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Two Tortola Doves

Local delights

Whilst the Captain slaved, Hollywood took me on a tour of Tortola Island – to see his favourite surfing spots and bars (hmm, just how much work has he really done??). Tortola, meaning turtledoves in Spanish, is the largest of the BVI’s, and home to its capital, Road Town. The island is volcanic and amazingly steep. We drove slowly up one road nicknamed “the elevator”, hung on grimly to those high ridges before hurtling down the other side into beautiful Cane Gardens Bay.

Are you sure that's a "3"

The Islands support a huge charter fleet; no small flotillas for the god damns, that’s for sure! Cats the size of football fields – anything under 40 foot is small here – rest in marinas, anchor in bays and float off moorings in huge numbers. Recent scuttlebutt tells of a brand new 50' Beneteau, now resting 180 feet below in Davey Jones' locker (& unrecoverable!).

I’ve read that 45% of the BVI’s economy comes from tourism (and probably insurance claims??). I’m not surprised. Little it seems is grown or manufactured here. It’s all imported and meets the demands of those “you know who’s”.

Not another bar..

Tortola seems to have a church on every corner, curiously named bays (Fat Hogs) and restaurants (Struggling Man’s Place); and K Marks, a huge, white building (possibly visible from space?) with a welcoming sign over the door asking its patrons to “Look what the Lord has done”. Indeed…