Goodbye hurricanes, hello tourists!

At least, that’s what we hope to say during this transitional month into the winter season. Living on Tortola, November is one of my favourite months of the year. I like to watch the beaches slowly fill with enthusiastic first-time visitors, and the tides strengthen and swell. I like to feel the refreshing winds gain strength, and work on my novice skills as a sailor and surf-lemming. Resorts, restaurants and bars begin to host more events, while often affording its customers a lapsing slow-season rate. It seems this sort of buffer period into the bustle and hop of high season helps to prepare us for the excitement to come.

I’m not the only one looking forward to November. I talked to a handful of charter industry employees about the upcoming season, and they overwhelmingly reported a sense of optimism backed by high booking numbers. Brokers and crew will use this month to gain even more momentum, and fill their books when they meet at Nanny Cay for the BVI Charter Yacht Society Boat Show from Nov 6-9. The capstone event meets these shores and slips for its 31st year, and has filled up with 90 charter boats on display.

On land, real estate agents are also hoping for resurgence in the marketplace. Toward this time of the year, snowbirds and prospective snowbirds flock to the territory in number to stake out their piece of paradise. If I could be so lucky, I’d find my perch on Tortola’s north shore hills, where Shannon Manor sits nestled in nature. The luxury property invited me in, with wafting scents of tropical fruits and herbs from its two acres of surrounding gardens.

These pages also follow green thumb Scarlett Steer to Virgin Gorda and Necker Island, where she examined crafty ways to use flora and other natural elements against erosion. I also headed to the familiar streets of Road Town, where the Crafts Alive Village is undergoing construction to more than double its vendor space and revitalize its appearance. In this issue, writer Traci O’Dea explains why you’ll notice a sudden regrowth in previously retired facial hair styles, and remind us that November means Movember for men’s health. As this month enters and passes, I’ll sit with a smile, do a little people watching, and maybe join the push for men’s health and . . .

Let it grow.