What you can see on the Jost Van Dyke cams
The camera is at the Soggy Dollar Bar, on White Bay. It looks from under the palms and blue umbrellas of the bar, across the wooden tables and loungers on the sand, to the turquoise bay and the catamarans and yachts on their anchors, with the hills of the neighbouring islands on the horizon. A second camera, from a villa on the hillside above, takes in the whole curve of the bay and its anchorage from above.
White Bay from the Soggy Dollar Bar
Under palms and big blue umbrellas, this camera looks out from the Soggy Dollar Bar across White Bay. Wooden tables and benches stand on the white sand in the foreground, loungers line the water's edge, and beyond them the turquoise bay is full of catamarans and yachts at anchor, and green islands across the water.
It shows how busy the beach and the anchorage are, and the bar streams it on YouTube with its name, the date and the time along the bottom.
White Bay from the hillside
From a villa on the hillside above White Bay, this camera looks down over the palms and the roofs below to the whole curve of the beach, the turquoise water and the boats anchored in the bay, with a steep green headland on one side and the neighboring islands on the horizon.
It shows how full the anchorage is at a glance, and the light on the bay from sunrise on.
The soggy dollar
White Bay has no dock, so for years sailors anchored off the beach and swam ashore with their money in their pockets: the bar that grew up on the sand came to be known for its wet notes, dried on a line behind the counter. It is also where the Painkiller was first mixed, in the 1970s: a blend of dark rum, pineapple, orange and coconut cream with nutmeg on top that has become the drink of the Virgin Islands.
When to watch Jost Van Dyke
The bay fills from late morning, when the day boats and charter yachts arrive, and empties in the late afternoon. In the winter season the anchorage is at its busiest; Great Harbour, on the next bay, is famous for one of the biggest New Year's Eve parties in the Caribbean.
Nearby
Great Harbour, the main settlement, is home to Foxy's, the island's other famous bar. Little Jost Van Dyke and Sandy Cay lie off the east end, and Tortola is about 8 km (5 miles) to the south-east.
Getting there
The island is reached by ferry from Tortola or St Thomas, or on a day trip by boat; there is no airport. On White Bay, boats anchor or pick up moorings off the beach and passengers wade or swim ashore.
