Blue Heron

The British Virgin Islands were some of the most crowded cruising waters that we've stopped at and there is good reason for it. The islands hold true to their name, with beautiful green peaks and crystal clear waters. Much of the area is protected land and water that fosters a healthy ecosystem and makes for an incredible playground.
After the swimsuit incident on Peter Island, we sailed just a short way to Norman Island. The Virgin Islands are all grouped fairly close together, which makes for generally pleasant day sails from one stop to another. Norman Island was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, and silver bullion was found in a cave as recently as the early 1900's. We picked up a mooring outside some caves and were getting ready to go snorkeling when a boat pulled up next to us, chock full of no less than 50 eager souls looking to do the same thing. Quickly, we jumped in the water and swam to get ahead of them. We managed to avoid the crowd for the first 30 minutes but made the mistake of putting ourselves in between the mass of swimmers and their boat. A foghorn signaled that it was time for them to get back on the boat and they turned in unison, swimming towards the boat--and us. There was nothing we could do. We were both hit multiple times by people rushing to get back, but in the end I think we all had a good time so no worries.
Peter Island and Norman Island lay across the Sir Francis Drake Channel from Tortola, our next stop. It is the most populous island in the BVI's, and we used the opportunity to stop in Rhode Town to provision. We then headed around the western tip of the island to Cane Garden Bay. Cane Garden is a sleepy little town but is proud of its local rum distillery, which is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the Caribbean. It looks as old as it is. In fact, you probably wouldn't be able to tell that it was still in operation if there weren't people there. Despite the rustic looks, the rum was great and we picked up a bottle to bring home.From 2012-05-28 St Maarten- BVIsFrom 2012-05-28 St Maarten- BVIsFrom 2012-05-28 St Maarten- BVIs
We weighed anchor the next day and sailed to Jost van Dyke, named after the pirate who used it as a hideout. It's also home to the renowned Soggy Dollar Bar, a beachside bar that is the birthplace of the Painkiller drink. We sailed into White Bay that, though protected, was extremely shallow. There was just a foot or two below the keel at low tideFrom 2012-05-28 St Maarten- BVIs. White Bay is a big tourist stop that fills up with boats and people during the day, easily doubling or tripling the islands year round population of around 200 people. It can get a bit rowdy, but was the perfect place for our last stop in the BVI's. We checked out the next day and sailed northwest for the Turks and Caicos.