British Virgin Islands
Lost a ring or watch in the British Virgin Islands?
From the boulders at The Baths to the boats off White Bay and the reefs around Anegada.
A day in the British Virgin Islands can mix a boat, a dinghy and two or three beaches, so the first job is working out which part of the day the ring, watch or phone went missing in. If it was on the sand or in water you could stand in, a search has something to work with, and a map pin you are sure of helps more than anything else.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in the British Virgin Islands. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Surf bays, boulder coves and a nearly level coral island
On Tortola, people surf at Cane Garden Bay, Brewers Bay and Josiah's Bay, while Smuggler's Cove, on the southwest corner, is a shallow cove calmed by the land around it.
At the southwestern tip of Virgin Gorda, The Baths is a spread of massive granite boulders and white sand beaches. Across on the eastern side of the island, a coral reef protects Savannah Bay. Anegada is different again: a nearly level island of coral and limestone, with reefs all around it.
What dealing with us looks like
Told once, kept by one person
You explain the loss once. It stays with the one person who read your first message, right up to the result.
The view from your towel
Before the search, the detectorist sees your map pin and your photos of the bay, so they know the view you had from your towel or the deck.
Doubtful cases called doubtful
A poor chance is named as one, in plain words, while you are still deciding whether to go ahead.
Boat, beach or dinghy dock?
We ask how you reached the beach, by road, ferry or dinghy, and where you spent the day on it.
Before you say yes
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
BVI beaches, bays and anchorages, island by island
A boat day here can take in more than one island, so the cards go island by island, starting on Virgin Gorda. Bays and towns without a card are named in the last box. We leave Diamond Cay, Fallen Jerusalem and Great Tobago alone.
Virgin Gorda, Tortola, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada
The Baths and Devil's Bay, Virgin Gorda
The Baths covers the beaches and rocky shore at the southwestern tip of Virgin Gorda: massive granite boulders and white sand beaches. A trail through the boulders links it with Devil's Bay, a horseshoe-shaped bay for swimming and snorkeling. You can also walk to Devil's Bay from the parking lot at the top of The Baths, or come in by dinghy to its dock.
Spring Bay and Savannah Bay, Virgin Gorda
Spring Bay is east of The Baths, in an area known as The Crawl. It is reached from land along a palm-lined avenue, and there is an expansive lawn with children's swings. Savannah Bay, on the eastern side of the island, has a fairly narrow white sand beach running the length of the bay. It is protected by a coral reef, the water is calm, clear and shallow, and frequent northeasterly winds bring kitesurfers and windsurfers.
North Sound and Saba Rock, Virgin Gorda
The North Sound of Virgin Gorda is an anchorage, and Saba Rock is a tiny islet in the sound, almost entirely taken up by a resort and restaurant. Divers, snorkelers and kiteboarders use the water around it.
Cane Garden Bay, Tortola
Cane Garden Bay is a shallow, tranquil bay with a long stretch of white sand. Sailors anchor here and people also surf the bay. There is a reef just off the shore on the west side, to your left as you face the water, where people snorkel.
Brewers Bay, Tortola
Brewers Bay is on the northwest side of Tortola, reached by a steep, long road. People come to snorkel, dive and surf, there is seagrass in the bay, and a barrier reef lies toward the west end.
Smuggler's Cove and Long Bay, Tortola
Smuggler's Cove, also called Lower Belmont Bay, is on the southwest corner of Tortola. It is a shallow cove, calmed by the land around it. You wade in over soft sand, and reefs flank both sides of the cove, with coral close to shore. People also walk over from Long Bay Beach.
Trellis Bay on Beef Island, and Josiah's Bay
Trellis Bay is a beachside town on Beef Island, the island where the airport is, and its bay is an anchorage for sailors. Josiah's Bay, on Tortola itself, is a surfing beach.
White Bay, Jost Van Dyke
White Bay is on the south side of Jost Van Dyke, just west of the ferry port, and the water off it is filled with sailing boats. Bars are scattered along the beach, each with its own loungers and hammocks, and people kayak, paddleboard and snorkel from the sand. The beach can get busy.
Cow Wreck Beach and the Anegada shore
Anegada is nearly level, built of coral and limestone where most of its neighbors are volcanic, and surrounded by reefs. Its beaches are quiet shores for swimming and sunbathing: Cow Wreck Beach, Flash of Beauty, Bones Bight and Windlass Bight.
Places we cover in the British Virgin Islands
- The Baths, Virgin Gorda
- Devil's Bay, Virgin Gorda
- Spring Bay, Virgin Gorda
- Savannah Bay, Virgin Gorda
- North Sound and Saba Rock, Virgin Gorda
- Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda
- Cane Garden Bay, Tortola
- Brewers Bay, Tortola
- Smuggler's Cove (Lower Belmont Bay), Tortola
- Long Bay, Tortola
- Josiah's Bay, Tortola
- Soper's Hole, Tortola
- Road Town, Tortola
- Trellis Bay, Beef Island
- White Bay, Jost Van Dyke
- Cow Wreck Beach, Anegada
- Flash of Beauty, Anegada
- Bones Bight, Anegada
- Windlass Bight, Anegada
- Cam Bay, Great Camanoe
- Cooper Island
- Norman Island
Lost from Tortola to Anegada
Pieces of jewelry
- An engagement ring or a wedding band
- A charm bracelet or bangle
- A pendant on a chain
- An anklet or a single earring
- A family ring passed down
Gadgets and keys
- An Oura ring
- A phone from a dry bag or pocket
- A smartwatch or dive computer
- A rental car or villa key
- Sunglasses, if the frames are metal
BVI days when things come off
- The boulder trail from The Baths to Devil's Bay
- Swimming in from a boat off White Bay
- The dinghy dock at Devil's Bay
- Kiteboarding around Saba Rock in the North Sound
- Lunch at a beachside table on Jost Van Dyke
- Surfing at Josiah's Bay or Cane Garden Bay
Step by step, from the boat to the search
Whether you are still on a mooring or already home, it begins the same way.
Which bays, which boats
On WhatsApp, describe the piece and tell us which bays and boats were part of that day.
Where it happened, marked
Drop a map pin on the bay, or on the mooring if it went over the side, and add a picture of the piece. Vacation photos from that bay help too, even ones with the item nowhere in them.
Handed to the right detectorist
Your pin, photos and notes go to a detectorist who can travel to that island and bay.
Hearing back
The detectorist reports to us and we pass it all on to you, whether it is a find or a blank day.
Questions about the British Virgin Islands
The boulder trail between The Baths and Devil's Bay had us crawling and wading. Is that where the bracelet went?
It may be. That trail is not a simple walk: you crawl between granite boulders, climb ladders and wade through water on the way. Tell us which way you went, whether you stopped to swim among the rocks, and when you last saw the bracelet.
Could my wedding band be in the water off White Bay, or on the beach where we spent the afternoon?
It could be either. The water off White Bay is filled with boats, and bars with their own loungers line the sand, so the bar you sat in front of makes a good landmark. Pin where the boat lay, where you waded out, and where your loungers were.
We snorkeled at Cane Garden Bay and my engagement ring was gone afterward. Where is the reef?
Just off the shore on the west side of the bay, to your left as you face the water. The bay itself is shallow and tranquil, so tell us whether you swam out over the reef or stayed in the open water closer in.
My phone fell out of a pocket while we snorkeled at Smuggler's Cove. Which reef should we mention?
Both sides of the cove have reef, with coral close to shore, and you wade in over soft sand. The side you swam to narrows the search, so pin where you went in and which way you turned.
Where would you start for a smartwatch lost between a North Sound mooring and the dock at Saba Rock?
With the part of that trip you are surest of. Saba Rock is a tiny islet in the sound, so the islet, the dock and the mooring are separate places. Send the mooring position, where the dinghy tied up, and anything you did in the water.
Is a ring lost while surfing at Josiah's Bay worth telling you about?
Josiah's Bay is a surfing beach, and a ring that went in the waves may be a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. If it could have come off on the sand instead, tell us, since that is a different search.
Every stretch of Cow Wreck Beach on Anegada looked the same to us. How do we show where the key fob went?
With a map pin. Anegada is nearly level and ringed by reef, and Cow Wreck Beach is one of its quiet swimming beaches, so a pin dropped where you sat tells a searcher more than any description. Say too whether the fob was in a bag or a pocket.
British Virgin Islands
Mooring or beach, send the spot
Name the island and the bay, and where you were moored if you came by boat. Then send us a WhatsApp message with a map pin on the spot.