Editor's Letter
And the winner is . . .
This month, we embarked on a special issue that intends to highlight some of the finer points of visiting and living in the Virgin Islands. Our first Readers’ Choice Awards finds these glossy pages eager to endorse the bounties of the BVI, according to you, the reader. Over the past two months, we’ve asked VIPY's audience to participate in our 27-question survey aimed at identifying all that is appreciated in the property and yacht industries—and also among drinking, eating and playing on these islands.
Although our survey stopped in the BVI, we haven’t forgotten our friends over in the USVI. If you’re reading our publication dockside in Red Hook on St Thomas, or from Love City, St John, that’s because we’ve extended our distribution arm to reach the businesses, villas and vessels throughout the Virgin Islands—from Anegada to St Thomas (and soon to St Croix). Our coverage also aims to follow our distribution, and in this issue, we made our way from Setting Point to Charlotte Amalie.
Marine researcher Clive Petrovic took a close look at the invasive Australian pines that have made their way thousands of miles across land and sea to the beachfronts and inlands of Anegada. Originially introduced to the environment to help deal with heavy winds, the invasive plant has gotten a bit out of hand on the island. I took a daytrip over to the sunken coral island to observe the pines firsthand. I wish I could say it was a tough job, but as my first trip to Anegada, it wasn’t—at all.
ADVERTISEMENT
Property Sales
Writer Traci O’Dea reported on proposed underwater sculpture gardens that would bolster reef growth as well as the ecotourism industry by positioning art exhibitions underwater to attract new corals and sponges as well as new visitors to the BVI.
One of the proposed underwater sculpture sites is near the Wreck of the RMS Rhone, whose surrounding national park was nearly compromised in late August when a container ship plowed into the rocky enclave off Salt Island. I spoke with officials who surveyed the damages, which they said largely affected granite rock and miraculously spared the wreck and acres of coral.
There’s plenty more in this issue to keep you preoccupied from, say, your ferry ride from Charlotte Amalie to Road Town, and we hope you enjoy your read. And remember: As long as you’re in the Virgin Islands,
you win.
ADVERTISEMENT
