To The Bitter End

Our neighbors, Craig and Carol Riley have been incredibly helpful in keeping tabs on our house. During the 10 years we’ve lived in our Sugarpine residence, we’ve had very few issues. A broken oven and a minor repair to the heating system (which is 25 years old) are the only items. Of course, Murphy’s Law dictates that now we are traveling, stuff will break. While in Spain, IVGID damaged some water pipe out on the street which comprised our sprinkler system. Craig dealt with the repairs for that debacle. Most recently, 2 weeks after we started sailing, our furnace broke. Fortunately the temperature only dropped to 38 before the alarm company caught it. Craig coordinated that repair as well. We are keeping our fingers crossed that when the inevitable 3^rd problem hits, it’ll be small!

Ironically, 2 sets of our Knotty Pine neighbors are sailing in the BVI this week. The Rileys are sailing with friends (also from Incline), while David and Susan Hanson have chartered a catamaran. So ironically, we travel 4,000 miles from home to we connect with them at the Bitter End, a famous resort at the tip of Virgin Gorda. As a thank you, we treat the Riley’s to dinner at Saba Rock, a hotel/restaurant with a killer setting. Saba Rock was formerly owned by Bert Kilbridge, a famous wreck diver who recovered the treasure from the RMS Rhone, sunk in 1867.  The Rhone vaulted Kilbridge to fame after part of the movie The Deep was filmed onsite. He grew so sick of people rubber-necking, or outright trespassing on his private island that he decided to convert it to a restaurant/ museum instead.  That gem (which sounds like it channels Skinny Leg’s low key charm) is long gone, replaced by this upscale paradise.

The Hanson’s advise us not to miss the fish feeding which coincides with Happy Hour. The fish in question are tarpon, a bonefish relative. These odd-looking fish are easily 3 feet long. The manager, a genial local, has an amusing shtick where he asks a young woman to volunteer to go first. She is instructed to place a chunk of raw fish between her toes and dangle them near the water. The crowd watches as a giant tarpon rises from the water and transforms its slit like mouth into a gaping hole at least 6 inches across to aggressively snatch the fish. Imagine the screams of shock and laughter that accompany this display. Then guests take turns chucking the chunks out as far as they can and watch these fish catch them as they land. Lastly, and perhaps the most fun is dangling a knotted strip of fish into the water and pulling the tarpon up from the water as it strikes. Zoe bravely volunteers for this slimy, smelly task and handles it with aplomb! JT tries too, but his arms are too short to entice the tarpon, so he passes it along to his mom. At first it’s terrifying, but the realization that this beast, like the abdominal snowman in Rudolph, lacks teeth makes it less scary. I have a greater appreciation for the appeal of bonefishing.