(upbeat music) - [Narrator] There are places on earth that require a unique experience to discover.

You're looking good, Brian.

The true beauty of these places can't be known unless you explore them on certain terms.

Just hold that straight in course, I wouldn't go any more left.

And while it's easy to enjoy travel to tropical destinations like this around the world, the British Virgin Islands are meant to be explored on the blue seas surrounding them by sails filled with warm breezes under a bright Caribbean sun, led to distant horizons with the voyager's heart.

So I'm gonna take the GoPro camera here and jump in the water and see what we see.

- On this journey, I'm once again combining a little work with a lot of pleasure.

(people screaming) A friendcation planned and canceled several times due to a pandemic called COVID, but now a high seas adventure that's finally about to begin.

We're packed in here like a bunch of sardines, but that's part of the fun.

Two decked out catamarans on an eight-day odyssey in one of the best places to sail on the planet.

Expert is a loose term to describe what we do.

A paradise of white sands, warm waters, sunrises almost too good to be true, and mysteries below the surface that unlock secrets of the BVI's nautical past.

- We can make ceviche out of it.

I'm gone, I'm putting back.

- Yeah.

- All right, free Willy.

- [Jeff] Get ready to sail with a band of Scalawags here for their first time.

(people screaming) Traveling in a way that opens up access to remote places like this.

So this is your first time to the British Virgin Islands.

What are you thinking right now?

- It's amazing.

- Where fun meets adventure and memories that last a lifetime will be made.

Now, what we're doing right now is somewhat, I'm not gonna say nerve wracking, but we're all paying attention a lot right now.

- It's nerveracking.

- It's nerveracking.

(laughs) Just in case any islanders out there were gonna wonder if I was a local or not, I put on puka shells to confirm that I was out of town.

That is a barracuda.

- Oh.

- [Brian] It tried to bite you, I saw it.

When you travel, the world becomes a smaller place.

When you explore with friends that share a love of photography, destinations come to life.

Are you not entertained?

We tell the stories of travel with our cameras, capturing images of the most beautiful places on earth, but every adventure reveals more than what's found in the frame.

The people, the food, and the unexpected turns that happen on every journey.

- You wanna go?

- No.

He's going downtown on you.

Hang on a second.

Brings the full experience of travel into focus.

- [Narrator] Production funding for "Outside: Beyond the Lens" provided by Visit Fresno County.

Nature, diversity, found in the heart of California's Central Valley.

From Fresno and Clovis, you can drive to three nearby national parks.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- Hedrick's Chevrolet is proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- [Narrator] By Advance Beverage Company, serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

From our family to yours, supporting ValleyPBS and the wonders of travel.

By The Penstar Group, promoting growth and opportunity in business through collaboration and partnerships for the future.

By Hodges Electric, serving California's Central Valley for over 50 years, dedicated to supporting public television and the calling in all of us to explore.

And by Visit Yosemite Madera County, California's gateway to Yosemite National Park.

Explore the outdoor magic of Madera County and be inspired to discover more.

(upbeat music) - Looking out the window of a red eye flight over the middle of America, reminds me that there can be some redeemable value of overnight plane travel.

A central Texas thunderstorm from a perspective that gives scale to the wonders of weather and a brief reminder that the journey is the destination when we travel.

(upbeat music) After a plane change in Miami, a long awaited getaway to sail in the British Virgin Islands look like it actually may happen now.

The view of The Bahamas below on our next flight, a welcome back gift to the return of a part of the world I love to explore.

From up here, a thing called COVID 19 is put into proper perspective.

Our trip to sail the British Virgin Island starts here, touching down on the U.S. Virgin Island of Saint Thomas.

Flights directly into the British Virgin Islands themselves are possible, but fairly limited.

There are many more flight options to get here, if you make Saint Thomas your final stop by plane and then ferry or water taxi to the BVI's from here.

Zach and Dave have stayed home on this run.

So I'll be shooting it with my wife, Jill, and our regular travel buddies that have been waiting a long time for this day to finally arrive.

Road Town is the main hub over on Tortola in the BVIs, and where many of the sailing charter companies are located.

A typical itinerary here includes island hopping around Tortola with overnight stops at the mooring fields tucked out of the wind, usually with a good restaurant close by.

All right, so we checked out of The Ritz, and we're kind of waiting for the taxi to show up from Dolphin Water Taxi.

We chose to use a water taxi service instead of riding the Red Hook ferry over to Road Town.

Right now there's only one ferry running.

It doesn't get over there until 4:30 in the afternoon.

And that's where you go through customs.

And that can be kind of crowded.

If you get a full ferry of people, you're gonna have to stand in line while you go through customs.

Water taxi's a little bit more expensive, but we have our own ride over and no lines.

Using a water taxi service, like Dolphin Water Taxi, takes the pressure off the run over to Tortola from Saint Thomas, especially when you're moving with a large group like this.

Our van will take us right to a private dock for the next phase of the adventure.

We're packed in here, like a bunch of sardines, but that's part of the fun.

- That's part of the fun.

- Right?

- It is part of the fun.

- It's also good that it's not super humid outside today.

- Is that good?

- Oh, it really is.

You're wearing a tank top.

- And puka shells.

(Jill laughs) - They'll just say it's tourists.

- I wore it just in case any islanders out there were gonna wonder if I was a local or not, I put on puka shells to confirm that I was actually out of town, right?

- [Mark] Confirm that you're on tour.

- Once we hit the dock, Captain Dion helps us aboard our private high speed charter, ready with some cold beverages.

One of the things I love doing out here is looking at all the boats.

We're boat people.

We love boats.

We love sailboats in particular.

And so this is a great place just to gawk at all the nice, beautiful catamarans, monohulls, all the boats out here.

All right, here we go.

With the boats screaming on a course for Tortola, we fly past the pristine shores of Saint John, another U.S. Virgin Island, that actually makes up a majority of Virgin Islands National Park.

Once we're out on the water, the beauty of this place begins to ease the fatigue of long travel days to get here, as island vibes slowly sneak in.

But because we're on a Miami Vice rocket run, we hit the West End Ferry building fast for a quick COVID screening, passport check, and then back on the water to Road Town, where all the work in getting here is about to pay off.

The crew at Dolphin Water Taxi made what can be a rough part of this journey a total Caribbean breeze.

So here we are in Road Town pulling up.

- Yeah, it doesn't have to- - Dolphin Water Taxi, Captain Dion, safely delivering us to Conch Charters here right behind me over here.

And we just cleared customs, which was really easy with COVID protocols.

No problem on that.

Pulling into this beautiful fleet of charter boats that Conch Charters operates here.

We're gonna get on board, get checked out on the boat, and we'll be camping here for the night.

As you can tell, a lot of work goes into the front side of a trip like this.

I've sailed with Conch Charters before and love their team.

You can hire a captain to take you out on one of their boats for the week, or like us, if you know just enough to be dangerous and can sail on your own, do a bareboat charter to enjoy these welcoming waters at your own pace.

While the Conch Charters team gets the boat ready, it's time to run next door to the local grocery store to get provisions for the voyage.

I am not gonna lie.

This part of the trip is my least favorite thing.

Planning and buying enough stuff for eight days on the water with all these people on board can be overwhelming.

So really doing a solid pre-plan on provisioning is highly recommended.

Something we didn't do.

- Provisioning.

- Provisioning.

I'm gonna follow you right in.

- Okay, follow me.

I know you're doing absolutely nothing now.

- Except shooting a TV show.

- (laughs) That's true.

- Which really isn't that hard.

Okay, so.

(Brian and Jeff laughing) After a quick checkout on the boat and going over our travel plans with Conch Charters expert staff, we are finally ready to set sail and get this trip underway.

With more than half the day already gone, we head for Norman Island just across the main channel to grab a ball in a mooring area called the Bight.

So this is your first time to the British Virgin Islands.

What are you thinking right now?

- It's amazing.

Just beautiful.

Water's crystal blue.

- It is so clear.

We're right up next to Norman Island here.

We've got the jungle right up to the boat.

Here's the thing.

This is the end of day one.

We have eight more days to go.

So we have a lot of the islands to see and a lot of water to cover and it's gonna be great.

But right now, we're over there staring at one of the most famous places in the British Virgin Islands.

- Willy T's.

- It's a boat called the Willy T. And for those who know, you know.

(reggae music) Going aboard the world famous Willy T is a BVI rite of passage, and perhaps one of the top things to check off on a list of things to do here.

It's a kind of floating bar and restaurant that draws the cruising crowd in like a moth to a flame, and will definitely put an island smile on your face.

It does not take long for the rum drinks to start flowing here, and a little liquid courage to coax our crowd to take the famous plunge into the Caribbean Sea from the back deck of the Willy T. (reggae music) After getting our Willy T on, it's time to slow it down for a nice beachside dinner at the Pirates Bight on Norman Island.

Most of our overnight stops on this trip will have great dining close to the boat, which is how we like to do it after a long day on the water.

(reggae music) (calm music) The next morning, we dropped the ball at the Bight on Norman island, and set out on the first real test of sailing our 48-foot Leopard Catamaran named the Catmando to one of the most popular islands in the BVI's, Jost Van Dyke.

(calm music) This part of the world is famous for sailing due to its consistently reliable winds that blow from the east.

And since these islands are so close together, there isn't a predominant swell that you typically get out on the open sea.

(calm music) After a fun two-hour sail to the north, we approach the gorgeous blue waters off the coast of Jost Van Dyke.

Now, for the most part, sailing is a relaxing endeavor, but where things can get stressful, especially for people new to sailing and on a huge boat that technically belongs to someone else, tying up to the mooring ball can be a tricky job.

All right, Brian, you're doing great by the way.

What Brian's doing, is we've got the wind kind of blowing in from this angle right now.

And we're in tight.

There's a lot of extra boats around here.

So we've got a boat here, let me show you, on this side.

We're trying to be really careful 'cause we've got a boat.

We've got a boat right here, right behind us here.

We don't wanna hit that.

We got a boat there and we got a boat over here.

And Brian is doing a great job of backing this thing into the wind.

And then we're gonna turn and we're gonna try to pick up that ball right there.

Since we're so close to shore and within eye shot of another famous hangout on Jost Van Dyke, Ivan's Bar, we launched the dinghies and head for white sands and cold drinks.

(calm music) Exploring the islands like this gives you the same kind of experience you get on a road trip.

Traveling at your own pace, stopping to check out whatever you want, whenever you want, and staying in a place like Ivan's as long as you want.

(calm music) The whole point of this kind of a trip is to not stick to any plan or hard schedule.

When you're hungry, eat.

When you're thirsty, drink.

When you're tired, take a nap.

And when you wanna play in the waves with an island kid and crush him under your own body weight in the surf, you can do that too.

You're okay, you're okay, you're okay.

You're okay, you're okay.

No local children were injured in the filming of this episode.

Look out.

(laughs) (upbeat music) A new day begins over the British Virgin Islands with a morning paddle board to shore and a walk on the beach.

Two of my best friends on this planet, brothers Mark and Brian Biglione, sneak away from the boat to spend some quality brother time together on the shores of this island paradise.

(upbeat music) Since we're having such a blast on Jost Van Dyke, we decide to stay a second day on island, but move over one cove to Great Harbor, which has better protection from the wind and is home to another famous BVI hotspot, Foxy's.

It's also no coincidence that we found ourselves in this exact spot on Halloween night, so we could experience Foxy's legendary island costume party.

(upbeat music) The food at Foxy's is great, and the fun regularly had here, especially on a night like Halloween, will not be forgotten.

Or, as it turned out the next morning for most of us, will not be remembered.

Okay, so we're up on a Monday morning, the day after Thanksgiving, no.

(Jeff and Brian laughing) We're up on a Monday morning, the day after Halloween at Foxy's, which was fun.

We had a good time there last night.

Now, what we're doing right now is somewhat, I'm not gonna say nerveracking, but we're all paying attention a lot right now.

- It's nerveracking.

- It's- (laughing).

We are bringing the Catmando into a dock for the first time.

So right now the winds are pretty light to variable.

We think we know what we're doing here.

Brian has been doing a good job.

- We've been watching a lot of YouTube videos.

That helps.

- So we're checked out.

(Brian laughs) And we're bringing this 48-foot beautiful leopard in very carefully.

(calm music) When the sails are up and filled, you're not, of course, using the twin diesel engines for propulsion, so you conserve a lot of fuel.

But we do burn some diesel running the generator that powers the air conditioning and water pumps on board.

And with two big days of heading directly into the wind plant, where we will be only using the Catmando's engines, topping off the tanks and taking on a few more supplies is the plan before today's voyage.

Sailing east along the north shore of Tortola on a perfect Caribbean day, the plan is to stop for some lunch and snorkeling at a place called Monkey Point, before heading on to grab a ball for the night at Marina Cay.

(calm music) Okay, so I've cut the motors back on Catmando, and we're pulling into a national park on Water Island, which is just north of Tortola Island.

And this is a really popular place to come snorkeling called Monkey Point.

And so we're kind of slowing down, we're lining up the ball, and I'm gonna let Brian come up and get us on the ball.

He's really good at that.

And we're gonna do some snorkeling here.

I think it's gonna be beautiful.

I was really looking forward to snorkeling here.

Monkey Point is one of the rockstar spots in the BVIs for diving and snorkeling.

But a stubborn north swell out of the Atlantic turned these typically crystal clear waters into a salty soup of sand, and the current here was really tough to swim in.

Coming to Monkey Point, we did spot an amazing-looking white sand beach on Guana Island.

This is a private island owned by one family that operates a very exclusive resort, frequented by celebrities and elite travelers.

But access to this beach is allowed by boat for the rest of us.

As we approach by dinghy through the gentle waves, the beauty of this place captures us all.

Having access to such an exclusive location free of crowds or any other sign of civilization is another special part of a sailing experience like this.

Most of Guana Island is a natural preserve, and a long walk on this white powder sand beach will be one of my favorite memories of this entire trip.

(calm music) The quiet times on a big adventure like this bring balance to the experience.

And of all the places I've been lucky enough to film sunrises around the world in, daybreak here in the BVIs is in a class all its own.

Today's run is the most ambitious part of the entire trip for us.

It's where we leave the main island group of the BVIs behind to sail to the distant British Virgin Island of Anegada, almost 22 miles away.

While most of the crew is still asleep, Brian, Mark, and I are eager to get going, since this will be our biggest leg of the trip, and it's into somewhat open water, unprotected from the islands, with strong storms forecasted for the day.

- Yeah, ready, drop it.

- Okay, you heard it right there.

Captain Brian just said, "Drop it," which means we're dropping the ball here on Monday.

No, Tuesday morning.

We just spent the night right off of Marina Cay, which is right behind me here, this little island, just next to Scrub Island over here.

And you can see we've got some weather today.

So we're watching that.

In fact, in the distance back there, we can see that behind me, but it's just dumping rain right back there.

Just really super localized downpour.

But that's what we're gonna be dealing with today.

Sorry for the sleepy eyes.

I just woke up a little while ago.

- [Brian] Okay, good here.

- Okay, Brian's got forward power, so now he knows where he's going.

We'll go back up to the helm, and we've got our route punched into avionics right now that'll take us out.

So basically we're gonna get the start button right now, and off we go.

(upbeat music) Once we clear the main island group and get into deeper water, we set the autopilot for Anegada, the engines at 2000 RPMs, and settle in for the two and a half-hour run to the most distant British Virgin Island.

This is a great spot to troll some saltwater plugs behind Catmando, since fishing really picks up offshore.

- [Norton] Mark's got a fish.

Yeah, you do.

You got a skip jack.

You got a little skip jack.

Little skipjack.

Little skipjack.

Mark's got one.

Oh, we got a double hookup, double hookup.

Look at him, he's laying into it.

He's pulling the lip right off that sucker.

We can make ceviche out of it.

- I'm gone, I'm putting back.

- Yeah.

- All right, free Willie.

We're the players.

- [Brian] That one will bite you.

Look at that.

That is a barracuda.

It tried to bite you, I saw it.

He's got a good dental plan.

- [Jeff] After a few hours making the cross to Anegada, we grab a mooring in a place popular with cruisers and home to a few of the best places to eat fresh lobster in the BVIs, something Anegada is known for.

Anegada was hit hard when Hurricane Irma made a direct strike on the BVIs in September of 2017.

The aftermath of the devastation is still seen all around the islands.

Looks like a little rebuild going on there.

Hurricane Irma remnants.

But now businesses and tourism are back.

And a great way to see Anegada is by scooter, touring the north shore bars and hangouts.

(calm music) Armed with an array of rented scooter bikes, this Motley Cruise sets out on the open road, just as the skies open up with a late morning downpour.

But this will not stop us from making it to one of Anegada's legendary haunts at Cow Wreck Beach.

This landmark destination sits on the sands of Anegada's north coast, and is the perfect place to chill out and watch the waves break in the distance on Anegada's barrier reef.

After Cow Wreck, we saddle up again for the short ride up to another top spot to relax at the Anegada Beach Club.

Here, you can jump in the pool to wash off the trail dust while grabbing a bite to eat and sipping something cold before heading back to the boat.

(upbeat music) It's nice to break up all the time on the boat with a fun day exploring Anegada Island.

And even though another pretty big storm hits us as we get back into town, nothing can damper the spirits of a trip like this with close friends in such a beautiful place.

(calm music) After another sunrise to remember and favorable winds ready to fill the sail of Catmando for the run back to the main island group of the BVIs, we set a course for Virgin Gorda.

This adventure was one planned for a long time and canceled on several occasions due to the pandemic.

And now, after reflecting on a trip we took in early November of 2021, and remembering some of the other stops we made, like exploring the rock grottoes of a place called The Baths on Virgin Gorda, or snorkeling on the wreck of the RMS Rhone that sunk during a hurricane in 1867, the British Virgin Islands hold a special place in my heart.

The seascapes of the Caribbean are soft and approachable.

The harshness and unforgiving nature of oceans found elsewhere on earth give way to a warmth found in the winds, waters, and people here, who call the British Virgin Islands home.

To know this place better, you need to take a deeper look.

From the deck of the Catmando on a downwind run to road town, and eventually home, we realize there is still so much to see.

(calm music) - [Narrator] Production funding for "Outside: Beyond the Lens" provided by Visit Fresno County.

Nature, diversity found in the heart of California's Central Valley.

From Fresno and Clovis, you can drive to three nearby national parks.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- Hedrick's Chevrolet is proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- [Narrator] By Advance Beverage Company, serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years, from our family to yours, supporting ValleyPBS and the wonders of travel.

By The Penstar Group, promoting growth and opportunity in business, through collaboration and partnerships for the future.

By Hodges Electric, serving California Central Valley for over 50 years, dedicated to supporting public television and the calling in all of us to explore.

And by Visit Yosemite Madera County, California's gateway to Yosemite National Park.

Explore the outdoor magic of Madera County and be inspired to discover more.

(upbeat music)