in the British Virgin Islands, then you know the Bitter End Yacht Club. Its marina, bars, restaurants and watersports facilities have been a mainstay in Virgin Gorda’s North Sound since
the ’70s.

Sailors around the world were crushed when the property was destroyed in 2017’s Hurricane Irma. Now, after massive rebuilding efforts throughout the BVI, the Bitter End is back—and on course to be better than ever.

Just before the winter 2021 holidays, the club raised the burgee and welcomed guests to a quiet opening of onshore amenities. While there is still much more to come, Kerri Quinn Jaffe, the Bitter End’s chief marketing officer, says that the Quarterdeck Marina, Reef Sampler Beach Bar, Buoy Room restaurant, gourmet market, and watersports center are open.

Marina and Mooring Field 

The new marina has wider slips, improved decking surfaces, enhanced skirting and upgraded power. There are also 72 moorings. The marina can take more than 25 yachts, including those up to 240 feet length overall, sail or power. Most slips are in 10 or more feet of water, and there are catamaran slips for wide beams. New dinghy docks, along with a complimentary launch service, and shoreside showers and ­facilities are all up and running.  

Buoy Room 

This is the place for a drink after a great day on the water. It’s set up with a pool table, darts and foosball. The location provides sweeping views of the North Sound and Marina Beach.  

Reef Sampler Beach Bar 

Constructed from the salvaged hull of the Reef Sampler, which was raised from the North Sound seabed following Hurricane Irma, this hangout is as Bitter End as you can get. The boat has been central to club life since the Bitter End’s founding. Cornhole, volleyball and the daily hermit crab race are all here.

The Market 

Bitter End’s new provisioning market has a selection of locally caught fish, garden-grown ­produce, fine spirits, frozen items and prepared dishes to stock your boat.

Bitter End Watersports 

There is nothing like hopping aboard a Hobie Wave for some fun on North Sound. Also available: other sailboats, kayaks, paddleboards, windsurfers, skiffs and various types of boards. Wing-surfing gear is stocked too, if you want to try the newest trending sport. Sunchaser Scuba offers scheduled dive trips and PADI certifications.

This is just the beginning of the Bitter End’s next chapter. Two overwater Marina Lofts bungalows are complete, with plans to add more. Still to come are the Clubhouse Restaurant; the Reeftique boutique; and the Quarterdeck Lounge, which will be a gathering spot with food and drinks on the upper deck of the Quarterdeck Marina building. Stay tuned!

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When Richard Hokin arrived on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands 30 hours after Hurricane Irma passed on September 6, 2017, he wasn’t particularly shocked. He fully expected that his Bitter End Yacht Club had been destroyed. After all, the BVI island had endured a Category 5 storm with relentless 180 mph winds—and a storm surge that wiped out anything the gusts had spared. 

He was correct: What was essentially a pile of rubble greeted him where the resort, which had been in his family for 44 years, once stood. There was one surprising thing though. The oldest fleet member was missing. What had happened to the faithful boat that predated his family’s ownership of Bitter End, the one that was integral to its development in the early days and still loyally served the resort? Where was Reef Sampler? 

“The fact that the boat had disappeared was kind of mysterious because some of her superstructure had washed up on Prickly Pear Island, which is right next to us. But there was no sign of the boat,” Hokin says.

When Irma hit, Reef Sampler was approaching its 50th birthday. In need of a platform for fishing, diving, exploring and picnicking, the Hokin family commissioned the 34-foot downeast fiberglass hull from Webber’s Cove in Blue Hill, Maine, to be finished at Essex Boat Works in Connecticut. Named for the family’s favorite pastime in the vibrant Virgin Islands waters, Reef Sampler was delivered in 1969.

“She started out as our family’s just-messing-around boat in St. Thomas and eventually became the workhorse for Bitter End,” Hokin says. “She hauled most of the building materials from St. Thomas up to North Sound in the early days when we were just starting to remodel and expand, and then she was our principal source of fun there. We’d take off and go over to Anegada for the day and go diving or go out fishing. Our life really centered around the boat.”

Reef Sampler rode out Irma holding on to the heftiest mooring. As it turned out, it never let go. In early 2018, the UK Hydrographic Office, conducting its first BVI survey in nearly a century, discovered an anomaly in its soundings. Further investigation by Sunchaser Scuba revealed Reef Sampler’s hull, sitting neatly upright on the bottom of North Sound, still tied to the sunken mooring.

Abandoning the boat in this watery grave was never an option. “Next to me, she’s the oldest member of the Bitter End crew,” Hokin says as he readies for his 82nd birthday. “I wasn’t going to walk away from her—we’ve been together for over 50 years. How do you walk away from someone or something that’s been important to your life? And not just to my life but to the whole Bitter End lifestyle, which is what defines us.”

Using air bags, it was floated and dragged onto the beach. Then, Hokin had an idea.

“I have always had a bee in my bonnet about a beach bar—and that a boat would make a really cool beach bar. This was the opportunity. We’re starting from scratch [rebuilding Bitter End]. We had the boat, and the boat was integral to Bitter End’s story. I figured she’s worked hard for us for close to 50 years; let’s give her a place where she doesn’t have to work so hard and everybody can enjoy her.”

Now, Reef Sampler, freshly varnished and painted in its original hue, has pride of place on Marina Beach at Bitter End 2.0. On its foredeck is a navigation table with seating for 8; along its sheerline aft, there’s a bar for resting a drink; and within its cockpit is a fully equipped bar for serving. Above it floats tent fabric, shading patrons and protecting the boat from the weather.

It’s one of the new additions to the revived property. For the quiet reopening over the past holidays, everything a sailor needs was up and running, including the Quarterdeck Club with a panoramic second-floor lounge, the Watersports Shack, The Buoy Room a salty sailor’s bar , and an expanded provisioning market that also offers prepared foods and a full wine-and-spirits shop. Opening soon are two shore accommodations called Marina Lofts, which extend alluringly over the water, and two more restaurants will be ready to serve by spring. 

Re-imagined to be more closely aligned with Mother Nature, the new resort is both different and the same. “We knew we weren’t going to build an exact replica, but we’ve tried really hard to employ the character, vibe and lifestyle that define the place,” Hokin says. Nothing encapsulates this spirit better than a beach-bar boat that started life as a vehicle for just messing around on the water. 

It’s not the only physical reminder of the past. The major docks survived the storm, and bits of memorabilia salvaged from the debris are displayed among the new buildings—but Reef Sampler is perhaps its most evocative.

“I think a boat is pretty close to a living entity. After 70 years of messing around in boats, I’m absolutely sure boats have lives because they’ve treated me well at times and also have had a few tantrums,” Hokin says with a smile.

To learn more about the re-opening of Bitter End Yacht Club and stay up to date on new updates, visit beyc.com. To see more footage from Bitter End Yacht Club, follow them on YouTube.

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A s my plane approached the airport on St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, I took in the gorgeous view of turquoise water and mountains and thought once again of how glad I was for this week away from the March gloom back home in Rhode Island. As far as assignments go, this one was a good one: the Jeanneau Owners Rendezvous in the British Virgin Islands, of which Cruising World was a sponsor. Having never taken part in something like this, I honestly had no idea what to expect. But fun, I was sure, would be a given. Particularly because I was told to bring a pirate costume.

The first BVI Jeanneau Owners Rendezvous was in 2012, and it’s been a biennial affair ever since. During his time as the president of Jeanneau America, Paul Fenn organized the event as a way to connect with customers. “I thought by offering a rendezvous in the BVI, it would give Jeanneau owners a reason to travel outside their normal sailing area and give all of us an opportunity to spend a week together, have fun, and be part of the Jeanneau family,” Fenn said when I spoke with him after the event. “It turned out exactly as I hoped.” For those who couldn’t make it to the islands on their own boat, a fleet of ­various-size Jeanneaus were available to charter from Sunsail, a co-­organizer of the event.

Our week in the tropics began at the Sunsail charter base on Tortola with an island barbecue, complete with music and rum punch. Here I met up with my crewmates for the week — my colleague Ted Ruegg, his wife, Heide, and our friend Dave Robinson — and got to know some of the other rendezvous-goers.

Emory and Kim Zimmer hail from Cincinnati and were in the BVI aboard their new Jeanneau 53, Someday. For them, the rendezvous was a planned stop on their journey south from Newport, Rhode Island, to the Caribbean. “Kim and I had heard about the event from our broker, Glenn Walters,” said Emory. “We saw some photos online from a previous year, and it looked like a fun time. We also felt it would be a unique opportunity to spend time with the folks who design and build Jeanneaus, as well as other owners.”

The busy rendezvous itinerary began the next morning with our Sunsail charter briefing. While the boys went over the charts, Heide and I took advantage of our time on the dock to pick up a few more provisions. Our ride for the week was a spacious four-cabin Sunsail Jeanneau 53 named Aeolus. Once everything was stowed, it was time to cast off for Norman Island, but our route ­included a detour to the airport on Beef Island to pick up a special guest, America’s Cup-winning tactician and television commentator Gary Jobson, who was booked as a dinner speaker for the following evening. Once we had him aboard, we had a fantastic sail over to the Bight and met up with the rest of the Jeanneau crowd.

Participation in the BVI Jeanneau Owners Rendezvous is capped at 25 boats, and roughly 80 to 100 sailors participate. “This is about the maximum number of people the restaurants can handle in the BVI,” said Fenn. Dinner at Pirates Bight was a delicious island buffet, followed by dancing. Despite the name, the pirate costumes weren’t needed this night (I was, ­admittedly, a bit relieved).

One of the benefits of attending the rendezvous is the opportunity for Jeanneau owners to spend time aboard other models. This year, the boat to see was the company’s new flagship, the Jeanneau 64. I hopped aboard for a sail on Serenity, the 64 chartered for the week, from Norman Island up Sir Francis Drake Channel to the Virgin Gorda’s North Sound.

The day was blustery, with abundant whitecaps out in the channel. Several squall lines passed over and fairly drenched us, but the sailing was ­exhilarating. The wind frequently gusted to 25 knots, and Serenity handled it beautifully, easily staying on course even in the puffs. There was a crowd of people aboard, but the spacious boat was comfortable and had more than enough room for everyone. As we sailed into North Sound and on to the Bitter End Yacht Club, the sky cleared, and it turned out to be a lovely day. Being the largest, speediest boat in the rendezvous, Serenity was the first one to the dock, and we were relaxing with beers and cheeseburgers as the others trickled in. With all the boats accounted for, Jeanneau vessels pretty much filled the docks. Ted and I went boat to boat delivering Cruising World swag, and that evening Jobson regaled the crowd with stories of his recent sail to remote Sable Island and the infamous and deadly 1979 Fastnet race, where he sailed with Ted Turner aboard Tenacious and finished first.

With two days at the Bitter End, there was plenty of time to relax and enjoy ­everything the resort had to offer. Ted took out one of the club’s Lasers to do some beer-can racing, I went with a group on a surprisingly steep hike up in the hills above North Sound, and later we all relaxed by the pool, rum punches in hand. More adventurous crews took part in a scavenger hunt that had them zooming around in dinghies looking for clues at various spots in North Sound.

One of my favorite aspects of this downtime was checking out the Zimmers’ boat, Someday. Their Jeanneau 53 was the same model as Aeolus, our chartered boat, and it was interesting to see how they had made the space so homelike and very much “theirs.” Nick Harvey, the president of Jeanneau America, and Erik Stromberg, Jeanneau’s director of product development, also spent time with attendees, chatting over coffee in various cockpits while answering questions about the brand and the boats. No longer strangers, everyone seemed relaxed and in the spirit when it was time to don the pirate garb for the party on our final evening at the Bitter End, which included a pizza buffet and dancing under the stars.

The next two days were free days on the itinerary, and rendezvous boats split off to favorite BVI destinations before meeting at Peter Island for the last night. Several crews, ourselves included, chose to sail out to Anegada, a low-lying island about 14 miles north of Virgin Gorda that has a lovely, remote feel to it. Here we spotted pink flamingos, went snorkeling at Loblolly Bay, and had a lobster dinner on the beach, with the backdrop of the best sunset of the trip. By this point in the week, we were really settling into the sailing-vacation routine — waking up to gorgeous views, a short voyage and relaxing — and it was hard to think we’d be heading back home in a couple of days.

Our sail the next morning to Little Jost Van Dyke was easily my favorite of the trip, with a steady breeze, sunny weather, and good tunes on the boat’s stereo system. Once we had a mooring, we trekked out to the Bubbly Pool, a sort of natural Jacuzzi that occurs when conditions are right (they were), and followed it up with shrimp on the cockpit grill and a visit to Foxy’s Taboo beach bar. Not a bad day at all.

For the last day, Ted, Heide, Dave and I stopped at the Indians for a quick snorkel, and then all Jeanneau crews gathered at the luxurious Peter Island Resort. I spotted most of our new friends at the ­resort’s pool that afternoon, where a round of mudslides was the perfect treat. The weather that evening was simply spectacular for our last beach bash. The crowd chatted and mingled on the sand and sipped Peter Island’s tasty signature ginger cocktails. An excellent buffet dinner followed. The night closed with parting words from Paul Fenn and a lively raffle where everyone brought home a goodie or two.

As I left the boat at oh-dark-thirty the next morning to catch the ferry back to St. Thomas and my flight home, I had plenty of time to muse about the trip. It was with near disbelief that I realized that just a week prior, nearly everyone had been strangers, just brought together by a love of sailing and a passion for their boats. So, yes, while I expected the fun, the unexpected ­camaraderie was even better.

Jen Brett is CW’s senior editor.

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