Jost van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
We sailed all night and entered the justifiably beautiful Drake Passage with Tortula, the largest island of the British Virgin Islands, on our starboard at 10:30 on a bright sunny morning. The sun’s light dappled the green of the islands with a golden-green luminescence. This archipelago is one of the world's “capitals” for sailing enthusiasts since the wind is always steady and the islands on either of the passage serve as buffers. Sailing yachts shot out from shore to get a better look at the elegant Sea Cloud II, the grand ma of them all. Roadtown, with its magnificent and yacht filled marina, is the administrative capital of the BVI. We were headed for the smaller island of Jost van Dyke. This island takes its curious name from a 17th Century Dutch pirate who used the island as a haven from his pursuers.
The archipelago of the entire British Virgin Islands, has a total population of about 25,000. The English first settled these islands in 1666 and save a few years of contested ownership from the Danes they have held them since. They remain an overseas territory of England. The strategic position of these islands became increasingly evident to the US during the First World War and so in 1917, the US purchased St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John from Denmark and these are American territories.
Homes hung from the sides of the cliffs in a riot of pastel colors. The prosperity of this archipelago is obvious from the elegance of the architecture alone and the incredible number of large sailing yachts in the Drake Passage. We anchored at White Bay and Zodiac cruised into Jost van Dyke, famous for the brilliant white of its beaches, after lunch. The beach is ringed with coconut palms and is the archetypical image of a tropical paradise. The beach sand is as fine and brilliant as sugar crystals and partly the result of coral being digested by parrotfish. Rocio led a 1 mile hike over to an adjacent beach called Great Bay, the location of the famous (or infamous) Foxy’s Bar, the home of the hurricane, an island drink with a knock out punch. The rest of us went snorkeling. The snorkeling was some of the best I have ever experienced. We swam amidst shoals of small silversides (a fish about an inch long) so dense it felt as if one were in a snow blizzard: grunts, damselfish, and parrotfish of every color, were everywhere. Pelicans were diving so close feeding on the silversides that they came within feet of us. We could hardly leave this beautiful place and stayed until 5:30PM. Svetlana, or hotel manager, surprised us with champagne and caviar at cocktails!
We had our first recap of the voyage at 7 and went down to another glorious dinner. We will have to let out our belts if we are not careful. I went to bed reflecting on a day, which was a feast for the eyes and the imagination.
We sailed all night and entered the justifiably beautiful Drake Passage with Tortula, the largest island of the British Virgin Islands, on our starboard at 10:30 on a bright sunny morning. The sun’s light dappled the green of the islands with a golden-green luminescence. This archipelago is one of the world's “capitals” for sailing enthusiasts since the wind is always steady and the islands on either of the passage serve as buffers. Sailing yachts shot out from shore to get a better look at the elegant Sea Cloud II, the grand ma of them all. Roadtown, with its magnificent and yacht filled marina, is the administrative capital of the BVI. We were headed for the smaller island of Jost van Dyke. This island takes its curious name from a 17th Century Dutch pirate who used the island as a haven from his pursuers.
The archipelago of the entire British Virgin Islands, has a total population of about 25,000. The English first settled these islands in 1666 and save a few years of contested ownership from the Danes they have held them since. They remain an overseas territory of England. The strategic position of these islands became increasingly evident to the US during the First World War and so in 1917, the US purchased St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John from Denmark and these are American territories.
Homes hung from the sides of the cliffs in a riot of pastel colors. The prosperity of this archipelago is obvious from the elegance of the architecture alone and the incredible number of large sailing yachts in the Drake Passage. We anchored at White Bay and Zodiac cruised into Jost van Dyke, famous for the brilliant white of its beaches, after lunch. The beach is ringed with coconut palms and is the archetypical image of a tropical paradise. The beach sand is as fine and brilliant as sugar crystals and partly the result of coral being digested by parrotfish. Rocio led a 1 mile hike over to an adjacent beach called Great Bay, the location of the famous (or infamous) Foxy’s Bar, the home of the hurricane, an island drink with a knock out punch. The rest of us went snorkeling. The snorkeling was some of the best I have ever experienced. We swam amidst shoals of small silversides (a fish about an inch long) so dense it felt as if one were in a snow blizzard: grunts, damselfish, and parrotfish of every color, were everywhere. Pelicans were diving so close feeding on the silversides that they came within feet of us. We could hardly leave this beautiful place and stayed until 5:30PM. Svetlana, or hotel manager, surprised us with champagne and caviar at cocktails!
We had our first recap of the voyage at 7 and went down to another glorious dinner. We will have to let out our belts if we are not careful. I went to bed reflecting on a day, which was a feast for the eyes and the imagination.
