Arriving at Jost Van Dyke island, White Bay

Sailing to Jost Van Dyke was pleasant, moderate winds with a few bursts. However, we did have to motor a bit. Our destination was White Bay, the next bay over from Great Harbor, home of the legendary Foxie's Beach bar.

We arrived about 5 pm, about an hour before sundown. White Bay has a white sand beach that creates that stunning blue/green color in the water you see in tourism ads. It also hosts the lesser know Ivan's Local Flavor Stress Free Bar. Jim and I swam from the boat to shore and had virgin Pina Colada's at Ivan's. It's a tiny place with walls full of shells and encomiums to Ivan, said to be the nicest man in the world.

Dinner on the boat was fish. We're running into problems with the refrigeration system and both the fish and chicken were submerged in solid blocks of ice. Dave managed to free some fish for dinner, created a fabulous makeshift sauce. So, we had grouper and something else, with rice and salad. Dave is an excellent field cook and works magic with whatever's available.

A mild debate ensued as to whether we should go to Foxies, which would involve a somewhat treacherous dinghy sail around a point and over some coral reef in pitch darkness. Some felt Foxie's was too touristy, others felt we needed to "check the box." The "box checkers" prevailed and off we went. It probably took us a half an hour to motor over, guided mostly by the lights on boats. As we turned the point, the "too touristy" crowd was vindicated by a massive cruise boat with blazing lights anchored in the harbor. Surprisingly, for a Saturday night, there was a very small crown. A Jimmy Buffet cover band played all the hits, like Bad, Bad Leroy Brown and Proud Mary. I felt like I was at a sparsely attended wedding reception. But you could really see how this place must really jump on special occasions.

One drink and we left to go to the more authentic bar back in White Bay favored by the "too touristy" opinion. Unfortunately, that bar was literally empty and there was no place to moor the dinghy. So, we went back on the boat.

I did some stargazing. A magnificent moonless night. The IPad app called Star Walk was tremendously helpful in identifying constellations and stars, the first time in my life I've been able to do that. We are sitting right under the Orion constellation, with Orion's belt never so visible to me.


-- Post From My IPad

Location:Fleming St,Road Town,British Virgin Islands