Morgan Freeman Sails the British Virgin Islands
by Claudia Colli
In 1991, actor Morgan Freeman sailed into Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands and found a home away from home. Since then, the Academy Award winner has sailed throughout the Caribbean basing his boat in both Grenada and Trinidad, but he always retuned to Virgin Gorda where he found what he called “the simple life.”
Morgan Freeman Sails to the British Virgin Islands
“I had been in St. Martin, knocking back and forth between St. Martin and St. Barths, and was planning on sailing down island,” he recalled. “Some friends that I had met years before said that I shouldn’t go anywhere until I went 90 miles to the Virgin Islands. So, I took the sail and stayed.” He has visited the British Virgin Islands, and specifically Virgin Gorda ever since.
(photo:Amanda Baker)
Freeman’s sailing skills were honed, he said, in the waters and anchorages of Long Island Sound, New England and Nova Scotia. On a trip between New York and Bermuda on his 30-foot yacht he encountered what he termed, “My survival storm,” an event that helped him appreciate sailing in the Caribbean all the more.
On his first trip to the Caribbean in 1989, he spent as much time as possible exploring the region’s islands. In the ‘90s he discovered the Grenadines which soon became one of his favorite sailing grounds and his boat’s home base for five years.
After Grenada the actor re-established Virgin Gorda as his Caribbean base. “I was homesick for the BVI. The weather, the waters, the ambiance; the sailing is what kept me coming back to the BVI,” he explained.
Virgin Gorda, Old School and Rustic
“When I got to Virgin Gorda it was very rustic, old school with goats and cows on the street,” explained Freeman. Among the first people he met were Rosemary Giacinto, her late husband, Mike and his brother Joe who owned a local dive shop.
“I hooked up with them right away, and we became very close,” he said. Soon he became a regular at the couple’s popular island restaurant, The Bath and Turtle.
When Hurricane Ivan dealt Grenada a devastating blow in 2004, a Grenadian friend called Freeman asking for help. So, the actor got in touch with his publicist Donna Lee for some ideas. She suggested a Caribbean cookbook.
The result was an ode to the islands that he loved. Titled Morgan Freeman & Friends, Caribbean Cooking for a Cause, the book profiled 18 celebrities, the islands they visit and the restaurants they enjoy. Michael Douglas, Tom Hanks and Alicia Keys were among the featured personalities. He worked with Rose Giacinto on the Virgin Gorda section, which featured Chez Bamboo, Rose’s popular Virgin Gorda eatery. BVI photographer, Amanda Baker, took the photographs for the Virgin Gorda section, as well as the cover photograph of Freeman sitting with Rose in Chez Bamboo.
Morgan Freeman: A Love for Acting and BVI Sailing
Freeman acquired his taste for sailing in 1967 aboard an 18-foot Lightning class centerboard boat. He was working at the Stow Playhouse in Stowe, Vermont, and it was a life changing experience. “I was not only smitten, I was hooked for life,” he noted.
At that point, his career took off. He worked in off-Broadway and Broadway productions since the mid-60s, and one of his earliest film appearances was in the 1981 movie, Brubaker, starring Robert Redford. But it was his roles as the chauffeur, Hoke, in Driving Miss Daisy and as Sergeant Major Rawlins in the civil war movie, Glory, both in 1980, that put him on the Hollywood map.
He won an academy award for Best Supporting Actor for the Clint Eastwood directed movie, Million Dollar Baby, and was nominated for his role as Nelson Mandela in Invictus, also directed by Clint Eastwood. One of his most memorable roles was as Ellis “Red” Redding, a prisoner and contraband smuggler who, along with fellow prisoner, played by Tim Robbins, becomes instrumental in a money laundering operation led by the prison warden.
Freeman’s distinctive voice can be heard on the nature documentary, March of the Penguins. He has also delved into educational television with Through the Worm Hole, which ran for eight seasons from 2010-2017. This Science Channel program was produced by his company Revelations Entertainment.
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing. A car crash in 2008 injured his hand, and although the injury has made handling a boat on his own difficult, he continues to sail with others. When on Virgin Gorda, he enjoys spending time with a small group of close friends and the amenities that the island has to offer.
Virgin Gorda, the Same Low Key Vibe
Over the years, since Freeman first arrived, Virgin Gorda has become a popular destination with the wealthy, especially in the exclusive North Sound area where Richard Branson and Google co-founder, Larry Page, have properties. But The Valley area of Virgin Gorda remains a place where people hail passersby with a “good morning” or “good afternoon” and maintains the amiable low key vibe that Freeman encountered when he first sailed into The BVI.
Rosemary Giacinto describes Freeman as a “down to earth person with a warm personality.” He is interested in the people around him and what they are doing, whether they are a sailor or a dock worker.
Morgan Freeman remains one of Hollywood’s busiest actors. His most recent movies include The Nutcracker and The Four Realms, Angel Has Fallen and Last Knights. He also has half a dozen projects in production or pre-production.
Now 86 years-old, Morgan Freeman is a timeless actor of unbounding energy whose orbit includes not only Hollywood, but Virgin Gorda and the British Virgin Islands.
Follow Morgan Freeman on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/MorganFreeman/
A limited amount of copies of Morgan Freeman’s Cookbook, Morgan Freeman and Friends: Caribbean Cooking for a Cause can be found at https://www.amazon.com/Morgan-Freeman-Friends-Caribbean-Cooking/dp/1594864241/ref=sr_1_1?crid=824SH4PYIYA4&keywords=morgan+freeman+cookbook&qid=1702148277&sprefix=morgan+freeman+cook%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-1
For more on Virgin Gorda go to:
