Born and raised in landlocked Zimbabwe, Seth Webb has called the BVI home on and off for the better part of the last two decades. So, how does one go from the heat of southern Africa to the cool breeze of the Caribbean? “I guess it's a bit of a journey,” he said with a chuckle.
“What drew me to the water most was the desire to surf, but when I got to the coast in South Africa, that was the first time I saw a kite boarder. I think I must have been around 14 at the time, and they were just soaring through the sky,” Seth told us, as we watched the winds blow ripple across the water’s surface. “I knew at that moment I wanted to kiteboard, but it wasn't until many years later, after my first ‘real job’ and paycheck that I was able to buy kite gear.”
Seth is one of those guys who just kind of figures things out. The first goal was clear: he wanted to be on the water. “I started as a personal trainer on cruise liners for a while, and then when I got back to South Africa I was a professional diver. From there, I started working on private yachts, which ultimately led me here.”
By “here,” Seth is referring to the private island he manages in the British Virgin Islands. It’s sort of like being the caretaker of a quaint B&B, only instead of sweeping the floors and making sure the scones are warm he’s running a tropical island that caters to a clientele of the highest echelon on the societal ladder.
“I definitely get moments that I think to myself, ‘Oh, when I get back to the real world.’ But I've been doing this for years now, and this is my real world,” Seth told us. “I'm very fortunate to be doing what I love and live in a place that I love. You can’t ever lose that gratitude. From the moment I wake up I’m reminded of how lucky I am to be here.”
So what's day-to-day like when you keep an eye on paradise? Turns out, it’s fairly normal, the view is just a lot nicer. “When I wake, I have a coffee and go to my balcony, it’s my favorite way to start the day. What I enjoy most about the workday is problem solving and logistics—trying to make all the pieces fit together in the most efficient way possible. The bonus is that this all happens on a beach where I get to go kiting or surfing on my lunch break.”
But it’s not all fun and games when you’re living in the Caribbean. One thing people forget about islands—just like it’s hard for you to get there, it’s hard for everything else to get there, too. “It’s not like it is in the first world, in the States or anything like that. You've got to have some planning, and you've got to rely on people coming into the country to bring stuff if you need it. You order something off Amazon and it takes two weeks, not two days. When things break, if you can't fix them, you’re in trouble. If a toilet clogs, you can't just call a plumber. Sometimes you have to climb into the septic tank and unblock whatever is blocking it.”
Obviously though, the good days outweigh the bad. And down here, the Good Life is all around you. “Just being able to walk down to the beach and go for a foil on my lunch break is great. I can go for half an hour and go around multiple different islands and be back in time to get back to work. It really doesn’t get any better than that.”
Hard to argue with that outlook, Seth. Keep the lights on for us, we’ll see you down there.