Paul Sutcliffe - High and Dry

The first thing I needed to do was buy a boat, so I booked a trip to Tortola and made appointments with yacht brokers there. Until I had my own boat, I stayed in the cheapest hotels I could find, hitching rides around the island. I started looking at fairly new ex-charter boats, with BVI Yacht Brokers who were based in Nanny Cay, a small bay and marina.

The British Virgin Islands is one of the most popular sailing destinations in the world, and the many marinas and bays are full of thousands of boats. There are four main islands and over fifty smaller ones, all within a days sail. The numerous islands allow the trade winds to pass but stop the waves, making ideal sailing conditions. A number of very large charter companies are based there and they periodically sell their boats off as they replace their fleet with new ones, meaning it is also a great place to get a cheap boat.

I liked hitching in the BVI, lots of people stop, and they were usually interesting. There werent many buses, and taxis were really expensive. I started by just sticking my thumb out, but apparently there thats like sticking your middle finger out. What you should do is point to the road and the direction you want to go. Once in Tortola, an old man stopped for me, and when I thanked him, he said,

Dont tank me, tank da lard, was is decision for me to stap.

He was such a nice old guy and took me all the way to the airport. Another time, I got a cool dreadlock Rasta wearing shades and with his seat way back so that he was almost horizontal. He stopped, opened the door, didnt say anything, just nodded and played music full blasting from at least eight speakers, the heavy base making the whole car vibrate. After he dropped me off, I could still hear his music as he disappeared over a hill.

I spent a few days looking at boats. I wanted something under forty feet that would be easy to sail single-handed and cheap to maintain. I found a 2005 Beneteau 343 which I liked. It had a luxury white leather interior, two large cabins and a separate shower, and would be great for chartering. However, there was no way I could afford it, so I started looking at older boats and focused on the essentials: the hull, the engine and the rigging these are the important parts.

Older boats, pre-1980, are generally much better made than modern boats. They are heavier, made with thicker fiberglass and often have full keels. I realised that it was possible to buy a better boat for much less money. However, not many yacht brokers list them since the lower prices meant less commission. The problem was how to find a good one that was for sale. I looked at the classifieds in the local newspaper,