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Be inspired by the British Virgin Islands' pristine beaches and clear waters - perfect for sailing and diving.

Enjoy the colony's rich maritime history that extends from tales of Blackbeard to the RMS Rhone.

British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands' pristine beaches and clear waters - perfect for diving and sailing. Enjoy the colony's rich maritime history that extends from tales of Blackbeard to the RMS Rhone.

Although peopled by the friendliest inhabitants in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands have yet to be discovered by the travelling masses, and still live up to their name as virgin holiday territory.

A sailor's paradise, the mainly volcanic, emerald-like islands are surrounded by sapphire-blue seas that create incredible scenery above and below the water line. Soft, gentle breezes keep temperatures at a steady 27-32ºC (80-90ºF). The sailing is said to be the best in the Caribbean.

There are nearly two-dozen established dive sites in the waters around the British Virgin Islands, several of which are also perfect for snorkelling:

Blonde Rock is another favourite. It is a pinnacle between Dead Chest and Salt Island, and rises from a depth of 60 feet to a mere 15 feet below the surface. Its rock ledges, tunnels, caves and overhangs are home to crabs, lobsters, beautiful fan corals and hordes of reef fish

Painted Walls is a shallow dive off the southern point of Dead Chest. Here divers delight at the kaleidoscope of colours created by encrusting corals and sponges on the walls of four long gullies. The depth ranges from 20-30 feet

Santa Monica Rock lies about a mile south of Norman Island and is a pinnacle that reaches from about 10 to 100 feet. Because it is on the outer edge of the island chain, it is a good place to see larger open ocean (pelagic) fish like spotted eagle rays, and possibly a nurse shark or two

The Indians - Not far from Peter and Norman Islands, four large, jagged pinnacles protrude from the surface after rising 50 feet from the ocean floor near Pelican Rock. These tooth-like formations yield a series of canyons and grottoes, which feature both soft and hard corals

Alice in Wonderland - Experienced divers looking for a deep dive will enjoy this one at South Bay on Ginger Island. The wall here slopes gently downward from 15 to 100 feet. Huge mushroom-shaped corals give the site its name

Brewers Bay Pinnacle offers spectacular diving when conditions are right. Lying about 200 yards off the west point of the bay, this towering rock rises for 90 to 200 feet and abounds with fish life

Great Dog is another good spot for beginners. The southern side is a pretty site indeed. Divers swim along the parallel reef from 10 feet down to 60 feet

The Chimneys is in the same area. Within this series of arches and canyons, you'll be dazzled by the colourful soft corals and charmed by the variety of fish

Reefs

Anegada's massive fringing reefs that have claimed over 300 ships since the age of exploration are now a diver's paradise. Fish life is abundant and the wreckage of condemned vessels is easily seen. Within the decaying belly of the wreck of the Rochus an incredible array of fish life can be seen.

But there are also surprises off the beaten path, and to help you find them, the BVI has more than a half-dozen land-based dive operators as well as nearly twice as many dive-boat operators, whose guests live aboard. All of the operators bring years of experience to the diving adventure, and all of them are eager to share the incredible beauties of their world.

A Wealth of History

Since Columbus first spotted the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in 1493, adventurers have been held spellbound by their natural and unspoiled beauty for five centuries. Likening them to the legendary St. Ursula surrounded by her 11,000 Virgins, Christopher Columbus supposedly anchored off Virgin Gorda (the fat virgin) and so named the whole group.

Many famous seafarers later passed through the islands, including Sir Francis Drake. The channel that cuts a swathe through the centre of the islands now bears Drake's name. Dutch buccaneers settled in the 17th century, followed by the English, and the islands were later raided by the Spanish. It was not until the 18th century that the British gained a firm hold on the islands.

Local folklore through the centuries maintains that infamous pirates rampaged around the waters largely untouched by the changing history and developments on land. Norman Island is reputed to be the setting for Robert Louis Stevenson's fictional Treasure Island, where the real pirate Blackbeard supposedly anchored off Deadman's Bay after one particularly successful raid, while he and his men split the 'booty'.

Marooned

After an argument, he marooned 15 men on the nearby island of Dead Chest with just a bottle of rum and their sea chests for company. Hence the mariner's song: 'Fifteen men on dead men's chest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!' Some locals believe there is still treasure to be found here, either buried on land somewhere, or in the many wrecks that line the bottom of the sea...

In 1872, the islands were admitted as a separate colony under the Leeward Islands Administration, and by the turn of the century were developing their own banks, hospitals and schools. Now one of the most politically stable territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands remain a colony of the United Kingdom with their own elected chief minister and government, and a resident British governor appointed by the Queen.

One of the few remaining outposts of the old British Empire, the islanders are fiercely proud of their British heritage, and thrilled that the Queen has visited them twice in her reign. Other royals are also regular guests of state, although some do come to simply enjoy the pleasures of the BVI.

Under The Sea

The British Virgin Islands lie at the edge of a huge underwater shelf that extends some eighty-five miles from Puerto Rico, before dropping off in the Atlantic to the north and the Caribbean to the south. Most of the sport diving in the BVI is on that shelf, where several of the fascinating wrecks and many of the fantastic underwater pinnacles and other formations are at a reasonable depth where both divers and snorkelers can enjoy them

The compactness of the British Virgin Islands is also an advantage for underwater explorers, looking for diversity. The entire chain extends for about thirty-five miles along Sir Francis Drake Channel and even dive sites considered remote are within a half-hour of the islands of Tortola or Virgin Gorda.

The sheltering effect of the islands cuts the wind speed at most dive sites, and in the summer months when winds are calmer, most of them are completely chop-free. The result is that during the spring, summer and fall weather conditions rarely spoil the fun. Summer and winter temperatures in the BVI are relatively similar and water temperatures are constant, too, usually warm enough so that wet suits aren't necessary except for people planning long, deep dives. The BVI's tidal range is about one foot, making currents a minimal factor at most of the popular dive sites.

Among those sites are The Caves on Norman Island, the place Robert Louis Stevenson had in mind when he wrote Treasure Island. There are four caves, ideal for snorkelling, one of which extends 80 feet under the island and provides the adventure of a night dive even when the sun is shining. Nearby Angelfish Reef has remarkably clear water and perfect visibility even at 90 feet where a diver is quite likely to see a graceful eagle ray and will surely encounter schools of colourful angelfish.

Off Dead Chest Island, a half-mile south of Peter Island, a coral reef provides some of nature's most beautiful treasures. Its alternating bands of coral and sand are punctuated with flitting bright-coloured tropical fish, and the ledges are covered with sponges of every colour of the rainbow. The reef is also home to small lobsters and crabs as well as starfish and shrimp, all of which provide fascinating subjects for underwater photography.

Caribbean's Most Famous Shipwreck

Moviegoers around the world were introduced to the wreck of RMS Rhone in the film The Deep, but it is much more impressive when experienced in person. The 310-foot steamer went down in an 1867 hurricane off Salt Island in the BVI and today she lies broken in two on the sandy bottom, her steel wreckage encrusted in coral. Before she sank, the Rhone had been the pride of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and carried 313 passengers.

The Rhone's bow section is about 75 feet below the surface and divers can swim inside where they are welcomed by schools of brightly hued snappers and grunts, parrotfish and soldierfish. The stern half lies in 30 feet of water with the ship's rudder jutting up to within 15 feet of the surface. Because of the clarity of the water, snorkelers can also enjoy the view from above. The area around the wreck of the Rhone is a BVI National Park, possibly the only such park in the world that owes its existence to a shipwreck.

A wreck of a different sort, which many divers say is the BVI's best, lies in the open sea about 10 miles from Virgin Gorda. The Japanese refrigeration ship, Chikuzen, scuttled in 1981, lies on her side in 75 feet of water. In the years since Chikuzen came to rest on her side on the sandy bottom, her 246-foot hull has attracted reef life and become home to thousands of tropical fish.

Ghost Ship?

The ship's encrusted rigging gives a ghost like feel to the scene, making the site perfect for dramatic underwater photography. In addition to the schools of fish, a photographer will surface with close-ups of octopus, giant rays and even a huge jewfish. Most fascinating is to observe the building of a new underwater environment. Out beyond established reefs and islands, corals, reef fish and other creatures are creating a new world of their own and divers can trace their progress, an experience unique in the underwater world.

More information available in Cruises, Exotic Islands