Cynthia’s father, Mr. Harris, was a big strapping man. He was a native of Jost Van Dyke who had gotten out into the world by serving in the U.S. Army for two years. When I first met him at Harris’ Place, he was impressive. His customer service was also impressive. He would walk around and great guests and chat with them. When Mr. Harris learned that I was currently on active duty in the U.S. Navy, he warmed up with added enthusiasm and shared a little about his U.S. Army service. I was curious about how he had been recruited into the U.S. Army. He told me that he was curious about the world and that there was an opportunity to enlist. Mr. Harris loved the Army but soon found he was homesick for the islands. As soon as he could transition back to civilian life, he did so. The restaurant, Harris’ Place was his baby. He worked hard at the restaurant. What surprised me was that I would see him in the morning in his little boat, about ten feet in length rowing out to check his Lobster traps around the corner outside Little Harbor. From all appearances, Mr. Harris was becoming more and more successful. His restaurant was packed, customers seemed happy and the food was great. His business success as a restaurateur led to the demise of Mr. Harris.
Sydney, the owner of the restaurant next door, had ten or eleven kids. Harris’ Place was taking a big bite out of Sydney’s business. One of Sydney’s sons confronted Mr. Harris and told him he had to shut down Harris’ Place because it was bad for Sydney’s business. Mr. Harris refused and sent the son off his property. The son came back and shot Mr. Harris with a spear gun. For the murder of Mr. Harris, the son did three years in the BVI prison on Tortola and was banned from the island. Harris’ Place was completely shut down for a couple of years. I kept stopping by and eventually learned the outline of the story.
Cynthia was the only family member who found the strength to come back and re-open Harris’ Place. Cynthia, a survivor, would make her father proud. She took pride in the establishment. She developed a menu of complete dinners including soup and salad, entrée and dessert. She began serving breakfasts a couple of years before Hurricane Irma. Although Cynthia is strong, there is only so much she can do in basically a boot strap manner without significant outside resources when trying to clean up and rebuild from such devastation. Right after Irma, I tried to locate Cynthia and finally did after a couple of weeks. Her house in Cane Garden Bay had survived mostly intact but Harris’ Place and Sydney’s Peace and Love were devastated. A small Tug Boat had been tied to her dock. The boat was picked up by the waves, ripped from her dock and rolled through her property, and ended up lodged inside Sydney’s restaurant.
Relief supplies were slow to arrive in the BVI. My basic philosophy in natural disasters is to try and make an impact with people I know directly if possible. It feels more like a family approach to me. I asked Cynthia what she needed most. She told me that her brother had put up a GoFundMe page for which she was hopeful.
What she needed most at the time, however, was the ability to go to Little Harbor and stay for more than four hours, which is the maximum time the local ferry schedule would allow because Cynthia had no place to stay at Harris’. She needed a tent which would set up on a slab of cement floor which was all that was left of the restaurant, and a couple of sleeping bags so her and her “man friend” could stay a few days at a time and clean up the mess that was now Harris’ Place. I went to REI and purchased a two-room tent which would set up on a cement slab, two roll out mattresses and sleeping bags. I shipped those to Cynthia’s mother in St. Thomas. According to Cynthia, this really helped her with the cleanup of the property.
It seems that it is almost always regular people. Small business owners like Cynthia who are most affected by a natural disaster. Now Cynthia needs help and expertise. One of our graduates, Mark Banker, along with crew mates on a recent BVI trip with Captain Vicki Staudte have provided a list of items. These items will be enough to put her docks back together so she can serve more than two tables in her make shift new Harris’ Place which is her current limit. Here is the list and cost:
- Fifty-three boards 2” X 6” X 14’ @ $27 each. They are currently available on Tortola.
- About one thousand (1,000 to 1,500) 3” stainless-steel Deck Screws for the boards @ $450 including shipping.
- Nine cleats 12” S shaped Aluminum @ $204 total. They are normally $37 each. These are already paid for and enroute to St. Thomas.
- Cynthia has the stainless-steel bolts for the cleats.
Currently, Cynthia can stay on Jost Van Dyke for a couple of days at a time. She now has a more substantial tent provided by the British Red Cross. She has two tables for customers, a make shift kitchen and bar. Remarkably the restrooms survived so they are available. This is a far cry from Harris’ Place which many of our graduates experienced and came to know.
You can help Cynthia and Harris’ Place by working with the Northern Breezes team. Together we can probably double or triple Cynthia’s capacity in a couple of days when we are down in the BVI in mid-March. If it will help you in a “tax” way, we can run your donation of a board for Cynthia’s dock, stainless steel screws or whatever else works for you through our non-profit.
Direct Link to Northern Breezes Wufoo Donation Form:
https://northernbreezes.wufoo.com/forms/zhqw43r1rus5ye/
Direct Link to Cynthia’s GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/rebuildharrisplace