“That’s got to be the ugliest fish I’ve ever seen,” I said to my brother Neil. He proudly held up his prize for me to take a picture. “Is it even a fish? Maybe it’s an eel? Who ever heard of an algae-green fish with a sucker on the top of his head. Besides, it smells…..funny”
“Take a photo with my phone,” he shouted. “I have an app that can tell us what it is.”
I discovered a remora is indeed a fish. The ugly part is the sucker on the top of the head that allows it to stick to the undersurface of sharks, whales, and dolphins. It feeds off their scraps but also eats their feces. Yuck! I read further.
“It says we can eat it,” I said. “It is supposed to taste like snapper. Should we take a chance?”
“I can make any fish taste good,” said Neil. “Garlic, lemon, some flour batter and I’ll fry it in butter.”
“Great,” I replied. “I just invited Roger and Tama from S/V Adventure 1 over for dinner. We can try it out on them. We can also have fried bratwursts on a bun as backup in case the fish story on your app is lying to us…”
We were tied to a mooring ball at Norman Island in the British Virgin Islands. The island is said to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale of ‘Treasure Island’. Gold is buried in one of the many caves along the shores of the island, but no one has ever come close to finding it. For now, most of us are content to snorkel in the nooks and crannies looking at the fish and underwater life.
This is from Wikipedia:
Norman Island also has a documented history of pirate booty being stowed upon the island. In August 1750, a Spanish treasure galleon named Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe sought shelter from a storm on the North Carolina coast. The crew mutinied and the treasure, said to consist of (amongst other things) 55 chests of silver coins, was loaded into two bilanders, one of which was carrying Owen Lloyd. The first vessel was lost, but Lloyd escaped to St. Croix. After disposing of some of the money, he proceeded to Norman Island where the treasure was buried. Lloyd and his crew were later arrested in St. Eustatius, but word of the treasure spread, and residents of Tortola went to Norman Island and dug it up for themselves. Part of the booty was later recovered by Gilbert Fleming, Lieutenant-General of the Leeward Islands at the time, who travelled to Tortola with two companies of soldiers. Fleming persuaded Abraham Chalwill, the acting Lieutenant Governor of the British Virgin Islands (who had coincidentally led the search for the treasure on Norman Island) to issue a proclamation whereby the treasure would be returned and the people who had dug it up would receive a one-third share as a reward.[4]
Needless to say, we found no silver coins, but the experience of staying at Norman Island will provide a lasting memory. The sunset was spectacular with the sky lighting up in reds, pink and orange, as we wolfed down the surprisingly tasty Remora fish cooked to perfection by brother Neil. The delightful company of Roger and Tama who regaled us with some life experience stories. (Did you know Roger qualified and then ran in the Boston Marathon twice? From his description, the despicable weather almost killed him.) My brother Neil also ran in the same marathon of 2018 with the freezing cold wind almost knocking him off as well!
Roger and Tama told us stories about how they purchased their boat. The yacht broker avoided sales taxes by transporting it to the nearby US Virgin islands to do the transaction. Unbeknownst to Roger at the time, the yacht salesman also loaded it up with flat screen TVs, and other audiovisual eqipment bought in the US Virgin Islands to sell to waiting customers in the BVI anxious to avoid steep import duties. Money, apparently changed hands to have the customs officer look the other way. Roger was sure he would end up in jail or have the newly purchased dream impounded…. Thanks to a well connected friend, everything went smoothly.
Sunset with Roger and Tama
The gentle rocking of the sailboat from the small waves and wind gave us the best sleep of the week. Getting up in the morning and running on the gravel path of Norman Island provided spectacular views of the British Virgin Islands. A morning spent snorkeling at the caves was beautiful.
The 45 minute sail to Nanny Cay in 25 knot winds and big waves made the calm of the harbour welcome. Neil and Bev headed back to Calgary. Ileana arrived for a two week stay before we head to the Dominican Republic.
