Wildcat Sailorgirl: Bequia 2018

January 2018

I have told you before that cruising is not just beautiful sunsets and drinks with little umbrellas. We learn. In fact, we are in a constant state of learning. In Bequia, our learning was in the form of talks/lectures.

Jason's Reef Fish talk - pic by George

The Reef Fish Talk -
Cruiser Jason is a commercial diver and a marine biologist. Last year when we were in Tobago, he gave us and sv Inishnee his reef fish talk. It was really interesting. The next day we went diving with them and saw so many things we had never seen before. Little, tiny things that were there all the time but we just didn't know to look. Well, I happened to mention the fish talk in a group setting with other cruisers. "That sounds so interesting. I would love to hear the fish talk." "Yeah, me too." "Oh yes. We would like to hear it too." "Please....Jason will you do your reef fish talk for those of us who haven't heard it?" And just like that, Jason was on the hook (bahaha) to do his fish talk. Jan and George volunteered their big cat sv Wild Cat to host the fish talk. Jason did a great job. He updated the pics and the talk. He only talked about two of the fish from the year before. The rest were new. So kewl. And he doesn't just talk about obvious reef fish like the Parrot fish or Blue Tangs. No, he talks about kewl little fish that change sex or where the male carries the eggs in his mouth and stuff like that. It was very interesting and everyone learned a lot.

sv Tegan Joe and Janet - pic by George

Watching The Superbowl Around The World -
Joe and Janet on sv Tegan have been out cruising now for.....23 yrs I think. Absolutely amazing. We met them first in Trinidad. But we have gotten to know them a little more here in Bequia. Joe is a big football fan - American style. He never misses a Superbowl. He told us he has seen the Superbowl in some really unusual places, at unusual times (like 2am or 6am because it is live) and in unusual circumstances (like paying for diesel for the generator to run the lights and TV at a beach shack bar on some tiny south Pacific island.) I really wanted to know more about all of their travels and adventures so I suggested they need to write their story with that slant - Watching Superbowls Around the World. They laughed. Then I asked "Would you do a talk along those lines? We would really like to hear your stories." Other cruisers with us jumped in as well. Everyone wanted to hear their adventures. Joe and Janet agreed. They took four days to pull together their talk. They said they had a fun time reliving memories as they organized it all. How do you condense 23 yrs of cruising and exploration around the planet into a simple hour + long talk?! You don't. But they did it. Jan and George on sv Wild Cat again agreed to host. It was so interesting. The best advice they ever got was early on as they sailed south out of Canada along the west coast of the USA -a cruising couple told them "Don't hurry through the Pacific. Take your time and explore." So they did just that. Boy did they ever. They took 9 years in the Pacific, 8 years in Indonesia and 2 years in South Africa. They have only been in the Caribbean for 2 years and still have not seen it all! (Neither have we!) They also adjusted their sails in terms of plans. For example, when they were in Ecuador, they had planned to go south to Peru. However, there was political upheaval, so they changed their plans and headed to Easter Island. Joe told of the various far away places and crazy settings he has watched Superbowls and Janet filled us in on other amazing adventures. Their journey is truly inspiring and I thank them for sharing a small bit with us. I hope they do go on to write a book because I know it would be a great read.

One of the things we like about the cruising life is the fact that we are constantly learning. Sometimes it is through experiences. Other times, it is through other people. It is not often that our learning takes on a more traditional tone like a lecture or talk but when it does, that type of learning is good as well.