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Thanks to sheltered bays and steady trade winds, the more than 50 islands of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are among the best sailing areas in the world. However, the archipelago, which belongs to Great Britain, seems anything but British – apart from a few fish and chip shops.
Turquoise water, powder-white sand and green hills: White Bay on Jost van Dyke looks like a postcard. No wonder sailors like to stop here. We also moor here on our ten-day trip – and swim straight to the legendary Soggy Dollar Bar. It takes its name from sailors who once swam ashore to spend their wet dollars, and our dollars are also slightly damp when we reach the bay. But no problem! For our wet money, we get the famous but most dangerous cocktail in the Virgin Islands, which was invented here. The Painkiller is mixed by cheerful bartenders in three strengths – No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, which indicates the ounces of rum in the drink. The mix of alcohol, coconut, pineapple and orange juice and a pinch of nutmeg tastes delicious. Calypso music drifts across the beach and the ring game (you have to throw a metal ring onto a hook) works like magic.
Welcome to the laid-back BVI rhythm!
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- If you’re heading to the Soggy Dollar Bar by boat, you’ll have to swim the last few metres. There’s no jetty. But the good news is that even with wet dollars, you can still get a Painkiller.
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- The bartender ‘Big Bird’ mixes a Painkiller with a smile at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost van Dyke – but only with two ounces of rum, please.
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- One of the most famous bars in the Caribbean: the Painkiller was invented at the Soggy Dollar Bar.
Two days earlier, we took a ferry from the US Virgin Islands to Tortola, the main island of the BVI. At Nanny Cay Marina, we met the other crew members and our skipper. We checked into a 15-metre catamaran with four cabins, each with its own bathroom – super comfortable. After a briefing and buying provisions, we cast off for Norman Island. We sail through the Sir Francis Drake Channel to our first bay, The Bight, a Caribbean dream with pirate flair. Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have found inspiration for his ‘Treasure Island’ here.
We head for the buoy we reserved online in advance, jump into the warm, crystal-clear water and then into the dinghy (dinghy). We have dinner at Pirate's Bight Beach Bar & Grill. The great thing is that our charter provider has not only planned the route for all ten participating sailing boats in advance, but has also reserved a table for all crew members who wish to join us.
There are around 60 of us, mostly Germans, and everyone is in a cheerful holiday mood. It's November, and lobster season has just begun: the salad with grilled pieces of this noble sea creature is delicious, and who can resist a rum cocktail? Add to that the view of the bay under glittering stars with sailing ships gently bobbing on the waves at the buoys – it's almost magically beautiful. Anyone who now realises they've forgotten their bikini or swimming shorts can take a look in the pretty restaurant boutique, where they'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to adding to their Caribbean outfit for the next two weeks.
Around midnight, our captain, equipped with a headlamp, steers the dinghy through the moonlit bay back to our catamaran. Only the new party ship Willi T. is still brightly lit and music drifts across the water. The predecessor ship, ‘The William Thornton’, was destroyed during Hurricane Irma, which raged through the Caribbean for 37 hours at the beginning of September 2017 with sustained wind speeds of 297 km/h, along with much else in the BVIs. But today, almost everything has been rebuilt and repaired.
Our first night in the cabin is heavenly. We slumber to the gentle rocking rhythm of the waves until sunrise. After our first swim and breakfast on deck, it's time to hoist the sails for the twelve nautical miles to Jost van Dyke. Our first stop is the Soggy Dollar Bar, then on to Jost van Dyke's largest settlement, Great Harbour. Nothing here is big: a few pastel-coloured houses, hammocks between palm trees, half a dozen tiny shops including a rum distillery and the legendary Foxy's Bar. It's a brightly coloured shack on the beach decorated with souvenirs and banknotes from all over the world. But it's not just the cocktails that are damn good, it's also the burgers and seafood dishes. Sailors and holidaymakers from all over the world make a pilgrimage here to hear Foxy Callwood sing. Foxy opened his bar in the late 1960s, and word quickly spread among yacht owners that the place had a great atmosphere. We are in luck: around 10 p.m., Foxy shows up, the singer, who is probably approaching 90, casually walks onto the dance floor and bobs along with the guests to party songs.
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- Delicious lobster salad and super friendly service: Pirates Restaurant on Norman Island
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- The Bight bay bathed in magical moonlight, dozens of sailing ships moored at the buoys.
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- Famous, wildly decorated shack on the beach: sailors from all over the world make pilgrimages to Foxy’s Bar on Jost van Dyke. Cocktails, food and atmosphere are top notch.
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- The Bight on Norman Island is a Caribbean beauty with a great restaurant.
The next day, we sail along Tortola's north coast, stopping for swimming and snorkelling on picture-perfect palm-fringed islands such as Sandy Cay, and spend the night in Marina Cay with a trip to Scrub Island Marina. Thanks to a luxury holiday resort, large yachts are moored here at the pier. In between, tropical rain pours down from the sky, so it's time to put on our rain jackets.
Then we set off for the most distant island in the BVI: the 24 nautical miles to Anegada are a challenge for our skipper. The flat coral island is difficult to make out on the horizon due to the currents and the dangerous Horseshoe Reef, where around 300 wrecks are said to lie on the seabed. Wind, waves, rain – the crossing is an adventure, but as soon as we arrive, the sky clears and we sail into the marina in glorious sunshine.
Anegada is a dream island with fantastically beautiful sandy beaches, a large flamingo colony and beach bars where you can forget the world. Our charter provider has organised an island tour that ends at Cow Wreck Beach with the bar of the same name: a beautiful sandy beach with palm trees, turquoise sea and a charming restaurant with a few locals at the bar. We eat delicious conch fritters (fried pieces of the large spiny lobster), whose empty shells lie decoratively in the sand, drink ice-cold Carib beer, dive into the sea in between and can only tear ourselves away from this dream spot because we have a table at the Anegada Reef Hotel in the evening. On the terrace, the famous Anegada Reef Lobster is grilled over charcoal on oil drums – a real treat.
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- Snow-white sand, turquoise water: Cow Wreck Beach on Anegada is paradise.
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- With your feet in the sand, you can sit at the Anegada Reef Hotel on the coral island of the same name and enjoy grilled lobster.
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- One swing please at Cow Wreck Beach
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- Showers, toilets and boutiques can be found on Angeda beach in colourful houses.
But the next day is just as beautiful: we sail towards Virgin Gorda, the third largest island after Tortola and Anegada, which owes its name to Christopher Columbus. When he discovered the BVI in 1493, he called it ‘The Fat Virgin’ because its silhouette resembles a plump woman lying on her back.
Virgin Gorda is home to one of the most famous attractions in the BVI: The Baths are around 70 million-year-old granite rocks that can be explored on a magnificent hike through the national park of the same name. You climb over boulders, wade through caves that are flooded by the sea depending on the tide, and squeeze through narrow crevices – a fun activity that will leave you completely wet (store your valuables in a waterproof sailing bag).
Many large cruise ships head for The Baths, and we were glad that our charter provider made sure when planning the route that there would be no cruise ships there on the day of our visit.
But Virgin Gorda is also a popular holiday spot for celebrities such as Morgan Freeman and Richard Branson, who has owned neighbouring Necker Island since 1979 and has an exclusive holiday resort there. We stay overnight at the chic Bitter End Yacht Club. Our catamaran is moored there side by side with luxury yachts, and the showers in the harbour are really nicely done.
Just in time for happy hour, we pop into the Reef Sampler Bar for a Painkiller and take a short dinghy ride to explore the new Saba Rock Hotel and Restaurant, which is located on a tiny rocky island and has a helipad so that VIPs and yacht owners can fly in.
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- Turquoise waves wash over mighty granite rocks, with tropical jungle behind them: The Baths on Virgin Gorda is a must-visit. It is a beautiful spot.
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- The Baths on Virgin Gorda are mighty granite rocks on the beach that form caves and grottos and are flooded by the sea depending on the tide – an adventure.
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- The BVIs are calling you! The English telephone box is located at the Saba Rock Hotel and Restaurant.
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- The Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda is super chic with holiday villas on the hillside. It was rebuilt after the hurricane in 2017. Saba Rock and Richard Branson’s island are nearby.
Beef Island. This small island is connected to Tortola by a bridge and is also home to the airport where most visitors arrive. On the way there, we stop at a few pretty snorkelling bays such as The Dogs and arrive in Trellis Bay in the early evening, just in time for the monthly Full Moon Party – what a spectacular event! Holidaymakers and locals alike dance to rousing reggae music, admire fire-eaters and stilt walkers, enjoy conch salad and other Caribbean delicacies at street food stalls and, of course, rum cocktails in all variations. Well after midnight, we board our dinghy to happily fall into our bunks.
Our last trip takes us to Copper Island with a beautiful beach and restaurant that brews its own beer and lists around 400 different types of rum on its bar menu. Then, for one last time, we sail through the Sir Francis Drake Channel via Soper's Hole back to Nanny Cay Marina with a strong trade wind. The British Virgin Islands are magically beautiful, and luckily we don't have to go to the airport yet, but have booked a few more nights in Cane Garden Bay on Tortola.
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- Don’t miss: The Full Moon Party in Trellis Bay with stilt walkers, fire eaters and cocktails
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- My morning exercise routine: swim ten laps around the catamaran and hang out at the buoy until breakfast.
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- Our captain, Hans-Peter, safely navigates the 15-metre catamaran through the approximately 50 British Virgin Islands with the help of the crew.
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- The Beach Club on Copper Island offers 400 different types of rum, including legendary varieties.
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- The sunsets are picture postcard perfect
Further information:
www.bvitourism.com
Long-standing, recommended charter provider from Stuttgart: www.khp-yachtcharter.com
Ten-day sailing trip with skipper in a double cabin, excluding meals and board cash, approx. £2,500 per person
Other providers offering yacht charters in the BVI, e.g.:
www.moorings.com
www.mycharter.ch
Recommended reading: Simon Scott: The Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands, 2024
Best time to travel:
Mid-December to April is peak season, with many sailors on the water.
November is the early season with good weather and the start of lobster season.
May and June: Milder winds for sailors, fewer people and lower prices.
Information about hurricane season from the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board:
Officially, the period from the end of June to the end of November is considered hurricane season. In fact, June and July are very pleasant in the BVI, and November is a popular month for sailing. August, September and October are not recommended as travel months, as many places in the BVI are closed and it is almost too quiet. There is also the risk of a hurricane.
Getting there:
Flight, e.g. from Frankfurt with a stopover on the US mainland to San Juan, Puerto Rico or to Antigua or Sint Maarten and connecting flight to Tortola / British Virgin Islands, Terrance B. Lettsome Airport (EIS)
Or fly via the US mainland to St. Thomas / US Virgin Islands, Cyrill E. King Airport (STT) and continue by ferry to Tortola / BVI.
Airlines, e.g. Lufthansa, United, KLM, British Airways.
From at least € 1,000 per person.
Hotel tip for an extended stay:
Hotel Myett on Tortola in Cane Garden Bay
myetts.com
Excursions:
Callwood Rum Distillery on Tortola in Cane Garden Bay, considered the oldest continuously operating pot still distillery in the Caribbean, which traditionally produces rum from pure sugar cane juice. Historic facility dating back to the 17th century.
The trip was a private holiday.
Photocredit:
Petra Kirsch und Patrick Heisch
Photo The Baths, Virgin Gorda: Credit British Virgin Islands Tourist Board
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- A dream spot to relax: the net at the bow with a view of the billowing sails and the sky
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- The sunsets are incredibly romantic, and sitting on the catamaran at a buoy, you have front row seats for this natural spectacle.
