Obituaries
Jeremy Wright getting a job on a boat in San Diego, he tried Los Angeles and then San Francisco where he spent some time and arranged to sail on a boat to Tahiti later that year. In the meantime he went to Mexico and raced the MEXORC (Mexican Ocean Racing Circuit) which his boat won. He returned up the west coast to San Francisco and sailed to Tahiti (1977-78). Working for a somewhat eccentric boat owner who would only speak French, Jeremy turned this to his advantage and, after six months aboard, he was fluent in colloquial Parisian French. He spent four months in Tahiti, as well as some time in Wallis and Futuna (another French Polynesian territory) which must have made quite an impression as his main (current) email address is/ was ‘futunateaa@gmail.com’ (teaa means ‘blondie’). He then went to the Torres Strait region, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and a number of other south Pacific locations. Eventually he made his way on Triana to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) from where Jeremy flew back to the UK By now his passion was firmly based in the yachting industry and in 1979 Jeremy enrolled as a sail maker with Hoods in Lymington. He learned the trade for three years and lived aboard his father’s boat Hiboux II in the Yacht Haven. He used to windsurf out to the Needles with safety flares
108
the old radleian 2015
wrapped in plastic bags in his backpack. He also managed to get windsurfing banned as an activity in the Lymington River (which it still is today) as the Sealink (now Wightlink) car ferries thought this newfangled sport was a hazard to navigation! During his travels Jeremy passed through the British Virgin Islands. He had decided that, one day, he wanted to live there. So, in 1981, resourceful Jeremy engineered a transfer to Hood’s sail loft in Tortola. He moved into the Waterfront Apartments in Road Town, found for him by his new boss, Bill Bullimore. During his spare time Jeremy had been ‘hanging out’ in Trellis Bay with David Ross, a Canadian windsurfer who owned Boardsailing BVI (formerly Freedom Ltd). In 1983 the company was sold to John Phillips and a year later Jeremy moved to Trellis full-time to teach windsurfing. He had found his ‘calling’ and in 1988, along with his father Brian, they bought the company. Jeremy was now part of the ‘Trellis Bay family’ along with Tony and Jackie Snell who ran the famous Last Resort and Aragorn Dick-Read who was making a name for himself as a metal sculpture artist. It was around this time that a young local boy, Finian Maynard, would come to the beach to windsurf every weekend
with his friends. Jeremy helped and inspired Finian who later went on to hold the world speed record on a windsurfer. Jeremy was immensely proud of Finian’s career with his cutting-edge windsurf company, Avanti Sails. Speed and innovation was always the ‘mission’ and Jeremy hired Ben Bamford, a surfer from Cornwall. Together they created a workshop in the adjoining unit making custom boards. Jeremy’s real passion was teaching windsurfing where he ‘guaranteed success’ but as time passed he began to develop his restaurant and cyber café. Living on a remote island, Jeremy was at the forefront of the internet revolution and had an email address long before the rest of his family back home. He provided visiting holiday makers with a relaxing beachside location to check their emails along with something suitable to eat and drink. The Trellis Kitchen Cyber Cafe was born. Jeremy created (in typically understated fashion) ‘The Famous Awesome Sandwich’. His brother Alexander, dismissed this marketing hyperbole but on taking a bite commented “J, this sandwich actually IS awesome..” Richard Branson agreed, often calling in to take some Awesome Sandwiches aboard his private jet. Jeremy Wright, in-flight private caterer to the rich and famous... A Trip Advisor review of the Trellis Kitchen summed up Jeremy’s unique style and razor sharp wit: “…the owner is one of the coolest guys around and has a lovely dry sense of humour. I was in there on my first trip, kinda late, and I ‘let rip’ with a few curse words – as construction workers do. The owner, behind the bar, chimes in “Excuse me, would you mind your language? There are ladies here...” Taken by surprise and feeling smart, I looked around and see no women in the place at that moment and I tell him as much. He looks me right in the eye and deadpans – “They’re in the freezer”. Hahaha! I can’t wait to go back and sit on the deck with the cats and roosters. Meanwhile, just along the beach, Aragorn’s studio was expanding; using some of Aragorn’s fireball sculptures as a theme, the family-friendly Full Moon Parties were launched. They are now a major monthly tourist event in the BVI, with charter boats planning their itineraries to ensure they are in Trellis Bay each full moon. Jeremy loved Trellis Bay and most of his family have visited many times. Jeremy even organised Peter’s honeymoon as a BVI adventure and on another visit, his mother Virginia impressed the local craft community