Updates & Happenings
Ahoy! And welcome aboard! It’s been another busy season here at Stormy Pirates and things have slowed down as normal in September, so we thought it was time to update our followers about what our crew have been involved with for the past few months. Since we consider you all our extended family, we like to stay in touch with everyone about our local contributions to the well being of the Virgin Islands as well as the individual achievements and side gigs of our crew. So, here we go!
Results of The 2025 Lionfish Derby
The second annual STT/STJ Lionfish Derby was held on Saturday June 21st, in which Stormy Pirates participated. (See former blog post) The captains of all the boats met on Friday evening to register at 6 p.m. at the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club in Red Hook. Stormy Pirates was spearheaded by Captain Maeve, Captain Tara and Captain Tyler (TyTy) with additional participating members consisting of Captain Maeve’s boyfriend Jashae, Captain Tara’s friend BK, First Mate Grant, and First Mate Jackson.
A diverse gathering of divers assembled on Saturday morning to cull as many lionfish as possible, all competing for some $8000 in prize money. Prizes were awarded for everything from the most fish caught to the smallest fish caught. CORE (Caribbean Oceanic Restoration and Education Foundation) President Frank Cummings stated in The St. Thomas Source that boats were free to go anywhere they wanted to and to scour as many reefs as possible, but only divers who were certified and permitted to capture lionfish in the Virgin Islands National Park would be allowed to hunt for the invasive lionfish.
The popular event was sponsored by CORE V.I., the Department of Planning and Natural Resources’ Division of Fish and Wildlife, and Reef Responsible. First identified in 2008, lionfish have been estimated to have reduced the populations of some 40 species of fish throughout the Atlantic. Because many of those decimated fish populations eat and graze on destructive algae, the reefs within the Virgin Islands have also been negatively affected. Containing the growth of the lionfish populations is a must for preserving the beautiful coral reefs that are so important to our Islands. (Remember, a single female lionfish can release up to two million eggs a year into the Caribbean water currents!) Some suspect that the recent influx of sargassum has also aided in the explosion of lionfish as the seaweed acts like a broom and brushes the lionfish eggs to the shoreline where they hatch. While new technology is being developed to capture lionfish in deeper waters where divers can’t penetrate, derbies to slay as many lionfish as possible are a vital way of controlling the invasion of this devastating predator.
By the end of the derby, the seven competing teams had removed 255 lionfish from the waters and reefs surrounding St. Thomas and St. John. All totaled the capture amounted to 148.5 lbs. of lionfish and if laid end to end, stretched some 215 ft. (almost a football field!). Compared to 2024’s results, 33 more lionfish were removed, 2 more teams competed, 15 more pounds were available to fillet, 6 more lionfish hunters registered, and 2 times as many sponsors were involved. All in all, a fun, important event with great results.
First place honors went to the Lion Tamers, who slayed a whopping 136 lionfish! The largest fish was caught by Crochet Rouge and measured in at 40.8 cm., while the smallest lionfish honors went to Lion Tamers for their capture of a 12.0 cm fish. Although Stormy Pirates came in 7th in every category, capturing only one fish that was 27 cm in length, their efforts were applauded by everyone. And, they earned the dubious honors of capturing the “smallest largest fish” and “the largest smallest fish.”
As they say, “Practice makes perfect,” so watch out as they might just capture first place next year! No one left empty handed, including Stormy Pirates, who were awarded a zookeeper box (a lionfish containment device that resembles a wide water bottle with a handle) and a spear which will be placed in the office for crew to use on their days off. All involved deserve a round of applause for their efforts to reduce the lionfish population.
Captain Tara Back From The Appalachian Trail
This time last year, Captain Tara was more than halfway through her trek of the entire Appalachian Trail (AT). (For a recap of her journey, see previous blog post) What started out as a way to distract herself from “an agonizing sadness” over the death of her brother became a journey of healing and restoration that ended atop Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park during October, accompanied by two good friends from the islands who flew in to join her final ascent.
Posing in shorts and holding a Stormy Pirates flag while surrounded by fog and snow-covered rocks, a smiling Capt. Tara posed for pictures to capture the moment and posted them on her Facebook page, writing: “Grief can be a thief if you let it, stealing your life one day at a time … but someone I met on the AT described it perfectly to me. Halfpint said,’Grief is like a heavy backpack. It often weighs you down and can feel unbearable, but as we live our life, we can learn to carry it differently and lighten our load where we can.’ I’m leaving behind some heavy weight I carried for many years, and I’m taking with me a new sense of gratitude. It’s been real, the Appalachian Trail … Island Girl out.”
Looking back at her journey, Tara says, “I’ll never truly be without sadness about losing my brother, but I was able to let go of some of that hard pain. Bringing yourself back into joy is important, and so is being kind to yourself.”
After returning to St. Thomas, Captain Tara immediately went back to work at Stormy Pirates. Although she had gotten her captain’s license before she left, she finally put it to use and got behind the wheel for the very first time.
“After such an extraordinary journey,” she says, “it felt pretty exciting. It was the ‘umph’ I needed after the accomplishment of the trip.”
She also confesses that she got into what she calls “nest mode,” feeling great love and gratefulness for her apartment. “I wanted to hug the walls and everything there,” she laughs, adding that she even painted her walls white and gave it a more ‘homey’ feel by adding special touches throughout her space.
“After living there for 3 years without changing much of anything from the previous tenants,” she explains, “I made it into my space with more coziness, and I spent a lot of time at home.”
I’m guessing it felt like a luxury hotel after all those months of sleeping outdoors and cooking over a campfire!
Not wanting to fall back into old habits, Tara then completed the viral trend known as the 75 Hard Challenge, a strict 75-day lifestyle plan that demands exercising twice a day, adhering to a rigid diet, and strengthening one’s mental fortitude – all without rest, cheat days or substitutions. One slip up and you have to start over. It’s all about pushing past your comfort zone to challenge yourself to make long-term lasting improvements, although looking at her track record, she seems pretty good at pursuing goals and making healthy changes.
In December, Hotfoot, one of the trail buddies she frequently walked with on the AT, came to visit and wound up getting a job on Pizza Pi, though he’ll be off to Portugal come October. BBQ, another trail buddy who also walked with Tara and Hotfoot also came to visit, which made for a sweet reunion for the trio.
Adding a bit of fun to her routine, Tara paraded as a Chinese dragon in the Chinese New Year celebration at the temple on St. Thomas and then welcomed 12 visitors from her home town of Sodus Bay during the month of February – all while holding down her full-time job with Stormy Pirates.
Tapping into her adventurous spirit, Tara also set goals of doing some big walks in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which she jokes is “hard to do on a 13-mile-long island.” But as she discovered in the beginning of February, walking across St. Thomas actually involves 22 miles of territory.
“I got dropped off at Mermaids Chair, which is the farthest west end of St. Thomas, and I walked all the way to Cabrita Point on the east end, which took about 8 ½ hours.,” she recalls, adding, “That was fun, but maybe a little more treacherous than the AT because of all the traffic and narrow shoulders. When I got back, my legs were just ready to do more.”
So, later in February she signed up for the annual 8 Tuff Miles Road Race on St. John, walking some 999 ft. of elevation after starting in Cruz Bay and ending in Coral Bay. Future goals include walking across Water Island and St. Croix. She’s definitely pursuing the whole Caribbean experience.
Boating is also a passion, so come mid-July, Tara and Maeve, another Stormy Pirates captain, will head to Lake Huron where the two will participate in the Chicago Mack sailing Regatta which involves 300 nautical miles consisting of sailing up the lake twice to Mackinac Island. Go Team Stormy Pirates!!!
More adventures await when Tara returns to her family in upstate New York in September as she hopes to conquer some of the peaks in the Adirondack Mountains.
“I’m not sure I’ll get to all 46,” she says, “but I am going to do some hiking and camping as well as visiting some National Parks because there’s a lot of talk right now about our public lands being allocated for other things. Go support your local resources because once they’re gone, we can never get them back.”
Not one to rest on her laurels, Tara will also be spending part of the fall “reeling in salmon” on Sodus Bay off of Lake Ontario, returning to do a stint aboard the Boston Angler, where years ago she took her first official boat job as a mate.
Future goals? Well, she plans to take her STCW11/3 later this year which will allow her to Captain internationally, an accomplishment that gets her “super excited.”
“I love working for Stormy Pirates,” she adds in closing, “and this beautiful island of St. Thomas definitely has my heart. I think I’ll be here for years to come!”
If you’d like to meet and talk with Tara yourself, book a boat day with her at Stormy Pirates. She’s always up for a day of adventure and fun.
The Ongoing Mission of Brianna Burks
A day in the life of Brianna Burks is always a whirlwind of activity. (See previous post about her side gig) Besides having her own menagerie of animals – dogs, cats, rabbits, and a handful of goats with endearing names like Merle, Elroy, and Franklin – she’s still actively involved with Virgin Island Spay and Neuter (VISN), an organization of which she’s a founding member.
The state of abandoned animals and those needing care in the islands is still quite dire, so VISP tries to host monthly clinics that offer low or no-cost spay and neuter services, vaccinations, wellness checks, and microchipping. It’s a huge undertaking and requires generous amounts of donated money, time, and supplies. Whether it’s searching for people with trucks to help transport animals or looking for homes for rescued animals, Brianna is forever coaxing volunteers to join her mission of helping as many animals as possible.
As she recently stated on her Facebook page: “When you see animals in need, please help them instead of hoping someone else will.”
There are fun requests, too, like the one she posted a few weeks ago wanting to know if anyone wanted “to hang with her” as her goats grazed on a hillside. (If you’ve seen or met these adorable critters, you’d definitely want to join her!)
When Brianna isn’t at work for Stormy Pirates, she might just be stateside. A few weeks ago, she flew home to Ohio, then drove 5 hours to the Cleveland airport in anticipation of meeting escorts who were flying in from St. Thomas with the precious cargo of 5 rescued kittens hoping to find forever homes. Unfortunately, the arrival of that plane was delayed until the following day, so Brianna drove another 5 hours back home, only to turn around and make the trek again the following day. Such is the commitment of someone dedicated to animal welfare.
Animal care is expensive, so Brianna got a bit creative recently when one of her goats needed to be neutered and turned it into a contest to see who could guess the weight of her Elroy’s “jewels.” For a $5.00 donation, you could place your estimate in hopes of winning 50% of the proceeds raised, while the other 50% went to cover Elroy’s medical bills. The final tabulation of weight? A whopping 9.3 ounces or 0.58 lbs.
No one has a bigger heart for animals than Brianna, so she often lends her help to other animal rescue organizations. One such group is Ruff Start STX, located on the sister island of St. Croix, which proactively searches for homes for rescued dogs. Check out Brianna’s Facebook page for updates about those dogs, as well as others, in need of adoption.
Several other organizations were involved with the NO Cost Pet Clinic in June. The Virgin Islands Department of Health and the Humane Society of St. Thomas were co-sponsors of the two-week clinic that offered veterinary services at no cost to pet owners. This unique opportunity was made possible through a grant with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) program, which deploys 24-member veterinary teams to the islands to help provide care for dogs, cats, and rabbits.
As you can see, it takes a village to keep these rescue organizations going. If you can’t donate financially, there are other ways to help. Brianna’s suggestions include: dog walkers, fosters, cruise ship day volunteers, youth programs, vaccine clinic volunteers, and vet and airport run volunteers. If you’d like to meet Brianna in person or some of her goats, stop by the Stormy Pirates office. Don’t be surprised, though, if one of the mischievous goats has those spongy pool noodles slipped over his horns as their rambunctious head butting tendencies can get a bit out of hand!