sailing Archives | Page 2 of 2

May 11, 2013June 6, 2019

Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 4)

It was hard to sail on from Anegada. Such a laid back beautiful island. Think I could stay there for weeks, wandering the amazing deserted beaches….perhaps another trip will be in order.

We moved on with a nice sail back to Great Camanoe where we stopped to snorkel in a beautiful cove. The pelicans were going crazy dive bombing for minnows and we jumped in the gorgeous calm blue water to see what we could see.

It was a virtual minnow smorgasbord; easy to see what the pelicans were after. We also saw a fairly large school of squid in ultra clear water.

The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the water and the scenery before moving on to our anchorage for the night – Trellis Bay.

Trellis Bay is a popular anchorage on Beef Island, and although crowded that evening, it gave us a chance to go ashore and experience Aragorn’s Studio and the other shops and sights in the area.

We spent a little time just hanging in the awesome hammock outside of Aragorn’s.

And checked out the fireballs and burning man used for the Trellis Bay Full Moon Parties.

We topped our stay in Trellis Bay off with a hilariously fun evening at The Last Resort on Bellamy Cay in Trellis Bay where we enjoyed a great dinner, played some foosball, sang at the top of our lungs and probably enjoyed just a little too much rum…

Although the party continued early into the morning hours, we dinghied back to our boat around midnight to rest up for a sail the next day to Jost Van Dyke.

Part 1 of this series: Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 1) – Norman Island and Peter Island.

Part 2 of this series: Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 2) – Virgin Gorda.

Part 3 of this series: Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 3) – Saba Rock and Anegada

Part 5 of this series: Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (The Wrap Up) – Jost Van Dyke, The Willie T – Norman Island

To see more posts on the BVI and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

October 5, 2012September 25, 2019

Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 1)

Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be,
Just a dream and the wind to carry me,
And soon I will be free…Christopher Cross

It’s no secret that we love to sail.

Can you beat the feeling of the sun warmed sea air on your face and the sounds of the sea as you adjust the sails to catch the warm breeze? We’ve been lucky enough to sail the British Virgin Islands (BVI) twice and are hooked. Once on a sailboat and once on a catamaran, we can’t wait to go back again. Although we’ve seen quite a bit of these picturesque islands, there is still so much more to explore and we look forward to doing just that.

Through lots of pictures and just a few words, we’d like to share some of what we’ve experienced – so far – in the BVI. Check out this MAP to see the location of each of the islands.

Norman Island
At the southern tip of the British Virgin Islands, this privately owned, uninhabited island has plenty to experience. We spent one night on both of our sails in The Bight – a sheltered harbour which makes a great anchorage. While there, we:

1. Took a hike to the top!
(You can find the path behind Pirates Bight. Great views of The Bight, Peter Island and Tortola.)

2. On our way back down, we stopped for a drink, some sun, beach time and chatter with fellow boaters at Pirates Bight.

3. Dinghy-ed up for a drink at the infamous Willy T’s.
(Go during the day for some tasty food and a (usually) quieter crowd. Go at night for the party! Read more about one of our visits here: Rum Therapy at Willy T’s)

4. Snorkeled the Caves
(Just past Treasure Point is a great area to snorkel with several caves and abundant fish. Keep your eyes open for treasure – apparently some was found years ago in The Caves.)

Peter Island

We took a short sail around Norman to Peter Island, home of the magnificent Peter Island Resort and Spa. We spent an awesome day in Deadman’s Bay doing the following:

1. Walked the beach, kayaked and enjoyed cocktails at the Deadman’s Beach Bar & Grill

2. Snorkeled
(Turtles can sometimes be found in the sea grass beds)

3. Took a short hike up the road to get a beautiful view of Deadman’s Bay and the other side of the island

After a great day basking in the sun at Deadman’s Bay, we moved the boat around the island to Little Harbour for the night. As the sun went down, we enjoyed some rum and wakeboarding behind the dinghy. We’d already had a great couple of days and were looking forward to heading north the next day to the beautiful island reputedly named The Fat Virgin by Christopher Columbus – Virgin Gorda.

Check out Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 2):
Virgin Gorda

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

June 3, 2011June 5, 2019

Railean Distillers – San Leon, Texas

We are always interested in finding out more about individuals who, like us, have hung up their suits and ties and are “making their obsession their profession” – especially a company that makes rum! That’s why we were very interested in finding out more about Railean Distillers in San Leon, Texas, when we were informed of them by Rum Therapy FB friend Paradise Cocktails.

Now, we haven’t been lucky enough to sample Railean Rum as it’s not available in our state yet, but are confident we will in the near future (maybe a road trip to tour the facility in San Leon for research purposes only, of course!) and I’m pretty sure we’re gonna love it!

photos courtesy of Railean Distillers

I contacted Kelly Railean, the founder of Railean Distillers and asked if I could interview her about the Railean Distillery and this is what we learned.

1. How did you come to start your own rum company? I spent over 10 years in the wine business; I sold wine for a large distributing company here in Texas. I have a Level 1 Certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers. My husband & I learned to sail in the late 1990’s and we purchased a Hunter 29.5 in 2000. When we caught the sailing bug we started collecting and drinking rum & learning all about pirates and the island lifestyle. One day while hanging out at The Buccaneer Bar in San Leon, Texas; we had this great idea to make our own rum. It made perfect sense, my husband (Matt) is a Chemical Engineer, and I had the industry experience and a great palate for wine & spirits.

2. Tell us about Railean Rum and how it differs from other rums? My products are handcrafted; we ferment a high grade sugarcane molasses & blue agave nectar, distill, age and bottle everything at our distillery – by hand. I am one of the few woman Master Distillers in the world – and yes, I really do distill and make all the rum & blue agave! We are family owned & operated, we use the best possible ingredients in our products, and we do not add any colors, flavors or other additives to any of our products. Our El Perico Blue Agave Spirit is the first and only Blue Agave Spirit to be made in Texas, our aged rums (Reserve XO and Small Cask Reserve) were the first aged spirits made in Texas, and our Railean Texas White rum is double distilled for the smoothest possible flavor.

3. What is your vision for the future of Railean Rum? An expansion of the distillery and increased distribution within the United States. Our products are fantastic, and I believe Railean could someday be the number one premium & domestic made rum and blue agave in the United States.

4. Where is Railean Rum rum available? We are available in Texas, California and Arkansas. We are distributed through Republic National Beverage in Texas, Western States Beverages in California, and Central Distributors in Arkansas. Depending on individual state laws, folks may be able to purchase our products online from www.specsonline.com.

5. Do you have rum factory tours? Tours & tastings are by appointment. Tours are typically Monday – Saturday and usually between the hours of 9AM and 2PM. During the hot summer months, tours are only offered in the AM since this is a working distillery and it is too hot in the afternoon to tour.

6. What else would you like us to know about Railean Rum? I make three different rums: Railean Texas White (retail $17.99), Railean Reserve XO Dark (retail $18.99), Railean Small Cask Reserve Aged (retail $29.99). I also just released the first & only 100% Blue Agave Spirit made in Texas for those of you who love your Tequila. The El Perico Blue Agave Spirit retails for $29.99. El Perico is Spanish for “the parakeet” which is the logo on all of the Railean labels. The parakeet or Monk Parrot is our mascot; there are hundreds (possibly more) of the little green guys all around the distillery, along the gulf & our marinas, and even at our home!

7. We have in common a love for sailing and tropical islands. Do you have a favorite island or place to sail? I love to sail the British Virgin Islands and we have sailed there many times. Most of my sailing though has been in Galveston Bay and around Galveston Island, TX. I have also sailed the Bahamas, St. Martin, St. Barts, Jamaica, and Cozumel. One of the most beautiful islands I have ever been to was Manihi, Tahiti; and that was the best scuba diving I have ever done in my life!

Kelly, thanks for the interview! Maybe we’ll run into you while sailing in the tropics sometime and share a little “Rum Therapy!” You bring the rum!

To find out more about Railean Distillers:
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