THE OTHER SIDE OF TORTOLA
After our swim at The Indians, our goal for this day was to head for the “other side” of the BVI, which lies due north of Tortola. It’s an easy crossing to the western tip, where we picked up a mooring ball for a few hours in Soper’s Hole, a harbor with a brightly colored village full of shops and restaurants. There’s a good tender float in front of the buildings, and we were soon strolling the waterfront and poking into the shops, including a gourmet grocery store, the Harbour Market.
Located directly above the dinghy dock is Pusser’s Landing Restaurant and Store, one of the first options for dining. Or, you can dinghy across the bay to Fish n’ Lime where they have terrific food with many local favorites like Caribbean lobster and calamari. Cholesterol be damned, you can’t miss their Poutine: home-cut fries covered in cheddar cheese and house-made gravy. Everything is good here, from the calamari ceviche to the Asian pork ribs and chicken Kiev.
Our next stop was the island of Jost Van Dyke, just over 3 miles away, named for an infamous Dutch pirate of buccaneer days, and now populated by a new breed of buccaneers. Mention the word “Foxy’s” at almost any pub that caters to boaters worldwide, and you’ll immediately hear at least one story of an infamous night there, or about Foxy himself, who runs his eponymous waterfront bar on the sands of Great Harbour. Foxy often entertains with his guitar to a Caribbean beat for dancing in the sand and under the stars. There are many choices of restaurants in Great Harbour on “Jost,” or you can moor in Little Harbour where things quiet down and lobster is the specialty. Head a little further east to beautiful Diamond Cay for dinner onboard or ashore at Foxy’s Taboo.
The next day we continued our trip with a lunch stop at Sandy Cay for swimming and walking on the white sand beach. Sandy Cay is a picture-perfect little island, a gift from Laurence Rockefeller to the BVI National Parks Trust for us to enjoy. That night we spent a fun evening strolling the beach and listening to the different Caribbean bands at Cane Garden Bay as the sun set.
It was time for us to return the boat to the MarineMax Vacations charter base. An early morning departure gave us time to take a day mooring at Monkey Point on Guana Island, and stop for one last snorkeling trip to see the myriad fish gathered along the rock wall. From the aft deck it is an easy step down to the water to dive right off the back of the 443, or step into the tender.
It was clear that we’d barely scratched the surface of the British Virgin Islands, and like others we look forward to coming back to see more. One cruising skipper we encountered said he’d stopped ten years earlier on his way to the Windward Islands farther south, but he’d never moved onward.
“I’ve still got places I want to explore here in the BVIs. The people are great, the food is terrific, and the weather cannot be beat,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I stay here?”
We had set out to see the cruiser’s side of the BVIs, this time in a powercat with a few additional creature comforts such as the watermaker, Wi-Fi, genset, and air conditioner, but what we did was plant the hook firmly for us to return, again and again. The BVIs are truly are the jewels of the Caribbean.
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