Today’s Photos of the Day come from Carnival,
which is celebrated all over the Caribbean, from Trinidad, where
it almost dominates life on the island.
Photo Bert Allette
What’s Carnival all about? Here’s what
the folks in Trinidad, who consider themselves to be the ultimate
experts, have to say about it: “Some trace Carnival to the
rites of Bacchus, in ancient Greece. Some to its position in
the Christian calendar (for the word ‘Carnival’ means farewell
to the flesh’ and marks the approach of Lent and its sober disciplines).
Others emphasize the importance of African rhythms in the music
so essential to the festivities. It is further theorized that,
early in the last century, the working population took to mimicking
and ‘mamaguying’ the colonial authorities at Carnival time, by
means of extravagant costumes and an incomprehensible patois.
Around the occasion, a colorful cast of Carnival characters grew
up devils called Jab Jabs (from the French ‘diable’), human
donkeys called burrokeets, bandits called Midnight Robbers, clowns
called Pierrot Grenade, giants on stilts called Moko Jumbies.
Today, while their origins may be hazy, these figures can still
be seen, in all their poetry, during the Carnival season.
Moko Jumbies
“Most countries settle in for a calm
January and February before Carnival, but not Trinidad and Tobago,
where the Carnival arts are public property, analyzed and judged
even as they are being created. Rehearsals are attended as avidly
as finals. So as you stride out into the pulsating Port of Spain
evening, what’s on offer? Panyards, for one. The larger steelbands
invite onlookers to attend their rehearsals in their panyards
throughout the season. It’s serious business for the players,
but there are bars and delicious snacks for visitors. You can
sit and chat, sip a beer, or just drink in the sound of up to
130 pannists perfecting their crafts.
Photo Bert Allette
“Then there are Calypso Tents. Trinidad
& Tobago is the home of Calypso. Visitors are welcome at
the several Calypso Tents that stage shows nightly throughout
the season. Here, the true practitioners of the art can be heard.
Up to 20 singers may perform in an evening, in an atmosphere
of friendly banter and expert opinion. Nowhere will you get closer
to the soul of the Trini than here.
“Carnival is not a mere spectator
event. The full joy of Trinidad Carnival is to play in a band
yourself. Parading Bands all have headquarters, known as Mas
Camps. (Mas as in ‘Masquerade’.) Which band you play with is
up to you. Most locals have their favorite, but a visit to the
different Mas Camps will show you what costumes are available
and broaden your understanding of Mas! From January onwards,
the parties never stop. Trini parties (or fetes) are high intensity
affairs, thanks in part to the DJs, but in particular to the
astonishing standard of the live bands. While each has its own
songs, each also plays the popular songs of the year. Tickets
for fetes are easily acquired. Five minutes listening to a local
radio station will tell you where and when!
“What stokes the fires of Carnival?
The music. Calypso music the very sound of Caribbean joie-de-vivre,
born here in Trinidad and Tobago. Calypso, as an art form, seems
to have sprung from the ‘chantuelles’, whose music precedes the
Carnival bands of the last century, with songs parodying the
issues and gossip of the day. The healthy practice of airing
the ills and thrills of society never faded, and today the calypsonian
still has an artistic permit to comment, poke fun and satirize.
Throughout the season, the top singers are to be found nightly
in the Calypso ‘tents’. These are no longer actually canvas,
but date back to a time when Calypso was performed in humbler
circumstances. Calypsonians adopt intriguing sobriquets, so don’t
be alarmed to find Stalin performing alongside Baron or the Mighty
Shadow. The season’s songs are judged, come Carnival weekend,
at Dimanche Gras, when nine of the best Calypsonians meet the
defending champion, to decide who is that year’s Calypso Monarch.
Competition is intense.
“Since the seventies, Calypso has
produced an energetic offspring Soca. Soca uses the same
basic beat, but speeds it up and adds a laid back bass-line and
a touch of Indian drumming. It is Soca, nowadays, that keeps
Trinis hard at work at their national hobby partying. Fetes
are Soca exhibitions, climaxed, of course, on Carnival Tuesday.
“The Frenzy. Each year, at 2 a.m.,
Carnival Monday morning, the greatest show on earth is born.
In the early hours, the first revelers hit the streets
jumping, dancing, shouting abetted, it must be admitted,
by the fine local rum, but fueled more by the exhilaration of
the occasion. This early ‘Mas’, known as ‘J’Ouvert’, (a contraction
of the French ‘jour ouvert’, or ‘day open’), is for the true
die-hard player. It’s a ritual enacted to the accompaniment of
mud, oil, pitchforks and pointed tails! An elemental celebration
of the darker side of human life. Hieronymous Bosch would have
felt at home playing J’ Ouvert.
“Come daytime, ‘Pretty Mas’, with
its massed costume band takes over. In the riot of color, sounds
and movement that ensues can be found the heart of Carnival
the world’s largest, most peaceful, most euphoric street party.
Where is the fun, (you may ask), in traipsing around, under a
blazing hot sun, behind a blaring music truck, from dawn to dusk?
Listen, Carnival is an occasion for release. It is a time when
any and everyone is permitted to come out of themselves. Carnival
gives you a license to ‘play yourself’, to forget what people
might think, to reveal in the noise and excitement of music,
people, life. It is better therapy than therapy.
Photos Bert Allette
“The Kings and Queens. At the peak
of this extraordinary creativity are the kings and queens. Each
Carnival band whether 50 or 3,000 thousand strong
has a symbolic leader. Taking their inspiration from the band’s
theme, band designers create king and queen costumes out of wire,
wheels, bamboo, feathers, anything that comes to hand. The result
are images of such beauty, it is hardly possible to believe that
an ordinary man or woman stands at their heart. Later in the
year, Kings and Queens from Carnivals in many cities will come
to Trinidad to compete in the Carnival King and Queen of the
World Competition. This is in acknowledgement of the birthplace
and inspiration of the art. Trinidad, Mother of Carnival.”
Cheyenne’s
Jules Verne Attempt May Be Over
February 23 – Atlantic Ocean
Steve Fossett’s attempt on the Jules Verne
Around the World Record – she’s currently 400 miles ahead of
the record pace – was threatened during the night. While attempting
to jibe in the middle of the night, it was discovered that the
headstay, critical for holding up the 143-ft mast in all but
moderate downwind conditions was “either broken or somehow
disconnected.” They couldn’t tell, as the headstay is covered
by the furled jib, and thought they might have to put in at Cape
Town.
Today’s good news: “After a day of
extraordinary tension and teamwork, skipper Steve Fossett reported
late this afternoon that the giant catamaran’s wayward forestay,
displaced during the previous night, had finally been reconnected
– and Cheyenne and her team of 13 were once again sailing
at speed and on course in their attempt at Bruno Peyron’s two-year
old Round the World Sailing Record of 64 days 8 hours 37 minutes.
The bars of Cape Town can now stand down.”
At 1710 GMT this evening Cheyenne
and crew were traveling E/SE at 21.8 kts in a 23-kt westerly
breeze. Before this morning’s drama, Cheyenne was over
500 nautical miles ahead of the 2002 record track of Orange.
Even during the 16+ hour repair process, excellent downwind progress
along the course was made, the big cat covering 196 nm over the
past 12 hours, and 446 miles over the past 24 hours – at an average
speed of 18.6 kts.
Geronimo
and Orange Both Back in Port
February 23 – France
The maxi tri Geronimo, and the maxi
cat Orange, Cheyenne’s big competitors for the Jules Verne,
are both back in port in France for repairs. Geronimo
tore two of her three medium gennikers in the very early going,
which would have eliminated any chance she had at the record.
As for Orange, she lost one of her crash boxes after a
brilliant slingshot start. Skipper Bruno Peyron says that had
they been well into the record attempt, they would not have turned
back, but since they were so close to home, it made sense to
return. Both mega maxis are expected to be ready to restart within
a week.
Crash box missing from Orange’s starboard bow Photo Courtesy Multiplast
PFDs for Pre-Infants? What Do Others Do?
February 23 – San Francisco Bay
“I’m expecting a new granddaughter
in April, and plan to take her on her first sail on the Fourth
of July weekend,” writes Jim Sarosi, Jr. “I’m sure
I’m not the first grandpa to do this, but what about a PFD for
her? The ‘infant’ one her older sister has been using is way
too big for a newborn of eight or nine pounds. It seems that
one this much too big would be more dangerous then none, at least
with a parent right at hand. What are others doing in this situation?
Can somebody please help, as I don’t want to wait for her to
grow into the smallest PFD that I can find, but I don’t want
to risk her life either.”
We don’t know the ‘official’ answer to
that question, but we’re uncertain how much value a PFD would
be to a three-month-old baby who somehow found herself in the
Bay. Newborns are entirely dependent on adults, and would be
even more so on a boat. As such, there needs to be at least two
or more people aboard who know how to sail the boat, in case
one person falls over and has to be rescued.
Found New Boat, Must Sell This One!
February 23 – San Francisco Bay Area
Columbia 28, with standing headroom, dodger,
sleeps 6, Atomic 4 engine runs great, four sails plus spinnaker,
VHF, depth alarm, fish finder. Also, new batteries, waterpump,
stove, and topside paint. Newly done teak topsides, sole, and
interior. Very clean. Sacrifice at $3,333 OBO before March 20.
I’ve got my eyes on a new boat. Leave message for Burnett at
(510) 301-4500.
YOTREPS
February 23 – The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace
Who is out making passages in the Pacific
and what kind of weather are they having? The YOTREPS daily yacht
tracking page has moved to www.bitwrangler.com/psn.
Looking for current as well as recent wind
and sea readings from 17 buoys and stations between Pt. Arena
and the Mexican border? Here’s the place – which has further
links to weather buoys and stations all over the U.S.: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southwest.shtml.
Pacific Winds and Pressure
The University of Hawaii Dept. of Meteorology
page posts a daily map of the NE Pacific Ocean barometric
pressure and winds.
