Naughtiness at Nippers?

July 2000 Table of Contents

NAUGHTINESS AT NIPPERS?
by Jack Hardy

An old friend called me up the other day. "Have you seen the Abaco Message Board recently?"

"No, I haven't been on for a few days."

"There're lots of postings about Nippers. Excessive drinking, dancing naked, sex in the pool..."

"Disgusting!" I said.

"Deplorable!" he agreed.

"So when we going?"

The Abaco Message Board at oii.net provides an alternative news and commentary source. Although some native Abaconians use it, the messages are usually from the expatriate community, visitors and prospective visitors. It's content is more cosmopolitan than usually found on Abaco.

What started the furor over Nippers was an anonymous posting by Guana Cay Locals titled Guana Cay is Fed Up With Nipper Crowds. It was claimed "...disgusting things happen at Nippers such as all the nudity, sex in the pool, people dancing naked on the bar, men and women doing whatever they please to each other, drugs, fights, people throwing up all over the place because they have had too much to drink, and who knows what else, it is just a disgrace..." The writers were very concerned about the effects of such activities on their children.

Then the Board exploded. Over a hundred responses were posted, mostly from people who said they had enjoyed their experiences at Nippers. But a few said they had seen unacceptable behaviour on occasion, particularly among the Spring Break crowd. The posting titles were rather interesting: Nippers Our Kind of Place... Chicken, Identify Yourself!... Read This If You Dare... Wow What a Mess!!!...Blah, Blah, Blah...

The proprietor of Nippers, Johnny Roberts, responded to say that he and his family had noticed a small minority of patrons recently having a hard time with their self control and getting carried away. When incidents happened, he and his family tried to put an immediate stop to them. "My intention through this growing period has been to keep our island free from watch dogs, police, and having a million signs saying you can't do this or that. This is part of the reason why you all come here, to get away. The atmosphere here has always been self control and you know your limits."

Johnny Roberts was saddened that the Guana Cay Locals had not brought their observations to him before posting their complaints on the Board. But he did promise some action. "I am putting together some new guidelines and restrictions that I am sure will eliminate all of these concerns."

It would be hard to imagine a print publication receiving over a hundred letters on any given topic. The Nippers affair showed the power of the Board, which was a lifeline to the rest of the world after Hurricane Floyd.

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