Our Grand Adventure

7th January 2026 | Odometer: 848nm | British Virgin Islands

It was a good thing we had done all we wanted in Anegada as the wind was switching around and it would be good for us to be outta there! So we puffed on down to Jost Van Dyke, a cute little island on the south west side of the BVIs. Although we ended up on mooring balls our whole time in JVD, we both really loved it and would have liked to stay longer. The island feels very chill even though there are many beach bars servicing the volumes of charter boats coming through. There is lots of beautiful little restaurants, cafes and boutiques around. 

We stayed in Great Harbour, which is next door to the bay with the famous Soggy Dollar Bar, a swim in /out day bar. We were both not really feeling drinking or partying hard, and instead had great entertainment watching the very full dinghy’s come back around the point with their very full-of-alcohol occupants . Drunk folk getting on and off dinghy’s has to be one of the most entertaining things to watch haha. Maybe we missed out on something by not going to the party bar but we had such a pleasant evening in the beautiful bay that it really didn’t bother us. We enjoyed instead a painkiller and sunset at the local spot on the beach right by us.

The east end of Jost Van Dyke island is almost split into two islands but is joined by a 100 meter wide stretch of reef. It is an odd sensation, as you stand on your boat in calm and sheltered waters, and look out over the reef into the Atlantic Ocean, seeing straight into huge waves and crashing swells. The height and intensity of the waves can get quite exhilarating to watch and you feel a constant sense of relief and amazement that its all dulled and smooth by the time it reaches you on the boat. 

We took a really fun walk over to the Bubble Bath. First along a beach front, then wading through a mangrove marsh area, rounding past the reef and crashing waves then through a rocky, arid slope; until you finally come round into a large clearing of cacti on one side and the bubble bath on the other.

The Bubble Bath is amazing! A clear, circular blue natural pool, protected from the open ocean by enormous boulders. The waves crash through and over the rocks through a narrow channel, filling the pool and creating enormous amounts of bubbles. Watching the waves come pouring over the rocks is exhilarating as they burst towards you dramatically, and occasionally knock you off your feet. The bubbles after feel incredible – it really is like being in a bubble bath! 

The bay also boasts some lovely snorkelling and we had a really fun time here. The water slopes up into the shallows with loads of small coral bombies and baby reef fish in clusters all over. We saw quite a few living conch shells too!

Sandy Spit Shenanigans

Around the East End the Sandy Spit and Sandy Island are beautiful little sandy spurs that can be visited on the dinghy. When we went over to visit the Sandy Spit, we were intimidated by the rolling seas on either side and crazy surf pounding onto the shore. Feeling not at all confident to land the dinghy we decided to anchor off to one end in the calmer water and then swim in. Ryan dropped me in close, then pushed Pepi out a bit further.

We had the whole island to ourselves for a bit and obviously had to pretend we were Robinson Crusoe with a coconut buddy. The small ragged collection of palm trees in the center hosted a surprising number of hermit crabs around the roots.

We watched as another couple on a dinghy came into the shore and surfed a wave down the crest and up onto the beach like total pros! We were so impressed! What a beach arrival! These guys must know what they are doing! We kept wandering around the island and then realised, hang on a minute, that couple are not pulling up onto the beach… they are setting out again? Huh weird.

Then we realised, yup, they have absolutely no idea what they are doing. Watching them relaunch that dinghy in the swells was … nerve wracking. We offered to help them relaunch, but in true older male boomer style, no help was needed thank you very much. We backed off and watched in horror as the lady was knocked flying by the surf throwing the bow of the dinghy into her. A moment later, he was run over by the little boat as it washed back over him in a back swell. We were about to go assist – help wanted or not, when they finally got it under control and away. At this point, they were both completely drenched, had both taken multiple beatings and were looking pretty sheepish as they motored off. It would have been really funny if it hadn’t looked like they were both about to get seriously injured through most of it. 🫣

Thankfully our departure was far less dramatic as we had anchored out past the crashing waves and were able to just swim out, climb up and head off. We surreptitiously kept an eye on the bedraggled couple to see that they made it back to their boat in one piece (they did) before we set off at pace back to our boat. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall hearing them relate that story to the rest of the folks on their boat later!