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At roughly 8 square kilometers, Jost Van Dyke is the smallest of the four main islands of the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands is a British overseas territory, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands, the remaining islands constituting the United States Virgin Islands....
, the northern portion of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands are an archipelago, part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles, where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean....
, located in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 and Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
. Jost Van Dyke lies about 5 miles to the northwest of Tortola
Tortola

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands which form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands....
 and 5 miles to the north of Saint John. Little Jost Van Dyke
Little Jost Van Dyke

Little Jost Van Dyke is one of the British Virgin Islands. It is a small island on the east end of the island of Jost Van Dyke. Like Jost Van Dyke, it takes its name from the Netherlands privateer Joost van Dyk....
 lies off its eastern end.

Like many of the neighboring islands, it is volcanic
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 in origin and mountainous. The highest point on the island is Roach Hill at 321 meters (1054 ft).

island's name comes from that of a 17th century Dutch privateer
Privateer

A privateer was a private warship authorized by a country's government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping. Strictly, a privateer was only entitled by its state to attack and rob enemy vessels during wartime....
, Joost van Dyk
Joost van Dyk

Joost van Dyk was a Dutch privateer who was one of the earliest European settlers in the British Virgin Islands in the seventeenth century, and established the first permanent settlements within the Territory....
, who used its harbours as a hideout.






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At roughly 8 square kilometers, Jost Van Dyke is the smallest of the four main islands of the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands is a British overseas territory, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands, the remaining islands constituting the United States Virgin Islands....
, the northern portion of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands are an archipelago, part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles, where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean....
, located in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 and Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
. Jost Van Dyke lies about 5 miles to the northwest of Tortola
Tortola

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands which form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands....
 and 5 miles to the north of Saint John. Little Jost Van Dyke
Little Jost Van Dyke

Little Jost Van Dyke is one of the British Virgin Islands. It is a small island on the east end of the island of Jost Van Dyke. Like Jost Van Dyke, it takes its name from the Netherlands privateer Joost van Dyk....
 lies off its eastern end.

Like many of the neighboring islands, it is volcanic
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 in origin and mountainous. The highest point on the island is Roach Hill at 321 meters (1054 ft).

History

The island's name comes from that of a 17th century Dutch privateer
Privateer

A privateer was a private warship authorized by a country's government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping. Strictly, a privateer was only entitled by its state to attack and rob enemy vessels during wartime....
, Joost van Dyk
Joost van Dyk

Joost van Dyk was a Dutch privateer who was one of the earliest European settlers in the British Virgin Islands in the seventeenth century, and established the first permanent settlements within the Territory....
, who used its harbours as a hideout. Although the island is small, Jost Van Dyke boasts several notable natives, including William Thornton
William Thornton

Dr. William Thornton was an American physician, inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first Superintendent of the United States Patent Office....
, architect of the U.S. Capitol Building, and John C. Lettsome
John C. Lettsome

Dr. John Coakley Lettsome was an English physician and philanthropist born on Little Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. He was born into one of the early Quaker settlements in the British Territory....
 (of Little Jost Van Dyke), founder of the British Medical Society.

Demographics and tourism


A few hundred people live on Jost Van Dyke. (The recorded population in 1991 was 140; however, the population increased in the late 1990s with the advent of electricity and paved roads.)

Jost Van Dyke receives numerous visitors. The island is accessible by private boat
Boat

A boat is a watercraft of modest size designed to float or plane on water, and provide transport over it. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas....
s and ferry
Ferry

A ferry is a form of transport, usually a boat or ship, used to carry passengers and their vehicles across a body of water. Ferries are also used to transport freight and even railroad cars....
 service from Tortola and Saint Thomas (via Saint John).

The most frequent mooring destination is Great Harbor (or Great Harbour). The beach strip around the harbour is lined with small bars and restaurants. Since the late 1960s, Foxy's Bar in Great Harbor has been a popular stop for Caribbean
Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
 boaters. Foxy's and the other bars in Great Harbor now host a modest crowd year-round and are filled with thousands of partiers on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is on , the final day of the Gregorian calendar year, and the day before New Year's Day.New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day....
 (locally known as "Old Year's Night").

Located in nearby White Bay is the Soggy Dollar Bar, another famous beach bar on the island. The Soggy Dollar is reputedly the birthplace of the popular drink known as the Painkiller
Painkiller (cocktail)

A Painkiller is a rum cocktail. A painkiller is traditionally made by frothing a mixture of dark rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, sweetened coconut cream, and shaved ice, and topping with nutmeg....
. The Soggy Dollar bar is appropriately named because of the difficulty of navigating one's boat over the coral reef to reach the beach where the bar is located. It is a common practice for boaters to anchor beyond the reef, swim to the beach, and pay for their drinks with wet money.

The country music video for Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney

Kenneth Arnold "Kenny" Chesney is an American country music artist. Since 1993, Chesney has recorded thirteen albums, eleven of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA....
's 2002 recording, No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (song)
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (song)

"No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" is a single by United States country music singer Kenny Chesney. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 2003....
, was filmed on and around Jost Van Dyke. Included in the video were several scenes at Ivan's Stress-Free Bar, where it is common practice for patrons to walk behind the bar, mix their own drinks, and leave their payment in the register.

Education

The British Virgin Islands operates several government schools.

Jost Van Dyke residents are served by Jost Van Dyke Primary School.

External links