British Virgin Islands (BVI) - Big Vested Interests


We arrive in the British Virgin Islands and see a poorly named, but accurate boat name. The hurricane six months ago has had devastating effects. The town has a lot of buildings still destroyed and a lot of associated rubble and mess about the place. The photo above is from Road Town, Tortola, the capital. We arrive in Virgin Gorda, a smaller island but the first place we come to where we can clear in. 

This is the set of marina shops that Virgin Gorda has, all non-functional. We ask for Diesel but they have none, for petrol they direct us up the road. When we arrived, we anchored and I went ashore to clear in - took hours as the staff were late opening and were a bit slow to process me. I need to make sure Eamon is registered correctly as he will fly out of Tortola, BVI. Eventually we are cleared and I return for the crew, we head into the marina and dock the dinghy at the dinghy dock. The marina looks rough. A uniformed guard bustles up and says "first I don't like where you put your dinghy and second I need 2 dollars for each person coming ashore on the dinghy dock" We say we have only come in to buy fuel and she admits they have none. She relents and lets us stay for 20 minutes free, if I move the dinghy over to her dock. <sigh>.

We had also come ashore to get a diving permit as BVI has some tremendous diving, all tagged with buoys but requiring a daily registration fee. Alas, the office is shut, there is a national park office along the coast at an area known as "the baths" which has large boulders and lovely pools between them, as well as superb beaches. It is too far too walk and too tricky to get a taxi so we take the boat.


There are buoys for the yachts so we take to the dinghy and search for a dinghy dock. No luck, after asking someone, we are told there are  buoys for the dinghies as well and we are expected to swim ashore - they want to keep their national park pristine and think dinghies on the beach would clutter the place up too much I suppose. <sigh> we don't fancy swimming and resolve to call over to Tortola island and get out permit there.  All the sails in BVI seem to be 5 miles apart so it won't take long.


Arriving in Road Town Tortola we discover more devastation



Apart from the Governor's house which is in perfect condition now.


The local ferry company has left one if its ferries parked in a strange place.
We finally call at the marine natural park office to get our permits, it is derelict, which given the hurricane is fair enough, what is not fair is that they have not posted a notice as to where they are operating from. However we ask various passersby and are redirected to a government office that houses the fisheries conservation office. When we finally get there it is has crammed in two other government departments including the one we need, We pay 24 USD for a days diving for 4 and a further 18 USD for a days diving for three as Eamon has to fly home. All in a good cause.
More devastation
This is the local supermarket - still fully functional, just a bit drafty. Then we walk to the marina
A really sad old lady, it has been there for 6 months.
Many docks are gone, the ones that remain have obstacle courses on them, and missing cleats
This is the fuel dock.(box at at top right) We asked and said they could give us 50 gallons, we bring the boat in, past various obstacles a few days later and are told no Diesel. <sigh> but we call in at Nanny Cay Marina a mile or so up the coast and have more luck.

Whilst Village Cay Marina is pretty wiped the sunsail charter fleet is all lined up across the bay, and a pile of broken boats too. The charter fleet looks fairly complete - more ominous is that they are all still in port. People must have cancelled or redirected their charter holidays elsewhere. Actually every where we went there were free bouys - Peter has experience of chartering in the BVI and says he misses the headlong dash of 3 or 4 boats chasing the last buoy at 4pm every afternoon. Currently bays are 25% empty.

So sad, six months lying there

The BVIs are not all post apocalypse, the sunsets and remote bays are still beautiful, except the hills are missing trees. Peter says the odd cafe is missing too. We called at a bay on Normans Island. Basically a beautiful sandy beach with a new! log cabin/cafe/restaurant and a bay full of moorings. It has 30 boats moored for the night and the drink and music clearly flowed. We came in late after diving and stayed on board. The boat next to us kept its engine on all night and partied until midnight or so - music and a women with a braying laugh that may well have been a mating call. I suppose loud parties go with the territory. The main town has devastation, we had a drink and pizza in a cafe that was just about doing business, few cafes or shops are open. Yet 5 miles away the holidaymakers are oblivious. It makes me reflect that the BVI and maybe the Caribbean is about the haves and the have nots. Rich people come and play here, locals live and get by.  Though they are cheerful about it.
We see a large number of beautiful views

Well, ok, the shot above may well not be one of them, Eamon has to leave, or attempt to leave the day after this shot was taken. His three weeks had flown by, some good dives, some good sails, but good company at all times.He earned the T-shirt.

In the end Eamon gets a txt that his flight is delayed 3 days... He had booked an interisland flight from the BVI to San Juan in Puerto Rico and then a through flight with American Airlines - San Juan to Philadelphia and then a second AA flight to Dublin. The UK and Ireland are being hit a double whammy by the Beast from the East (Siberian cold and snow) and Storm Emma (winds and snow) and airports are shut wholesale. It would have suited him to get stopped in Philly as he has relations there but AA are postponing the pair of flights, he would have been stuck in Puerto Rico. AA are unable to split the flights, which is weird but Eamon's travel agent manages to get him on Delta Airline flights to JFK and then onto Dublin, of course the dublin flight gets cancelled but at least he is stuck in New York, where he also has family. It finally takes him from Thursday lunchtime until Monday afternoon to get home but I suppose he enjoyed the mini adventure.

 Approaching Normans Island in the dark
 The next morning all is quiet

 Doros tries to walk across the water to the punt - it doesn't work, but, hey, any wash is a good wash...


I do like this area and may canvass to have Christmas here next year, with all the beaches and divesites within a few miles of each other it is a good place to holiday, it gives money to someone - not too many of the locals but maybe it all helps. I hope they can rebuild soon and are blessed with a hurricane free 2018. D.V.

We dive the wreck of the Rhone and also a set of rocks called the Indians, I'll put up the diving shots first.


 The propeller, we swim through this of course




 That's a shark, but is is (a) shy and (b) fast

 and that's an Eamon
 And that is not allowed to be our lunch, according to Marine park rules
 peek a boo, I see you
 Not my day for catching them - there is something interesting trying to get away - he succeeded 
 More Eamon

I amuse myself by swimming in and out of these pillars annoying the fish.

The next day we dive the Indians.


In Ireland I often try and get to both ends of big rocks

Using my dive mask as spectacles (they have proper lenses in them) and my wetsuit booties as climbing shoes is not easy...
Underwater is pretty, albeit with a 2 knot+ current.
There is a big boy waiting under our punt!


And finally a few videos - I will upload separately as before.