Chapter 8: La Gaviota

Captain Liza had been the fortunate one, the two rich white guys from the states the
losers, this time. Liza had worked since he was 15 on a Belizean fishing boat, a small
sailboat stacked with sometimes 8 dories (dugout canoes), and at least
that many men. They slept packed like sardines (and that familiar smell)
in sweaty, sand-fly riddled, damp quarters--8 men crammed into a 4 x 20 foot
hold for weeks at a time. Fishing for lobsters and conch, spearing
Barracuda and Snapper for 14 hours a day--hard work, but they loved it! Saltwater was in thier ears, eyes, and heart and with
no way to clean it out; it was as much a part of them as it was a part of Caribbean life. Back in those days, there were
fish at least. Today you were lucky to bring home enough to feed
your family, let alone make a living.
Captain
Liza had just returned from fishing when he saw a beautiful 48 foot sailboat
rocking like a horse over the reef. As it turned out, two American
retirees had attmepted to navigate the channel, but the buoy that marked
it (according to thier charts), had drfited off without thier knowing.
What was left behind was a bereft stick marking the edge of the reef. The
old guys chose to wrong side of the stick and ended up on the right side of the
reef. Because Belize
does not have a "Coast Guard," the only persons who came to their
rescue were two local tour operators that happened to be listening to their
marine radios at the time. Elito and Omar had responded to their distress
calls first and thereby laid claim to their pirates booty, governed
by the laws of the sea. The Americans feared that the Belizean
government would slap a heavy fine on them for causing considerable damage
to the reef. Therefore, they promptly struck a deal to unload the
boat, load, and kitchen sink to thier rescuers. $1,000 US dollars
later, the tour operators spent the next 2 days stripping everything of any
worth from the boat from bikes to brass bells. Since the original
accident, the sea had whipped up a storm and thrashed the sailboat against
the coral mercilessly until quite a large hole at through the hull and water
damage quickly spread throughout the ship. It was about this time Captain
Liza eyed the listing boat and made a call to his cousin Omar. Omar
greedily agreed to sell the (what now seemed to him to be worthless)
vessel for twice as much as he had originally bought it for--$2,000 US
dollars. Within hours Captain Liza appeared with cash in hand after
wiping out his savings and spent the following days lifting
his "new" boat off the reef with a barge and crane.
10
years later and a generous amount of love and money, "La
Gaviota" is better than it ever was. Originally built in the 60's,
her interior was completely refinished with fine Belizean
hardwoods--mahagony, ironood, Ziracote, and rosewood--all colors of the
wooden rainbow adorn what once was warped plywood. Handcrafted with care
and soft curves by a master in Corozal. This sail looks like any other from
above the water line, but below, you feel as though you
could easily make this your home for the rest of your wave-rocking
days.
Captain
Liza isn't fishing for a living anymore, he doesn't need to, he's started
taking wealthy tourists on sailing adventures with his trusty first mate
Columbus. This true Belizean character doesn't look anything like his
namesake, though if you put a feather in his cap, close one eye, and take a
shot of Caribbean rum you'd swear he
did! I think I may be engaged to the man. While onboard, it
was difficult if not impossible to understand what Columbus was saying at times, or if he was
even speakling English to begin with. After a week went by and I ran into
old Columbo and his cap on the streets of San Pedro, he exclaimed with
great emotion something about our honeymoon (at least those are the only
words I was able to make out.) So after my next "conversation"
with him, I'll let you know when the big day is
scheduled! (Note to self, that's where shaking your head and smiling
will get you...) Personally, I'd much rather marry Captain Liza,
for he is, after all, the owner of my dream sailboat.
Unfortunately, he's already married, to a woman who hates sailing and
fishing. Sometimes life isn't fair on the high seas.