Month: May 2020

A large anchor caused delays on East street when it fell from its transport trailer while being delivered to its new owner, Marshes Salvage and Marine Recovery. No injuries were reported, however the anchor resisted attempts to drag it to the side of the road to allow motorists to pass. The resulting two hour delay caused grumblings among the commuters while a loader large enough to lift the anchor back onto its trailer was brought up from Marshes equipment yard. The anchor, intended to assist with vessel salvage, weighs an estimated nine hundred pounds. Eagle Metalworks, the vendor, was cited for improperly secured load, and inoperational or absent lighting.

Sunrise Mangos, with a flavour much like honey, are not native to the Southern Islands. However, they exist nowhere else. Like many of the other fruits in the islands, they came from other places and were cultivated here. Rumor has it that in the sixteen hundreds a ship carrying the mango seedlings was wrecked, and her crew became part of the population of the islands, as did the mango trees. Only a few of the hardiest survived. They developed a flavor like no other.

The settlement of White Bluff has reportedly experienced another appearance of the Lucky Ghost Dog. Story as related by Captain William Bencee, cargo gracy “Oleander”

“Was lying at anchor 2 NM off the White Bluff Settlement. Weather, mild, winds, SE 10k. Awaiting tide to enter White Bluff Creek to take on cargo of pineapple. At about 1:30 AM was awoken by barking of dog. I and several crew notice small brown dog running up and down the deck. We figured the animal had somehow come aboard from the wharfs at Rockinghorse, and set about trying to secure it. By now the noise had found everyone on board quite awake. We found it impossible to corner the dog, and even a serving of uncooked burger could not coax it into the wheelhouse. After about fifteen minutes, it took up a position on the bow, forward of the windlass, barking incessantly. We though it was finally trapped there, and the engineer and mate proceeded to approach. The animal then jumped up on the caprail and began snarling furiously at the water. The Mate was able to grab it with a towel, and the Engineer glanced down to see a dinghy in the water. He called for a hand torch, which revealed a person, or body, in the bottom of the small craft. The dinghy was brought aft where the castaway, Male, older, was discovered to be alive. He was recovered without incident and a call was put out to Island Marine Rescue, which sent a chopper. The canine, last seen resting in a box under the saloon table, was nowhere to be found. Open arrival in White Bluff, was told of local Lucky Ghost Dog legend. Six crew and myself all witnessed this apparition and Someone even took a picture.

No one in the settlement seemed much taken by our experience. I was informed later that our rescue was a foreign yachtsman adrift for ten days after collision with unspecified object forced abandonment of yacht.”

A tropical low pressure weather system will bring clouds, rain, and strong breezes to the central Southern Islands. The month of May is earlier than typical, but this system will none the less drop welcome rain on the fruit orchards of Pup Town, where the island famous Sunrise Mangos are beginning to ripen. It is not expected to develop into a damaging cyclone at this time. Rainfall has been below average this spring. People have been trucking water to nearly empty cisterns on Marlberry Cay. On Dog Island, the water table is at near record lows, and some homes have not been able to pump from the wells.

The weather is expected to clear on Sunday, in time for the Monday Rock Eel Rodeo.

The Authorities continue to caution residents against home remedies, bush medicine, herbal cures, and potions promoted on the Internet, in regards to the Covid virus. The latest fad heralds the Cassiopeia Jellyfish, common in Scallop Harbor, as the miracle cure for any ailment associated with the Novel Coronavirus. There is no scientific basis what so ever to back up this new use for the slimy, pulsating creatures. That has not hindered the people rushing to turn these humble blobs into pills, solutions, powders and distillates. It seems the fishermen, put out of work by slacking demand for their usual catch, have happened on a new source of revenue. Quite easy to catch, as they rest upside down on the shallow sea bottom, these jellies appear as flowers, with colorful tentacles of olive green, pale blue and purple. Until now, no market has ever been discovered. They are generally harmless to bathers, possessing only a mild sting. It is not currently known what particular quality has convinced the Scallop Harbor locals that they offer any benefit in the treatment of Covid-19 other then being easy to procure. At press time, several gracys with live wells full of Cassiopeia, were departing for Puptown, and the dockside markets there. While no fishing regulations exist for the creatures, it is unlawful to sell, promote, distribute or advertise any unproven cure for any illness, in the Southern Islands.

On Monday May 4, the Governor was granted permission to close Damms Cay to foreign visitors until at least the end of June. The Damms Cay harbor, Sandy Bight, the Dragover, and surrounding will be off limits to the normal population of cruising yachts. The island has four reported cases of Covid-19. The Governor is taking this extreme action to safeguard the aged residents of the Old Fisherman’s Resthome. Any yacht discovered to be violating this order will have her Temporary Import Certificate revoked, and thus must depart the territorial waters of the Southern Islands immediately.

Rockinghorse Cay, SI

the mail gracy serving Rockinghorse Cay and surrounding district has been involved in a collision with the research vessel Star Hunter, sustaining minor damage above the waterline. Lady Azul is to be repaired and inspected on Dog Island over the weekend before being returned to regular service next Tuesday. Investigators have interviewed the crew of both vessels but have not yet filed a report. Crew and passengers are prohibited from commenting until the official report is released.
The Star Hunter is a common site on Forever Bank, where she searches for meteorites. Fisherman who work the bank for finfish claim the research vessel is occasionally hard to see. She is large, and frequently operates dredging equipment and ROVs, at which time she is “lit up like a carnival” but other times she is said to display only dim running lights. Weather conditions when the collision occurred, around 12:40 AM, were mild, and there was no moon. Damage to Star Hunter was reportedly limited to deck railings.

winds: N, 15k

Temp: 71 degrees