Remembering Jimmy Carter’s Visit to the BVI
by Claudia Colli
Jimmy Carter is often referred to as the “Greatest Former President” of the United States. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and among his many other notable achievements is his work with Habitat for Humanity. The NGO has constructed more than 100,000 low-cost dwellings for over half a million people in the US and in 60 countries around the world.
Of equal note is his work against “neglected” diseases of Africa and Asia. Many of these, including river blindness and Guinea worm disease, have been significantly reduced over the years.
Jimmy Carter Visits BVI
But how many people remember that Jimmy Carter visited the BVI in February 1981 shortly after he left the US presidency? Carter with his wife Roslyn, son Chip and daughter Amy had been vacationing at the Caneel Bay Resort in St. John in the USVI. As part of the holiday, the family took a much-celebrated excursion to the neighboring British Virgin Islands aboard the Caneel Bay boat.
Forty years ago, the BVI was less well-known than its USVI neighbors and the visit generated much excitement. As he pulled into the Road Town ferry terminal, I was as thrilled as the many well-wishers who lined the dock.
At the time I was writing for The Virgin Islander, a BVI based publication. “Not since Queen Elizabeth toured the BVI three and a half years earlier has a visitor stirred up the kind of exuberance displayed during Jimmy Carter’s brief courtesy call to Road Town,” I wrote in the March 1981 edition.
“As Carter disembarked from the Caneel Bay boat at the Road Town Custom’s jetty, islanders shunted aside their usual British reserve and vied to get next to the former American Chief of State,” I observed.
Island Time
He shook hands and flashed the famous Carter smile, exuding Southern warmth throughout his brief visit. From the dock, Carter and Roslyn were driven to Government House where they lunched with the Governor and other island dignitaries. Arriving back to the boat 30 minutes past schedule, one bystander wryly noted that the President was “already on island time.”
Carter continued his BVI tour with a trip to Little Dix Bay, on Virgin Gorda. Among the trip’s highlights was an excursion to The Baths, the islands’ most famed natural attraction. The previous day, Carter and son Chip went deep sea fishing on a charter boat based at Prospect Reef Resort in Road Town.
Carter’s tenure as president was not without controversy, but nevertheless his work with the Carter Center, has left an indelible mark on much of the world. Describing its role as “waging peace, fighting disease, and building hope,” the Center played an important role monitoring foreign elections in dozens of countries. Carter has also negotiated peaceful resolutions to conflicts in Africa, Asia, and the Americas and has assisted farmers in Africa to increase their yield and improve their lives.
Today the 93-year-old Carter is in failing health and has entered hospice in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. His visit to the BVI over 40 years ago is one that many of us will never forget.
To learn more about President Carter and his work with the Carter Center, go to
