B.V.I 2011

I spent last week on vacation, sailing in the British Virgin Islands. The week before I left it rained for five days straight. That same week it also rained for 5 days straight in the Islands, and the forecast for the next week called for more of the same. Luckily the rain cleared up, leaving beautiful sunny skies and warm weather. There was an unusual lack of wind which is rare as the island are so well known for their strong trade winds.

The island in the photo is Saba Rock, which sits in North Sound on the island of Virgin Gorda. When I first started visiting the BVI, Saba Rock was only had a tiny family owned restaurant on it. It served up great Caribbean food and was populated by a few nasty mouthed parrots. On Thanksgiving theywould have a huge feast and their dock would be so crowded that the chain of dinghy's would almost reach the shore I took the photo from. The family sold the island to developers a few years back, and although its unfortunate the old restaurant is gone, the developers kept the island hotel they build relatively tasteful.

View from Saba Rock looking east out to the Atlantic and
towards the east shore of Virgin Gorda.

Sunset from Biras Creek looking north towards the Sir Francis Drake Channel

We visited an artist community in Trellis Bay, Beef Island.
They had lots of friendly dogs and cats. This guy was especially friendly.

Even when sailing, I am still car spotting.

This is the house of an old blind man named Conrad who lives in Great Harbor on Peter island. He hangs out the beach welcoming sailors who use his beach to get access the the nicer resorts which don't exactly cater to sailing types. His house seems to be the only private residence on the island. The rest of the island is owned by a a few large resorts. I assume he was the only person to not sell their land and move when they started building.

Deadmans Bay on Peter Island, home to one of the best beaches in the world.