The architect of the United States Capital Building has a far different claim to fame in the British Virgin Islands. William Thornton was born in 1759 on Jost Van Dyke, a postcard-perfect island with few inhabitants even today, but it’s a famous, and infamous, bar which bears his name that has people talking around here.
Thornton was educated to be a physician in Scotland, but rarely practiced medicine. Architecture was his first love and as a self-taught architect, Thornton won the competition to design the Capital Building in 1792. With the blessing of President George Washington, Thornton was given $500 and a plot of land in the capital for the honor.
But mention the name William Thornton around the BVI’s and you’re likely to be regaled by stories of crazy times aboard a floating bar just off Norman Island. It’s called the Willy T and if you’re ever passing through these parts, be sure to make it one of your stops. For St. John folks, the Willy T is often the last stop on day-long boating trips, or, let’s be honest, sometimes the only stop.
It’s not at all uncommon to see St. Johnians have a final few cocktails — or “Willy-ritas” — before the sun sinks into the horizon and boats race back for nearby Coral Bay before dark.
Norman Island is famous for being the model for Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” and the anchorage, called the Bight, is a wide azure bay nestled on the 120-acre uninhabitable island’s western shore. Legend has it that there’s pirate booty to be found in the nearby caves, but it’s usually the booty aboard the Willy T that has tongues wagging.
The bar and restaurant first started serving boaters — you need a vessel to get to the Willy T, no ferry or highway will get you there — in 1989 when Mick and Annie Gardner anchored their wooden 1935 Baltic Trader in the Bight.
After sating the thirst of sailors for more than a decade, the original Willy T sprung a leak in the middle of the night on June 11, 1995 and sank on her mooring.
The wooden Willy T was raised, hauled out to sea and sunk again in hopes of making a new dive site, but was quickly mashed to bits leaving no trace of the vessel.
Mick and his son-in-law, Ewan Anderson, wouldn’t let that be Willy T’s final chapter. Before long, the two procured a 100-foot steel hulled schooner that is the Willy T enjoyed today.
To anyone familiar with the iconic floating bar and restaurant, two things immediately come to mind — nudity and Zeus. The latter is one of the best bartenders at the “bistro on the briny” or anywhere for that matter. Zeus is just fun and knows how to start a party.
He has talked more women into baring their breasts for a temporary tattoo, than anyone can ever imagine. Which brings us to the other image synonymous with the Willy T, nudity.
Up until 2006, any lady who bared it all and jumped off the upper back deck of the Willy T was awarded a free T-shirt for her trouble. It sounds pretty risque, but usually the only thing visible on the leaping ladies was a flash of white flesh.
Apparently someone got injured in 2006 and the practice is not encouraged or rewarded today, obvious by the steel frame and signs saying “No Jumping.” I’m actually surprised the jumping practice went on that long considering the amount of spirits often imbibed before such plunges.
But even without free T-shirts for naked deck jumping, the Willy T is still the best place for an on-board lunch or dinner, a few cocktails or to shake your thing on the dance floor.
Be sure to check it out next time you’re in these waters!
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