Archie and Suzanne Hodge

Archie and Suzanne Hodge were originally from upstate New York (Rochester) but have more recently lived in several places in the New England area (including Cape Cod) as well as in the BVI. They have a number of residences in New England and California, with their BVI home being high up along St. Bernard’s Road in Belmont – where they were one of the earliest residents. Archie was an orthodontist “by trade” but is now retired.

Lifetime boaters, they heard about the BVI from a dentist friend. They first came to Tortola and the BVI in the 1970s as ‘bareboat charterers’. They had a weeks cruising and then stayed another week with a friend (a charter captain from the Isles of Scilly - an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain). Although they checked out locations for a second home “all over the Caribbean” they could not find anywhere better than Tortola, and started building in Belmont Estates in 1979 – there was nothing available at that time in Dawson Estate, their preferred location. Although they had a good builder and a very good architect, it was a slow process in those days, which involved frequent visits to check out the progress of the construction project.

Initially buying a single lot they later bought another one next door in order to mitigate problems with the lot lines. They insisted that the original vegetation be maintained as much as possible, by using hand labour, and although this might have slowed the construction process somewhat it resulted in a better final product – with more mature trees – some of them quite rare on Tortola. The house was ‘angled’ in order to minimize potential hurricane damage. The result was a lovely home with an excellent view. Although the construction process was difficult in some ways, the Hodges believe it would be more problematical now as hand labour seems to have given way to bulldozer-development, with all of the attendant environmental issues of that approach. In addition there are many more restrictions in the BVI now, which would likely make the construction process more troublesome.

The Hodges like to keep a low profile and avoid ‘joining’, and as they spend much of their time at home or on their boat (an “Aquasport”, docked in Nanny Cay), change has not affected them as much as other people. They like their ‘isolated’ location. But they recognize that the past thirty years have seen a lot of changes throughout the BVI as ‘development’ has occurred, and not all of them have been favourable. High on the ‘negative’ list are the cruise ships, and the recent ‘collateral damage’ the tour buses. These are now regularly found at Smugglers’ Cove, which is clearly no longer one of “Nature’s Little Secrets”. Beach chairs, vendors, and bars have transformed this quiet spot – and vexed many local people, both Belongers and Non-Belongers, who use the beach. Fortunately a major villa development that would have dramatically changed the character of “Smugglers’” was prevented by the actions of the various groups of ‘locals’ and environmentalists. There was even talk of an airstrip and an anchorage in the Belmont Salt Pond – but these fears of an environmental disaster have now disappeared as moves to make part of the Belmont area into a National Park are underway.

In addition, Belmont has developed over the years, and although many nice houses have resulted, so have a number of ‘trophy houses’ – large structures of debatable architectural significance, which are rarely used and left empty for much of the time. Many of the long term residents and locals do not like these structures and fear they may become ‘crime magnets’. Although the Hodges know most of the long-term residents of Belmont, the community has changed and rentals can be a problem as those visitors have limited involvement in the area or the local community.

There has been, of course, a tremendous increase in roads, cars and traffic over the past thirty years. Visual pollution has increased. Tourism has escalated – and now getting through customs and immigration has become more of a hassle. There are also many more boats and related events like regattas. They used to like to boat to Scrub Island but recent developments there have ruined it for them. In general there are now fewer “isolated beaches” in the BVI as growth and development have occurred. Shopping is, however, now a lot easier and better, and reliance upon St. Thomas is in the past – although they did not go there very often.

The Hodges spend as much time as they can in the BVI. Usually arriving around November (“but you never know..), and leaving in April after the Spring Regatta. They plan to continue this lifestyle into the foreseeable future.
 

Draft of April 14th of interview of March 25th, 2011

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