Bastimentos Boat Races

The last week of March the weather was really nice for the first annual Bastimentos Boat Races, held at the nearby island of the same name. On Saturday, I had a gig at a place called Face Taco on Bastimentos. It's about a mile away from our marina, and kind of a long dinghy ride, especially carrying a lot of equipment ... bass and bass amp, mic stands, etc. Then when I get there, in the middle of the busy race day, boats zipping this way and that, the bars full, Andy, in his panga, guides me to a dock at a private house, where he parks his panga about 5 deep from the dock and I park the dinghy next to him. We hand the equipment over the 5 pangas up to the rickety dock, where we then get to traipse through someone's backyard, thru a slim alleyway, and carry the equipment the 200-300 yards to the other side of the island where the gig is. Sheesh!

The gig was fine; great fun ... with Paul and Andy and a guy named Mike, on guitar and vocals, that I had met before, as well as another guy named Bill with a computer setup for his guitar. I was playing Bass. The highlight of the gig was when local Vicky got up and Andy and I jammed out some heavy beats while she sang, melding her lyrics to the impromptu jam that was going on behind her. It was really good and she kicked *ss!

The next day, on Sunday, we decided to move RHAPSODY over to Bastimentos for the 2nd race-day. We pulled out of the marina and motored over and dropped anchor in the bay, right in the middle of the triangular race course. One of the most impressive races was guys on surfboards, arm-paddling them, racing from shore 1/4 mile or so out to a buoy and back. One guy was absolutely amazing, outpacing the others as he powered his board for the full 1/2 mile with a massive, steady stroke.

Other races included everything from 40 hp Pangas (the local water taxis), to custom built, yet inexpensive, race boats, with 80 hp motors, and races went on thru the day. In the evening, Paul and Andy and his friend Martine came over to RHAPSODY for a jam and dinner, which was fun.