Journalistic Fiction

Well, I just found out I was on the Sloop, Lick Off, with the Governor that struck a reef. I also found out that that was John Redman who was on Ranger with me when she sunk in the squalls off South Caicos. I guess when you see one boat you see them all, sort of like expats. The Sun, our erstwhile, I’ll check it out later newspaper, in a meager 150 words (more or less) made  11 pretty bad mistakes.

It is interesting that a reporter does not know how to call a number he usually calls for media releases nor send an email to the author of a list that his address is subscribed to. It is also strange that a picture of Will and the Governor was used for the article without him noticing that it was not somebody he has interviewed and talks to.

To go over the story that appears on page 2 and says that I and the Governor shipwrecked when I and H. Hinderaker were in the safety boat, as reported in the last Log. Will and the Governor did not go out to sea, but Will did come in from the sea to participate in the sailing off the 3 Queens Restaurant. They sailed inside the reef. The safety boat that rescued them was manned by Kevin Harvey who went to get them when he saw where they were, not because somebody told him to do it.

Will’s Sloop sunk the next morning around 10AM not just after the Governor and crew were taken off the boat.

Luckily, this is not the second time I have been in this position. H. Hinderaker and I, not John Redman as reported, sailed our small Sloop underwater because of a series of strong wind squalls. We later floated for seven hours awaiting rescue but we were on the Bank, near South Caicos,  not on a bank near Salt Cay.

That’s all to the article actually. I wonder what he drinks.

Election of Board Officers…

The Federation membership decided at the last AGM to limit our original number of Board Governors to that in our Articles, which amounts to nine. There is still a discussion ongoing about if we should raise that number to insure a quorum turnout to our meetings or to lower the number to do the same thing and to have a more active Board.

My take on it is that the larger the Board the more problems occur with getting everybody in the same room on the same day until the Federation is really going with a variety of interesting programmes or creates some sort of social agenda that everybody loves to attend.

Generally speaking, for non-profit groups, there is no call for a Board to meet every month, except while forming, once or twice a year is a normal NGO, and for those who are foundation grantors, quarterly is the norm. The Board does not run the organization per se, it is the overseeing body that sets policy. Therefore the members, who should represent a broad spectrum of the society, can stay abreast of the activities through regular communication links or become as active as they will as a member.

The Committees, especially an Executive Committee, play the more active role in assisting the administration of the organization. The concept of a committee is always being beat down, “If you want to do nothing form a committee.” types of sayings abound, but the reality is a good measure of the involvement of the community can be shown by the level of interest shown by the committees that function within the organization.

The Board meeting took place at Aqua Restaurant and had five newly elected Board Governors in attendance: Honourable Dr. Carlton Mills, J.H. (JJ) Parker, Becky Carlson, H. Hinderaker and E. Jay Saunders. Those who gave their apologies, all off Island, were H.E. Governor Richard Tauwhare (Patron), Dr. Gilbert Morris,  Lew Handfield and Delton Jones.

The election was done by secret ballot with each member placing a designated letter beside one of the names on the list of Governors. Our new Chairman is J.H. Parker and the Vice Chairman is now H. Hinderaker. A new post was created by combining the positions of Secretary and Treasurer and shared by the tie votes for Becky Carlson and E. Jay Saunders, called the Co-Secretary/Treasurer.

Chairman Parker vowed, “When I commit myself to something I will work on it as hard as I can. I believe this organization needs the help of the Government and I will not stop until we have it.”

To which Dr. Mills replied, “I feel you already have the Government ready to help. You have my Ministry behind this organization.” In case you do not know it Dr. Mills is the Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture.

Dr. Mills further reminded the Board members of his recent email informing them that the Cabinet has overwhelmingly approved the concept of making sailing the National Sport of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The future definitely looks bright for the sailing community and especially the Federation. Now, we have to get into a very serious gear. Now that we have Officers to vote on things, we hope to activate the four main committees within the next week.

Website

Hopefully today we will unravel the problem of adding to our Federation Log category on our website, www.maritimeheritage.tc. The problem is that whenever I post the latest anything aside from photographs, it wipes out the entire section of Log entries for that Quarter, which are weekly updates from September through today.

Laura is taking time off from her busy schedule to come by our office at the Cultural and Arts Commission to beat me on the head with a pencil. That is the method my teachers always used in school and it worked, I think.

Wil Gibson’s Photos

Wilson Gibson sent some photos to show the extent of the damage done when his Sloop struck a reef with the Governor aboard while sailing during the Conch Festival. He also included a photo of the progress on his newest creation being accomplished by Reverend Gold Williams and Wil.

Wil has got spirit, no?

Sea Food Land Food

Lucy Mott-Lee should have her revised edition of Sea Food Land Food available at Unicorn and of course at Flowers at Maison Creole this week in time for Christmas shopping. Personally, I feel enough about the book on Cayman cookery that I wrote the following excerpt from a review:

The Cayman Islands has a few cookbooks around and most of them are presented in a way that depicts the niceness that is definitely an attribute of Cayman culture. Lucy presents what a person back in the ‘80s saw and tasted and liked about what the Cayman Islands was at that time. These recipes are from the kitchens, cabooses and fire holes of the people you would meet on the street. The thing that makes this book of recipes not just a common cook book is that most Caymanians take a real pride in cooking, so you have a nation of 5-star home chefs. What you find here is an embodiment of what somebody would serve you in their homes. She leaves the shading and tinting of the taste to them and to you.

Sea Food Land Food is real cooking and a perfect gift if you like Caribbean recipes.

This speaks for itself:

Tou Jou Zanmi Lafrik 
 
By Alizee Zimmermann
    
Black.
Everything is black.
Heavy air whips the face.
Salt,
when carried at high speeds
by open ocean winds,
has the ability
to cut
even the thickest skin.

Black 
night, against black wave.
Days become superfluous
when you can't move.
640 arms and legs 
contort
around 260 deformed torsos.
Crushed
in a 30ft sardine-can sloop.

Black
wave, against black skin.
Our colourful sardine-tin Mayflower,
overflowing
with cockroaches,
praying for landfall
to scatter into hidden crevices
before you come, to
Crush.

Black.
Everything is black
night against black wave.
Black night and black wave 
against black skin,
hearts blackened with fear
stare over bodies
out to an uncertain black horizon.

Hope.
This is a journey of hope.
500 dollars,
4 days
through the wild Atlantic.
The tears of Duvalier's nation
create the ocean
which we navigate.
Artificial light at last.

Hope.
Oh my America
will i finally discover your promise?
Bang!
Hearts blackened with fear.
Raid! This is a raid!
A constant echo.
“Raid: kills roaches dead”
Pirates attack our Mayflower

Hope
has been silenced.
Salt fills my orifices,
160 
bodies fighting to get out
from under a 30ft sloop.
One by one the dead float
belly-up.
The rest of us pulled, dragged up.

4 days in a floating sardine can,
only to get a plane ticket
back.
Back to beautiful Haiti.