Walkin Marine Corporate Member

Board Governor Sherlock Walkin did what he wanted to do for  a long time and signed up his company Walkin Marine as a corporate member of the Federation at the last Board meeting on Tuesday 22 January. I know I have written that before but he wanted to do it before too.

Sponsorship by Dept of Culture

Director of Culture David Bowen gave a nice cheque to Maritime Heritage Education Officer Katya Brightwell that will sponsor the sixth graders of Ianthe Pratt Primary School to participate in the Sailing Our Sloops Programme. The SOS programme is the brainchild of Katya’s and puts the youth aboard Caicos Sloops, mainly on Chalk Sound. The SOS programme is the first stage in the Primary Schools Maritime Heritage Programme that continues in the classroom with local speakers telling of their youth aboard Sloops either fishing, conching, lobstering, whaling or transporting goods or people. C. Washington Misick was a speaker who told of his father taking off for South Caicos on Friday and arriving back on North Caicos on Sunday night so Washington could go to school the next morning.

This cheque from David marks the first time that government has put any money toward this programme that is in the school system and is welcomed greatly. The programme has been run by volunteers up to this point. Last week saw Katya supervising with Federation Chairman Goldray Ewing and H.E. Ross at the helm of Ranger, a Middle Caicos Conch Sloop taking out 24 sixth graders from Oseta Jolly Primary School accompanied by their teacher they affectionately call Mr. B.

We need more volunteers for this worthwhile programme that sees kids in and on the water enjoying learning. There have been requests by the private sector schools to bring the programme to them but the problem is manpower or womanpower. We need to teach parents how to sail these vessels and to take the kids out; the history we will handle and the new sailing demonstrators will learn.

Call 243 2093 if you want to learn to sail a Caicos Sloop and volunteer to take kids out on beautiful Chalk Sound

Donation by Nila Destinations

Beatrix Neuhaus of Nila Destinations, who puts on events for visitors, resorts and hotels has come to the Federation for a couple of  things and is now joining with a nice cheque for $200. We appreciate Beatrix’ spirit and encouragement and now cash, so this is to say welcome aboard. Beatrix is about to volunteer to put a sailing programme together with the Nissi House for orphans. If I spelled it wrong please forgive me for not checking but my journalistic perfectionism has left with the hour of the day. I hope this happens because we have been trying to do the same thing but can’t put the hours into the day to get it started. Beatrix will be learning to sail one of the Sloops and arranging for the kids to go sailing on a regular basis.

Stan Binder and Geoff Mander Join TCI-Bahamas Committee

Though the Mariners’ Week celebration is not a solid fact there is the need for volunteers to make it one and two sailors are allotting time to do just that. Stan Binder, whose triamaran is threatening to jump out of Bob Pratt’s Marina, is volunteering time in both our Finance Committee and our Mariners’ Week Committee. The latter has the focus of the proposed TCI-Bahamas Challenge Regatta which will include three days of traditional Sloop competition between the TCI and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. It should also include a revert back to the original concept of the Fools Regatta albeit in June, where the multihulls race to Pine Cay or West Caicos or somewhere not decided yet for fun and glory, and a case of good Mount Gay Rum.

The Mariners’ Week celebration is meant to commemorate Turks and Caicos Islands mariners and their sacrifice to bring this culture to its present historical place. That being said the Committee is looking at a lot of cultural competitions such as cooking, rib saw, Junkanoo, and whatever their and our imaginations can realize. If you have an imagination or are just working on one, get in touch with me and I will get you in touch with who you need to by calling 243 2093 or emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

1^st Environmental Education Officer Takes Office

We now are getting serious about the environment. The new, or to be more accurate, first Environmental Education Officer Rhonda Lee-Dalrymple has taken office at the Envirnmental Centre on Providenciales and has already been to North Middle and Grand Turk in just under two weeks.

Rhonda likes to giggle and has one of those happy personalities that encourage you to let her in on the problems facing the environment here in the Turks and Caicos. She believes, through her experiences in her native Guyana in the same position, that the biggest challenge is to educate and to familiarize about the sensitivity of eco-systems in areas that are going through rapid developmental phases.

TV Newsman H.E. Ross

In case you don’t look at Channel 4 News I am imitating a tv newsman these days attempting to put what people want to say about what is affecting the Turks and Caicos in more than just cultural tones, but definitely nothing political. Sometimes you feel like saying some stuff when you get a whiff of it in the newsroom but you just calm down and say even this will pass, and I am referring to the recent words toward the Govenor which embarrassed me and I am not even a Belonger.

But, we do good stories about plants and of all things ships and children and projects, stuff like that, you know recording culture and community groups receiving support.

We will re-gain our How Culture Works on the 14^th of February with some good stuff also. But you will have to tune in at 9PM to see and hear that .

Visit by Sailing Training Vessel, the Brigantine Fair Jeanne

Now, this was a pleasure to do. As tv newsman H.E. Ross I was invited aboard the 110-foot overall (or sparred length) brigantine Fair Jeanne, which was named after the owner-builder and founder of the Bytown Brigantine Foundation in Canada.

I was able to wander around a square rigger again and enjoy the smells and feel of line and look up at the myriad of practical mayhem aloft and remember my youth aboard anything sailing.

H. Hinderaker, Goldray Ewing, Katya Brightwell and a smiling sailor we call Michelle Fulfort-Gardiner came with me and were nodding a lot to the prospect of using this vessel or another to get our youth out on the big blue.

A week long sailing cruise is a character building experience that instills an inter-dependency upon a group of people who are in an isolated society to conclude their task successfully.

Just put this address up there and watch a 2-minute professionally done video clip on an Amistad trip:

amistadamerica.org/index.cfm

St Valentine’s Model Sloop Race 10 February

We are going to try and race The Market Place entry, Market Lady, in this year’s Middle Caicos St Valentine’s Day Model Sloop Race. I haven’t officially entered yet but am trying to do that also.

The race and festivities, because there will also be that goooood Middle Caicos cooking gong on over in the real country, the way it was Island of Middle Caicos and I am looking to returning fat… fatter.

Hope to see you there on 10 February, which is the Saturday after 9 February, but I am saying nothing political.

I  am atrying to make it, Daniel. Daniel Forbes is who you can contact if you are trying to make it too at the Middle Caicos Co-op Services in Bluehills at  941 7439 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Speaking At Kiwanis

Access Marketing creator Nerdin St Rose and I will be giving a presentation on the benefits of the TCI-Bahamas Challenge Regatta and the Mariners’ Week celebration next Wednesday afternoon for a luncheon session. We have applied to talk at the TC Hotel and Restaurant Association and the Chamber of Commerce to give an audio-visual presentation also and await response. We will be at the Rotary on February  8^th with the presentation and look forward to thanking them again for their donation to purchase Ranger and allowing over 300 kids to sail a real Conch Sloop.