by Bob Kranich
The Cayman Turtle Schooner, (Part 14, Excerpt 81)
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. They are about to sail their own big schooner down to the turtle grounds of Nicaragua and then go to Key West, Florida to sell their catch of turtles.
A cheer went up, and the men sprang into action. The sails were unfurled, and the anchors weighed.
“Men, we’ll do the usual shift schedule, Thomas‘s shift first, and mine in six hours.”
Parker lingered reviewing the charts with Thomas so he understood the route. Then he turned in. That night they made one hundred miles. They were clipping along between seven to nine knots.
“Captain, two more mornings and we’ll be in between Mexico and Cuba. We’ll head right for the center if you wish. We’uns don’t want to have a run-in with those Spanish. They're bad. They're trying to hang on to their possessions in the Caribbean. I’ve heard that a planter in Cuba just rose up and declared freedom for Cuba. No Sir, we want to stay away from those ones!” Thomas stated.
Two days later, in the morning:
“Captain, we can’t see them, but we should be equal distance from Mexico on the starboard and Cuba off the port bow. If we go two more hours, I suggest we turn hard east-northeast. Then it’s one good twenty-four hours, and we’ll be looking at the Key West harbor,” Thomas said beaming. “The wind has been good to us so far, and we should hit good wind on this last stretch.”
“Thanks, Thomas. I’ve been checking our progress on the charts. The Good Lord has favored us with the wind and the weather.”
“What’s that key off to port, Thomas?” Parker asked.
“Sir that’s Dry Tortugas. It use to be a pirate’s hangout until the U. S. stationed the Navy in Key West,” Thomas answered.
“Land Ho!” came a yell from Benji, who had climbed up on the main mast.
“Key West. We’re here,” Parker exclaimed. “Men, let’s look sharp! We want them to know that Caymans are sailors.”
“Aye aye, Sir,” they all said.
“Drop the top sails,” Parker yelled out.
The boat entered the harbor where a couple of U S Navy sailing ships were anchored.
“Captain, this harbor is so deep we don’t need a pilot. The turtle crawl is on the far side. There it is. See the dock where those flags are flying,” Thomas pointed.
They eased up to one side of the pier and dropped all sails.
“Sir, when we dock, the Port Master’s Mate will come aboard, check us, and then let us step on their land,” Thomas said.
They threw the lines to the men on the pier. As they tied up, two men walked out of a building at the end of the pier and came up to the schooner. Parker and Thomas were at the rails of the schooner.
“Port Master’s representative here. State your ship's name, registry, and business,” the short clerk-looking man of mid-fifties announced.
“Parker, Captain of the Saint Sebastian schooner of the Grand Cayman Islands, with turtles to sell.”
“Have you had any sickness the last two weeks, Captain Parker?” the man rang out.
“No sir, we’re all well,” Parker answered.
“Permission to come aboard and inspect your cargo,” the Port Master’s representative asked.
“Permission granted,” Parker confirmed.
The men stepped onto the boat and looked about, “Looks like a good bunch of green turtles,” the Port Master’s representative said, “I’ll be bidding you good day, Sir. you may go about your business.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Parker responded.
He stepped off, and a man came up. “Captain, I’m Mr. Smithe. I’m ready to look at and purchase your cargo of turtles.”
“Come aboard, Mr Smithe,” Parker offered. “This is my First Mate, Thomas.”
The man came aboard, shook hands and went right about his business, counting, looking close at some turtles, and writing on a notebook. Thomas and Parker looked on, watching the man.
“Captain, if you and your First Mate will stop over to the office, we’ll transact our business. Nice looking bunch of greens.”
They entered the office and went over to a counter. Mr Smithe came over.
“Captain, we don’t haggle over price here. We know you and your men have worked hard to bring these turtles to us. We appreciate it, and we will give you a fair price.” He opened his notebook. “We’ll give you this price for one, times eighty four equals this final figure here,” he pointed to a figure. “What do you say?”
Parker looked at the notebook. He motioned for Thomas to look. Thomas nodded.
Parker said, “That’s fair, Mr. Smithe.”
“Well, thank you, Captain, First Mate. Please have a seat over there, and our treasurer will get your payment. “We pay in cash, is that is ok? U. S. silver or dollars paper, your call.”
Parker said, “Thank you, Sir. Silver will work best for us.”
The treasurer went to a back room. Shortly he came out with a small pouch. He counted the silver out in front of the two men and put it back in the pouch. Mr. Smithe shook hands with Parker and Thomas.
He then showed them to the door. He stepped out and waved to his men on the pier. Both Smithe’s workers and Parker’s men started pulling turtles out of the schooner and down the pier. They then let the turtles slide down a chute into a very large and substantially built turtle crawl located alongside the pier.
Thomas said, “Captain, just as soon as we’re unloaded, we’ll have to undock the schooner, and we can anchor it right off here in the harbor. They keep the pier ready for any boat coming in. They may even load and unload fish here.”
“Good idea, Thomas,” Parker conferred.
It didn’t take the experienced workers very long to empty the Saint Sebastian. They then cast off from the pier and with only the main sail unfurled, they eased out into the harbor and dropped anchor. Then Parker divided up the silver and paid the men.
Parker then cautioned, “You men were correct, we got three times the money. They seem to be unusually honest here. Now I’m going to give shore leave, but we’ll head out in the mid-morning.”
Thomas piped in, “If I may, Sir.”
“Yes, go ahead, Thomas.”
“Men, I don’t want to tell you what to do with your money, but you would be smart to leave most of it here. Captain Parker and I are going to take turns being aboard, so it will be safe.”
They all commented, that it was a good idea. Parker took his turn and walked around old Key West. He could tell it was a naval seaport with the large number of U. S. sailors carousing about. He marveled at the great number of stately houses. Many had a small structure on top with windows on all sides. Someone told him it was called a captain’s walk.
Because of the Bahamian and Cuban influences there were lots of brightly colored houses, and many had porches with small columns and wood gingerbread decorations. He stopped at an inn and had a meal. He kept himself busy both looking at the pretty girls and listening to people’s accents and language.
Morning came, and Parker and Thomas rowed in to pick up the men. Their four tired-looking men came up to the dock, and there were two additional men with them.
“Captain, Sir, these men wish to speak with you. We met them last evening at an inn.”
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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