Said to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Norman Island is the southwest most of the British Virgin Islands. Only about two miles to the west is St John in the US Virgin Islands which we can’t  go to as we don't have US visas.

We had a gentle sail down here from Road Harbour after shopping and its easy to see how pirate ships could have hidden in the coves here and sailed out to attack ships or have had their base here and hidden their treasure. Surrounded by high hills you cannot see into the coves until you round the points at their entrances. Needless to say we didn’t find any gold! What we did find was fantastic snorkelling. Wednesday morning we walked up to the high point between The Bight, where we were moored and Privateer Bay and looked down on Treasure Point, there really are some fantastic names here, a couple of days ago we sailed past Throw Wife Away Bay and there really are places called Tent Point, Landing and Settlement all good adventure story names. In the afternoon we swam into the shore and snorkelled along the reef seeing all sorts of fantastic corals and superbly coloured reef fish, there was also a large Ray on the bottom and Phil passed a Turtle on his way in.

This morning we went around Treasure Point to The Caves, a National Park area, and snorkelled along the cliffs and into the caves surrounded by fish all the time and even better than yesterday. You swim alongside the underwater cliff and over and around large boulders covered in corals and plants. On returning to Serenity there was a Barracuda patrolling around the keel.

We sailed north to Peter Island this afternoon and will return to Tortola tomorrow.