Carriacou Regatta Festival 2007 - Caribbean Compass

SEPTEMBER 2007 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 32
ELAINE OLLIVIERRE 2007 ©
MEETING CHALLENGES
An Ocean to Cross: Daring the Atlantic, Claiming a New Life, by Liz Fordred.
McGraw-Hill, ©2001. Paperback, 272 pages, ISBN: 0071373942
Don’t Kill the Cow Too Quick: An Englishman’s Adventures Homesteading in
Panama‚ by Malcolm Henderson. Iuniverse Inc, ©2004, paperback, 230 pages, ISBN
10: 0595319491
Last month I read two stunning books that are different in many ways but they are
both true stories, both are told with heart-warming honesty without a trace of self
pity and I will never forget either of them.
The first, An Ocean to Cross: Daring the Atlantic, Claiming a New Life, is written
by Liz Fordred who built a
boat with her husband, Pete,
and then sailed it from South
Africa to Florida. That on its
own is quite a feat but consider
doing it when neither
partner has the use of their
body from the chest down. It
perhaps takes someone who
has spent time in a boatyard
to get near appreciating the
difficulties a wheelchair
must present. Then imagine
coping with a storm at sea,
getting to the head, being
seasick and getting in and
out of a dinghy.
The obstacles they met
were not just physical, they
were financial, emotional and
social, such as the blatant
prejudice from authorities
who wanted to veto the project
by refusing to allow them
to go to sea after all their
hard work.
That was contrasted by the
hard work and support of
friends and family: food just
appearing on the dock, a
small donation arriving by
mail every month from an old
lady they never met, and the selfless sharing of knowledge, expertise and time from
other sailors.
The yacht was built in Liz’s mother’s garden. Parts that had taken months to complete
had to be sawn off on its way to the ocean and it was dropped before making
it into the water.
This is truly an inspiring story that moved me to tears more than once, and I have
sincerely promised myself that I will never take my legs — sea, or land — for granted
again.
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY PETIT ST. VINCENT RESORT
Hello! My name is Do ly and my home is in the sea.
DOLLY’S DEEP SECRETS
by Elaine Ollivierre
Let’s continue our look at fish farming. Perhaps one of the most unusual
marine creatures farmed for human consumption is the puffer fish (hedgehog or
porcupine fish in the Caribbean). There are many different types of puffer fish
worldwide, ranging in size from a few inches to over two feet but they all have the
same defence mechanism. The skin of a puffer fish is very tough, has no scales
and is covered with spines. When the puffer fish is in danger, it gulps water into
its body so that it swells up like a prickly balloon. This makes it difficult for a
predator to catch hold of it. The puffer fish also has a mouth which is strong
enough to bite off a finger!
So, why is this strange fish so much in demand?
The puffer fish is called fugu in Japan. It is a delicacy at certain Japanese
restaurants which is surprising because parts of the puffer fish are very poisonous.
The liver in particular contains a deadly toxin called tetrodoxin. A tiny
amount of this poison paralyses muscles and causes respiratory arrest. There is
BOOK REVIEWS BY JULIA BARTLETT
The other book, Don’t Kill The Cow Too Quick, by Malcolm Henderson, is the story
of a retired English art dealer starting to homestead on one of the islands in Bocas
Del Toro on the Caribbean coast of Panama.
Why would boaters
be interested in this
book? Boats are an
essential part of life in
the Bocas and the stories
Malcolm tells
about learning the art
of boating are hilarious;
I could identify
with more than one of
them. One night,
about midnight, I was
rolling around in bed,
doubled up with
laughter and with
tears rolling down my
face unable to put the
book down. The next
day I got some queer
looks from my
Panamanian neighbours.
Perhaps they
thought that I had
snuck a man into my
apartment.
There is a percentage
of cruisers who are quietly
on the lookout for
that special slice of
paradise where they
could settle when they
move ashore again,
and this book captures
exactly the sort of
learning experience
they can expect. I have
heard similar stories
from other sources but
Malcolm tells them
with a charming honesty
and all the jokes
are at his own expense,
reminiscent of James
Herriot’s style in his
famous vet books. He
paints wonderful pictures
of what it is really like to live immersed in a Caribbean culture on a small
island. If you are looking for a quiet life, don’t do it!
I had a “blind date” with Malcolm one night because he wants to buy a larger version
of the cat boat he already has and a mutual friend recommended that he ask
my advice about sailing it from Carolina to Panama. At 75, Malcolm looks 60 and
his enthusiasm for life permeates every page of his book. I wish he would find time
to write another.
Both books are available from Amazon.com.
no known antidote. In Japan, the government has regulations on who can prepare
and serve fugu so that no one dies by mistake!
When puffer fish are spawning, there may be more poison in their bodies, so
fugu is served mostly outside of the reproductive season. Japanese fishermen
who catch the puffers when the price is low often keep them in cages in the sea
until the price rises. Fish kept this way turned out to be less poisonous than wild
puffers. Researchers at Nagasaki University bred some puffer fish in captivity and
altered their usual diet of crabs, shellfish and starfish. Their puffers turned out
to have no poison at all.
The demand for fugu led the Japanese to raise puffers on fish farms because
the farmed fish are less of a risk to the consumer. However, there have been
reports of chemicals added to purify the water there which may actually be harmful
to humans. Still, whatever the risk, fugu continues to be an expensive but
attractive option for gourmet diners.
By the way, when the tetrodoxin is very diluted, it can be used as a painkiller
for rheumatism and arthritis.