Month: July 2018

A fight between two ex business partners is the latest escalation in the saga of Jake the Lucky Conch.

The fight occurred on the fishing docks of Jackal Cay last Wednesday and fortunately only involved fists. Mr. Harmond Aboya was given first aid for a nasty bruise to the chin while his attacker Mr. Jan Knodson declined aid for bloody knuckles. One onlooker had minor scraps from helping break up the fight. Mr. Aboya declined to press charges and could be heard shouting “Jake doesn’t want to live on the Stony Ledge!” as Mr. Knodson was escorted off the docks by the assistant dockmaster.

The story of Jake the Conch begins, for those who don’t know, about 10 years ago. At that time, Aboya and Knodson where partners in a successful fishing enterprise operating out of Jackal Cay. They owned three smacks, and leased a fourth with crew. How exactly the two men acquired Jake is unclear. But she (Jake has been determined to be female) was soon enjoying the reputation of bringing fantastic luck to her owners. They purchased several other fishing smacks and also a diesel powered gracy equipped with freezers to transport the catch to the markets on Dog Island. Problems arose, however, when Aboya decided that instead of operating the gracy, they should just move the whole fishing company to Dog Island. Knodson reportedly was having none of that idea, insisting that the gracys fuel and maintanance costs were still much less expensive than dockage for the fishing fleet would be in Dog Island. He offered to buy out Aboya and Aboya accepted. However, Jake the Lucky Conch was not part of the formal agreement. “I just figured Jake would stay here with me” Knodson told the court during the custody hearing. “I mean, Harmond was getting out of fishing. He didnt need the luck!” Mr. Aboya claimed Jake had told him several times that “The Stony Ledge was no place for a proper self respecting mollusk to live” and expressed a desire to reside on Dog Island. The judge in the case, the Honorable Judge J. Presburt III, then ordered the two men to work it out or else Jake would be supper, lucky or not. A coin toss saw Jake remaining with Mr. Knodson at Stony Ledge.

Mr. Aboya has since vowed to reclaim Jake. “Stony Ledge is full of riffraff,  buggomons and drunks. Jake deserves better!” Jake herself was unavailable for comment.

Southern Islanders engage in a multitude of manufacturing enterprises from home or small workshops. Seen here are Island Friendship Lights which have been used as gifts dating from the settlement of the Islands. The old brass and kerosene fueled lamps have been modernised to incorporate a flameless LED bulb which will operate as long as a year on 2 dry cell batteries. 
 Friendship Lights 

The long operating time symbolises strong friendship. They are also used to mark forest paths shaded from the sun where a solar powered lamp is umpractical.

Now that kerosene has been replaced by much safer electric, various colors are available and each has a different meaning. My favorite is a twinkling blue light that I use at the base of a potted plant.

Other items of local manufacturing include jewelry and tourist related goods, furniture, watercraft, fishing equipment and light metalworked items.