 The Bomba Shack
Capoons Bay, Tortola BVI Back in 1976, Bomba's Surfside Shack was nothing but a stretch of beautiful white sand beach located in Capoons Bay on the north shore of Tortola. At that time, Bomba was working as a shipwright at Frenchman's Cay shipyard in Sopers Hole at the West End of Tortola (which he did for many years prior to opening the "Shack"). Having done that backbreaking work for years, Bomba decided to open up a small bar on the beach.
Starting with literally nothing, friends of Bomba's would drop off anything that they had lying around their properties that they were not using or were going to throw away. Before long there was a heap of you name it piled up next to the beach. Driftwood and telephone poles that drifted onto the beach were the main pieces of materials which made the foundation for the Shack. Old corrugated tin roofing, all stacked in another pile was the base for the roof.
 Bomba's Surfside Shack
Waiting for the Full Moon Party
The Bomba Shack has survived every hurricane that has passed over the British Virgins Islands since the Shack was built - what an amazing fact! When Bomba first opened there was not much money to stock the shelves with drinks to sell so friends would drop off leftover booze, etc. at the Shack, and the Bomba Shack started to boom. Constantly adding to the size of the Shack is an ongoing project and is still done using the dropped off excess pieces of whatever from the land or sea!
A few years ago, due to such large crowds that would come to the world famous Bomba's Surfside Shack Full Moon Party, Bomba expanded the Shack across the road from the original beachside Shack to what Bomba calls the "Back Yard." Not much more than a field where cattle graze during the daytime, Bomba has built, once again with whatever comes to him, a large bar and a bandstand where he gets some of the best local bands to rock all night during the Full Moon Party, which of course is held every month.
It's amazing the amount of people that come to the party. I've known many a tourist or visitor who plan part of their vacations around the Full Moon Party. I must admit that my daughter's wedding here on Tortola had the Full Moon Party as part of her and her husband's things to do on their activity list for the over forty friends and relatives that came to Tortola for her wedding. Undenounced to me, that particular Full Moon Party was their bachelor / bachelorette Party! I’ve seen as many as eight hundred to a thousand people attend the Full Moon Parties, probably the biggest party on Tortola every month.
So if you're into partying hard or just want to come partake in Bomba's Mushroom Tea and people watch and make new friends on Tortola, Bomba's Surfside Shack is the place to be!
Check out our Photo Gallery for more photos of the Bomba Shack. |