This series of commentaries follows Mabel Wagner’s 2015 memoir Lest I Forget. The book recounts Ms. Wagner’s work with her Polish husband Wladek Wagner to transform the remote, bush-covered Trellis Bay, Beef Island, into an internationally acclaimed yacht haven — and the nearby construction of the territory’s first airfield. Their yacht Rubicon, built in 1898, provided their transportation, their first home and their source of income
Ms. Wagner writes that their voyage to Australia on Rubicon in 1948 had been interrupted in St. Thomas after she discovered she was pregnant with their daughter Suzanna. When Mr. Wagner introduced chartering to tourists on St. Thomas, their yacht brought them a financial lifeline. Through having to harbour her safely in Tortola, his discovery of Trellis Bay kindled his dream of building a yacht haven there.
The family took Rubicon for granted, but without her they would never have survived their pioneering days.
They often had to climb over bags of cement down in the main cabin and find a safe walking space between the various bags, boxes and barrels covering the deck. Her timbers suffered from hauling heavy equipment and supplies for Trellis Bay and drums of oil for the pending airstrip.
In Part 40 of this series, published on Sept. 25, I described how Ms. Wagner had taken her children to England, where her family had gradually helped her recover from a nervous breakdown. It had been precipitated by having to host a film company at Trellis Bay Club for three months without any training or professional staff to help her. She subsequently vowed to change the lifestyle that had damaged her health.
She had missed enjoying the music and dance for which she had been trained, and she also considered their children’s future. Nevertheless, she felt sad for her husband when he told her he was selling his property at Trellis Bay. They flew to Puerto Rico and rented an apartment, planning to stay in Trellis Bay only long enough to pack their personal belongings before returning to Puerto Rico. Ms. Wagner says she felt quite overcome at the sight of Trellis Bay, their home for nine years. When she left it, it had been a hive of activity, but it was now eerily quiet. Apart from a small boat sitting up on the railway, it looked lifeless, until she saw its new owner-to-be, Ed Karkow, come out of the clubhouse on Bellamy Cay with Myrtle Penn (my future sister-in-law) and their little dog, Russie.
Ms. Penn went with Ms. Wagner and the children to Tamarind House, which seemed to be much as she had left it, although she was not over-surprised to note that some of their things were missing. She felt quite emotional as they walked through each room, while Suzanna and their son Michael scampered around, but they didn’t want to keep very much, so it didn’t take too long to pack and load Rubicon. Meanwhile, Mr. Wagner was finalising arrangements with Herbert Lee, Alan Hickock and other businessmen who had planned to become involved in developing the Virgin Islands. However, their interest waned on hearing that Mr. and Ms. Wagner had decided to move to Puerto Rico, where they had many friends at the Club Nautico. The familiar climate would also help their children adjust to leaving Trellis Bay. Just as they were ready to leave, Mr. Karkow told them that he was finding it hard to finance the purchase of Trellis Bay, so he was returning to Chicago to seek investors. They had little choice but to stay until he came back. However, just after Mr. Karkow left, Jack Monsanto flew in from St. Thomas with another prospective buyer.
Colin Cooper, a salesman for Hiller Aircraft Corporation of San Francisco, California, was enthralled with Trellis Bay and stayed for a few days. When Mr. Karkow returned without having been able to obtain the funds he needed, Mr. Cooper and some associates bought Trellis Bay instead.
Ms. Wagner comments that Trellis Bay’s new owners hosted her family for a few weeks like tourists. Even her husband seemed to enjoy the novel experience, perhaps glad to be no longer weighed down with the responsibilities he had taken on. However marvellous developing Trellis Bay had been, it had cost her her health, but she was relieved they were leaving happily. Eventually, they boarded Rubicon once again, raised her anchor, set her sails and left Trellis Bay.
Ms. Wagner writes that her husband showed no sign of the heartache he must have felt at the ending of his dreams. Suzanna sat close to her on the port side bench, both quietly wrestling with private thoughts and emotions. Michael sat alone, happy to be sailing on Rubicon again. Ms. Wagner admits that to have looked back at Trellis Bay would have been too painful, but having pioneered its development and changed it forever, it would remain a cherished part of the Wagner family’s shared memories. They were off on a new adventure in Puerto Rico.
Something Ms. Wagner might never have known was that while she was away a travel writer for The New York Times had visited Trellis Bay Club.
