TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Saba Rock Pirate

I was on the Saba Rock webcam recently and noticed that the pirate that sails around in their fish tank is gone. Does anybody know why?

What pirate?

Its was a three foot pirate that floated around in the tank in a three foot wooden boat.

Maybe there is a ransom note

He got called in to Pirate Council?

I was just a Saba Rock last week and noticed a large anchor in to water just off the dock where they feed the tarpon. Does anyone know the story of that anchor? And no, I didn't see a pirate in the tank with the canons and small anchor.

Sounds like Barnacle Bill <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

The pirate was in his boat floating in the tank when we were there in March.

Maybe check with the Saba Rock folks via Facebook?

In 1980, there was a sunken charter boat about where the dinghy dock is now. Maybe the anchor is its.

1980 was before the Pirates Pub and Saba Rock.

I agree that there was no Pirate's Pub there in 1980, but the rock certainly was, as the hapless charter captain discovered. I expect the rock is still there, about the middle of the kitchen.

Pirates Pub was on Saba long ago. Bert Kilbride had his home , dive business and the pub was underneath. My hubby lived on VG in the early 70's and it was there then. We went to it in 1985 and it had been there many years before that. It was very much a crusty dive and just perfect.

Bert sold Drakes Anchorage and moved to Saba Rock in1970.

I admit to getting a little long in the tooth, occasionally having some trouble finding my car keys, but I don't remember any substantial improvements on Saba Rock in the early 80's.

According to http://www.sportdiver.com/destinations/british-virgin-islands/last-pirate-caribbean, "In l989, Hurricane Hugo blew through the BVI and did enough damage to temporarily kill off the dive business, so Kilbride opened the Pirates Pub on Saba Rock." If that's correct, then in the early '80s there wasn't much on Saba Rock except maybe Kilbride's driftwood house and dive shop, so perhaps you could forgive me for not remembering the improvements from so many years age. I also have a picture from 1980 which sort of bears that out, but I can't figure out how to attach it.

Do you remember the Bitter End when they didn't have a real restaurant but an outside bar with an electric hot dog machine? The bartender was a lady who smoked cigars.
BTW the Pirates Pub was started around the 90's if I remember correctly.

Anybody have pictures? Sure would be cool to see that!

Loved the Pirates Pub, I was there in 1981, the birds were fun to watch and talk to. The old toilet on the 'hill' was classic.
http://www.bviwelcome.com/articles/Saba_Rock/

Thanks for sharing that John! VERY cool indeed!

Wasn't there a whale skeleton on the beach in front of the Bitter End restaurant in the early 80's?

Very cool! Definitely adding Saba Rock to our itinerary in November!

Julie...Saba is a "don't miss" for sure....

Bridget, we missed it on our last trip. If I can convince the crew this time (all adults this time and more into happy hour than my college kids were - shocker, right?!) we'd hit Leverick BBQ on Friday, head to Anegada on Saturday and back to Leverick slip on Sunday to enjoy Saba.

The toilet was a work of art, handle less automatic constant flushing Einstein would have been impressed <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Actually I'm shocked that the college kids wouldn't be just as in to the happy hour as the adults!! Or even more so since the drinking age in the BVI is only 18.

Last I heard, they didn't have a minimum drinking age. They had a minimum drinking height. If you can see over the bar, you can buy a drink.

Can't tell you how many wonderful afternoons we shared with Bert on Saba Rock in the late 1980s into the 1990s. Our friend, Mike Tullos, was a very close friend to Bert and between the two of them, and my husband, the three shared handmade gold pendants that Mike made for each of them. Not sure where Bert's or Mike's are today as both gentlemen have passed but we still have ours. It's a one-of-a-kind Mermaid... . What great memories!

I thought there was a variety of "treasure" (junk) deliberately placed on the bottom in the North Sound to make diving/snorkeling more "interesting" . . .