Land of the "Treasure Island"

Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of "Treasure Island," started writing this story of pirates and the sea in 1881 when he was about 30. Of course, it was the inspiration for Walt Disney and his theme park rides as well as the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series of movies.

I've read most of the book, been on the Disney rides and watched all of the movies...it seems I have always been facinated with the subject of piracy and sea-faring ships. It's sort of a neat coincidence that Karen and I are here in the Caribbean and, specifically, around the Virgin Islands where most of these tales and theme rides were developed from. Not to mention that the area was notorious for many of the real pirates we are most familiar with...Blackbeard, Sir Francis Drake (he was a privateer, ie: country-sponsored pirate), Henry Morgan, Bartholomew Roberts, etc.

It has been strongly suggested by historians that Norman Island in the British Virgin Islands was the inspiration of Stevenson for his book. Just to the northeast of Norman Island is Peter Island. On the eastern end of Peter Island is Dead Man Bay. About 1/2 mile to the east of this bay is Dead Chest Island, another area referenced by Stevenson in his book. You know Dead Chest from the poem..."Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Drink and devil had done for the rest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum." Yep, it's also by Stevenson . Alledgedly, the poem is based on an real event when Blackbeard abandoned a number of mutinous crew on Dead Chest Island with a bottle of rum and one pistol. Most of them drowned in an attempt to swim to the larger Peter Island. Thus, they washed ashore in what became known as Dead Man Bay.


Welcome to the new age of piracy!

We spent a few nights on Norman Island, in Benures Bay. We've been here numerous times, snorkling the waters and hiking the trails. Many of the blogs have covered the fun we've had here. Here's some recent photos of our last trip there:

Damselfish

Caribbean Reef Squid

Full moon over Benures Bay



 One of our hikes took us to the top of the island where we looked down from a helipad into "The Bight". This is the place where many go to the rowdy "Willie T" bar...a large, wooden, sailboat converted to a floating libations vendor, where it's been rumored that folks go there to enjoy the scenery...numerous women (and an occasional man) having lots to drink, stripping down to the "birthday suit" and diving off of the boat. We've never been there, so can't tell you if the rumor's are true.

The Bight

The hiking version of Karen

Looking down into Benures Bay

Karen thinks I need help

Relaxing at the bar halfway on our hike