The Anglican diocese of Newfoundland also included the island of Bermuda. Kelly and Feild travelled aboard the diocesan ship "The Star", and both nearly died in 1871 in a sailing accident that destroyed the ship. This was not the last occasion in which sea travel proved a hardship to Kelly; he became seriously ill in 1874 when travelling to coastal communities on Newfoundland and Labrador. Kelly's logs of his travels on "The Star" have been published as "Journal of a visitation by the Right Reverend J. B. K. Kelly, DD, coadjutor bishop of Newfoundland, in the church ship" Star, "July–October, 1869", (London, 1870), and "The voyage the churchship" Star, "1870" (St.John's, 1973).