Tag: JVD

September 17, 2015

Cruising BVI: White Bay, Jost Van Dyke

One of my favorite places to spend the afternoon is in White Bay, Jost Van Dyke. When Dad and Stacy visited last December I got a little click-hapy on the camera. I deleted a few hundred photos from this particular visit, but below are the photos that remain. For the life of me, I could not decide on the usual 10-15 photos I usually post so I am sharing them all with you instead.

If you’ve ever been to White Bay, you can appreciate the magic I feel when I see these photos. I personally prefer to enjoy this paradise during the low season, and early in the morning before the charter boats arrive, before the craziness begins.

Peruse the gallery or click on each individual photo to leave a comment! Enjoy :)

Do you prefer a quiet white sandy beach all to yourself, or a rockin beach bar scene at the hottest destination in the islands?

September 3, 2014

Can’t get enough of Jost Van Dyke

After departing the gorgeous Guana Island, our hearts drew us back to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. With just a few days left of Mom and Bean’s vacation, we all agreed it would be best spent on Jost.

We picked up the last available mooring ball in front of Ivan’s and just us girls swam to shore. To access the beach on the other side of the bay we headed toward the rocks and followed the trail over the hill.

Undoubtedly a trail traveled by many, these steps must hold countless memories. We climbed up the beachy colored steps and discovered a beautiful view of the bay down below. Our little home looked happy way down there, as happy as we were to be in this paradise.

At the bottom of the stairs on the other side, Mom tells us this is where we leave our flip-flops. “We wont need them anymore,” she says. Everyone leaves their shoes here and retrieves them on the way home at the end of the day.

We mosey-ed our way past all the new little beach bars and snack shacks lining the water’s edge. Well suited for the charter industry, this is the place to be to kick back and enjoy the islands.

A trip to JVD would be incomplete without visiting the famous Soggy Dollar Bar where the patrons swim in and hang their soggy dollars up to dry behind the bar when it’s time to pay.

Even Bean tried a Painkiller while floating around in the cool blue water!

After visiting the gift shop and enjoying the afternoon, we headed back over the hill. What a fun day!

Stay tuned to see our next adventure in the BVI’s!! We’re currently relaxing in Grenada for the rest of Hurricane Season taking care of boat projects and enjoying Island Time :) Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear from you!!

August 20, 2014

A quiet anchorage and a slice of heaven

May 27th we sailed over to a little anchorage between Little Jost Van Dyke and Sandy Spit. It’s a popular spot for charter boats but not many stay over night. We had the place all to ourselves in the morning and evening hours…

We snorkeled near the reefs in the crystal clear water spending the day in paradise. It was only a short walk around the whole island. The cool Caribbean Breeze felt so refreshing after our swim.

Yes, this place is real. Our little slice of heaven. Would you like to go?

Peter decided we should go on a romantic walk down the beach. And what did we find?

A coconut of course! Another sign we are exactly where we are supposed to be :)

Fragments of coral were scattered all over this tiny little island. Picture perfect and very secluded. It’s a magical feeling when you have an island all to yourself!

I think the best part of Bean’s trip was getting to cuddle with Gunner again :)

Next stop? Cane Garden Bay, Tortola!

Stay tuned for more pictures during our stay in BVI!

We are currently working on boat projects and blog posts in Grenada for the remainder of Hurricane Season. If you’re in the Secret Harbor neighborhood, come say HI :)

August 17, 2014

I Wish I Was There Tonight… On Jost Van Dyke

In the evening hours of May 24th, Peter, my Mom and I sat in the cockpit watching the planes come in over St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. We had anchored in Brewer’s Bay, just a short distance from the airport near Charlotte Amalie. The next afternoon my Grandmother was scheduled to arrive to spend a little over a week with us on Mary Christine.

By this time, Mom was beside herself with excitement to finally be back in the Virgin Islands. Her last visit was in 2006 when she left her heart and a piece of her soul on Jost Van Dyke. Jeanne, my Grandmother and Mom’s Mom, had never traveled this far before and was thrilled to earn her very first passport stamp! With three generations aboard, it would surely be a trip to remember.

My 31st birthday was May 26th and what better way to celebrate than to spend it on Jost Van Dyke with family?!! After picking up Bean at the airport, we immediately set sail for an overnight stop in Hawksnest Bay, St. John. (I couldn’t say Jeanne when I was little and now everyone calls her Bean. The name has stuck through all these years!) The morning of my birthday we sailed north to Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke. It was a gorgeous sail with perfect winds. The Virgin Islands are truly spectactular – unlike anything we’ve seen on our journey so far. The way the islands are nestled together, it makes for some pretty perfect cruising grounds.

With little room to anchor, we picked up a mooring ball toward the back of the mooring field. All four of us could hear Kenny Chesney singing a little song called Somewhere In The Sun inside our heads,

“Oh I wish I was there tonight on Jost Van Dyke
Sipping on some Foxy’s Firewater rum
Or kickin’ back with Ivan
With all my friends down in the islands
Wouldn’t take much for me to up and run
To another life somewhere in the sun”

We made dinner reservations at Foxy’s for later that night. Luckily, it was a Monday and fairly quiet. Foxy’s can definitely get rowdy!

Dinner was outstanding and the ambiance was perfect. Just a quiet night with a little Caribbean Breeze… My kind of birthday!! :)

Tuesday 5.27 we took a short dinghy ride over to White Bay, BVI. Mom was absolutely GLOWING!!! Happiness was spilling out of her like I’ve never seen before. The second she got in the water, it was as if she was HOME. I felt like she was welcoming us to the place where she belongs… Can you feel it too?

Kickin’ back with Ivan…

Enjoy these photos of Ivan’s White Bay Campground and Stress Free Bar before it was torn down this summer. This famous beach bar is currently being rebuilt due to foundation damage from a rain storm 10 years ago! Rumor has it, Ivan’s will be back up and running this November, just in time for our return to JVD!! While most of the memories will be put back up, we’re sure Ivan will need lots of help with new decorations of seashells, t-shirts and autographs from all his visitors.

What’s your favorite spot in the Virgin Islands???

Stay tuned for lots more photos of the time we spent in BVI! We are currently relaxing down in Grenada for the remainder of Hurricane Season. If you’re near Mt. Hartman Bay/Secret Harbor, come say hi!!!