Day 481 – THE CARIBBEAN (BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS): Time to leave


Time to get out of the British Virgin Islands.

That’s not to say that I don’t like the place. What a great place this is. I have spent the last week staying in Trellis Bay on Beef Island, at the western most point of Tortola. I have slept in Aragorn’s Studio Pottery Studio. Order a t-shirt. They are cool.

Ceramics studio in Aragorn's Studio, Trellis Bay, The British Virgin Islands

I am now however staying on a boat in Trellis Bay that is kind of owned by the owner of Trellis Bay Cyber Cafe, Jeremy Wright. Jeremy is a couch surfing host, and an all round great guy.

Aragorn's Studio beachside garden, Trellis Bay, The British Virgin Islands

There is much more to my story over the last few weeks, as would be expected. However those stories are for another time. All will be revealed in due time.

The story for now is that I have been here far too long, and it is time to move on. I have been trying to find a ride up to the US on a boat, however this is not the season for masses of boats heading up north to the US. Despite this, I have two good leads for boats going up north, those leads I came upon today.

One was from the good people at The Moorings Yacht Brokerage – John and Richard. They are selling boats all the time here in the British Virgin Islands, and some are taken up to the US by their owners. There may be one going up next week that I may be able to get myself on.

Another possibility is a 68 foot powerboat heading to the Bahamas. Time will tell whether the skippers of these boats will need an extra hand for the trip.

In the mean time, I am biding my time here in Trellis Bay. My tourist visa is valid until the 28th of November, so I may need to leave the BVIs and head over to the US Virgin Islands by ferry, and carry on my boat searching there also. All a bit of a rigmarole, really.

And yes, I have considered flying, and have even been one click away from booking a flight to Miami, Florida. However I have so far been able to resist the urge to give up on the mission of sailing the rest of the way across water that is in my way on my way to New Zealand. How long that lasts depends on how much longer I can afford (dollar-wise) to hang around without working.

By the way, got in the paper again: http://www.vistandpoint.com/content/view/293/29/. They got a couple of details wrong (like skateboarding across 29 countries), but…

Went sailing again. This time with Todd and friends. Thank you Todd!

Mainsail on Todd's boat in the British Virgin Islands

Buddy the sailing dog on the way to The Baths, British Virgin Islands Todd's boat heading towards The Baths, The British Virgin Islands


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11 thoughts on “Day 481 – THE CARIBBEAN (BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS): Time to leave

  • Chris J

    Hi Rob,

    I will echo everyone else's comments and say that it is definitely great to hear from you again. Not sure that I will ever hear anyone else say they "have to get out of the Virgin Islands", but you are a man on a mission afterall.

    It is cold and rainy here in Nagoya, so your pictures of surfing with attractive young women certainly seem like a more appealing way to spend your time from where I am sitting! I am looking forward to hearing more about your recent activities and glad that you are doing well.

    Have a great trip to Florida!

  • AbrasiveScotsman

    Sounded like the BVI is the sort of place that if you stay to long, you wont want to leave. I was starting to wonder if you'd "gone native" and we'd never hear from you again!

  • Carl

    Well done on being alive, I was wondering.

    Blimey I thought you where in florida already? Or have i missed something you move about like a fugitive any old how look forward to more tales of road in the weeks to come.

    All the best regards

    from a dark and generally miserable surrey…

  • Nana

    So good to hear from you after such a long silence. Thought you'd dropped off the planet.

    Michael Palin has been in NZ recently. I thought your adventures over the past year are all as bit as noteworthy as his.

    Will be praying you get a ride to Florida really soon so you can get cracking on the next leg of your adventures. I look forward to reading some more exciting blog in the near future. I have missed hearing from you these past weeks. Your story and pictures beat TV programmes hollow!!!!

  • Mike C

    Stoked to hear you haven't disappeared mysteriously in the Bermunda Triangle. Keep up the great posts. Looking forward to reading more stories.

  • Aunty Les

    Great to hear from you again, Rob. I thought you must have been tearing around hence no blog for so long but it seems that you haven't had much to write about! Fancy being stuck in such a place as the BVI – all that sun and sea must be hard to cope with.

    Really hope and pray you'll be on your way to Florida soon.