Maureen & Stephen, Top of the Baths

Post Christmas we sailed off to Virgin Gorda. As winds were blowing in the low 20s, we had a double reefed main and a partial jib. We had to tack our way east into the winds. Trip’s kind of sailing, my day to just ride along on the boat. We made it to Spanishtown as the sun was going down and grabbed a mooring.

The next day we moved a mile down the coast to the most famous part of the BVI – the Baths. I refer to it as a prehistoric Disneyland with granite boulders dumped on top of each other creating the most spectacular caves and climbs. The park service provides two dozen moorings off the Baths and despite being post-storm, all fill up on a daily basis by mid morning. You then dinghy from your boat to a special line where you tie off the dinghy and then swim to shore. There’s not much coral (though there was one impressive stump of elkhorn coral that made it through the storm) but lots of fish to check out on the way in.

The boys goofing off in the Baths

There’s a path through the boulders that’s a really fun hike and great photo ops abound. Once done with the hike, you toss on a tshirt or coverup and then walk up to the Top of the Baths. There is a restaurant (complete with its own swimming pool) on a ridge overlooking the Baths and the boats. Plenty of shade, so we could relax with a drink and lunch before heading back.

No joke – that’s a basketball court on the uppermost deck

We didn’t get back till later in the day, so we opted to stay over night. In the meantime several mega yachts moved in, one featuring a half basketball court topsides – I still haven’t figured out if it was an NBA player, owner, or just a wannabe with too much money.

 

Minuet @ the Baths