Board of Governors Election of Officers

The first Board of Governors’ Meeting took place last night, 23 January, at the Environmental Centre on Providenciales. The meeting was originally scheduled for 6 February but it was decided to hold it prior to that date because of the 2nd anniversary of the registering of the Federation on 31 January and the early Governmental elections.

Those in attendance were Governors HE Governor Richard Tauwhare, President Goldray Ewing, Becky Carlson, Sherlock Walkin, Jay Stubbs, H. Hinderaker and Donna Bartram. Guests included Kevin Harvey and Michelle Fulfort-Gardiner. I was the scribe.

The main reason for the meeting was the election of Officers and the results are:
Chariman Goldray Ewing; Vice Chairman J.J. Parker; Secretary Donna Bartram; Treasurer Becky Carlson.

An Executive Committee was also chosen and is H. Hineraker, Goldray Ewing, Sherlock Walkin and Kevin Harvey.

The Board all agreed that there is a new dynamic in both the membership and the community to see the Federation become an important and needed asset to the social system in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Walkin Marine Are New Corporate Members
Sherlock Walkin, representing the Walkin Marine chandlery, has become our newest corporate membership. Sherlock said, while writing out the check at the Board of Governors’ Meeting last night that, “…I’ve been meaning to for a long time and I thought I better do it now, so I brought my check book.” Sherlock wonders how many others are doing the same thing?

We would like to know that answer.

So, write us via email and let us know if you had been postponing (consciously or unconsciously) joining as a corporate member, or an individual member. Our adult memberships start at $25 a year and every $25 adds up to our being able to present more programmes and accomplish more projects.

Thank you Sherlock, we are making Sloop half-models as incentives to become a corporate member.

TCI-Bahamas Regatta
Access Marketing is putting together a proposal for all of those businesses that might want to become a part of the best thing that has ever happened to fund raising events in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Mariners’ Week celebrations that feature the first sailing race between the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas.

This regatta is proposed for 6-12 June 2007 and has the blessing of the Governor and the Premier’s Office. The proposed overall prize is $50,000 and there will not only be three days of Sloop racing but the Fools Regatta will take its original form as a multi-hull fun race. There will be a week of cultural events and entertainment with a party almost every night.

There will also be international coverage of this historic celebration of maritime heritage. The event commemorates the mariners who created the foundation of this culture and have been an integral part of it for over 300 years. The funding raised by the venture will go to the creation of a Providenciales Sailing Centre proposed for Chalk Sound.

Access Marketing will probably be calling on most of the businesses here but if they get in touch with them first they might have a better choice at positioning themselves in the public eye…

Access Marketing’s contact information is  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or 649 941 7220

Writers’ Group Proposal
The Federation initiated, The Writers’ Group, is looking for funding for our collection of prose and poetry, called, Walking On Our Beach. Dr. Ed Williams is working on a proposal that will show the benefits of involving local writers (of any origin) in putting their feelings, thoughts and imaginings on paper and getting it out to the public. The concept of the book is to pay the writers something back and then to assist in the funding of other books on the Turks and Caicos experience.

This first edition will feature Ed Williams, Sandra Garland, Gilbert Morris, David Bowen and myself. C. Washington Misick has agreed to do the Foreword. We all love to write.

Sloops- One Thing At A Time
Carlon Forbes has received paint for the topsides and deck for Leeward Going True. We are now sending the materials for the mast, which he is saying should be 30’-35’ on this 21-foot Middle Caicos Conch Sloop. Carlon says the Sloop is beamy and can take a lot of sail and still be comfortable enough for an old man to sail.

One of the sailors who were aboard the Cayman Turtler, Goldfield, that I once crewed aboard as navigator in Mexico, sent a note in saying that he did not know what a Shoulder O’Mutton rig was and it occurred to me that maybe others might not know what Carlon is rigging as the sail configuration for the Leeward Resort Sloop. The Shoulder O’Mutton is a Dutch rig that is simply a short gaff at the head of the mainsail and is sometimes curved. It is a traditional rig used in the Turks and Caicos on the way to the Bermudian or Marconi triangular mainsail that does not have the short stick across the top.

Gold Williams will finish rigging a gaff rigged, which is a long stick across the top, Mary Jane as soon as he finishes monitoring G-SATs. The beautiful hull and underwater design of Mary Jane should prove a delight to see and just plain fast.

Kite Boarding
The 1st Annual Windvibes Kiteboarding Competiton was held last Sunday at, what we have named Regatta Beach, near the Children’s Park in the Bight. There were 14 Kites on the beach and at one time there were 7 in the air to give us all a great and colourful show.  Hope Le Vin, who organized the whole thing and is only 13 years old, says one of the attractions in the sport that is only about 15 years old, is that you don’t need a lot of equipment or even a boat, you just strap in and fly away, skipping over the seas like a bird… I told you I love to write.

The winners of this years event were 1st Place Mike Haas (Above It All Kiteboarding)  2nd Place Hope Le Vin  3rd Place Marc Keyser.

Well done, Hope. Maybe the adults who participated and those who stayed on the beach and could have participated will take heart for next years’ competition. I really don’t know why we have to wait that long to at least see that competitive edge out on the turquoise…

Wahoo Fishing Tournament
Though we did not compete in this, the 2nd Annual Wahoo Fishing Tournament and don’t even know who won, we were still there giving rides to the kids who wanted to go out. Unfortunately, there were not a lot of kids around because of a hockey game and a semi-final high school basketball game going on at the same time as the rides were offered.

But, we did have a few and some of them got to land on the Island of the Long Toothed Cannibal and actually saw the remains of a half eaten pelican and a half eaten fish that could only have been this ogre’s doing.  He is supposed to be about three feet tall with six inch fangs and lives under one of the tree stumps on the island off Tiki Hut.

I told you I like to write.

Discover Magazine
We have an article on the Sloops in this latest edition with Kathy Barrington as editor of this steady and well heeled magazine representing the Turks and Caicos Islands. I don’t know where the title photo is or what kind of boat that is though.

But the issue is great and informative. Pick it up and read about you and us.

Website construction
AdventureScape's  Laura  is still trying to decipher my bunches of words to put them in some order that others might understand. Nothing like an editor writers always say. So, if you want to know what we are and who we are, just go to TCI Mall, E-News or www.maritimeheritage.tc and dive into a bunch of words and pictures about the up side of living and being involved in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Oseta Jolly Sailing On Chalk Sound
We were geared up and excited about seeing some old young faces on Chalk Sound last Friday but became disappointed when miscommunications held sway at the Oseta Jolly Primary School and the teacher was not informed of the event. So, nobody showed up.

This Friday, newly elected Federation Chairman Goldray Ewing and I will be taking about 22 sixth graders between 1-3PM out on Chalk Sound with renewed spirits, having Katya Brightwell (the programme creator) confirm the attendance with the teacher herself.

Ranger, the Carlon Forbes Middle Caicos Conch Sloop, used in the programme has had over 300 sixth graders aboard for these familiarization rides that last between 15-40 minutes and have the students steering and handling sheets. Ranger was purchased with a donation from the Rotary of Providenciales.

If you want to see a lot of happiness on a Friday take your lunch break at Chalk Sound, at the clearing just past the Selverado concrete and brick factory on South Dock Road.

TV News Reporter H.E. Ross
I am now a Channel 4 news reporter until they kick me off, covering cultural topics and, strange as it may seem, topics on sailing and the sea.

If you have something interesting that is cultural or maritime in nature give me a call at 243 2093 or email me at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

How Culture Will Not Work Until The Elections Are Over
That’s right. The programme along with the other talk show programmes (except for the one about politics) are all pre-empted until 10 February. So, if you tuned in on Wednesday nights and saw a bunch of yelling from podiums and dancing on stages it is not my fault, nor are they my invited guests. They are politicians and their supporters.

The positive side is we are stocking up on pre-recorded stuff  that should be interesting.