BVI, an acronym that captivates sailors as well as vacationers in search of turquoise waters and white sandy beaches lined with coconut trees.
British Virgin Islands. When I was a child, I heard my parents talk about the Virgin Islands, a strange name that already made me imagine dense forests and wild places, Robinson Crusoe beaches, and seas full of colorful fish.
A little geography never hurts. The Virgin Islands are divided into 2 blocks, the USVI, American Virgin Islands, and the BVI, British Virgin Islands. They are located in the Caribbean Sea, north of the Lesser Antilles arc, 40 miles (since we are at sea, we’ll talk in miles, 1 nautical mile equals 1852 meters), east of Puerto Rico and 70 miles west of Saint Martin. Their name is said to have been given by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage, in honor of Saint Ursula, known in the legend of the Eleven Thousand Virgins (I’ll let you discover the legend for yourself). They later became one of the largest pirate havens in the Caribbean, although the film was shot further south in the Grenadines or further north in the Bahamas.
Our journey begins with a flight with Air France to Saint Martin, or rather to Sint Maarten, since the island is divided between France and Holland and the large international airport is located in Dutch territory. From there, a small taxi takes us with our luggage (colossal since we have our kite gear) to Grand-Case where Pierre awaits us on his magnificent catamaran, Piment Rouge.
At this point, a little digression on Pierre and Piment Rouge is necessary. Pierre, Piment Rouge… Piment Rouge, Pierre; both are imposing and composed at the same time. Piment Rouge is a 51-foot Outremer catamaran (yes, more math!; 1 foot equals 30.48 cm so Piment Rouge is approximately 15.5 meters), a very beautiful boat designed for circumnavigation and more if desired; a fast boat that has won the ARC twice (a friendly race across the Atlantic). But Piment Rouge is above all a community of 70 Pimientos, people from all walks of life whom Pierre, the proud captain, has brought together with generosity, openness, and… a lot of Rock’n Roll! Pierre is The Boss (I’ll leave you to figure out the musical reference, I think Pierre attended every European concert date this summer), because on a boat you need one, but he is also a source of sharing, good humor, adventures, and a music enthusiast who has set up the best sound system ever installed on an Outremer.
We’ve known Pierre and his boat since last summer when they took us south of Corsica to Bonifacio to explore the west coast of Sardinia, the wildest and most exposed to prevailing winds. We spent two weeks there (with 5 other crew members) sharing, discovering, and enjoying ourselves, ending with a night crossing between Cape Spartivento at the extreme south of Sardinia to reach the Egadi Islands on the northwest coast of Sicily.
So, a quick call from the pontoon, and we see Piment Rouge’s dinghy (a small zodiac) arriving with Pierre on board. We load all our junk towards the cata anchored a little further offshore where we meet two other Pimientos, Arnaud and Gregory, two friends who joined a few days earlier.
The welcome matches the adventure; we start by opening a bottle of champagne to celebrate our arrival, then we lift anchor heading to Tintamarre Island between Saint Martin and Saint Barth, calm sea and Caribbean sun, we are in good spirits. First night on board before a short hike around the island then off to Saint Barth where we will spend the night. It’s surprising arriving in Saint Barth; given the island’s reputation, we expect to see only immense and gleaming yachts, but we find a multitude of small sailboats of all types and ages. After a few questions at the locals’ bar, we finally understand why: seasonal workers come by boat, much cheaper than staying on site. Certainly, these are adventurous seasonal workers!
Early the next day, we depart for Marigot as we must drop off our two Pimientos who, after enjoying a few days of relaxation on board Piment Rouge, are off to rejoin the mainland and its less clement weather. We take the opportunity to have lunch near the airport runway. Put like that, it doesn’t sound appealing but the place is well known because the runway is just a few meters from the beach and when a plane lands, it feels like it will skim the sand. There are also plenty of videos on social media showing people clinging to the fence at takeoff, blown away like straw… very, very dangerous of course!
So, there will be three of us for the rest of the adventure, comfortable on a 15-meter catamaran! We do the shop for the next 12 days and take the opportunity to discover the magnificent wine shop Le Goût Du Vin in Marigot, a treasure trove of fine wines, rare vintages, and knowledgeable and attentive advice. Tomorrow morning, we depart at dawn, heading for the BVI.
70 miles (100km) downwind (with the wind astern) with 15 knots of wind (okay, let me do the calculation, that’s about 28 km/h), it’s a long pleasant slide under the Caribbean sun with a sea gently carrying us, a delight! We even have the luck that a mahi-mahi decides to bite the hook of the trolling line. 6kg of fresh fish for the holidays, it’s hard to refuse.
Smooth landing in Virgin Gorda, we drop anchor, it’s time for a well-deserved swim after this day of crossing. The next day we head for Tortola, the largest island in the BVI, passing under the house, what am I saying, Eric Clapton’s Castle clinging to the cliff… Immense! We will spend the night in a marina as we are invited to dinner by a friend of Pierre’s, so off to a local restaurant where Filipino musicians treat us to rock music (which pleases the captain) and us too of course, as we spend the evening dancing.
The rest of the trip continues like this, Jost Van Dyke Island with its white sand and festive atmosphere during the day in White Bay, Norman Island and its famous floating bar, the Willy T, or Cooper Island where you can find the best Rum bar in the BVI. There you can also find the most expensive rum in the world, 700€ per glass, which is quite impressive! We just admired the bottle, it cost nothing. Beach, snorkeling, cuisine, reading, sailing… The vacation continues smoothly with nurse sharks, colorful fish, and hikes on wild islands.
Departure for Anegada, the northernmost island of the Virgin Islands, a large flat island with a lake in the middle housing flamingos. We take the opportunity to rent scooters to tour it and admire the conch mountain (huge white shells that are edible and of which the locals have made into a mountain visible from a kilometer away). In the evening, we eat lobsters, the island’s specialty. The next morning we finally get to do some kiteboarding since the wind is up.
Back to Virgin Gorda for dinner at Saba Rock, a very surprising island restaurant, then a visit to the Baths, the most mythical place in the BVI: a stack of granite rocks creating a fairy-tale labyrinth right by the water’s edge.
Time flies too quickly and the time to return approaches after these magical two weeks thanks to Pierre who was a perfect guide and Piment Rouge a very welcoming floating home. The BVI is a little corner of paradise, very popular with Americans, where you almost only see catamarans, very comfortable adventure and discovery platforms. It’s true that there are a lot of people around, but the sea is vast so we always manage to find a quiet spot with beautiful beaches.
I talk about vacation but with Jalan, Le Monastrell, and Maison Lavau, and thanks to Starlink which allows internet connection like at home, I think we worked 6 to 8 hours a day (especially Anna). So it was more of a workation, a beautiful concept that makes you want to come back. Waking up in the morning and working with a view of a turquoise lagoon, making a few phone calls interrupted by swims, checking emails after a land or water hike, returning to the office will be difficult but what extraordinary moments.
Looking forward to the next Jalan workations!