Charter boat capital of the world
11 February 2017
OMG (just to be with the zeitgeist) so many boats, so many people. On Monday 6th February we left the comparative tranquillity of St John for Jost Van Dyke and the British Virgin Islands. Clearing in was straightforward at Great Harbour and we picked up a mooring (now US$30 per night … and we soon saw why).
We visited the world-famous Foxy’s Bar and even had a chat with Foxy himself, who recited some of his poetry about England for us.
An alleged must-do is to anchor in White Bay and swim ashore to the Soggy Dollar Bar for a drink (the name needs no explanation). However, on the way to Great Harbour we had a look and did not fancy the idea of being anchored as if in a multi-storey car park. So we walked there. It was a bit of a revelation.
The Premier and Minister for Tourism for the BVIs is proud to declaim that the BVIs [is] “the yacht chartering capital of the world and home of the world’s largest yacht chartering fleet”. It is almost wall-to-wall boats with mostly North Americans on holiday. So it’s party time … all day … every day … and the Soggy Dollar Bar epitomises the holiday spirit (engendered by copious amounts of their signature drink, The Painkiller). The holiday spirit is also one of generosity. So as we walked back to Great Harbour a young couple in a hire car stopped to give us a lift – very kind. Similarly on arrival some Americans had dinghied over with all their surplus food and beer as their charter was ending that day. Nice.
After one night we moved east to Little Jost Van Dyke and anchored in Manchioneel Bay (18 27.054N:064 43.274W) just off the B-Line Beach Bar which had excellent wifi. We ate at Foxy’s Taboo bar and restaurant (run by Foxy’s daughter – is this too much information we are starting to ask?), and walked to the Bubbly Pool which is where a break in the granite rock allows a sea water pool to exist and then the sea comes rushing through the gap in a torrent of white water … bubbly then.