SJ log for March 4 - Life lessons learned in Bequia

Horseshoe Reef at Tobago Cays
Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Unfortunately I don't have any photos to complement today's post. So for this posting I'm uploading photos of a prior visit to Tobago Cays, since we didn't have time to get there this trip with all the maintenance work on SJ. The cays are one of our favorite places in the world - a huge protected reef with miles of incredible shallow water snorkeling, deserted islands with trails winding through the cactus and other island "bush" among rocky points and sandy beaches -- no wonder the area was recently designated a marine park to protect it from development. Although the name Tobago Cays may not be familiar, the scenery should be to fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (http://www.svgtourism.com/channels/1.asp?id=110). The first movie in the series was filmed in and around St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Enjoy the photos.

Today I took a day off from working at the school and slept in a bit, and later just lazed in the bed and read until about 10:00. Sometimes it feels so great to do nothing except just read and rest and relax that I wonder why I don’t do that more. But then, there are so many interesting things in the world to see and do, so perhaps I just don’t want to miss a minute of it sitting around.

Solo dinghy practice in the sparklingly clear azure water at Tobago Cays. Notice that the water is so clear you can clearly see the shadow of the dinghy in the sandy bottom below.

When I finally got moving for the day I put on “street clothes” (I don’t wear bathing suits and cover-ups in town no matter how hot it is because the people who live here don’t do that, and I watch what they do as my guide since this is their home after all). Then after preparing a light breakfast on my “new and improved” (and much safer) propane stove, I stepped off the swim platform on SJ's stern and climbed into the dinghy, and used a cutoff plastic soda bottle to bail the water in the bottom of the dinghy from a very heard rain that had deposited it there overnight. The frequent tropical showers -- brief but often intense -- result in the need to bail the dinghy every couple of days or so before loading in my gear to keep it dry. I also find that I need to aid air to the inflatable pontoons every 4-5 days since over time they gradually lose air and the sides start to get a bit "squishy". So after preparing the dinghy again today I loaded my laptop and other supplies into the dinghy and motored ashore to re-charge my computer (it was completely out of battery power) and work on some “home” tasks using the Internet.

After docking and locking the dinghy (you’ve hear of “lock and load” – well with dinghies you “dock and lock”!) – I walked along the dock and up the sandy path to the place that is my almost daily haunt, the Gingerbread Restaurant and Hotel. As I climbed the terracotta steps into the restaurant portion upstairs, I smiled when I saw the familiar painting over the bar along the opposite wall. The image is of a scene along the Bequia waterfront as it was perhaps 150-200 years ago – a large wooden boat being built by hand in the harbor, surrounded by dark-skinned boat builders standing on wooden scaffolding as they shape and sand her curving hull, and a low rock wall running along shore in the background that is still there and called the Belmont walkway today. I love this portrait because to me it represents what makes Bequia special – the seafaring and boating heritage, the work ethic of its people, and the natural and stunning beauty of the island. I hope Bequia never loses any of those things.

Tim enjoys a transom shower after snorkeling in the Tobago Cays

After getting my “office” setup on a nearby table so my laptop could re-charge while I worked, I opened my calendar to view my “to do” list for today. I spent the first couple of hours revising the latest draft of the MOAC Operations Manual. MOAC is the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club which I joined a year or so ago and which Tim and I renewed together for another year. The group is a non-profit organization that organizes outdoor trips -- hiking, kayaking, snowshoeing, skiing, surfing, rock climbing – if you can name it they probably do it. They also sponsor clean-ups of local beaches and rivers and help build and maintain trails and other outdoor resources. As a club they are extremely well organized, including having a manual which spells out daily club operations and what the officers of the club are expected to do – sort of like a job description. When I heard they were looking for help with the manual, it seemed like I might be a good fit given my experience over the years as journalist/freelance writer/editor, so I volunteered. We were trying to complete a major “revamp” of the manual in time for the upcoming elections and “change of the guard”, so I wanted to finish my edits and send it off for review as soon as possible.

Our dingy "beached" in Tobago Cays

The next project on my list was responding to some communication from the Landing School in Kennebunk about the reference letters for my application. The Landing School is a very well-known and much respected marine trade school in Maine that teaches the rapidly disappearing skills of boat design, building, renovation, and maintenance. Both Tim and I are interested in attending the Landing School over the new few years – he in Marine Systems (installing all boat systems and keeping them operating or repaired over time) and me in the Cruising Boats program (building and outfitting a boat from bare wood and other materials and installing the systems initially). We’ve both worked in so-called “professional” fields most of our life (what does “professional” mean anyway?). But as we look toward retirement in the next 10 or 20 years we’d prefer to spend the rest of our career doing something with our hands and that we love to do, and in our case attending the Landing School seems like a great fit for finding a way to go about doing that. Perhaps it’s because we both understand what Kenneth Grahame’s “Wind in the Willows” character Water Rat meant when saying to Mole when he was introduced to the joys of a boat for the first time, “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolute nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Perhaps the story is now regarded as a beloved and timeless classic for children, but as with most such novels of the genre, there are wonderful life lessons in there for all of us.

SJ at Tobago Cays. This island in the background is Petit Tabac, the one where Johnny Depp was marooned with Elizabeth Swann in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie (the island where she burned all the rum, oh my!).

And there is also a practical reason for attending the Landing School as well, since I understand from various sources in the industry that there is now a shortage of people who either know how to or are interested in doing this type of “hands on” labor, especially in Maine where of course boats are still a huge part of the heritage and daily life. So to Tim and I, that “shortage” of skills sounds like a great opportunity to find a way to do something we both would like to do and hopefully turn it into a livelihood too. I’ll be writing about this more in this blog and on our website over time, so stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted as things evolve.

Chart of the southern Caribbean Sea and the Tobago Cays. The yellow on the left is the small island of Mayreau, and all the blue and green areas to the right of Mayrea is the waters and reef of Tobago Cays.

So getting back to things in Bequia, after about three hours of work (albeit volunteer) at the Gingerbread, I was ready to treat myself to lunch ashore and then return to Sacajawea (SJ) for the rest of the afternoon. I was craving pizza, so I walked along the stone Belmont Walkway which meanders along the water’s edge to Mac’s Pizzeria and ordered a cheese and fresh tomato pizza for lunch. While I waited for my order I enjoyed sitting in their fully-shaded and blessedly cool dining area which was one story above the beach and tucked under the lush trees which were blowing in the light wind and creating a wonderful breeze. I passed the time by reading a brochure about the upcoming Easter Regatta, which unfortunately we’d miss because even after Tim returned later in the month to help me deliver SJ back to St. Vincent, we left a week or two before the 4-day event began. I understand the tiny island of Bequia, and especially it’s very ample harbor, is packed for the regatta; and although I don’t care for crowds, it would be fun to come for that sometime, especially if we arrived early enough to ensure a good spot to anchor before the madding crowds arrived.

Soon the nice island lady brought out my pizza and after paying the bill in EC currency, I walked back along the walkway by the shore and unlocked the dinghy on the nearby dock, placed my items in the Hairoun beer crate, and motored slowly back to SJ, enjoying the afternoon sun and sea. The rest of the day was spent in more idle pursuits - reading, writing in my logs, checking email since I had Internet access from the boat part of the day, and reading the John MacDonald book I picked up at the Sunshine School book sale. Good night!

The cays are great for kayaking and snorkeling and diving.