Scorpiosail Blog

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I could certainly not imagine, 21 years ago, when we arrived in the West Indies the first time, that I would meet retirement in these islands.

I’m not one who normally advertises his birthday, but as we are presently crusing down Memory Lane (see report here) more than two decades since our cruising lifestyle started, I am experiencing some emotional moments. As 63 years is the age when one can retire in Finland, I guess I am now officially retired. Although I prefer to use the expression ‘senior citizen’ instead – it sounds a lot more distinguished.

Actually, I wasn’t at first quite sure what it is I’m retiring from, having been a sail bum for twenty plus years. But then I realised that, now that we have decided to swallow the hook and sell the yacht, I am actually retiring from cruising.

I realize that things could be worse; some people wont go cruising until they get retired. At the age of 42 I decided to live the cruising life because I had no guarantees I would ever reach retirement age.

However, until the boat is sold I guess I will continue the life as a soon retiring sail bum.

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Some proprietors are obsessed with signs. I have commented about signs a couple of times before in this blog, but recently in Chaguaramas I found one of the worst examples. At the docks of a boatyard called Powerboats there is a small building, convenience store, where most walls are covered with restrictive signs.

I couldn’t understand the reason for all these signs, but I guess every proprietor has the right to decide what people are allowed to do on his premises. Or maybe this one just happens to have a sign-maker son in law. Neverteless, although I know the meaning of fishing, sitting, loitering, parking and so on, I wasn’t sure what liming is. And, as I didn’t want to break the rules I went in and asked what I should refrain from doing.

The girl at the check out explained that it means “having fun”. I found this surprising as I had been given the impression that Tribagonians loved to have fun. Yes, she said, but the sign says that you can not have too much fun here!

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We are now on Island Time (IT) and therefore most of my days are spent waiting contractors who will not show up. I should be used to this after practicing during 20 years in numerous countries. However, it takes some time to adjust having just spent 6 months working 10 hours a day, 7 days a week on our house project back home. We had planned to launch the yacht next Thursday, 3 days from now, but I’m pretty sure this schedule is too ambitious. Fortunately we are not in a hurry; our next appointment is on November 27, when we need to be in Martinique, where our son Jens and grandson Rasmus are expected to join us for a couple of weeks.

Today Island Time became slower than usual because it happens to be an Election Day in Trinidad & Tobago. Not only did time slow down, also the menu is restricted. There is a ban on the sale of alcohol all over the place, in stores as well as in restaurants. I have no problems staying a day or without my regular lunch beer, but, starting to ponder about the ban I find it quite strange that legislators in some locations still, in the 21st century, find it necessary to ban alcohol during elections. As if the outcome of the election would be any different without a ban.

We have come across this ban a few times, the last I can remember was in Thailand and once it happened in Charleston, South Carolina, during the Presidential elections in 2004.

This ban is a clear anachronism of the law, at least in the USA, where the ban on alcohol sales during polling hours was a response to a well-established tradition in some areas, buying votes with liquor. Back then, in the 19th century, it wasn’t unusual for saloons, often the largest buildings in town, to double as polling places. Corrupt politicians did whatever they could to make voters happy. This “tradition” is probably long gone by now, but apparently two states still have the ban in place. One of them is indeed South Carolina and the other one is, surprisingly or not, Kentucky, where alcohol is a big business. In Kentucky, however, there is some logic applied as the ban is lifted at 6pm when the polls close. In South Carolina the ban stays on the whole day.

The bar of destruction
Cartoon from 1874 by Thomas Nast
Source: harpweek.com

I have no idea why the Trinbagonians need an alcohol ban during elections, but the ban apparently concerns everybody. I received no sympathy at the restaurant when I tried to convince them that they could sell me a beer because as a foreigner, I am not allowed to vote anyway.

Maybe booze for ballots is still considered a risk in T&T.