The main difference between cruising in the BVIs and USVIs versus the rest of the Caribbean is the majority of people in the BVIs and USVIs are on charter boats. They are on vacation. People who live part time or full time on boats are generally laid back and happy hour consists of meeting other cruisers and discussing your boat projects or boating plans. Charter people are on vacation. Their happy hour consists of getting wild and letting loose. So, this week, surrounded by charter boats in the BVIs, we have felt like we were on vacation from our permanent vacation. We started the week by sailing from Cooper Island over to Norman Island. Norman Island has the best snorkeling in the BVIs and it also has the Willy T. Willy T’s is a large barge that has been converted into a bar/restaurant. Vacationers flock to Willy T’s for three things: to jump off the top deck of the boat, to drink and to get a temporary tattoo slapped on their ass. While we were enjoying watching the mayhem, we were eating lunch and I turned around and there was a woman (about our age) lying on the bar topless. The bartender squirted whip cream on each of her breasts and poured rum in her belly button. Another woman then licked her clean and sucked the rum out of her belly button! Back home, I am sure they were teachers or lawyers or bankers but at Willy T’s, they were reliving Spring Break, 1985! Bill’s thrill of the week was watching the actual 20 somethings line up behind the bar and bend over so that the bartender could slap a Willy T’s tattoo on their butt cheek. It was quite the place! In addition to the nature watching on Willy T’s, we dinghied over to the The Caves to snorkel. The Caves are along the cliffs and one of the caves was quite deep into the cliff. We did not have a waterproof light so we could not go very deep into that cave but we saw lots of fish hiding in the shadows. One thing with which we struggle is getting out of the water and back into the dinghy. I have no upper body strength and Bill has zero flexibility so while we may get back in the dinghy, it is never a graceful event. I usually end up lying face down in the bottom of the dinghy and Bill flops like a fish stuck on the pontoon until we both are just exhausted. So, the next day when we went to snorkel The Indians, we came up with a new plan. The Indians are a series of rocks that protrude out of the ocean. All kinds of fish and coral live on and around the rocks. It was the best snorkel we have had in a long time. After we finished snorkeling, we decided to drag Harry over to the beach that was just across the way so we could climb into the dinghy and have a small bit of dignity remaining. Well, the beach looked a lot closer than it actually was. We began swimming and dragging Harry behind us but we were swimming into the waves and into the current so it was a very slow and arduous slog to the beach. After an exhausting twenty minutes, we made it to the beach and literally flopped into the dinghy. Much too young to feel this old!
From Norman, we headed over to Yost Van Dyke. Yost is known as the party island of the BVIs. We purposely chose to go midweek hoping it might not be too crowded. On the way, we passed by several sailboats participating in the Spring Regatta which is a race held every March. It was amazing to see the crew hanging off the sides of the boats to counterweight the heel of the boat and at times, the crew were inches off the water! We had no doubt Galt could have easily won the regatta if he had tried but he had to get to the party beach. Yost Van Dyke has two famous bars, Soggy’s and Foxy’s. We spent the first day at Foxy’s and loved the vibe. There were college and professional sports flags hanging from every surface. Our waitress said that prior to Hurricane Irma, the bar was covered with bras and panties. She shared that she much preferred the flags over the “nasty, crusty underwear” and after that description, I most certainly appreciated the flags as well! The next day was a super vacation day as we taxied over the hill to Soggy’s beach bar. The beach was beautiful with crystal clear water and about 50 party boats. Painkillers were flowing freely! While Soggy’s was definitely the more happening of the two bars, we both preferred the vibe at Foxy’s more. For our final nights in the BVIs, we sailed over for a peaceful couple of days in Cane Bay and did final check out at West End. On Monday, we will take the short trip over to St. John’s USVI to meet some friends. Then, we will spend a week in the USVIs on what will probably be another vacation week for us. I think we will definitely need it prior to arriving in Puerto Rico where we will begin prepping Galt and Bill for the crossing over to Bonaire. Until next week, let your hair down a little and party like it’s Spring Break, 1985! ***More pictures on pictures tab
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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