Marina Cay

Marina Cay is an island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

The 8-acre (32,000 m²) island was uninhabited until 1937, when author Robb White and newly married wife Rosalie “Rodie” Mason settled on the island. Originally having settled on the nearby island of Tortola, White had found the insect problem to be unbearable, and spent weeks sailing during the day searching for a new island home.

The Whites spent three years on Marina, hacking a cistern out of the rough, rocky land and shipping in enough concrete to build a small, sturdy house. These adventurous years – during which the couple weathered a typhoon, fended off a randy Nazi skipper, aided Jewish refugees, and survived a surprise a visit from White’s mother-in-law – are detailed in his memoirs In Privateer’s Bay (1939), Our Virgin Island (1953), and Two on the Isle (1985).

White was recalled to military duty when World War II broke out; he flew as a pilot, fought near his birthplace in the Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944), and served on battleships, submarines, and aircraft carriers; he earned eight medals and retired with the rank of lieutenant commander after five years of service.

At the same time as White’s recall, he and Rodie lost Marina Cay; the British government had never issued them a license to hold the land and now formally refused, stating that White’s published writings had misrepresented conditions in the British Virgin Islands.

Today, Marina Cay is home to Pusser's Restaurant and Villa Rentals; the house Robb and Rodie built serves as a reading lounge for the modest tourist complex. It was the setting for the (true life) story romaticised in Two on the Isle (ISBN 0709025734) by Robb White.

References

• http://www.b-v-i.com/trellis.htm#Nearby%20Marina%20Cay
• http://www.pussers.com/outposts/marina_cay/history/popup

Coordinates: 18°27′N 64°31′W / 18.45°N 64.517°W / 18.45; -64.517