The Iconic Willy T

Somewhere around 83 and 84 there was a double lander, which was a big wooden 95-footer Baltic trader called Emarice. It was in the mangroves at Village Cay. My inlaws saw and commissioned it. They went to Ceril Romney and as him if he could create a flooting bar for like-minded people.

After sailing all they, Mick and Anne would take their 90-foot scooner called the White Squall after sailing all day over the William Thornton now shortened as Willy T at night as their way of going back and forth.

The Willy T opened it doors in March 1985 making it 40 years this year.

“I took it over in 1995.” said Ewan Anderson. At that time, I was doing Peg Leg and had a Fish Trap Bar Behind Village Cay. In June 1995 the first Willy T sank right there in the aby at Norman Island. It was popping planks just about every day and one night it popped a couple. The young man that was looking after it that night was El Swear and when he woke up in the morning saw it sinking and got help and with a couple dinghies managed to push it to the beach, which caused even more damage.

At that stage I went over to have a look. We wrapped it cling wrap and took it down to West End to Jim Bucannon who was a shipwright at the time. He charged a $150,000.00 to ‘replank’ it and we decided for that kind of money we will go get another one. So we took it back up the channel and sunk it by the old Flying Cloud hurricane mooring in Great Harbour, Peter Island.

Mick and I went to Fort Lauderdale and found the second boat called Iron Lady through a broker, who was a friend, of a friend, of a friend. It was a big rust buck and we had it commissioned there. Iron Lady was designed as a sail boat for an executive in New York, who was on a wooden boat and had them make a similar one but with metal. After it was made, he said he didn’t like it and that’s how we found it.

By December 1995 all the work had been done on the boat and we sailed it down here. It left Miami and got hit by a 30-foot rouge wave. It had a pool table for the Yacht Club, a 30-foot scrab boat on it, a 4-wheel Jeep on it and everybody onboard said, Oh crap, where is the life raft?” But there was nothing onboard. So we turned back to Miami and put in on a 600-foot Sea Server and by Boxing Day 1995 it reached Port Purcell. We started making picnic tables for it that same boxing day while it was docked at the port. January 6, 1996, we got #2 which was a 100-footer with a 23-foot beam out to the bay in Norman Island. Number 2 lasted until 2017 when hurricanes Irma and Maria came a paddle it quite well.

Using brokers again, we went and found a next one in the Bayous in Louisiana, which is a Graham 110. 110 foot long, 26-foot beam, has cabins for 22 bunks for crew and fully air conditioned.

We had some challenges getting back to our usual spot in the bay at Norman Island so we docked #3 in Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke for some time. Understandably this raised concerns with local businesses on the island, but instead everyone saw an increase in their businesses due the clients we drew to the harbour. I am happy to back at Norman Island.

Over the years The Willy T has been had a number of celebrities like Anna Nichole Smith, Michael J Fox, The Role Stones, Kid Rock, Kenny Chesney, Keith Richards – a regular, Mel Gibson, any one who owns a baseball or basketball team and more.

We get so much request for private events and we don’t cater to private events, wedding etc. First it is really not set up for that and we would have to shut it down all the time for those events and have to turn away visitors who have saved up for five years for one week in the BVI, when the Willy T is where they want go. So, NO, we don’t do them!

Will T is a Dive Bar with great food. Its menu features local fares such as roti, ribs, conch dishes, burgers and as much local fish like Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, Marlin, Blue Runner, King Fish, Tuna and lobsters as we can get. Everything on the menu is under $20.00 except for the fresh fishes. It is the place in the BVI you can a real British Fish & Chips. This is beer battered Haddock out of the UK brought in specially for Willy T.