I really don’t know what it is about the turning of March into April but days seem to merge into days and here it is already  the second day of a month I keep thinking is next month. I know that I have done a lot but cannot sit down and detail what.

Anyway, Malcolm Kirkland, the Executive Director of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation was emailing me in response to an email of mine to let me know he was staying at the Turtle Cove Inn, where our office is. I looked back at the email he had sent telling me of his arrival and found that it was actually a little vague but seemed to suggest an arrival the day after the day of the emailing.

What came of this bit of confusion was a casual meeting with a Bermudian preservation activist that set a comfortable tone to our relationship. We had been corresponding for over two years about getting TCI students aboard a to be built, then built early 19th Century schooner. The schooner’s name became the Spirit of Bermuda and without our students aboard sailed on its inaugural voyage to Bermuda from Rockport, Maine.

Now, the Spirit of Bermuda is coming to the Turks and Caicos Islands on a pilgrimage journey to re-connect with this culture and the Bahamas. At one point in time the Bahamas and Bermuda were on the verge of war to be in control of the salt industry of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the 19th Century. Now, the Turks and Caicos Islands will be a catalyst to the continuous string of families that have linked the three groups of Islands.

You can see and hear more about Bermuda and the relationship between the TCI and Bermuda, historically and developmentally tonight on How Culture Works. Malcolm and Project Manager Nick Hutchings had to go visit other islands in our group today so we pre-recorded the programme for tonight’s broadcast, so I can tell you that it is a good show.

The Federation is stepping into the practical foundation of building an association of preservation organizations and individuals who comprehend a not so distant quest of fostering a home for historical information on this region here in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It isn’t just the question of changing the mentality that insists upon using the term native sloop in place of Middle Caicos or Wheeland Sloop and it is the question of how to find out how this place influenced that place by sea.

In three weeks we have had world famous author Tim Severin, world famous conservationist Lance Lee and now world famous sea school originator Malcolm Kirkland on our own little WIV Channel 4 How Culture Works, brought to you by the TC Maritime Heritage Federation. That is a big step that should say to you, I want to be a part of this in some way.

Gold Williams stalled by rain

Rev. Gold Williams has had to stop the restoration of the two vessels we had planned on using in Chalk Sound to start up sailing programmes on Chalk Sound. We just want you to know that this has not been bypassed.

Small group of sailors off South Caicos

South Caicos, Mariners’ Week and Provo Day Regattas

Peggy Malcolm is one of the most detail oriented persons I know. She is almost singlehandedly attempting to get the Sloop sailors interested in coming to South Caicos for Regatta this year. The question of safety and money are the boundaries of the arguments. Peggy took a boat out to look for H and I herself… twice, to give heart to the others who were just watching looking for the results of being turned over in a wild storm.

A lot of the sailors decided that they would not participate unless there was a real assured number of safety boats willing to stay out if the weather grows bad. They also would like to have transportation expenses and a per diem for being away from home and employment.

There also needs to be a division of the major classes of traditional and contemporary :Sloops to keep the traditional vessels in the mix. A proposed Regatta Commission has not been taken up by Government nor by the sailors and formed, and without an impartial body ruling over the specification allowances, scheduling, racing rules as well as assistance in funding and transportation it will be very hard to continue an evolution of these beautiful races.

It seems as though everybody is waiting for somebody to give direction for all three of these events and they all can happen with the resolution of a committee of peers working through a Regatta Commission structure. None of these events should fall because of the presence of one or two people, but nobody seems to want to fail publicly, where somebody should be thinking of succeeding and having a lot of fun.

I feel there should be a combination of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of the Environment involved with the Federation, the Provo Sailing Club, the TCI National Trust, the Chambre of Commerce and the TC Hotel and Tourist Association to form a fund that would provide a base for the expenses incurred in supporting these regattas. There should be individual sponsorships for the individual vessels with specific responsibilities agreed by contract.

Then, there could be scheduled Turks and Caicos Islands destination action attractions that encourage cultural awareness by both local residents and visitors.

It’s a short one today, so remember to watch How Culture Works tonight and get a really good show with an excellent video of kids voyaging. How Culture Works 9PM Wednesday night.