On Island Time

I am writing this from a 60-foot catamaran in the British Virgin Islands. It’s sunny with calm seas this morning. I intend to channel my inner Jimmy Buffett and great literary hero Pippi Longstocking this week as we sail the high seas and chase down the best lobster we can find.

Pulling some history from our cruising guidebook, sailing and sailors have long been at the core of Virgin Islands history. Columbus takes credit for discovery in 1493 on his second voyage to the New World. Described as “the place on the way to everywhere,” the area was desirable for both trade and military advantage. He named the islands the Virgins in honor of St. Ursula and the 11,000 virgins who, according to legend, were martyred by marauding Huns in 4th-century Cologne – sacrificing their lives rather than submitting to fates worse than death.