Making Waves

A VIP offers insider tours of the glitzy island of St. Bart's-and explains why its beaches are some of the world's most coveted.

- Ross Kenneth Urken

IT WAS A CLOUDLESS morning at Eden Rock-St. Barths (doubles from $1,800), the glamorous resort known for its celebrity guests. After sweeping through its see-and-be-seen Sand Restaurant, I sauntered down the palm-tree-shaded front steps to find my taxi.

I was not looking for just any cab driver, though. Seated behind the wheel of a gray Hyundai H-1 van was Hélène Bernier, who is the vice president of St. Bart's, a former French commune that is officially an overseas collectivity of France. Bernier also happens to be the owner of Easy Time, a tour company that offers illuminating drives around the island. Her tours are filled with local lore, A-list name-dropping, personal stories, and tales of real estate conflicts between longtime residents and the super-rich.

Dressed in a coral-pink jumpsuit from Poupette St. Barth, a homegrown label, she greeted me with a warm handshake. After I hopped in shotgun, she chirped, "On y va!" ("Let's go!"), then floored it down one of the main roads. In a fluster of Franglais, Bernier, 49, launched into an animated rundown of her life: Born and raised in St. Bart's, she has French ancestry on the island that dates back to 1648, which may explain her drive to protect its cultural heritage and environment.

In 2009, she founded a conservation group called St. Barth Essentiel and, later, was elected to the Territorial Council, the island's 19-member parliament, where she distinguished herself as a vocal critic of over development.