SAILING DESTINATIONS
By Lee Miller & David Mulliss
The Baths on Virgin Gorda, a series of giant boulders resting on white sand beaches, ranks as a must see attraction.
W
elcome to the British Virgin Islands, referred
breathe a deep sigh of relief in the BVIs watching the
to by some (especially the tourist bureau) as
water depth in fathoms rather than feet.
the sailing capital of the Caribbean. The BVIs
Then there’s the convenience factor. We’ve all had a
do offer many advantages. For those coming from
vacation spoiled by rain, lack of wind or the wrong wind
America’s northern lands in winter, these islands offer
for where we have to go. With the consistency of the
temperatures in the seventies and eighties nearly year
Caribbean trade winds, almost daily sunshine, and more
round, but even when the temperatures along the United
islands to choose from than most of us have time to
States’ coasts are practically perfect, the BVIs offer a
visit, sailing the islands seems almost too easy.
unique mountainous, tropical beauty that soothes the
senses. And for those who enjoy year-round sailing in the
Multiple charter companies thrive in the British Virgin
Gulf of Mexico and deal with draft issues, watching for
Islands. Many leave out of the capital of Tortola, and as
the exact moment of high tide to get out, you can
the island is only 32 miles long and 15 miles wide, none
continued on page 10
SAILING LIFESTYLES • STEVE ROBERTSON
continued from page 1
next several years. During that time, I occasionally explored
various options of sailing but realized access and expense
were big obstacles.
The Sailtime Program
We were invited out sailing with one of my wife’s
colleagues in the fall of 2002 on what I presumed was
Steve uses his new sailing skills while piloting near the
his own sailboat. It was during this trip that I first
Windward Caribbean island of Canouan, midway between
learned of the SailTime program. Several months later we
St. Vincent and Grenada.
joined and shared a new SailTime Hunter 326 with
seven other members. fee alone we were able to have a 32-foot new sailboat
almost anytime we wanted. We are allowed a minimum
The decision was an easy one as we were familiar with of seven times out each month with the option of many
the various expenses of owning a small powerboat - fuel, more on an “as available” short-term basis.
slip, insurance, maintenance, etc. For less than the slip
continued on page 4
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