Sailboats as Workhorses

In 1952 1 was 7 years old when my parents decided to move their medical practice and home from Flarissant Missouri to the little island of St. John. One of many in the yachting paradise of the Virgin Islands.
My parents settled. in East End which is the most remote part of St. John. There were no roads to this half of the island so a good sailboat was essential. These native sloops were built with local timbers cut from a cedar like tree. After the main construction was complete the seams had to be caulked before launching.
They used internal ballast of rocks or chunks of cast iron. These boats were heavy and very durable as they were expected to survive hard usage.
While our home was under construction I can remember my folks getting up well before dawn and preparing the day's sail from East End to St. Thomas to get building materials such as sacks of cement, cinder blocks, lumber, etc. There were several return trips made with less than two feet of freeboard. A scary experience knowing we had to make it past points such as "Ram's Head" and "Kick-UM-Jenny" which are notorious for rough waters due to the winds and water currents.
Many of the old schooners would sail from Europe to the islands with clay roof tiles for ballast and return with tropical fruit for ballast. As a result many of the islands have buildings with red tile roofs not
native to the area. Oh! How times have changed! There was a protected cove where the entrance was just wide enough to get through known as Hurricane Hole. During the hurricane season the boats would be taken
there to ride out the bad weather They would move the internal ballast to the le side of the boat and by attaching the main halyard to a large floating log pull the boat over onto its side until. the mast was horizontal to the water In this manner the center of gravity was lowered without de-riging those heavy, solid wood masts. This system was used in the islands for hundreds of years. After the threat of the storm was over many of the owners would bake this opportunity to clean and paint the bottom while on its side.
During the normal course of things before one of the boats sailed to St. Thomas, each family would be given a chance to order groceries, medical supplies, clothing, etc. The captain and his crew would purchase the supplies in St. Thomas and return within a week or so. My father would trade his medical services for some fish, or a hand made straw basket or perhaps a live chicken for the soup pot. There was a strong sense of community effort and pride during these times.
About twice a year a local regatta would be held. These work boats would be fine tuned weeks in advance and the excitement of the upcoming regatta was a major topic of conversation. Here there was no such thing as class rules and anything was legal to prepare for the long awaited race. My father was not satisfied with the performance of "Island Fever", our native sloop. He added some steel bars to the exterior of the keel line and installed a bowsprit which allowed for a larger jib and improved slot between the jib and main. The locals who sailed these waters all. their lives knew bow to read and anticipate the wind shifts,
currents, etc. and boat speed could often be overcome by their knowledge of the elements. At the end of the regatta the adults and children would come together to enjoy the live steel band music, dance, food, and the endless exchange of war stories experienced in the race. Oh! How I long for the return of those special boyhood memories. Memories of things being straight forward, basic, and above all, natural.
See you at Blue Mesa this summer We will be sailing "Sequoia".