want to be French.
Last week, I met three men from St Barth's in a 26 foot boat. They were
waving enthusiastically to me as I sat in the dinghy talking to another
cruiser. They wanted a ride to shore, which I was happy to oblige. Once I
deposited them on the concrete wharf, one at a time, timing each with in
incoming swell, they invited me to join them later for drinks.
Drinks turned into drinks and dinner with good conversation and growing
fellowship. Yo-yo and his son Gael (Guy-el) were bringing Gael's boat back
from repairs in St Martin to St Barth. They had Gael's friend Guy (Gi) along
for the ride. Guy's boat As the conversation unfolded, I Learned that Guy's
boat had been destroyed in Hurricane Omar. He was not without humor about it
though, we spent a good deal of our time talking about different ways to
dispose of the wreckage - like C4, spreading rumors that the ballast was
contraband, having a boat de-construction party, where everyone goes home
with a souvenir. As you may have already guessed, no actionable plan was
arrived upon.
Another bit of humor regarding his lost boat. There was a news story in
France that was very much in the public dialogue regarding a women who was
murdered and had apparently scrawled in her own blood "Omar killed me". See:
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/10-17-2002-28398.asp Well, after the winds
subsided, someone went out and scrawled "Omar m'a tuer" on the bottom of his
boat. See the picture.
Yo-Yo told me that he had once traveled the world on a motorcycle with a
sidecar. He went all through North and South America, then took a freighter
to Cape Town, and headed north through the dark continent. They went all the
way up through Europe. Somewhere in those travels, he met his wife, and she
joined the trip in place of his friend. See the picture of Yo Yo and friend
in the dessert. He said that they saw the bones of a camel in the desert and
took the picture to say "F%$& you desert, you killed the camel, but we are
still alive!".
We are in St Barth's now, and have looked looked up Yo Yo. Wait until you
hear about his life on the island...
ttyl
