{"id":15010,"date":"2025-11-09T20:21:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T04:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jbranchblog.com\/?p=15010"},"modified":"2025-11-24T20:49:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T04:49:17","slug":"a-private-island-yes-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jbranchblog.com\/?p=15010","title":{"rendered":"A Private Island, Yes Please!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a great night out the evening before at Foxys, today was going to be a couple of hours of sailing to get us to Garden Bay. About an hour in, we spotted a little island that was probably about a square mile in size with a great beach and nobody on it. So we decided to stop and explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a beautiful beach, and while exploring the jungle, we came across an area with so many hermit crabs that you could barely walk around without stepping on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An hour or two on the beach, and it was time to continue on to Garden Bay. The sailing was great, with some heavier upwind time, and that was a good experience. We were flying. When you look up at the sails, it’s pretty peaceful, but when you step away and see the wake of the boat, it gives some perspective as to the power that wind has pushing a 30,000-pound boat through the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We arrived at Garden Bay, and that was a really nice change of pace. I went ashore on my own and discovered that after all of the touristy beaches and towns, this was completely different. I spent an hour walking up and down the streets, and didn’t see another tourist. Just the locals, hanging out on the porches of their homes with their kids and dogs. I wandered through the local elementary school, as well as the town graveyard. It was a change from the last few days, and really nice to see a different side of Tortola.
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The night ended with a feast like no other. When I bought groceries at the beginning of the week, I picked up lobster tails, and they were the biggest I’ve ever seen. There was nothing on the package indicating their weight, but they were easily over a pound each. I nearly couldn’t finish it, and that’s not something I ever thought I would say about a lobster tail. Amazing!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ended the night watching fish swim around the boat with the help of the boat’s underwater lights. I’m no expert on fish, but one that kept hanging around sure looked like a shark to me. Weigh in if you can identify what it really is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n