Sandy Spit is an uninhabited

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

of the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, sitting midway between Sandy Cay and Green Cay. It measures less than half an

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

in size, and consists entirely of a ring of sandy beach surrounding light foliage. It has the appearance of a classic paradise "

desert island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...

" and has been photographed for use in print medium in a number of

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

campaigns. Sandy Spit is a popular stop for day and term boat charters from

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

, St. Thomas, and St. John. There are no moorings, but the sandy bottom is suitable for anchoring. Sandy Spit was nearly wiped out by

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...

. Half the beach is gone as of 12 September 2017. The island provides habitat for the

crested anole ''Anolis cristatellus'' is a small species of anole, belonging to the Dactyloidae family of reptiles, which is native to Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, with introduced populations in locations around the Caribbean. The ...

(''Anolis cristatellus wileyae''), and the

big-scaled least gecko There are two species of gecko named big-scaled least gecko: * '' Sphaerodactylus macrolepis'', distributed in Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean * '' Sphaerodactylus grandisquamis'', ...

(''Sphaerodactylus macrolepis macrolepis'').

References

Uninhabited islands of the British Virgin Islands {{BVI-geo-stub