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Virgin Gorda · North Sound · Leverick Bay / Gun Creek

North Sound

also known as North Sound Virgin Gorda, Bitter End Yacht Club, Gorda Sound

lagoonbeginner-friendly

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

North Sound has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Decthe months riders and schools name How windy15-25trade Launchsmallaccess rules on record, below Waterflat lagoon28.5°C in summer · 12 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools2named at this spot From the airport30 minInternational Airport (EIS)

When it fills in

Trade wind rather than thermal, so there is no daily fill-in hour to wait for: in season it runs day and night and is already there at breakfast. No hourly profile has been published for the Sound.

North Sound is the enclosed lagoon at the northeast end of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, ringed by islands and reef so the water inside stays flat and clean.

The trade wind comes E to ENE through the passes, 15-25 knots on a good day and 11-16 on average, strongest December to February and reliable December to June; how much of November, July or August is rideable is unresolved, and hurricane season runs June to November. The catch is the launch.

Public beach space is small and the shorelines are mostly resort or private, so the standard move is to launch from a dinghy in the middle of the Sound, and you share that water with a major BVI yacht anchorage and with coral heads round the edges.

Up'n'Under Watersports runs kiteboarding from Saba Rock with pickups around the Sound; Bitter End Yacht Club teaches wing, windsurf and sailing but as of 2026 no kite lessons or rental. Tide does not matter, the range is about 0.3 m. Pack about 12 m for a man and 9 m for a woman and adjust to the forecast.

Everything arrives by boat and the prices match: fly into EIS on Beef Island and take the North Sound Express or a water taxi from there.

The wind

locals call it easterly trade winds

Direction

Kite sizes

78910111213141516

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

trade

fills in: Trade wind rather than thermal, so there is no daily fill-in hour to wait for: in season it runs day and night and is already there at breakfast. No hourly profile has been published for the Sound.

Typical strength

15-25

Steady trade wind, funnelled through the east and southeast passes between the islands.

Winter is strongest. The BVI trade season runs roughly November to July; December to June is the core, and December to February the best of it.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic

Also on record

11-16

The quiver, in words

For a 75-85 kg rider in the trade season, 9 to 14 m covers the range, and 12 m is the size most commonly packed for men against 9 m for women. Take the small end December to February, when the trade is at its strongest.

Direction to shore

No single angle applies. The E to ENE trade comes in through the eastern reef passes and runs the length of the Sound, and the water is ringed by land on every side, so the angle depends entirely on which shoreline you stand on. The standard launch is from a dinghy out in the middle, which sidesteps the question.No operator has published a shore angle for a fixed launch.

Dominant direction

E to ENE

Forecast

Month by month

Jan, riders' month95
Feb, riders' month92
Mar, riders' month91
Apr, riders' month91
May, riders' month100
Jun, riders' month97
Jul100
Aug94
Sep89
Oct81
Nov96
Dec, riders' month92

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Dec.

17Jan27°
18Feb27°
17Mar27°
17Apr27°
15May28°
17Jun29°
19Jul29°
17Aug30°
16Sep30°
15Oct30°
17Nov29°
17Dec28°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	95%	16.7 kt	E	25.6°C	26.8°C
Feb	92%	17.5 kt	ENE	25.1°C	26.5°C
Mar	91%	16.6 kt	E	25.4°C	26.8°C
Apr	91%	16.5 kt	E	25.7°C	27.3°C
May	100%	15.3 kt	E	27°C	28.4°C
Jun	97%	16.9 kt	E	27.9°C	29.3°C
Jul	100%	18.9 kt	E	28.1°C	29.4°C
Aug	94%	17.3 kt	E	28.3°C	29.7°C
Sep	89%	15.5 kt	E	28.5°C	30.4°C
Oct	81%	14.5 kt	E	28.3°C	30.3°C
Nov	96%	16.7 kt	E	27.3°C	29°C
Dec	92%	16.6 kt	E	26.4°C	27.7°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

flat lagoon

Standing depth

Shallow and flat in the kiteable lagoon areas, with reefs and coral heads around the edges but deeper water through much of the Sound.

Tides

Tide does not matter here; the range is around 0.3 m.

Temperature

28.5°C summer · 26.8°C winter

Wetsuit

No wetsuit normally needed; rash vest/sun protection is more relevant than thermal protection.

27–30°C water

North Sound is a natural harbour at the northeast end of Virgin Gorda, closed in by the island, its neighbours and reef, so the water stays calm. Inside it is shallow, flat and clean; the coral and reef sit around the margins.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Flat and shallow enough for beginners with a school. Independent riders still need local knowledge: public launches are few, and there are reefs, coral heads and boats.

The scene

What riders come here for

freestylelearningflat waterfreerideboat-supported sessions

Yachts, resorts and a local watersports scene; nobody has counted the kites, but the Sound is a major BVI anchorage and busy on the water.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: small

access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

+1 284 344 1468 +1 284 345 4357

No kite chase-boat service exists for independent riders; the schools run their own boat support and pick-ups around the Sound. Sea rescue is the volunteer Virgin Islands Search and Rescue service, which answers 24 hours a day and never charges: the Virgin Gorda base sits at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour on +1 284 344 1468, Tortola on +1 284 345 4357. It is funded by donations and grants, with no government money, so it is a lifeboat and not a retrieval taxi.

Launch

Public shore launches are barely documented and small. The best launch is from a dinghy in the middle of the Sound. Up'n'Under works out of Saba Rock; Bitter End's watersports centre is next door but does not do kite as of 2026.

Space

small

Hazards riders report 12

surrounding coral reef systems
boat and yacht traffic (North Sound is a major sailing/anchorage hub)
coral reefs and coral heads
boat and yacht traffic
limited beach launch space
private resort and island shorelines
other beach users in peak periods
hurricane season from June to November
coral reefs and coral heads around the edges of the Sound
heavy yacht, charter and dinghy traffic; North Sound is one of the main BVI anchorages
5-knot no-wake channels and mooring fields shared with swimmers and low-profile craft
very little public beach launch space

Rules & access

No kite-specific ordinance has surfaced for North Sound as checked in 2026. What governs the water is marine traffic law. A February 2026 marine-safety notice for the Sound tells everyone on it to hold 5 knots inside channels and mooring fields, which are no-wake zones, to stop anchoring where it blocks safe passage, and to keep a lookout for swimmers and low-profile craft; it names excessive speed in confined water and fast transits through mooring fields as the recurring problem.

Vessels operate under the Virgin Islands Merchant Shipping Act 2001 and COLREGs, and any marine accident has to be reported to the marine accident investigation authority under the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2020. Shore access is a separate matter: the shorelines round the Sound are mostly resort or private land, so rigging on a beach is permission, not a right.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Book a boat: launch from a dinghy in the middle of the Sound rather than fighting for the small beach space.
Call Up'n'Under at Saba Rock for a pickup if you do not know the reef gaps, the coral-head areas or the yacht traffic.
Do not count on Bitter End for kite gear; as of 2026 they teach wing, windsurf and sailing only.
Check the North Sound Express timetable from Beef Island the day before; the whole trip is boat-timed.
Rash vest and sun cream, not a wetsuit; the water is 26.8 to 28.5 C.
Save the sea-rescue numbers before you go afloat: Virgin Gorda +1 284 344 1468, Tortola +1 284 345 4357. Volunteer-run, answers around the clock, no charge.
Hold 5 knots motoring out to the launch. The channels and mooring fields are no-wake zones and there are swimmers and dinghies in them.
Pack 12 m and 9 m for a 75-85 kg rider and add a 14 m if you are coming outside the December-to-February core.

Getting there

Airport

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS), Beef Island/Tortola; Virgin Gorda Airport may be used by small inter-island flights where available.

Route

By boat. The North Sound Express links Trellis Bay, by the Beef Island airport, with Spanish Town, Leverick Bay and Bitter End; resort shuttles and water taxis connect Gun Creek, Leverick Bay, Bitter End and Saba Rock.

Transfer

30 min

Cost level

high

Staying

Bitter End Yacht Club, Saba Rock, Leverick Bay, Oil Nut Bay, villas and charter yachts around North Sound.

No-wind days

sailing · wing foiling · windsurfing · SUP and kayaking · snorkeling and diving on nearby reefs · The Baths on Virgin Gorda · Gorda Peak and island hikes

Photos

Kiteboarding at Saba Rock Resort, British Virgin Islands — Jon McManus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at North Sound?

Winter into spring is the strongest documented period, with easterly trade winds typically 15 to 25 knots.

Is North Sound suitable for beginners?

Yes, it is marked as a beginner-suitable shallow flat spot, though independent riders still need local knowledge of the reefs and limited beach launches.

What is the water like?

It is a protected, shallow, flat lagoon enclosed by Virgin Gorda and nearby reef systems.

What are the hazards?

Coral reefs and heads, boat and yacht traffic, and limited beach launch space.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Yes, including Up'n'Under Watersports and Bitter End Watersports Center.

Last updated: August 2026