Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - August 2017

Voices from
Bonaire’s
Seafaring Past
The crew’s exploits provided the core of an ambitious oral history project started
three years ago by the Bonaire Maritime Heritage Foundation. Funded by Funds for
Cultural Participation in the Netherlands, the video crew recorded interviews with
the aging Stormvogel sailors, now all in their 80s. They included Luis Coffi (ship’s
cook), Jan Felida (boatbuilder), Balentine Frans (deckhand), Ismael Soliano (captain)
and Lucio Soliano (deckhand).
by Patrick Holian
Above: Stormvogel at work in 1964
Inset: Jan Felida explains how trees
were chosen to build Stormvogel
They are tales of storms and shipwrecks, smuggling under the cloak of night and
solving the mystery of a ship’s name. Five men from the original crew of Stormvogel,
the last of the sailing cargo boats from the ABC islands, spoke for hours on camera
about their time at sea when locally built wooden ships were the lifeline for the
islands. Stormvogel hauled goats, salt, charcoal and occasional passengers from
Bonaire to Curacao, Aruba and ports south. They returned with propane gas tanks,
clothing, medicine and other commodities.
The seamen were asked to discuss the six specific topics about Stormvogel in their
native language of Papiamentu. These included daily life aboard a cargo boat, trade
among the ABC islands, storms and shipwrecks, smuggling at sea and boatbuilding.
The final topic was how Stormvogel got its name. Shipwright Jan Felida told how
captain and owner, Martins Felida, named his boat after a tiny bird called a storm
petrel, one that only sailors usually see because the bird lives far out at sea. Bonaire’s
national park director, Herman Sieben, was then filmed to explain the habits and the
migration patterns of the storm petrel in the ABC islands. Hours of video were translated
into Dutch and English and the arduous process of editing began.
The result is a series of six films titled Old Sailors Speak. The public can view these
on the foundation’s web site http://oldboatsbonaire.org/see-hear/old-sailors-speak
in Papiamentu, Dutch and English.
The talents of many local people were needed to produce the series. Thea Winklaar
and Luti Frans served as interviewers. Hendrik Wouts of Bonaire Vision Films provided
video and editing services. Translations were done by Xiomara Frans. The announcers
were Michiel van Bokhorst and Marie Craane. The stunning bird photos used in the
film about Stormvogel’s name were donated by British photographer, Bill Simpson.
Old Sailors Speak also provides the core of a new educational curriculum, Sails
in the Schools, developed by the Bonaire Maritime Heritage Foundation. Titled
Zeilen Op School in Dutch and Nabegashon di Skol in Papiamentu, the project is
designed to teach students of Groups 6 and 7 (ages nine through 11) about the
maritime culture and history of the islands. Through the efforts of educational coordinator
Xiomara Frans, the project will start this month in schools on Aruba,
Bonaire and Curacao.
Top: Balentine Frans talks
about his days as a cargo
boat sailor
Right: A storm petrel,
or stormvogel, in search
of small fish
BILL SIMPSON
AUGUST 2017 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 11
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