Monday was the jam session for Carnival. Carnival is held on each Caribbean island and is a festival featuring music, dance, revelry, food and culture. I have been to Carnival in Antigua, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Kitts and Sint Maarten so was excited to see how it’s done on Anguilla. Along with Carnival is the annual Aug. Regatta.
I had a 10 AM meeting to see Mr. Hazel the Chairman for the Race Committe. I was covering the Regatta for All at Sea and Caribbean Compass.
I started to drive down to Sandy Ground to meet Mr. Hazel at Johnno’s but the jam was blocking the road. I went to see Lisanne and Magda at Ambia where Lisanne lives and Magda works. We had a fun time watching the jam from the hillside perch. I headed down at 11 and met with Mr. Hazel. The plan was for Lisanne, a great photographer and I to go out on the press boat
On shore vendors take over Sandy Ground putting up ramshackle BBQ pits and cook into the night. Massive boats from Sint Maarten, St. Martin and Martinique came in. Side by side twin engines (275 HSP) lined the beaches. Sailing yachts were also in port. The beach and water was JAM packed all day and night with party goers. Digicel set up a floating DJ station. It was incredible. The trance and techno was blasting all day.
A massive stage was set up for day and night long shows. Folks creatively set up shaded areas in the water so they could sit under their umbrellas whilst being immersed in the sea. Many of the French girls had sexy thongs making for some interesting photo ops. There were gorgeous men, Grammies, babies and kids. It was an interesting people watching day. Some of the outfits seen were hysterical. I will post some photos soon. Lisanne and I had BBQ at Sammy’s. It was a scorcher of a day. It was hotter than Hades I tell you. At 3 we got on the press boat and off we went to cover the Class A boat race. Class A boats are 28 feet long. The sailing tradition has been a part of Anguilla’s history for decades. The entire island embraces this part of their culture. Each village sponsors a boat that races in the island’s various regattas. Aug. Regatta is the biggest. 13 boats raced Monday. The course took us past the island into open sea. We were out on the press boat 3 hours. Along with Lisanne and I were two owners of a local radio station, Up Beat radio, their DJ who did a live broadcast, a few locals and David Hodge the boat Builder for Miss Angulla and Real Deal. The sea was rough and I personally did not feel too well but I managed not to get seasick full on. Sonic, the boat I was cheering won this particular race. The winds a good 15 knots made for a great race despite some accidents on the sea.
At night, the entire beach was a mass of humanity. Local bands Panther Vibes and Butterband took to the stage creating a dance frenzy. There was not enough room on the beach to dance so folks took to the sea and drank and danced clothes off and on. I met folks from the islands and a few rowdy rastas from Sint Maarten. One was originally from Curacao so we were able to converse in Papiamento. By the third band from Trinidad I was ready to go..I had had it with noise and people but I am sure the music went long into the morning.
