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 Published:  Learning the Ropes at BEYC  By Justin Hokin Bitter End has always been a paradise to me, starting with my first visit in 1975 as an infant, touching down in a seaplane right off the Clubhouse dock. That was how we got there in the disco days. As I grew older and more curious of my surroundings, I was able to view my grandfather’s grand project of building a resort at the end of the world more in the manner that he did. I looked at it as the water-locked village that it was, and became eager to learn the ways of its infrastructure that enabled Bitter End’s self sufficiency. For the first 15 years of my life, Bitter End was in a constant state of flux, growing organically from a handful of cottages northward towards Statia Sound. In order to grow, my grandfather understood that he needed to have his own construction operation. There was nothing more exciting to me than inspecting the full accompaniment of construction equipment at my grandfather’s side and observing his meticulous oversight of the projects, down to the slightest detail. The man directing this homegrown operation was a resourceful and precise St. Kitts man named James Meade. Meade would show us the completed works and describe what was being worked on at the time, but my greatest interest was in the machinery we housed in the sheds at the north end of the property. Seeing the collection of front-end loaders, bulldozers, sky-tracks, and other heavy machinery hidden in the shade behind these doors in the Caribbean outback had an effect like stumbling upon a vintage Ferrari in some old man’s country garage. Being driven around in the equipment made Disney World seem like a car ride to the dry cleaners. I’d press buttons to actuate the massive hydraulics and see how it was all done. I’d also have my hands slapped away and be reminded that this was not sandbox play. From the tedious stonework that built the cottage paths by hand, to the giant forklift’s two tons of 4x12’s, I came to understand the coordination involved in Bitter End’s creation. It would require celluloid stretching from Bitter End to St. Martin for a time-lapse photographic journal depicting the resort’s evolution over the decades. Instead, Meade guided my understanding of the entire resort’s development as each project’s completion built it, and continues to do so today. Thanks Meade. The BVI is among the driest of the Caribbean regions. That arid weather is a blessing for the guests who duck out of the temperate climates up North to play in our sunshine. Our guests enjoy running water to shower in the morning and to wash off the salt at the end of a day of splashing around. When Bitter End was young and all of 5 cottages, our catchments cisterns sufficed in capturing the evening rains to rinse our guests and hose down the property when needed. Approaching a dozen rooms in the early 80’s, we saw that more water was a necessity and looked for technology to solve it. Reverse osmosis is the process of using filtering membranes to desalinate salt water that is directed at the filters under high pressure. Robert Smith was – and is — our head engineer charged with maintaining the range of infrastructure that gave our guests the comforts of home in a locale far from it. During my first stint working for the sailing staff at Bitter End, I asked him to take me through the plant that transformed salt water into fresh water. Housed in a red roofed, wood-sided bohio, Robert walked me through the process and its dizzying array of valves, filters, and pipes. It was amazing to learn how this machinery produced and pumped water around a resort village that spans a mile of shoreline. Robert’s still quietly and confidently running the veins and arteries of the resort’s systems and tells me that they’re considering expanding the capacity upwards from the 30,000+ gallons per day the system currently produces. Robert takes care of the system as the baby it has always been, in addition to the little Smiths he has at home. Bitter End and the BVI have been a constant source for a varied and interesting education, from the beginnings of the resort’s structures and infrastructure, to the history of the region and the wonderful people who live and work there. I look forward to sharing more with you in future issues of the North Soundings. Learn more about the history of Bitter End. |
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