A new boat stranded: The Covid story of Doo Bop

A cool, new Rebel Marine center-island/console boat has been stranded on the land in Anguilla by Covid19.

 

The new design, commissioned by Mr. Patrick Soret of St Barths, was completed in late 2019 and sea trialed just after Christmas 2019. However, Mr. Soret, a very successful businessman was unable to take delivery of the boat as his car dealership was so busy in January that there was no time to play with his new possession. January rolled in to February and then to March and then the unthinkable, unprecedented, history-making event hit us all - Covid 19 struck. Borders quickly closed thereafter in all the islands. No one was going anywhere and everything non-essential had to remain in place.

 

Doo Bop's sea trial in Sandy Ground, Anguilla

On Anguilla, home to Rebel Marine, a lockdown was ordered on the 20^th of March. All businesses, save for pharmacies and grocery stores, were shuttered. With a small hospital barely equipped to take care of a population of 15,000 and absolutely ill equipped to deal with a single Covid patient, authorities did the only thing they could and doubled down on sealing the borders. For the first time since the French / English war of 1796 no traffic crossed the channel between Marigot, St Martin and Blowing Point, Anguilla. Sea patrols were sent up and down the length of the channel, backed up by surveillance air patrols three times per day. Even fishermen were banned from going to their fish pots and setting their lines -  a decision that caused fury and protests riling up the already riled talk shows, boiling with argument and discussion over the looming general elections to be held in June. With three confirmed cases of the virus under quarantine but not hospitalized, the whole island seemed transfixed to the weekly medical reports to see if more cases would be added to the count. Panic buying reared an ugly head for a few days but then thankfully subsided when everyone realized that cargo shipments were still allowed and the supermarkets were adequately stocked and easily replenished. Normality soon reemerged, bolstered by the unmoving count of only 3 cases, a number that did not budge as March rolled in to April and then to May. What was even better was that the 3 cases had recovered by the end of April making the island’s status Covid-free which was soon officially confirmed by the World Health Organization.

 

But with the borders still tightly shut and the authorities insistent that it was the only sensible defense against infection, Doo Bop, the brand new 34 foot Rebel was not free to make a splash.

 

Doo Bop was all customized to Mr. Soret’s precise specifications. She is a solid, single skin fiberglass hull pulled from a tried and tested Rebel Marine mold and then customized totally in composites primarily using Core Cells, Nida Cores and knitted fabrics wetted out with Vinylester resins from the deck up to the roof. The center cabin, a new design for Rebel, sleeps two with a head and ample storage while the topside of the cabin serves as a nice tanning deck for the ladies who just want to chill and absorb the stunning tranquility of an anchorage off a secluded cove in St Barths, St Martin, or Anguilla or even Guadeloupe -  a destination Mr. Soret intends to frequent. Powered by twin Suzuki 300 hp engines rigged by Anguilla Tecni Sales with detailed and customized stainless steel touches in strategic places, Doo Bop was ready to take the Rebel brand into the French Republic with a bang --- until Covid struck.

In the Rebel Marine yard during pandemic restrictions

But hope springs eternal and there is wisdom in the truth that “this too shall pass”.   Once Covid has eased, Doo Bop will end her quarantine and be on her way to a new berth in St Barths and Mr. Soret and his family will have happy days at long last.

Mermaids and Christmas

My uncle saw a mermaid once.  He told me he was returning from a solo fishing expedition on a solitary rock off Anguilla's Prickly Pear Cays called “Big Flirts” and spied the strange creature sunning herself on a smaller rock a few hundred yards away and appropriately called “Little Flirts”.  He said she was combing her hair with a shark’s jawbone and wore nothing above the waist.  He said she invited him onto the rock for awhile and then taught him a few swimming tricks in which she had the decided advantage of having a tail rather than two feet.  Best of all she taught him how to kiss under water.

Anguilla's Prickly Pear Cays

I was 10 years old when I heard that story.  It was night time, a few days before Christmas, and my uncle was in a good mood.  His son, my cousin, was with us and he too was engrossed with the story although I suspect he had heard it before.  Looking back after all these years I have wondered whether the names “Big Flirts and Little Flirts” had anything to do with his inspiration.  But I remember that the rest of what could have been a very interesting climax to the story was interrupted by the arrival of his good friend Winston, who suddenly appeared at the kitchen door.  He, Winston, or “Ninta” as he was called, was already under the influence of “pre-Christmas cheer” and was in an even better mood than my uncle.  In no time they were both bellowing out a new and yet unheard version of “It came upon a midnight clear” at the top their lungs and stories of mermaids and flirting had disappointingly receded.

When I was finally put to bed, I lay staring at the dark ceiling for what seemed like hours, and after all those years am still struck by the power of stories. In one night, I heard a strange new one and was reminded of another, 2000 years old.

By David Carty