Monday, June 22, 2015

Island LIfe



We've been tied up at Compass for a few days now and Crew Istaboa is getting on with the business of being in the islands and what all that entails.


When at Compass Cay and part of the family, everyone pitches in. It's a family run island and sometimes the staff thins out and comes down to one or two. So all us longtime Compass Cay patrons help however we can. Tuck has a way of extracting our individual talents and using them in ways to better the island. Maybe mechanical, maybe technical, maybe helping tie up other boats when they all arrive at once. There's no payoff for these acts of kindness other than being guaranteed a slip during busy months and maybe fresh fish or lobster, but most of us chip in because we have the time and we see help needed. And, why not?

Our first day back, Tucker and I loaded up a family of folks in his Albury to take to Staniel and catch their plane back home. The kids seemed so depressed about leaving; I really felt sorry for them.
After dropping them off, we motored on to Black Point to drop off a letter. Tucker wanted to show me his home so we walked the short distance to the house where he raised his family.

A pic was from several years ago; Tuck and me going out fishing. The Albury appears to be floating above the water, huh?

Walking around these islands with Tucker Rolle is like hanging with the King. The rich man on the fine yacht or the poor man sitting quietly under a shade tree, they all smile, wave, and speak when Tucker walks by. He's a revered native of the Exumas and folks from all walks of life speak to him with respect and admiration. Tuck always takes time to kindly respond to them.
It was interesting to see his modest home, Tuck picked a few Mangoes from the trees in the back yard to take back to Mel. He then handed some money and an envelope to one of his daughters and quickly fixed the hot water heater before we left to walk back to his boat.
On the trip over, we discussed our mutual business and our thoughts on how things should be; it's interesting that two fellows from different backgrounds and worlds can think so much alike. I guess, bottom line, we want the same thing so going about making the same situation better in a similar fashion is not so odd.





So, yes... we're throttling back and easing into our island mindset... like putting on an old pair of flip-flops.













But, there may be disruption soon... we'll see.




Adios,

Istaboa