Hard to believe that we have been in the USVI for 5 months. (One day shy of a full 5 months as of the date of this post.) Though we didn’t get to sail the Caribbean as we hoped (too many COVID hurdles) we found plenty to do in the USVI and there are still many places we haven’t explored. We continued to hike new trails including the quite treacherous trail from Waterlemon Cay to Coral Bay (imagine a trail leading to a rock covered dirt road with more than a 40% grade) as well as the less treacherous — but longer — Brown Bay trail also leading to Coral Bay. We definitely get our exercise. We also continued to snorkel and had some great sightings during our last trip around St. John including a highly camouflaged and very shy octopus (great spot by Zack!), a white-spotted eagle ray, some cuttle fish and a very large and majestic grey angelfish. Of course turtle sightings remain a pleasant everyday experience when we are away from the marina and swimming among them never gets old.
And, finally, more repairs in exotic places. We had a macerator issue that Zack was able to trouble shoot with a shop vac. If you Google the function of the macerator on a boat you won’t even want to ask about this one. [Note from the Captain—the Admiral is right—don’t even ask!]. We also had a malfunctioning impeller on our dinghy which we replaced ourselves (with help from our visiting sister-in-law and nephew who are quite handy) on the beach in Waterlemon Cay. We got a lot of strange looks from the others on the beach — mostly folks who chartered a boat for a week, very curious about why we would be repairing the outboard on our dinghy. Even with the repair work which will be a constant no matter where we are (life on a boat!), we wish we could spend another month here. Alas, if we want to experience other places on our way back up North for the summer and not run afoul of hurricane season, we need to start our voyage in mid-April.
It isn’t just the gorgeous views, breathtaking sunsets, blue skies and bluer water, sunshine and snorkeling that makes saying good-bye difficult – though that’s a big part — but the people. We’ve met some very interesting people during our stay in the USVI; people we never would have met in our former lives. We mentioned Alistair in one of our earlier posts. He is the bay host for Lameshur Bay (Little and Greater) as well as Salt Pond Bay — some of our favorite spots on St. John. For those who don’t read all our entries (and why would you?), a bay host is a volunteer with the National Park Service (NPS) who lives on his/her boat on a mooring in a designated bay and is in charge of welcoming newcomers to the bay and educating them on the rules. These volunteers must sign up for a minimum of one month.
Alistair, who hails from New Hampshire, has apparently been serving as a bay host for many years and signs up for about a 6 month stint each time. From discussions with him we know that he researches marine life professionally so perhaps his bay host volunteer work also supports his professional work. While many bay hosts volunteer as a couple, Alistair lives alone on his catamaran in an area that doesn’t have easy access to grocery stores, restaurants, bars or shops. Of course, that is precisely why we love the bays that are under his “watch” but it would make for a solitary existence. Still, he is incredibly friendly and helpful. When Zack’s sunglasses went overboard at the dinghy dock in Greater Lameshure, Alistair happened to be nearby and offered to retrieve them for us. We were able to do that on our own with a boat hook but we appreciated the offer. He also helped us secure another mooring when the NPS asked us to vacate ours to perform maintenance. Like the best of the doormen we knew from our time in NYC, Alistair is this steady and welcoming presence; someone we have only gotten to know superficially though we wish that was not the case. Everyone has a story and just from the little glimpses we’ve seen we know Alistair has a fascinating one.
And then there is Niles and his nine lives — nine lives because of his many brushes with death and nine lives because of the number of times he has reinvented himself. Niles, who is 79 years old, grew up in Newport, RI in what was by all accounts a loving and stable family. Though his father was college educated, Niles did not go to college because he barely graduated from high school. He is very intelligent and well read but he had better things to do than attend class, study or do homework. But you don’t need a college education to leverage your talents. Niles, who has the gift of gab and is the consummate networker, eventually found work in sales in the marine insurance industry. Over time he was able to start his own marine insurance brokerage and by all measures he was successful. He owned a big beautiful home in Rhode Island, two Lamborghinis and enjoyed a fast life with boozy dinners.
Unfortunately, that fast life didn’t just include enjoying the real estate and toys his money could buy but lots of dugs and alcohol. As he became dependent, he needed to pay for his habit so, over time, he transformed from the owner of an insurance brokerage to a drug smuggler. During one drug run he and his crew crossed into Cuban waters where they were detected and apprehended by the Cubans. That resulted in him being put into a Cuban jail for 10 months — first in solitary confinement and later in a group setting. In re-telling this story he is careful to point out that though he was in jail, the Cubans treated him very well. He had plenty of food and they even took him and other prisoners on occasional outings to enjoy events like baseball games. He also notes that it was a Cuban guard who first told him what no one else had — that he was an alcoholic. Niles asked him what they do in Cuba with alcoholics and the guard responded that they put them in a room together so they could talk to one another. In retrospect Niles says that the Cuban approach sounded very much like an AA meeting. Something he now knows a little bit about.
He eventually got released from the Cuba prison with help from the then Rhode Island US Senator. Though the 10 month stint in a Cuban jail was a wake up call — and opened his eyes to his addiction — he did not get clean immediately after than. In fact, once back in the States he continued his downward spiral and eventually found himself living out of his boat on the hard in a boatyard. In those days he could put away an entire case of beer in a single day. One day a former client from his marine insurance days ran into him at the boatyard and asked him if he had looked at himself in the mirror. He was disheveled and dirty and his former client told him so. Still, knowing Niles from his former glory days and what a great salesperson Niles was, he offered Niles a job a sales position in a new development called Ocean Cliff. Niles had to borrow money to pay for the token to get over the bridge and to his office. Though he did not eschew alcohol completely at that point, it was the beginning of his rebirth. He took his last drink in 1984, joined AA and has been sober ever since.
Today, Niles is an incredibly fit 79 year old who has successfully completed many triathlons and still power walks 3 – 5 miles most mornings. In addition to immersing himself into AA, he replaced drugs and alcohol with exercise (his new obsession) and that is eventually what brought Niles down to the USVI. He first came down to the USVI to work in a hotel on St. Croix but eventually got the job as the manager of the fitness program at The Ritz on St. Thomas. He worked at the Ritz for 21 years. During this time he continued to pursue other business interests that aligned with his passions including furniture restoration and sailing. In terms of sailing, Niles owns a beautiful 1933 36’ Crocker monohull sailboat, S/V Amantha, that was moored in the bay right off The Ritz beach. He would advertised day sails for hire during his exercise classes, always getting lots of takers which proved quite lucrative for him. The furniture restoration was Niles rekindling passion from his days in RI. He used to say that he restored furniture in his shop and bodies in the gym. Since retiring from The Ritz, Niles has kept himself busy with a yacht brokerage business through which he sells used yachts and leases out slip space in Sapphire Beach Marina — which is how we got to know him.
Over the last 5 months Niles has regaled us with many stories — to numerous to retell here — including the time he refused to sell an antique linen press to Jeffrey Epstein. Apparently, Mr. Epstein was surprised at Niles’ refusal and told Niles, in a tone that more than betrayed his annoyance, that he usually gets what he wants. Niles was unimpressed. That is so Niles! He is one of the most down to earth people you will ever meet and treats everyone — regardless of their walk in life — with the same level of respect. But our favorite Niles story is one about his famous Jack Russell terrier, Stuart Little.
The story of Stuart Little could and should be a Hallmark movie. The short story is that Niles was sailing Amantha from St. Thomas to the BVI to enjoy a day of Frisbee and picnicking at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. On the return sail home — about an hour into the sail — Niles suddenly realized that Stuart Little who had been on the boat when they left was no longer on the boat. Though Niles turned the boat around and searched for Stuart Little he was no where to be seen and all assumed Stuart Little, with no other boats or land in sight, had perished in the four foot seas.
Three weeks after the loss of Stuart Little Niles held a very touching memorial service. About one week after that he got a message from his vet that he had to call right away. With Stuart Little gone this confused Niles but he quickly called his vet to learn that a Jack Russell Terrier had been found by some local fisherman on an uninhabited island in the BVI known as Tobago. This island has no fresh water and nothing to eat but lizards and shellfish. Seeing this dog near death the fishermen decided to take him back with them to St. John where they gave Stuart Little to a friend who was a local tavern keeper. She took Stuart Little to a vet on St. John who put out inquires to veterinarians on St. Thomas including the vet Niles used. When Niles received the call from his vet he thought it was impossible that this could be Stuart Little. Tobago was 5 1/2 miles from where Stuart Little had fallen overboard and he would have had to swim that distance in shark infested waters and make it over the reef to the shore. But, sure enough, when Niles arrived at the Tamarind Bar & Grill on St. John all he had to do was yell Stuart Little’s name from across the room and the dog’s reaction confirmed his identify. Niles was reunited with Stuart Little over the cheering crowd of many locals at the bar who had become quite attached to their new mascot!
That was many years ago now and Stuart Little has since passed. Niles is now the “human” who belongs to Evi, a Pomeranian who was a rescue dog. When Niles met her about 4 years ago she was a neglected one year old, nearly bald and covered with flea bites. He nursed he back to health and she is now by his side 24/7. Where Niles goes, Evi goes. Evi has the most wonderful disposition — quiet, affectionate but not in your face and 110% devoted to Niles who cooks her filet mignon for dinner and shares his hamburger with her when he is out to lunch.
Someone who could do much better justice to the story of Niles life should really write a book or make a movie. We will miss not only his stories but also his warmth, kindness and humor that have definitely enriched our stay in the USVI. A highlight of our trip here for sure! We should note that Niles is not ashamed or embarrassed by his past but very proud of his long term recovery — we asked permission to re-tell his story and he was a willing participant when we needed to interview him to fill in some of the blanks to write this entry.
Reflecting on our time here, it is amazing how much we experienced and how little we scratched the surface of this wonderful setting. We have always been the couple that did not want to do the “if this is Tuesday it must be Belgium” type of trip. Still, we realize that we would need many more months to appreciate all that the USVI has to offer.
We also can’t help but comment on how small the world that we live in is and that the same holds true of the sailing community. While we were here, we needed some rigging work done, and who showed up but Barefoot Davis! We met Davis in Bristol RI at the Hylas Rendezvous in 2019. He was in the band that played at the reception at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. He is a good friend of Peggy and David—part of the Hylas yachts family! One of their wedding party and known to many here in St. Thomas. We have been so lucky to sail in so many storied places—from NE to the Caribbean. Love the interconnections and the way the sailing world works!
We plan to leave Sapphire Beach Marina on or about April 15 — not long after receiving our second COVID vaccine on April 9. We are meeting friends from St. Louis in Turks & Caicos on May 3 and plan to sail there by way of the Spanish Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. We will sail with friends around Turks for about 5 -6 days and then we are off to the Bahamas where we hope to spend a few weeks before heading on up to Connecticut, jumping on the Gulf Stream to speed us North and East! Our next blog post will be sometime during our transit up North!
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