The British Virgin Islands -- 2006

After five days of sailing we finally arrived in the British Virgin Islands. The first island we could check into was Jos Van Dyke. We rounded Dog Pt. and went in to Great Harbour dropped anchor and went looking for the customs and immigration officer. We found them about two hours later sitting in a Cafe eating lunch. It all seemed a bit too relaxed to me.
After being at sea for a while it was nice to see other yachts and quite a few tall ships and super yachts, as well. The photo here shows Great Harbour which boasts several cruiser bars, including one called Foxy's place. After spending an afternoon there we decided it should have been called Poxy's place as Laurel got severely bitten by insects at the bar and both her legs came up in welts!!!!
The British Virgin Islands was a fantastic cruising ground with all the different little islands. There was a large number of yacht charter companies, including moorings, who seemed to have hundreds of catamarans. Everything seems very used friendly.

Just around the corner there was a place called Sandy Spit. There was one of those really nice white sandy beaches framed with a lone coconut tree.



As we got to know the British Virgin Islands we found all sorts of fantastic things to see. I was very keen to dive on the wreck of the HMS Rhone. Anchoring in the nearby bay, we headed around to where we thought the HMS Rhone was lying. The Rhone was a steamship that got caught in a hurricane around 1867 and steamed out to get away from land. Unfortunately the wind caught her and took her into a reef where she lies today between 20 and 70 feet of water. When the Rhone hit Black Rock, water came in and caused the boilers to explode. 123 passengers and crew died in the tragedy. You can still clearly see the rider and propeller and about 25 feet of water along with other debris of the wreck.
Not far from the wreck of the HMS Rhone there is a rock formation called the Indians. The coral on the Indians was spectacular and we spent many an hour snorkelling there.


In the same area there were some caves (also in the guide that we were using). Around the turn-of-the-century some locals swam into these caves and found actual pirate treasure. The treasure in these caves prompted Robert Louis Stevenson to write the book Treasure Island.

Being in the land of pirates, treasure and Spanish galleons, it only seemed right to drink rum. Pusser's rum is very well-known around the British Virgin Islands. It has been the official rum for the British navy for well over 300 years. Pusser's outpost is also a great place to have a meal.


The history of the British Virgin Islands continue to amaze us. Everything from black African slave trading rooms, Spanish galleon canons just lying on the reef and Sir Richard Branson's Island to mega yachts being serviced by helicopters. Unfortunately one of the mega yachts had helicopters coming in and out about every two hours which sort of broke the peace and quiet that the average cruiser is looking for.



I mean, how's a skipper supposed to get his beauty sleep???
We then sailed an overnighter to St Martin. We were amazed as we passed about five yachts and six ships on one night. Five of the ships were cruise liners and were lit up like Christmas trees.