VANISHING SAIL

It was a good Caribbean sunset.

A little different view for me as I had ventured over to the South side of the bay to the Plantation hotel.

So had almost every other cruiser in the anchorage if the dinghy jam was anything to go by.

The water taxis were busy to running a shuttle service and the car park was looking busy as was the queue for a drink at the bar.

We were all here for the local first showing of a film about boat building in the Eastern Caribbean. Traditional boat building on the beach with few tools and little in the way of sophisticated design work. Just a half model held together with pins.

This movie made by Alexis Andrews tells the story of a local Carriacou boat builder a man called Alwyn Enoe building his last boat, sailing it to Antigua and racing it. When you see how much they still had to do just five weeks before the race, it seems impossible they can make it

It was wonderful. I was entranced and think I did not move in my seat for the whole film.

What made it special was that I had met Alwyn when he and his sons were extending the stern of the boat that kick started the resurgence of interest in the class of wooden boats known as Carriacou deck sloops. They just cut off the stern, stepped the planking and extended it back about 4 feet and remade the old stern to fit. All the work being done by eye.

I had also been on the beach at Windward where Alwyn has his boatyard and yes that is the old gingerbread house seen in many shots in the film.

This was the framework built of white cedar cut from trees that Alwyn had chosen as he ranged over the island looking for the right shapes to give his last boat the strength and shape he had in his minds eye.

This was during the launch,

I missed the actual launch party but it was just as well as they are soaked in strong local rum and involve a blood sacrifice. Just a goat rather than a local virgin but I am not sure the goat sees the benefit.