George Somers Tempest". During their time on the islands, the crew and passengers built a church and houses, the start of the Bermuda colony. Somers and Sir Thomas Gates oversaw the construction of two small ships, the "Deliverance" and the "Patience." They were built from local timber (Bermuda Cedar) and the salvaged spars and rigging of the wrecked "Sea Venture." In May 1610 the ships set sail for Jamestown, with the surviving 142 castaways on board taking food from the island. When they reached the settlement, they found it nearly destroyed by the famine and disease of what has been called the
Beef Island major development on Beef Island was delayed after challenges from an environmental group called the British Virgin Islands Heritage Conservation Group. A five-star hotel with a golf course and marina was proposed for development near Hans Creek, on the south east side of the island. After a judicial review the British Virgin Islands court ordered the project suspended. The controversy started in October 2006 when the Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands, Dr. Orlando Smith, decided to approve the construction of a hotel on the island of Tortola, which is connected to Beef Island by the Queen Elizabeth II