by Bob Kranich
The Cayman Turtle Schooner, (Part 1114, Excerpt 79)
This is a story, titled The Cayman Turtle Schooner. This story will tell about the forming and history of the Cayman Islands, the green sea turtle’s habits and life style, the building of a dugout canoe, and then a schooner, and lastly about the historic two-masted turtle schooner, A. M. Adams. Now they are going to build a big schooner of their own.
Sebastian came up, and took a deep fast breath. He dove under, saw the shark heading towards him, and turned his shell back sideways facing the shark. The shark’s nose glanced off Sebastian’s shell. The full width of his shell was much too big for the shark to bite. He then turned to face the shark. The shark was about nine feet long, a real big one. The shark was trying to turn to face Sebastian, but because Sebastian was shorter than the shark by half, he could turn a tighter radius. Sebastian would lunge at the side of the tiger shark with his hard sharp bill. One time Sebastian actually bit him slightly.
That’s when the shark fled back aways. Sebastian made some powerful strokes with his large front flippers. He was paddling for all he was worth. Glancing over his side he saw the shark circling around, and the fin going under as the shark made his charge.
Sebastian hit the green mass, almost climbing up onto it. It was a large seaweed pile floating along on top of the sea. In fact, Sebastian partially walked and floated on it. The shark hit it and got a mouthful of sea grass. He tried to go under it. He could see the shadow of Sebastian, but since the green mass was three to five feet thick the shark couldn’t get at the green sea turtle. He then went off continuing his search for prey.
Sebastian just lay there eating sea grass and seaweed, and watching the fin disappear off in the distance. Whee! That was close.
They had started building their schooner just as soon as they returned from George Town. Everyone had believed the story of the beach, Grand Cayman, and the gold coins. But this time they had found a handful. Grandma had given them a strange look, but seemed to go along with the story. John thought they had the Midas Touch, but Grandpa gave thanks to the Good Lord.
It had been about six months. The keel, stem and stern, framing, and knees were completed. John and his cousin were coming over to start the stringers. They would come over once a week and stay overnight. Of course that depended on just what they had to do at home. Sometimes they would miss a week. It seemed John was always busy farming and helping people with his mule Dynamite.
When John came over to work, then Grandpa and Parker would work on another turtle boat. The days passed and the schooner grew. John had located a lumber schooner who had docked in Channel Bay with a load of White Pine from Mobile, Alabama, USA. They bought the whole load for the planking and decking. The lumber schooner’s captain had promised to return in about a month with the sail-cloth, fasteners, and other various parts they would need.
The captain of the Sunsetter, when he came by for his two turtle boats, made a contract with Grandpa to bring two yellow pine masts and spars on his next trip.
“Things are beginning to look good. We’ve got a thirty-five ton, sixty-foot schooner beginning to take shape here. We’re working on the decks, and the masts and spars are on their way. John thinks he can get the chains and anchor from an old wreck he has located. So now, what are you going to call her?”
“I’ve been thinking about that, Grandpa. How about Saint Sebastian?”
“Well, that sounds real fine, then Saint Sebastian it is!”
True to his word the captain of the Sunsetter arrived with the masts. Then he even helped with his crew to install them. The schooner was nearing completion. As they too had promised, the lumber schooner appeared with almost perfect timing, arriving with the sail cloth and accessories.
“Parker, we’ve got all this installed, and soon we will need to launch this boat!” Grandpa exclaimed. “Then we’ll have to get us a crew!”
Parker said, “Well, let’s see, you, me, John and his cousin. How many more will we need?”
“We could sail her with just us four. But first we’ll have to have a big celebration and get the whole island to help us launch the Saint Sebastian.”
As word was going out about the gala celebration and launching of the Saint Sebastian, the men made the final mechanical preparations. First they attached a substantial roping to the ship. Then they rowed out to a nearby coral reef and attached a heavy pulley. The rope from the ship was run through the pulley and back up to the beach.
The next morning wagons and boats loaded with men, women, and children began arriving. The boats’ supports had been removed that evening, and it was sitting with a slight lean with palm logs under it. Just after lunch all the people took hold of the rope, with Grandma first in the very front. The few men who had built her watched for safety’s sake, and Parker gave the command, “Pull away!”
The rope’s slack was taken up, as over one hundred persons easily pulled the Saint Sebastian into the sea. As it slipped into the water, it stood straight up. A great cheer went up from the throng, and they then went back to the food and festivities. A few just stood there in awe looking at the floating, majestic ship. Parker, Grandpa, John, and the builders pulled the boat over to the small dock and tied her off. They still had some week’s work of sail-making and ropes and fittings to assemble.
“Parker, Grandma has agreed to our Nicaragua turtling voyage. But she said, no more than one month! She is going to have one of John’s older daughters come over to be with her while we’re gone. John and his cousin are going to go, and they found two experienced hands to sail with us.”
“At first I wanted to go to the southern coast of Cuba, but the Spanish have stopped all foreign ships from turtling. It’s something about the Cuban Independence war going on. It seems a Cuban planter named Carlos Manuel De C’espedes has started this war. The Spanish are afraid of turtle boats bringing in filibusters to aid in the insurrection.”
“What’s a filibuster, Grandpa?”
“Parker, it’s a person who goes to a country that he is not a citizen of and helps the revolution to overthrow that government.”
“Well Grandpa I guess we are going to Nicaragua. When are we leaving?”
“Just as soon as John and the men get here. More’n likely day after ‘morrow. There’s two things: we want to get the boat stocked up with food and water, and to get gone before Grandma changes her mind!”
The early morning breeze filled their sails just as soon as they unfurled them. It was an uneventful cruise through the channel with the tide.
“Parker, this will be your first trip. You need to learn all you can from all the hands. Pay attention and help in all tasks. I will be the captain, John the first mate, and the three men the hands. You will be all positions so you learn,” Grandpa instructed. “Now let me show you how to chart a course. See on this map, we’re going across the Caribbean, southwest. Now look at this ship’s compass in front of John.”
“How’s she do’n John?”
“She’s sail’n pretty,” John was at the wheel.
A schooner has a single top deck with the wheel in the middle of the rear.
“Now, Parker, come with me, and we’ll check ropes and sails.”
It was a beautiful trip, good weather, sunny skies, and fair winds. Their destination was the Miskito Bank off the extreme northeast coast of Nicaragua’s fishing grounds. When they arrived, what they did first was sail along the shoals.* They were looking for coral outcroppings. These were places where turtles would spend the evening.
From The Author:
My second full-length book , Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers is composed of 336 pages. There are 12 stories running from 6 pages to as many as 72 pages. It is fully illustrated with 88 watercolors and sketches. The watercolors I made roaming around Key West after I finished my 750 mile hike from Georgia to Key West. (See book or Don Browne’s SouthWest Florida Online News records, A Walk Across Florida.) As you read these stories you will experience Key West, the Keys, and the Caribbean. These stories span the time of the early 1800’s to 1969. bkranich.wixsite.com/bobkranich
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