Row, row, row yuh boat!

Tue, January 31, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Dear Nesta,

HOW YOU AN’ YOURS, MUH GIRL? Me? I cool, ’cause as you know, I don’ let neffin nor nobody sen’ up my blood pressure! It en worf it an’ only help put yuh in a early grave!

Chile, we had quite a bit o’ excitement hey las’ week when de team of Row2Recovery dock in Buhbayduss, after nearly 52 days at sea! Befo’ settin’ off, I sure you woulda hear somet’ing ’pon de BBC ’bout de group o’ British ex-servicemen dat decide to row ‘cross de Atlantic – 3000 miles – in a effort to raise one million poun’s to help injured soljers an’ duh famblies! Duh all come outta de Afghan an’ Iran wars, four o’ de six in de group, endin’ up wid severe injuries.

It mus’ mek yuh feel good to see dat aldoh dem now disable fuh life, dat spirit o’ determination an’ courage en gone, an’ “pity parties” en ’pon de agenda fuh dem!

In fack, after hearin’ de Captain speak, yuh realize de men en had no intention o’ turning back! After losin’ groun’ fuh a while, because de win’ was ‘gainst dem, duh row even mo’ hard de las’ five days to mek up fuh los’ groun’!

Yuh got to call dem “heroes”, an’ dah is exackly de sort o’ welcome duh experience on landin’!

Yuh got to tek off mo’ dan yuh hat to dem – I en talkin’ ‘bout evuht’ing, like de young fella dat tek off evuh stitch o’ clothes de ethuh night, an’ streak pas’ a wide-eye crowd o’ people, he need help, po’ fella! I talkin’ ’bout salutin’ brave men mekkin’ a voyage dat was far from easy, an’ reachin’ de finishin’ line!

I always wonder wuh it is like to row ’cross de Atlantic at night, wid neffin but de open sea all ’roun’, an’ de moon an’ a few stars overhead! Dah mus’ tek some nerve, awright! Ef yuh got couple companions, it might not be too bad, ‘cause at leas’ each body would help to keep up de spirits o’ de ethuh one, but to be out dey all alone, in dat pitch blackness, wid neffin but yuh t’oughts, tek a special type o’ person!

Now, I en gine fool a soul! I know widout a doubt I could never mek a voyage like dah ’cross the Atlantic!

I come ’long hearin’ dat de sea en got no back door an’ all my life, dah been uppermos’ in my brain whenevuh I go to de beach, so you would know I got a very healfy respeck fuh de ocean.

Sometimes, when I see surfers enjoyin’ duhselves, ridin’ out dem high, high waves, I got to wonder how duh could do it, I know, not me! Actually, when I do decide to go fuh a seabaff – which en all dah of’en anyhow – I don’ go too far out!

As soon as de water start to get pas’ my knees, I begin to tek a backward step, towards de beach – I satisfy wid splashin’ ’bout in de san’, ’cause I certainly en no “water baby”!

Well, dis li’l islan’ get in de news agen, as yuh could imagine de amounk o’ good publicity we get from dis event – an’ evuh li’l bit is a help! Once ’pon a time, I remember we us-ed to be de finishin’ p’int fuh a annual yacht race crossin’ de Atlantic to Buhbayduss, but somehow or de ethuh, it get ’way from we, an’ is now a t’ing o’ de pas!

I sure de crew gine enjoy some good Bajan hospitality an’ I wish duh all de bes’ while duh here, an’ in de future! “Bravo to de Boys”!

Tek care o’ yuhself.

Yuh frien’, Babsie