"Grillz Ah Blaze at Da Reef"

In 1969, a construction worker named Lowell Wheatley moved from the North Sound of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands to Anegada BVI. After saving enough money to buy a boat, he was able to pursue his love of being on the water. He used his boat for fishing and diving for lobsters that could be sold to resorts such as The Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda.

Lowell quickly realized that daily water travel from Anegada to the Sound was costly. Being an innovator and problem solver, he built a lobster pool to preserve his catch until he had enough lobsters to make it worthwhile and profitable to travel to Gorda.

During the time that Lowell was fishing, Anegada was in the early stages of being developed by a British businessman who had leased the majority of the island from the British government. This project was very unpopular with the locals, and the work as well as the lease were terminated after a time, resulting in a lot of unfinished construction. One of the incomplete structures that had fallen into serious disrepair was The Anegada Reef Hotel, a 20-room building used by campers and construction workers for housing.

With its excellent location just inside the reef, Lowell saw the hotel as a business opportunity as well as a way to help his island. In 1976, he negotiated a lease with the government for the hotel and property. He and his wife Vivian took over the rebuilding. Vivian took on housekeeping and administration while Lowell handled all ends of the construction, including the creation of the unique grills that would be used for cooking. There were some old 55-gallon oil drums lying around, and according to Lawrence, Lowell and Vivian's son, Lowell saw a use for them. He cut them in half, added hinges to create lids, and cut holes in the ends to hold rods that supported metal grills. Then he searched the island for a particular tree, known locally as torchwood tree. Its branches burned hot and bright, with the added feature of producing a fragrant fire.

After diving for lobsters, he would split, clean, and cook them on his oil drum grills. The fires from his "beach kitchen," seen for miles over the water, became a warm, inviting feature for sailors looking for a good dinner after enjoying a relaxing drink at the Reef bar, watching the horizon in hopes of seeing the "green flash." The light from these oil drums has become as much a part of Anegada's identity as the lobsters that are grilled on them and the man who invented them.

The Anegada Reef Hotel is now owned and operated by Lowell's son Lawrence and his mother, Vivian. I have been eating these lobsters and looking for the "green flash" (which I've seen once) for over a dozen years, and will continue to go back with my family for the experience of seeing lights from the "Grillz Ah Blaze at Da Reef."

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