Road Town, British Virgin Islands · UTC-4 ☆

Road Town is in the America/Tortola timezone (AST/UTC-4), with no daylight saving time observed. Road Town sits on Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, in a sheltered harbor called Road Harbour. “Road” in the nautical sense means an anchorage, a place where ships can safely anchor. Boats have been anchoring here for centuries, and the town that grew around the anchorage takes its name from that function.

The British Virgin Islands run on Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-4, year-round with no daylight saving. Road Town shares this clock with Philipsburg in Sint Maarten to the northwest and with the US Virgin Islands nearby.

Tortola is the center of the BVI’s sailing industry. The Sir Francis Drake Channel, which separates Tortola from the southern BVI islands, is one of the best sailing waters in the world: consistent trade winds, clear water, a maze of anchorages. The annual BVI Spring Regatta brings boats from across the Caribbean and beyond.

sailing time versus civil time

Sailors operate on two time systems simultaneously: the civil clock for check-in times and marina closings, and the tide and wind schedule that runs by the sea’s own rules. The best anchorages fill at specific times of day based on weather windows, not based on what the clock says.

9am in Road Town is 1pm in London.

Sources

• IANA Time Zone Database - America/Tortola
• BVI Tourism