British Virgin IslandsCaribbean

The Sir Francis Drake Channel

By March 17, 2016 No Comments
Sailing up the Sir Francis Drake Channel

One of the main features of the BVI is the Sir Francis Drake Channel. This body of water is surrounded by islands and gives a sailor the feeling of sailing in a large lake instead of the ocean. The channel runs the length of the southern coast of Tortola and has the smaller island of the BVI protecting it from the south. The east end has The Dogs (a group of small islands I will talk about some other day) and the west end is capped by St John in the USVI.

This channel is named after a sailor by the same name. He is the first person to sail all the way around the world as the captain of the entire voyage. He was also a very busy and successful privateer (legal pirate) and the Spanish king offers the equivalent of almost $7 million for his capture. At the age of 41 he was knighted by Elizabeth I (guess I am falling behind in my accolades 🙂 ) and he died at the age of 56 due to injuries during an unsuccessful siege of San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Map of the BVI

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