Treasure Island

Admin | Nov 20, 2007 | Comments 0

A pirate’s life for me! That’s how I felt sailing up to the legendary Norman Island , my first overnight stop on my quest to sail seven islands in seven day in the British Virgin Islands (see last post). I had heard about this island years ago and wanted to see why famed author, Robert Louis Stevenson called this tiny speck of an island his inspiration for “Treasure Island.” BVI Locals still insist there’s a fortune buried somewhere. After anchoring about a quarter mile out I took our dinghy over to the beach and followed a rugged but scenic hiking trial all around the top of the tiny island. This is what I found…

Norman Island is just over 600 acres and is about 2 ½ miles long and a gentle rolling hill runs through the center of the island making the highest point about 425 feet above sea level. There are several places you can anchor offshore. We picked the most popular, called The Bight because it’s the most protected. Other good choices are Soldiers Bay, Benures Bay and Money Bay ( if the wind conditions are right). Hiking around the islands you can see all these bays and the views are fantastic. Money Bay has some of the best snorkeling and another site you don’t want to miss is Norman Island’s famed Caves, another part of the island Stevenson wrote about in “Treasure Island”.

The only real building I could see was a cozy beach shack called the Pirates Bight restaurant. I saw a few sailors eating there but decided to passed it up because I planned to celebrate my first night at sea with a bottle of champagne and a barbeque on the catamaran I rented from The Moorings based out of Tortola.

Before you travel The Moorings sends you a checklist of all the different kinds of food and drinks you might want and then when you arrive at your catamaran your selection is brought to you and then you have the challenge of setting up your cat the way you want to try and fit in all the food. I had chosen from a selection of fish and steaks and threw in some hotdogs for good measure!

Leaving Norman Island I realized while I hadn’t found any “buried treasure” the true treasure of this island, at least for me, was the island itself. The memories of my time spent here are priceless.

The first night sleeping on the cat was magical. There is something so soothing being rocked to sleep by gentles waves and a fragrant tropical breeze. I dreamed about my next stop. Peter Island. I had sailed past this exclusive private island several years ago and always promised myself I would be back to stay and now finally I was making this one dream come true.

Next stop…one of my favorite private islands in the world AND celebrity favorite…Peter Island.

For more exotic TRAVEL THERAPY destinations check out www.mytraveltherapy.com.

Filed Under: Adventure Trips • Best Beaches • Caribbean • Celebrity • Honeymoons • Island Vacations • Luxury Resorts • Private Islands • Romance • Travel Therapy