Snorkeling and Diving in the BVI

Tuesday 4 February 1997

Bob shaving in the morning - from the deck hatch over the sink

When we left the anchorage at Hawknest in the USVI,

we sailed into the BVI to Soper's Hole to check in.

Soper's Hole

One of the best ways to see the BVI is by sailboat. If you have some sailing experience, you can charter a "bareboat". That means you get the boat and the equipment, but you have to buy the food and do the work yourself.

These Islands are more sheltered from the open ocean than other Caribbean areas, they are much closer to each other and there are numerous quiet anchorages. You rarely need to sail more than an hour or two to get from one place to the next, and will quite often stop somewhere for lunch and end up somewhere else for dinner. The charter headquarters for the BVI are on Tortola

I went shopping while they checked in.

Walking to the stores

I went to two stores. I bought a necklace for $24.00 at one shop, and at another shop I got placemats,

an eye glasses holder (that is a thing to keep my glasses from being blown off my face), , and necklace sets for a total of $77.65 I got several necklace sets. One was a pelican and one was a fish. Most of the photos are of a fish set. The fish was the top of the box. Inside the box was a necklace and stud earrings. The top of the box could be worn as a pendant, or it could be used as a pin and the earrings could be little tacks next to the pin.

We had lunch on the boat. Then we sailed to Norman Island.

Bob and Don in the cockpit

The big anchorage at Norman (and also near the caves) is the Bight which is a large area well sheltered anchorage without a tricky entrance. This is often one of the first places that bareboaters go to anchor. There is apparently a floating restaurant here, but we didn't see it because we didn't anchor here. Gwen wanted a quieter place for us. So she went to an alternate anchorage in Benares Bay which is on the north coast.

Gwen gave Bob an underwater flashlight, and we got into the dinghy.

Don in SHOUT the dinghy

Don took us around to the "Treasure Island Caves" and we went snorkeling. She gave him the flashlight so we could see in the caves which were dark.

1996 drawing of anchorages at Norman

She said that people fed the fish so the fish would probably greet us She didn't believe in feeding the fish, so she didn't give us fish food.

Bob with a flashlight

Fish following Bob

School of blue fish

This place is reputed to be the model for the epic “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson. The island is now uninhabited, but today the Caves are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the islands.

looking down

To go to The Caves, get in the dinghy and follow the craggy shoreline to Treasure Point on the lower tip of The Bight. Round the point and tie up at the dinghy mooring.

Chart locations

In the afternoon I did my #1 Open Water Check-out dive at Benares Reef, Norman Island. Gwen anchored in Benares Bay so that we would have an easy first dive for my first checkout dive. I didn't take any photos as I was busy demonstrating the skills that were required by the first Open Water Dive.

We had dinner on the boat.

Wednesday 5 February 1997

We had breakfast on the boat

Then I did Open Water #2 Dive at Soldier's Reef at Norman Island. Again not taking photos. I wrote in my diary that I saw lobster and spiny lobster.

Don welcoming me and Gwen in the dinghy

For someone more experienced, there is a good dive at Normans on Angelfish Reef off the western point. The depths are 10-90 feet and at the bottom of the sloping reef there is a large colony of angelfish. There is a lot of current from the channel here and Gwen didn't want me to have to deal with that, so we did not do this dive.

Hatch on the deck

We had lunch on the boat and then sailed to Peter Island. Peter Island is close to Normans,

Peter Island

and we anchored here in Great Harbor I did a dive on Peter, and then we spent the night here. We didn't go ashore

Chart of Peter Island Anchorage

Thursday 6 February 1997

Bob at the winch

From inside the cockpit

Anchorage

Me at the wheel with Gwen

We went to Cooper Island and I did Open water dive #4.at Vanishing Rock. I saw a pipe fish, a sting ray, and a basket star Bob snorkeled and saw turtles.