The Baths of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
After cruising back through Sir Francis Drake Channel, we anchored in the protected harbor of Spanish Town. Named purportedly by Columbus for its resemblance to a reclining maiden with her hair trailing out to sea, Virgin Gorda is one of the most unusual of the Virgin Islands. Instead of a coral or volcanic base, it represents an intersection of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. Magmas cooled at depths, forming large crystalline granites. These slowly were forced upwards as batholiths, like Miniature Mountains, became exposed, and then began to be smoothed and eroded by rain and ocean surf. The result is a succession of fine sand beaches, guarded by smoothed house sized boulders.
Now protected by the BVI National Parks Trust, this fantasy spot is otherworldly. To properly explore it requires ducking through passages beneath boulders, wading in waist-deep tropical water, and scrambling over boulders. Although smoothed potholes and pools are commonly encountered during explorations, the appellation of The Baths is actually a reference to their Batholitic origins, which is Latin for “deep rock.”
The caves and secret passages brought to mind buried treasure and notorious pirates.
The infamous Blackbeard once marooned 15 of his mutinous crew on a local island called Dead Chest with nothing but a cutlass and a bottle of rum. Legend claims that the real island is nearby Norman Island. Robert Louis Stevenson used many of these elements in spinning his fabulous tale of Treasure Island, including his classic shanty:
“Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest…Yo...Ho…Ho…and a bottle of rum!”
Having escaped the ghosts of The Baths and pirates, we raised sail and made a broad reach towards the south. A squadron of Brown boobies caught the vortexes off our masts and surfed aloft. When the bow wake would startle flying fish, the boobies would suddenly break formation and deftly dive after the silvery fish as they glided across the swells.
After cruising back through Sir Francis Drake Channel, we anchored in the protected harbor of Spanish Town. Named purportedly by Columbus for its resemblance to a reclining maiden with her hair trailing out to sea, Virgin Gorda is one of the most unusual of the Virgin Islands. Instead of a coral or volcanic base, it represents an intersection of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. Magmas cooled at depths, forming large crystalline granites. These slowly were forced upwards as batholiths, like Miniature Mountains, became exposed, and then began to be smoothed and eroded by rain and ocean surf. The result is a succession of fine sand beaches, guarded by smoothed house sized boulders.
Now protected by the BVI National Parks Trust, this fantasy spot is otherworldly. To properly explore it requires ducking through passages beneath boulders, wading in waist-deep tropical water, and scrambling over boulders. Although smoothed potholes and pools are commonly encountered during explorations, the appellation of The Baths is actually a reference to their Batholitic origins, which is Latin for “deep rock.”
The caves and secret passages brought to mind buried treasure and notorious pirates.
The infamous Blackbeard once marooned 15 of his mutinous crew on a local island called Dead Chest with nothing but a cutlass and a bottle of rum. Legend claims that the real island is nearby Norman Island. Robert Louis Stevenson used many of these elements in spinning his fabulous tale of Treasure Island, including his classic shanty:
“Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest…Yo...Ho…Ho…and a bottle of rum!”
Having escaped the ghosts of The Baths and pirates, we raised sail and made a broad reach towards the south. A squadron of Brown boobies caught the vortexes off our masts and surfed aloft. When the bow wake would startle flying fish, the boobies would suddenly break formation and deftly dive after the silvery fish as they glided across the swells.
