Shouter Baptist Liberation Day in Trinidad

After celebrating the Easter holiday for two days at the end of last week and both Sunday and Monday of this week, the country is closed down again today for yet another religious holiday, Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day! That's a mouthful and I really had to research a bit to figure out exactly what the country was celebrating. The Spiritual Shouter Baptist religion, a melding of Protestant Christianity and old African doctrines and rituals, is a unique religion and indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago. Today's public holiday commemorates the 1951 repeal of a 1917 Trini law that prohibited the activities of the Shouter Baptist faith.

The derogatory name “Shouter” was given to the participants because of their tendency to shout, clap and sing loudly. Not so different than the reason the Quakers were named “Quakers” (they trembled at the word of the Lord) and the Shakers (shaking Quakers) were called “Shakers”, “because of their ecstatic behavior during worship services.” It doesn't sound much different than a good old evangelistic “come to Jesus” revival meeting under a tent in rural America. People live, feel and express their religion in many different ways. Some more enthusiastically than others. According to Trinidad's National Library and Info Center … “It has managed to fuse the spontaneity and rhythms of Africa with the restrained, traditional tenets of Christianity to produce a religion that is vibrant, expressive and dynamic.

From 1917 to 1951 the Spiritual and Shouter Baptist faith was banned in Trinidad by the colonial government of the day. The legislation to enact this ban was called the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance and it was passed on 16 November 1917. The reason given? “Shouters made too much noise with their loud singing and bell ringing and disturbed the peace.” The real reason? Plantation owners and officials were afraid that such religious solidarity would cause unity with the laborers, as well as foster and preserve African rituals. They wanted to subdue it before it got out of hand. The Shouters persevered in spite of the ban and harsh punishment. The religion survives today, not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but on other Caribbean islands as well.

So there's lots of lively singing and bell ringing and dancing involved. Participants dress in traditional, brightly colored garb and celebrate their ability to practice their religion freely. A great way to celebrate, however we'll miss out on the activities in the boatyard. No fear, however, we've found a YouTube that shows what's going on. As for holidays in Trinidad? With 17 public holidays, not counting the days taken for Carnival, I think we'll find one to celebrate before we leave.

Checking out the 'hood - Power Boats

When we were here last December, we had only two days to haul Nine of Cups and decommission her for her stay … no time to explore the boatyard or our immediate neighborhood. Chaguaramas is on the extreme northwestern tip of Trinidad, a peninsula jutting out into the Caribbean.

Chaguaramas is more an area than a town and it isn't much. There is one main road, Western Main Road, and that's pretty much it. Other than marinas, boatyards and the services/shops related to the boating industry, there's nothing here. There are several marina/boatyards around, but we chose Power Boats because 1) we were familiar with it from our last stay and 2) it was the most price competitive for hauling the boat and keeping her on the hard. We've not been here at Power Boats since 2002 and lots has changed … but lots has remained the same.

As boatyards go, Power Boats is just fine. Security is good. The entire land-side perimeter is fenced with 10' chain link with razor wire running along the top. There's a gate guard and security folks roam constantly.

There are enough amenities to make life on the hard at least tolerable. We've rented an A/C unit, so at least we're cool inside the boat and for sleeping. There are several shower/toilet blocks throughout the boatyard (although you have to insert a token for a hot water shower). They're nothing special, but they're usually clean and the cold water isn't all that cold.

There's a small grocery, the Dockside FoodMart, which is open 7 days a week and sells all the basics. It's situated right at the wharf (hence the name Dockside) and boats tie up alongside to get their day provisions and picnic supplies. Since our fridge is on the blink, they've graciously allowed us to store perishables in their fridge when we need to.

Sails is the marina restaurant. It's a pleasant enough place with a nice ambiance right on the water. Tourists enjoys it, but we find that it tends to have mediocre food and is too expensive for us to frequent.

There's also the Roti Hut which serves the Trini speciality, roti … think Caribbean curry burrito... most days at lunch. This is more in keeping with our taste and budget. There are also numerous roti stands and vendors outside the Power Boats gates that offer lunches and cold drinks, catering more to the marina workers as well as budget-minded cruisers. The Roti Hut area also provides a meeting place/picnic area for cruisers for Friday night potlucks and BBQs.

The on-site chandlery is small and convenient, but gets lots of competition from Budget Marine which is right next door. David makes at least one trip to each place each day. It's part of his daily ritual, I think. A yachtsmen's workshop next to the chandlery and out of the sun is a nice touch with workbenches and vises available for projects difficult to do on the boat … and lots of electrical outlets.

We have unreliable wifi on the boat … it comes and goes. It's free and we get what we pay for. There's also a small internet building which houses toilets on the first floor and a second-floor air-conditioned room with a more reliable, though less convenient, internet signal. I've been trotting down there with my laptop at least once a day to send Gentry my blog posts.

The laundromat room is hot and dusty. The washers and dryers work on tokens TT$15/each … about $5.00/load for wash & dry. It's not that expensive and relatively convenient other than climbing up and down the ladder and walking back and forth from the boat to get the laundry done. It certainly beats doing it by hand and hanging it out on the lines to dry in a dusty, dirty boatyard.

In general, the boatyard is a mini-community unto itself, pretty much self-contained and offering most any tradesman, service or supply we need. We wander outside the gates on occasion, but there's little need to unless we want a change in scenery.

There you have it … a mini-tour of Power Boats. But … enough touring for now. I'll talk more about living on the hard in the next few days … gotta go get some work done before the Captain complains.

Too much to do? Prioritize!

It happens every time we leave Nine of Cups for a few months and then return. We are overwhelmed with projects, repairs and maintenance. “Just put it on the list” is the Captain's usual response to any problem we discover that requires attention. It's just that the list grows and grows until we feel it is untenable … then what? Well, then we revert to our standing philosophy of life aboard … just a little further. Don't worry about the whole list; just worry about getting one thing checked off and moving on to the next. When you look at the whole picture, it's overwhelming, but looking at parts of the whole is much easier to handle. It's really about dividing big plans, projects or tasks into smaller tasks that are doable and that you can check off after reasonable effort. It's about lists and prioritizing what we really need (or want) before we're ready to head back to sea. Engine, sails, safety equipment all in good order? All those are necessary for prudent sailing. Varnish, microwave kaput, stainless polishing, even refrigeration are not reasons to delay a departure, unless we choose to.

So, as the list has grown, we've started our A, B and C task lists. Some items are receiving priority attention. We had contracted with a local fellow to repaint the topsides. He did as instructed and completed all but the navy shear stripe. Much to our pleasant surprise, he did a terrific job, and I might add, on time. “On time” is not usually part of the West Indies vocabulary. David has work to do on the cap rails and as soon as he completes his part, Rawle can finish painting the shear stripe.

We brought back a new cutlass bearing and shaft seal … priority items. They've currently taken up residence on the nav station midst a jungle of other parts, patiently waiting for David's attention. He figures when the pile disappears, he's finished up using all the parts and it'll be time to go, although he hasn't purchased the engine room through hull valve yet and that's an A-list item. We also need to anti-foul the bottom … currently an issue since bottom paint at the chandlery is back-ordered four weeks. Really? We've got it on order … any color will do ... as long as it's black.

The fridge is another issue. We haven't figured out what to do about it yet. Currently, there are three options available to us, including living without refrigeration which many cruisers do. We'll figure out our best solution soon. Evenings are spent discussing and figuring out options while drinking slightly warm wine or tepid beer. We always seem to come up with better solutions when a little alcohol is involved.

Midst the prioritizing and actual work, Marcie's sister, Lin, is coming for a visit. She doesn't care for boats much … the seasick thing. Being on the hard will alleviate the seasickness issue, but living on the hard will not be all that pleasant for her. That said, we plan to spend some time touring the island providing time off the boat, some good sister-on-vacation time, and good blog material. The last two times we visited Trinidad, we did mostly boat work and not much land touring.

So we've set a goal. We'd like to have all of our boat work done and splash by the third week in April. With that schedule, we should have enough time to get to the Chesapeake before hurricane season begins, ~2,000nm away. It will not be a leisurely up-island cruise as we originally planned. Instead, a rather direct trip is more likely in the cards, with a few planned ports of call along the way . But you know what? If it doesn't work out, there's always Plan B. We're working on that, too.