British Virgin Islands · Caribbean
The sailing capital of the Caribbean. Road Town is the base; the islands are the reason.
01
The British Virgin Islands. Road Town is the administrative capital and the charter-fleet base — Wickhams Cay and Nanny Cay are the marinas. The island is mountain and rainforest in the middle (Sage Mountain National Park, 543m, with rare orchids and frogs) and beach at the edges. The Old Government House Museum and the old prison are the historical Road Town.
02
Brandywine Estate on the coast east of Road Town for the candlelit dinner (Italian-Caribbean). Pusser's Marina Cay for the rum punch and the painkiller (Pusser's Navy Rum, pineapple, orange, cream of coconut, fresh nutmeg). Banana ketchup, fish-and-fungi (cornmeal polenta), conch fritters are the Virgin Islands menu. The Saturday-morning market at the Crafts Alive Village.
03
Columbus named the archipelago in 1493 for Saint Ursula and her eleven thousand virgins. Pirates used the BVI as a base — Norman Island (the destination of "Treasure Island"), Bellamy, Henry Morgan all worked here. The British took the islands in 1672; abolition came in 1834; tourism started in the 1960s when Laurance Rockefeller opened the Caneel Bay resort on neighbouring St John.
04
Cane Garden Bay on the north side — half-mile of palm-fringed white sand. Smuggler's Cove at the western tip for the quieter option. By boat: The Baths on Virgin Gorda (10nm) for the granite-boulder grottos; Anegada (20nm) for the only coral atoll in the BVI, the lobster dinner, the chart you must follow exactly; Jost Van Dyke's White Bay (15nm) for the Soggy Dollar Bar (swim ashore, painkiller cocktail invented here).
05
Hurricane season runs June to November — the prime BVI season is December to May. The trade winds are constant ENE F4–5 almost every day, year-round; the sailing is short passages between anchorages, rarely more than two hours. The Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda has been the cruisers' bar since 1972. The Soggy Dollar got its name from guests swimming from anchored boats with their cash; the dollars came out wet.
Nearby
Beach · Rock formations
Granite boulders the size of houses scattered into the sea, forming grottos and shallow pools. A geological event from 70 million years ago that created the most distinctive beach in the Caribbean.
Anchor off the north beach and dinghy in — the main beach gets crowded by 10am. The grotto walk between the boulders: 30 minutes, waist-deep at one point.
Atoll · Lobster · Flat island
The only coral atoll in the BVI — completely flat, nearly invisible until you're on top of it. The chart must be followed precisely.
Anchor in Setting Point on the south coast. The lobster dinner at the beach restaurants: order in advance. Loblolly Beach on the north shore.
Anchorage · Caves · Snorkelling
The island that inspired Treasure Island. Three sea caves on the west coast, accessible by dinghy, with coral and fish inside.
Pick up a mooring in The Bight — poor holding for anchoring. The caves: go at slack water.
Beach · Painkiller cocktails
White Bay is white sand with a consistent small shore break. The Painkiller cocktail was invented at the Soggy Dollar Bar — so named because guests swim ashore from their anchored boats.
Anchor off White Bay — good holding in sand. Swim ashore. Foxy's in Great Harbour is the more historic bar.
Wind & seasons
Trade winds blow from the ENE at F4–5 almost every day, year-round. November–June is the prime season. The sailing is short passages between anchorages — rarely more than 2–3 hours between stops.
