Sailing to Jost Van Dyke

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Jost Van Dyke, an island in the BVI

Jost Van Dyke is the smallest of the four main islands in the British Virgin Islands. Named after a Dutch pirate, the island seems to have thrived on a blend of adventure and isolation. Sugar mills once dotted the island’s slopes. Although today the island’s economy revolves mostly around tourism, those remnants of plantation life—often swallowed up by the jungle—hint at a time when agriculture and trade dominated. White Bay has become famous for its beach bars, especially the legendary Soggy Dollar Bar, home of the Painkiller cocktail. According to island lore, the name comes from sailors who’d swim ashore and pay for their drinks with wet dollar bills.