The Bight at Norman Island

Cliffs above the reef at The Bight, Norman Island

Norman Island is largely an uninhabited island with only one small resort located at the end of The Bight. While anchoring in this bay is possible, most boats take advantage of the 120 or so mooring bouys. We arrived before noon and were quite surprised at how many of these balls were available, perhaps too many as making a decision on which mooring ball to use was a difficult project. In the end we ended up in the shallows on the north side, somewhat protected? More importantly, we were  next to a reasonably good reef for snorkelling.

The William Thornton Floating Bar & Restaurant, The Bight, Norman Island, British Virgin Islands

People go to Norman Island for a number of reasons but certainly one of them is to visit The William Thornton Floating Bar & Restaurant or Willy T’s bar. A fixture destination for over 25 years, this old run down 100ft steel hauled schooner has a reputation for good times and certainly didn’t disappoint. We turned up around 3:00 or so, a little early as happy hour in this part of the world starts at 4:00. After ordering a few Margaritas and a Rum and Coke (there are three of us, remember!) Willy’s began to get interesting. The party boat from Soper’s Hole had just arrived so we knew we were going to be in for a good time.

Photos of Willy T’s Bar & Restaurant

The bartender serves up shots on what looks like an old water ski with 5 holes drilled in it – 5 ski shots for 5 people and on the count of three, you get the idea. Not my cup of tea (or shot) but certainly entertaining to watch. After these fixes the party “animals” jump off the poop deck atop the bar area and swim back to the dinghy dock for another round of drinks, shooters and jumping. Sure looks like fun! I was thinking I can’t miss out on this poop deck experience but unfortunately didn’t get the opportunity at a later time.

Jumping off the Willy T floating bar, Norman Island, BVI

Willy T’s does know how to advertise with many bikini clad women gladly accepting the application of Willy T tattoos in different locations on their bodies. I’ve been noticing these tattoos on good looking women a number of times since the fateful day. I assume that some of the men had tattoos as well but didn’t notice.

The other bar at The Bight,  Pirate’s Bar & Restaurant is pleasant and very well done in a low key resort sort of way. $4 beers are the norm and they have excellent WiFi for all the computer starved boaters trying to keep up with business or stay in touch with the world.

The Bight looks like a great spot to spend a few days with excellent hiking on Norman Island plus the Caves, an area well known for its’ snorkelling. I’ll be pulling out my GoPro for some underwater video tomorrow, very excited to try it out. This should keep us busy.