The last two days of our charter were spent on Jost Van Dyke, with a quick stop on marvellous Sandy Spit – the glorious deserted island ringed with an excellent sandy beach and offering some nice coral snorkeling. The main events on Jost were to be Saturday night at Foxy’s and Sunday all day at the Soggy Dollar Bar, just around the corner.

Foxy’s, to be honest, was disappointing.  We had geared the whole party up for a great party on Saturday, and had been building up Foxy’s throughout the trip (based on previous visits there). But, even though it was a Saturday night and probably 60 boats were anchored in the harbor, there was no atmosphere at Foxy’s and almost no people. By 9pm, there were maybe 20 people in the place, and the recorded music was certainly not begging anyone to hit the dance floor.  Disappointed, we headed back to our cats and had our own parties!

We certainly did not have the same fate at the Soggy Dollar Bar!  White Bay has a gorgeous beach, just as nice and clean as Deadmans Bay, Peter Island. And the Soggy Dollar bar was everything you’d want it to be – relaxed, with great beach food (we all had Cheeseburgers in Paradise), magic Painkillers, uplifting Caribbean music, and plenty of happy people arriving and partying throughout the day.  We rafted 3 of our cats together and anchored them 20 feet from the beach, so everyone could swim to shore whenever they desired.  It’s hard to imagine how we could have spent a better day at the beach.

In the evening all of the crowds left, leaving just our boats and 2 others in the Bay. We helped close down the bar, bought our obligatory t-shirts, and then had a group dinner on our rafted boats.  The Soggy Dollar Bar is also a hotel, with elegant evening candlelight dining, but kids are not allowed.

Our suggestion is that perhaps it would have been better to spend two nights in peaceful and beautiful White Bay, and just take a quick taxi over to check out if there was any action at Foxy’s.

The sail to Anegada, which took only 2 1/2 hours, was simple – one tack is all that’s required because you’re sailing north with a predominantly easterly wind. Instead of mooring with most of the other boats, our captain Alex suggested that we moor at the western side of Pomato Point.  This is a great anchorage if you want to truly have the beach and water to yourselves – there was literally no one else but us moored there, and the only establishment was a small hotel that will be happy to make you a pina colada if you’re in need.  You can walk the beach to the lobster restaurants (we enjoyed the Lobster Trap) – it takes about 15 minutes. Or cabs are available via the radio.

The beach here really is fantastic – clean, white with small pink specks, seemingly endless. The closer you get to the western point of Anegada, the more fine it becomes, until you’re almost walking in a light powder. And the nicest thing is, that there’s virtually no one on it, as can be seen by this picture taken early-afternoon.

What to do on Anegada? There are really only a few things, all enjoyable.  Hang out on the beach, watch the sunset, eat fresh grilled lobster, go snorkeling, experiment with Rum drinks.  To this we added “make a bonfire and have a party on the beach”, which was highly successful!

We set sail from Cam Bay across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Virgin Gorda and its main event, the Baths. This unique rock formation, which looks like a huge truck has just dumped many enormous boulders on a beach, was caused when volcanic eruptions deposited granite that eroded into piles of boulders on the beach.  This type of formation is found only in the Seychelles and Virgin Gorda.

The Baths is a must visit for virtually everyone, but especially for families with children.  The boulders that form a series of caves, grottos and pools, create endless possibilities for exploring, playing and snorkeling. The waters are calm and sheltered, so even the most novice snorkeler can enjoy the spectacle. Your children will invent games on the spot, and will most likely be entertained for hours.

One warning – hordes of tourists descend upon the baths between 10 am and 3 pm most every day. Many arrive from large cruise ships.  The trails at the baths are very narrow, and you will find yourself in the middle of a “tourist jam” if you time your visit wrong.  We strongly recommend that you either arrive quite early in the day, or just be more relaxed about it and arrive at 2 or 3.  You will enjoy it a lot more, as the Baths is a peaceful place best experienced when you’re not bumping into other visitors.

Top of the Baths

The “Top of the Baths” is a gem of a restaurant, with a free, freshwater pool, a varied lunch menu, and refreshing drinks. It’s just a short walk up and unmarked path, but well worth it! The view north toward tortola is stunning  – you could look at it all day long.

There are also some shops for beachwear and t-shirts and the Mad Dog restaurant, famous for great sandwiches.

Sailing from Peter Island we headed for Marina Cay, the tiny island with the Red Roofs of a Pussers Resort on it.  The Cay itself is pretty and has a nice outdoor Bar and Restaurant looking onto Sir Francis Drake Channel.

We were disappointed, however, because from the anchorage behind Marina Cay, you have a view of a large and particularly ugly development being built on Scrub Island.  After the gorgeous beach at Peter Island, we decided we didn’t want to spend the evening looking at a construction site, and so pulled up anchor and moved around the corner to Cam Bay, which was quiet and we were virtually alone.  It was an excellent decision, as everyone enjoyed the peace of the area away from the scores of boats anchored downwind from Marina Cay.

The sail from Norman Island to Peter Island, stopping for a snorkel at the Indians, is fairly quick, just 1-2 hours depending on how many tacks you need to make.

Peter Island is special. Perhaps it’s because it is owned by one company (the Peter Island Resort was built by Avon as a reward for their highest achievers) that has kept it almost completely unspoiled.  Or because sea turtles greet you when you anchor, or because the white sandy beaches are so pristine and unspoiled that you don’t really know how the charter could get any better.  No matter what the reason(s), as soon as we arrived at Deadmans Bay we knew we were in Paradise.

A bit of history. Deadmans Bay is the westernmost bay on the north coast of Peter Island.  The small, uninhabited island across from this bay is called Dead Chest.  They were so named because Blackbeard punished 15 pirates by stranding them on Dead Chest with only a bottle of Rum.  They tried to swim the short distance to Deadmans Bay, but didn’t make it – their bodies floated up ashore.  Thus came the lyrics “15 men on Dead (mans) Chest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of Rum” and the names of the island and bay.

It’s a shame the pirates didn’t make it to land, because they missed a truly extraordinary beach. It has perfect sand, nice breakers that kids can play in for hours, and an upscale beach bar and restaurant run by Peter Island Resort that welcomes of yachties (you will need a reservation, however, if you want to eat there).  It’s more expensive than your typical beach bar, but if you want to taste a bit of luxury along the way, it’s a nice place and there are plenty of Rum Drinks available at the bar.

Deadmans Bay is difficult to anchor in, the bottom is covered with thick sea grass, which makes it difficult to get the anchor to hold. But if you put out a lot of lead and anchor on the eastern end of the bay, near the hotel, you’ll grab eventually.  There are smaller swells at this side of the bay as well, making for a nicer night’s sleep.

While we were in the bay, we constantly saw Green Sea Turtles cruising around, many with remora fish attached to them to pick up scraps along the way.  You can put on a snorkel and fins and follow these turtles around the bay.  The Eastern half of the beach is private for guests of the hotel, but all yachties are welcomed on the Western half, which is equally nice.

If you love beautiful beaches, you’ll love Deadmans Bay!