BSAC ’ s Pat Holliday tears himself away from his beloved Midlands lakes and visits a corner of the Caribbean that is forever ... British ?
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Blessed Virgin :
Diving the BVI
BSAC ’ s Pat Holliday tears himself away from his beloved Midlands lakes and visits a corner of the Caribbean that is forever ... British ?
A school of grunts below the foremast on the wreck of the Rhone
The British Virgin Islands sell themselves as ‘ Nature ’ s Little Secrets ’, and it ’ s true that the 50 or so islands that make up this Caribbean nation are largely unspoiled gems . Puerto Rico lies to the west , with Anguilla and St Barts in the east and the neighbouring US Virgin Islands visible across a narrow waterway called the Sir Francis Drake Channel . Presumably you ’ ve heard of him , not to mention a chap called Christopher Columbus who named the Virgin Islands on behalf of his European patrons . In spite of having ‘ British ’ in the name and the status of a British Overseas Territory , it is unmistakably the USA that exerts the largest influence on modern island life .
Nowadays visitors arrive at Tortola ’ s small airport by propeller plane , if they ’ re not one of the few thousand cruise ship day-trippers . Having a relatively small airport helps maintain the seclusion ; the ‘ BVI ’ is a favourite destination of wealthy Americans , keen to take part in watersports such as sailing , or disappear from it all into one of the many luxury resorts scattered across the islands . To Brits , the best known resident is Sir Richard Branson , who owns the ultra-exclusive Necker Island and spends much of his time there .
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