She Swims Again

16 November 2007
Hi All,
Our haul-out at the Power Boats Yard is complete, and we (that would be Tom & Schatze) are back afloat again. Schatze the Dog seems to be OK, and appears to have returned to his perky little self after his near-death experience falling off the boat while on the hard last week. He has even regained his Charlie Chapman like jaunty little gait, so his right forefoot must be on the mend. We are really lucky to still have him with us! Our 0830 launch at Power Boats Yard on Monday became a noon launch after the yard's 30 year-old Travel Lift broke down twice with S/V Jean Marie in the slings; no surprise though - it had broken down with a boat in the slings each day the previous three days! Our first delay was to put the drive chain back on the drive sprocket after the initial attempt to move off the working lot, and then we experienced a second delay en route to the launch slip toinspect a wheel-bearing that did not particularly like going around corners; "just being careful Skip..." At any rate, we eventually made the trip back to the water safely, and overall we did have a very positive experience at the Power Boats Yard.

We highly recommend Power Boats as they are head & shoulders above the other yards in Chaguaramas. (That tells you something about Trini 'maintenance programs," doesn't it? Last week Coral Cove Marina dropped their SECOND BOAT this season.) Power Boats does have a superb staff, a clean well-run boatyard,
and when the new Travel Lift gets here (they say that it's on order), their operation should go much more smoothly. (I cannot even IMAGINE trying to import a new Travel Lift, and getting it cleared through T&T Customs - at least 4 bureaucrats ought to be able to retire to Tobago off those "fees"...) Once waterborne, we returned the short distance to Hart's Cut in Carenage Bay, and are anchored off the Trinidad & Tobago Sailing Association (TTSA), our Southern Caribbean base of operations.
Tom is busy cleaning and putting the boat back together after a 3 week yard period, and working the Project List. How is it that after 3 weeks of intensive work on the hard, the Project List is even longer than when we started! What's up with that?
Sometime within the next few weeks Tom & Schatze will make the overnight passage to the south coast of Grenada, so that we can restart the T&T Immigration clock, intending to return in January. We will be in Grenada for a week or so around Christmas and New Years, and then sail back to Trinidad. Warm regards,
Tom & Schatze the Dog
S/V Jean Marie
Chaguaramas, Trinidad
Schatze sez: Hey, anybody out there got some food they could spare - this character is absolutely hopeless in the Galley!

Divali

10 November 2007
Hi All,
One of the really special aspects of Trinidad's culture is the mixture of races that live together here. In the 19th century the English colonists brought in African Slaves to work the sugar plantations set up to provide wealth for Mother England. When the English Parliament outlawed slavery in 1833, a new source of labor to work the fields had to be found. Understandably, the freed blacks pretty much refused, and they predominately lived off the land. The solution was to bring ship-loads of poor indentured servants from India - another tropical British colony on the other side of the Empire - to provide the necessary labor force. That is how modern Trinidad's population was shaped; currently, about 40% of the population is descended from the African slaves, about 38% is descended from the East Indian indentured servants, and the remainder are Amerindians, South Americans, English, Europeans, Chinese, and Syrians. (I still don't have the story on how the Syrians came to settle here...) Many of Trinidad's East Indians are of the Hindu faith, and one of their principal religious holidays is Divali: a festival of light celebrated on the darkest night of the year. After sundown on Divali, Hindu families decorate the exterior of their homes with lights to push back the darkness. This year Divali was celebrated on Friday 9 November, and we took an excursion to the East Indian village of Felicity, just outside of the town of Chaguanas, on the western coast of Trinidad in sugar cane country. Jesse James, a local taxi driver / tour operator / provider of services to cruisers, and perhaps the best ambassador that Trinidad and Tobago has, organized an excursion for about 120 international sailboat cruisers currently here at Chaguaramas. Jesse's vans and chartered small busses picked us up at 1600 at the gates of the various Chaguaramas boatyards, and the drive to Felicity took about 90 minutes. (The name Felicity means happiness.) The ride was quite interesting in and of itself as we drove through Trinidad's many varied land and cityscapes; the National Park of Chaguaramas on the northwest peninsula where the boatyards are located, the poor African seaside village of Carenage, the wealthy Westmoorings area where many of the folks of English & European decent live, the big city and national capital of Port of Spain, the slums of Laventille on the outskirts of Port of Spain, out the Beetham Highway past the suburbs of Barataria and San Juan, then south down the Uriah Butler Highway to the sugar country around Chaguanas. The ride to Felicity was like a tour back through the various periods and cultures that make up present day Trinidadian society. We arrived at the Felicity Hindu School at about 1730, just before dusk and while it was still light. We were greeted by traditional Indian drummers, directed into the school Temple (where we removed our shoes before entering), and were treated to a presentation put on by the local folks from the village. The program included Hindu dancing, an explanation of Divali by the Temple's head teacher, Indian drummers, and general questions and answers regarding the Hindu faith and Indian culture of Trinidad. It was quite interesting to see so many similarities between our Christian faith and the true meaning of Christmas, and the Hindu faith and their celebration of light, rebirth, and renewal during Divali. We consciously decided to look for the similarities between our faiths, rather than dwell on the differences, and our experience of Divali was certainly enhanced by this simple act of inclusion. The night of Divali is preceded by a lunar month of abstinence and reflection, and the holiday meal that they eat this night marks the end of that period, and a celebration of life and light. After the program in the Temple we were directed to the school's dining area, for a traditional Indian holiday meal. We ate off banana leaves and fed ourselves with our fingers. Roti bread was provided which we used to pick up portions of mango, pumpkin, curried potatoes, and other unidentified vegetables (actually names unremembered by us - but we do remember the wonderful tastes). Desert was a kind of sweet roti bread with raisins. We had water to drink. It wasn't the turkey, dressing, and mashed potatoes that we are used to at our holiday meals, but we enjoyed both the food and the comraderie of our fellow sailors, and were quite full when we left to tour the village. After we finished our meal we went out in the village on our own to see the sights and meet the people. While we were eating the sun had set, and the simple farming village of Felicity was transformed to a wonderland by the twinkling of the Divali lights. One would not even consider walking about after dark in most of the cities or towns of Trinidad, it is far too dangerous to be out alone in the night. But this was different. This was a country village, and this was the Indian culture, and this was Divali. We were quite safe, and were warmly welcomed everywhere we walked. Most of the Divali lights consisted of small terracotta pots, that are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Some of the more prosperous families had displays that used the familiar-to-us icicle electric lights, and murals of the various Hindu Gods. But most of the displays were simple, and consisted only of the small pots with delicate dancing flames. They held a few ounces of fragrant coconut oil with a string wick, all homemade. The lamps were arrayed on the lawns and driveways in the Hindu symbols that conveyed God, the moon, and the circle of life. Many homes had their Divali lights displayed horizontally on lengths of split bamboo elevated along the sidewalk. As we walked we visited with homeowners, with a retired Doctor who used to practice in a sugar company clinic and had a daughter in Miami, with the champion drummers that performed for us, as well as with the young ladies and their mother that danced for us during the presentation in the Temple, with a Trini who had just returned from a trip to Los Vegas and the Grand Canyon. It is indeed a small world that we inhabit together. Everywhere we went people were interested in who we were, and where we were from, and they all wished us a happy Divali. The main street was strung overhead with decorative fringe in traditional Indian colors, and the fragrance of coconut oil was everywhere. Many hundreds of visitors came from other parts of Trinidad to see the lights. We particularly enjoyed talking with a Trini couple of about our age who came from the Point-a-Pierre area to the south, where the husband was employed in the oil industry. As we visited, the families of the village were out promenading on the main street in their finest traditional Indian dress. The ladies in their graceful saris were absolutely stunning, the men in their long colorful tunics were quite regal, and the kids were like kids anywhere at holiday times - bubbling over with excitement and anticipation. We stopped at the town Temple, were warmly welcomed, and offered another holiday meal - but we were still too full! We had a delightful time and certainly enjoyed the blessings of Divali. The ride home started out in a traffic grid-lock as our van negotiated the packed roads coming in to Felicity. As usual, the Baby Boomer sailboat cruisers were on the way back to their boats, and heading for their bunks, when the rest of the fun-seekers were just getting going!

Whoda thunk that we would travel to Trinidad to experience Indian Christmas! A blessed Divali to you all,

Tom Service
S/V Jean Marie
Chaguaramas, Trinidad