Where in the world.....

Our wonderful friends, Chris and Jess Clickner, were kind enough to invite us onboard their catamaran, La Savane, docked in a harbor in central Tortola, for an eight night adventure exploring the British Virgin Islands.  We were joined by two other couples, Kevin and Bre Hatcher, and Chase and Melissa Fry, on the sailing trip of a lifetime.

Sailing the BVIs was an almost unattainable goal for David and I, due to a few restricting factors such as the cost of hiring a captain and crew, the cost of renting a sailboat or catamaran, and the many unknowns that come along with planning a multi-island sailing itinerary.  It takes a lot of planning to coordinate this type of trip, from the above mentioned items to arranging transport from nearby St. Thomas to Tortola, to provisioning the boat prior to arrival.

The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty other smaller islands and cays.  Only about 15 of the islands are inhabited. (Not to be confused with the U.S. Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas, St. John, etc). 

We started our vacation off right by being escorted to the airport in a limo (fancy! Thanks Fry’s!).  Our flight time was only 3 hours, 45 minutes, and we arrived in St. Thomas at a little after 1PM.  From the airport we needed to take a taxi to the ferry that would shuttle us over to Tortola.  Easy enough, right?  Well, unfortunately for us we walked out onto the platform just in time to see the last ferry of the day setting off.  Literally, it was just pulling away from the dock!  The next setback was that it was Mardi Gras in the islands during our visit, and there were no other transportation options to Tortola until the next day!  We were shocked and disappointed, but also slightly anxious because all of the food ordered from the provisioning company was waiting on the catamaran and many items would most likely spoil overnight if we didn’t get it situated into the refrigerators.  Each of us scrambled for options, calling small private planes and other small ferry services, but no one was working!  I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but eventually a random man who owned a large boat offered to take us over to the next island.  We ended up paying MUCH more than we would have for a small ferry ride, got completely soaked on the 40 minute cruise to Tortola (as did our luggage!) but we made it - and we enjoyed some beers on the way!  Somehow this man even arranged for customs to meet us after 8 PM on the island.  This situation was slightly sketchy, as only two customs workers were present to stamp our passports, but hey – we got onto the island and we were ready to roll!  We jumped into the awaiting open air truck-type cab (pictured below) for our 30 minute drive to the center of the island where the boat was kept.  After an eventful evening, we finally made it to the boat by around 9:30 PM and got our gear and provisions right.  By this time we were all exhausted and crashed for the night, looking forward for our adventure to start the next morning!

I attempted from memory to create the exact map of our travels, but I am sure I got a few days mixed up, although I do remember WHAT we did at each island (damn Painkillers!).  We planned our itinerary on the fly, although Chris and Jess knew what was available to see/do, distances between each location, and a typical schedule for this type of trip, as they had done quite a few before our visit.  Not pictured on this map is the island of Anegada, which is North of Virgin Gorda.

Anegada

The first morning on the cat we sailed South towards Norman Island.  On the way we made our first stop at The Indians for snorkeling.  The Indians are composed of very small islands forming an archipelago, and known for the many varieties of fish surrounding them.  We spent about two hours here before setting sail further South to The Caves at the South-West end of Norman Island.

The Indians

Us at the Indians

The Caves - Norman Island

That evening we moored right in the bay and enjoyed an evening at Willie T's, a world-renowned bar on a ship in the middle of the bay.  You have to sail your dinghy to the ship, and believe me when I say it is the dumpiest ship you will ever step foot on but hell, that place is fun!  Minus the rude bartenders who live below on and off for months at a time, the place is a good time.
The next day we headed out early in the morning for the island of Jost Van Dyke, the furthest island to the Northwest.  We sailed into Great Harbor at the South of the island and enjoyed a few drinks, paddle-boarding, jumping off the top of the catamaran into the water, and just relaxing.  After a few hours we rode the dinghy in and walked down the water to check out some of the famous bars along this stretch of beach, including the Soggy Dollar Bar. 
It is here where the famous Painkillers were invented.  Each beach bar is a tiny little shack on the edge of the water.  Right behind the Soggy Dollar we found an ATV rental and tour company, and of course the guys couldn't resist.  Each couple rented an ATV and off we went with our guide up the mountains and through some of the rockiest dirtiest roads I've ever encountered.  There were goats everywhere, and the sand was covering us after our ride.  Along the way we stopped at a scenic restaurant, but I can't remember exactly where we were at this point!

Ultimate Relaxation!

After our tour, we all showered up and got ready for a few drinks out at Foxy's - yet another famous BVI beach bar.  The thing to do here is leave a little memento of where you came from - we saw East Carolina University shirts amongst the goodies hanging from the ceiling. 

Dinner at Foxy's

 That night we anchored in the harbor after a few good rounds of drinks and dancing.

The next day, we set across the water back to the North end of Tortola, and into Cane Garden Bay.  We went ashore for breakfast and had the most amazing pancakes at Myett's.  We decided to explore the island a bit, and found a local rum distillery set back in the sugar cane forest.  We walked inside the Callwood Rum Distillery and paid $2 each for a mini-tour and a sample of the rum.  This was the cutest little shack, and has been producing rum for over 200 years!  The old equipment was available for us to see, and the tour guide explained to us the centuries old process to producing rum out of the sugar cane.  We tried a few kinds of the rum, but man it was some strong stuff.  Not drinkable to me, anyways!
After the tour we headed back for the catamaran and headed East to Guana Island.  On Guana Island we pulled into an area called Monkey Point.  This was a small cove with natural caves on the South of the island.  I experienced the best snorkeling of my life at this location!  We moored a good swim away from the caves, and several of us took the dinghy in to snorkel.  Around the entrance to the caves (pictured below, on the opposite side of that smaller section of peninsula shown) were so many different varieties of schools of fish.  There were literally millions of bait fish encircling us, with beautiful purplish-black and yellow tropical fish moving steadily along the reef which followed the shape of the island.  We swam with these schools of fish slowly around the reef - it was amazing.  In this area we also saw huge tarpin, red and yellow snapper, and others.  It was quite comical as Bre and I snorkeled back to our boat - we were in the middle of a feeding frenzy where seagulls were dive bombing all of the fish surrounding us!  It was a bit scary at the time, wondering what else could be in those waters, but looking back it was a cool experience.

After our adventures here, we were pretty wiped out.  We decided to set sail for Marina Cay and Scrub Island.  There were quite a few sailboats and cats set up for the night here, but luckily we found a mooring ball and we were secure for the evening.  We enjoyed another great dinner cooked onboard before popping over that evening to the original Pusser's on Marina Cay Island.  This island is tiny at only 8 acres.  The original, solo house that was on this island is still preserved which was built in 1937.  From Wiki: "The Whites spent three years on Marina, hacking a cistern out of the rough, rocky land and shipping in enough concrete to build a small, sturdy house. These adventurous years – during which the couple weathered a hurricane, fended off a randy Nazi skipper, aided Jewish refugees, and survived a surprise visit from White’s mother-in-law – are detailed in his memoirs In Privateer’s Bay (1939), Our Virgin Island (1953), and Two on the Isle (1985)."  The Pusser's here was so similar to the one we frequent in Annapols.  We had a few beverages and then called it a night!
The next day we headed towards Virgin Gorda to visit The Baths, on the South end of the island, but we had to make a quick stop at the uninhabited Dogs for some cliff jumping!  We pulled up to The Dogs and anchored away from the reef.  Each of us then swam towards the rocks, and checked out the reef below the cliff edges to determine the perfect cliff jumping location.  It was amazing - there was a perfect hole in the reef directly 15-20 feet below the edge of a cliff that was built for climbing.  We spent a few hours here climbing up and jumping into the crystal waters, then snorkeling.  The rocks were slippery but the jump was worth it!

Next we continued our short journey to Virgin Gorda.  The Baths in Virgin Gorda are an area of unique geologic formations and one of the BVI's major tourist destinations.the beach shows evidence of the island's volcanic origins, which deposited granite that eroded into piles of boulders on the beach, which formed into tidal pools, tunnels  you can climb through, and grottoes.  The biggest boulders are 40 foot long!  We moored and swam a good distance in our scuba gear to get to the island.  On the way I saw my first few octopuses, they were small and slightly purple and gave me the eery feeling that they were watching me. 

Once we made it to the beach, we took off our flippers and followed the signs to head into the tunnel created by the rock formations.  There's a path all the way through, with ropes to guide you and for support.  It feels like you are on another planet - I have never seen anything like it.  Once we came out at the other end, we hiked up to a restaurant and swimming pool where we enjoyed lunch, a few drinks, and a cool swim.  When we were full and ready to head out we all jumped back into the water and then snorkeled back to the boat.  The fish were fantastic.  The guys climbed on various bounders and jumped into the ocean (David lost the camera on the ocean floor at this point but was able to go back for it!).  It was a pretty tiring swim but well worth it.  I don't think I could do this if I were not decently fit.

After touring The Baths, we sailed North to the North Sound area, where we found a gorgeous Yacht Club, called Yacht Club Costa Smeralda .  We needed to refill our fresh water tanks, and there was a nice big opening for us on the dock at a club we assumed was private - it was so beautiful and the only other two ships there were easily over 100-foot long yachts.  We chanced it and pulled up, to be greeted by staff on a golf cart.  We were welcomed warmly and invited in to the restaurant, which the girls readily took up with the promise of a long hot shower at the clubhouse.  We walked up to the restaurant and saw the most insane views, and jumped right into the infinity pool overlooking the water, and ordered ourselves champagne.  What a perfect day!

Arriving at the Yacht Club

Relaxing in the Infinity Pool

The next day we sailed for Anegada, or cow island, which is the furthest island out to sea in the BVIs at 15 miles North of Virgin Gorda.  Many sailors don't attempt to hit this island because you must go into open waters, and it is surrounded by reef.  If you don't sail in correctly you risk wrecking your boat!  But, once we caught sight of the island we knew the risk was worth it.  It was completely flat, which looked so different compared to the hilly/mountainous islands we had been visiting.  Also, it was inhabited but by only about 250 people.  The roads were rough, and sometimes not complete in areas. 
We sailed the dinghy in once we arrived and headed to the moped rental shop on the island, so that we could tour the place on our own schedule.  There really is only one main road, so we filled up our bikes with ice and beverages and set off! 
We saw some of the most beautiful, lonely beaches filled with conch shells.  The water was unreal.  Horseshoe Reef is the fourth largest reef in the world - and it was gorgeous.

The most well-known bar on the island is Cow Wreck Beach Bar.  We stopped here to relax and enjoy a little lunch.  The place was quaint, and extremely cute.  The owners were incredibly friendly and chatted with us while we ate at the bar.
In Anegada we saw a lot of abandoned homes, wrecked by hurricanes, such as this one.


The owners of Cow Wreck told us that many islanders leave during hurricane season.

On our way back towards the boat we found a few other small bars, with one lone bartender in what looked like abandoned buildings.  It was so unique, we were the only visitors at many of these places.  We relaxed in hammocks and soaked up the sun before returning to the boat.




The next day was our last, so we sailed to a few of the smaller islands South of Tortola.  First, we checked out the Rhone ship wreck, which sank in 1867 and 123 people were killed during a storm.  The ship was on Salt Island, collecting salt reserves.  It is wrecked in pretty shallow water and easy to check out, although I personally didn't snorkel around it when Jess told me she saw a shark down there!
Next everyone in the group but I, as I was enjoying being lazy on the cat, headed onto Salt Island for a walk to the salt pools.  

The last night we sailed to Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda for dinner on land.  The group hired drivers to take us to a well-known restaurant called Mine Shaft Cafe.  The food was great (although slightly pricey) and the place was so original.  At the bar they lift liquor and beers up in buckets from a 'mine shaft' below.  It is built on an actual mining site.  On the property is a par-3 golf hole and some other outdoor games.
All in all, we had one of the most amazing vacations with the best of friends, and are so thankful they invited us on their adventure!