Interesting perspective. I haven’t been sailing in the BVI as long as most of the people on this forum, but even within the past decade it’s been easy to see the increased commercialization of the islands. The fact that there are almost more charter boats and credit card captains any given week than available moorings is a good indicator of this. From what I can tell this hasn’t been a spontaneous process either and it’s one I hardly contribute to BoatyBall (they’ve been in business for four months now). Charter boats and tourism bring in money and lots of it. Naturally the government and the locals are going to cater to that crowd. As demand grows so does the extent to which the government and locals begin to accommodate tourists. This could mean revamping cruise ship docks, promoting charter companies, or not setting a limit on the number of cruising permits available. Of course as this happens the islands begin to lose more of that authentic/traditional feeling. So to answer your question I guess it depends on what perspective you take. If you’ve chartered there years ago and still remember the old days I could see how all of this progress could seem pretty jarring and unnatural. On the other hand this progress has allowed more people to get into sailing, enjoy vacation, and experience one of the most beautiful places on earth even if it may be a little more “structured” than it was decades ago. Additionally I don’t know the specifics but I would imagine that for the locals, the progress and increased attention on the islands has provided many of them with opportunities and jobs that wouldn’t have been possible several decades ago. You can argue either side but in my opinion I don’t see the progress as something inherently bad, it just is what it is.