The islands in a line to the south of Tortola are known as the Channel Islands and are part of the British Virgin Islands. They form the southern perimeter and provide major protection against the ocean swell for Sir Francis Drake Channel, which passes between Tortola and the islands. The Sir Francis Drake Channel, named in honour of the famed and successful circumnavigating privateer and Queen's rogue, has played host to the famous and infamous characters who underpin the golden age of piracy as England fought to sabotage Spain, in an effort to gain wealth and territory.
Norman Island is full of history of buried treasure and discovery. It is often referred to as Treasure Island and according to some, Robert Louis Stevenson had learned of the discovery of treasure through an old letter of his grandfather's, and that inspired him to write Treasure Island. Others talk of an old family with French origins who found Spanish doubloons in a cave around 1900.
Talking of caves, the other thing Norman Island is best known for is its coastline caves and this is what we came to experience. We departed the marina after another downpour of rain, and headed out into strong wind and choppy seas, that had not been predicted. Fortunately it was only a short passage to Norman Island and once on the mooring in Kelly's Cove, the weather started to lift and the water calmed. Some of us snorkelled and some relaxed for the afternoon and then more rain came our way. However, to our amazement, we had a magnificent sunset with wonderful cloud formations to take in. A flock of seagulls took a fancy to us when corn chips were on offer, and so the cameras were working overtime to capture a shot of the birds hovering mid air at the stern in the steady breeze, hoping to latch onto a free meal....and several did just that!
Next morning the rain was still around and we were not amused! After all, our plan was to snorkel into the caves and we needed good natural light. By mid morning we were granted our wish and we relocated Trilogy to another mooring in Privateer Bay, so that we could snorkel to the caves from Trilogy. The area is part of the National Park and thankfully, anchoring is forbidden. We were absolutely delighted with what was waiting for us.....beautiful coral formations, a couple of turtles, a multitude of fish of all sizes, rock formations above and below the water line which were visually spectacular and within the caves, vivid algae which seemed to be every colour of the spectrum. One of the caves was quite deep and only the brave would venture in without a torch. It was chilling to ponder on the pirates stashing their bootie in such caches.
The heavens opened up again over the lunch period and we delayed until the sun reappeared to motor to nearby Pelican Rock, another excellent snorkelling site. As we got close enough to see the moorings, another big squall loomed out of nowhere, and we diverted to The Bight, an exceptionally sheltered anchorage which lay between Kelly's Cove and Privateer Bay....again think pirate ships!
We were able to pick up a mooring close to the only restaurant and dinghy jetty which we decided would be nice to visit (think Wifi). However, there was high demand for tables at the Pirate Bight Beach Bar and Grill and we could only have a 18:30 sitting, which meant we needed to swim back to the boat, shower and return all in 30 mins. Then it bucketed down again! Forever resourceful, we wore our daggy clothes and rain gear to dinner in the tender. This restaurant was in a very attractive new building, painted white with an aqua blue pitch roof with open sides to catch the breeze and provide a great view of the bay. Dinner was delicious!