Hi! I haven’t formally introduced myself yet, but my name is Fenton. I’m 17, and I’ve joined the crew of SV Love & Luck for about 9 months, in between my high school graduation and start of college. So far, living on a boat has forced me to make some adjustments, but seeing the world from a whole new perspective has made it well worth it. I can’t wait to keep meeting new people, seeing new places, and spending time with some of the coolest people in the world.
Yesterday morning, Heidi, Boat Dad, and I woke up at 4-something AM to go to J’Ouvert. J’Ouvert is an annual celebration held in the streets of Grenada. It involves music you can feel, dancing with all of your passion, and getting covered with oil and paint by locals. All in good fun, of course.
After getting up, everyone changed into old clothes and shoes. Even if you aren’t trying to get paint on you, it usually ends up on you from the jumble of people everywhere. So, we wore clothes that we were willing to throw away if necessary. We also put on dish soap as a preventive measure, which ended up making the paint and oil very easy to get off. The three of us hopped in the dinghy, and then we went to go pick up some other cruiser friends who were also going. We also caught a needlefish! It’s important to note that I use caught loosely. While on our way, a needlefish jumped into our dinghy. It was raining a bit and dark, but the fish jumping around at my feet certainly woke me up quickly.
Once we got there, it was loud. We could hear the music from our boat in the anchorage, but when we locked up the dinghy, it was hard to hear anything but the music. We watched for a bit, and then were encouraged to walk around a bit and see some more. Most people with paint wouldn’t cover you if you didn’t want to – generally you get a look, which you nod yes or no to – but there’s no way you can go to J’Ouvert without getting at least some paint on you. After paint was applied to us with brushes, a leaf, and some finger-painting (in actuality, it was more like hand-painting), we listened to some of our favorite Soca music. Most of the trucks blaring music had more speakers than tires, so it was never hard to hear.
The dancing of Grenada is not something that is half-done. We’ve experienced it at several events that involved music, but it’s clear every time – people love to dance. I’ve never been much of a dancer (that’s Heidi), but I still find myself moving when Soca comes on. It’s hard not to.
After about an hour and a half, we had seen a fair bit of J’Ouvert. We were all covered in paint, and the sun was just starting to be high enough that I should be concerned about not wearing enough sunscreen. So we headed back to the dinghy, at one point going through a pile of mud in which BOTH of my flip flops decided was too much, resulting in me being very temporarily shoeless. After that mishap, we all ended back at the dinghy, we took our friends home, and washed off in the ocean. All and all, we were home by 7 AM. A quick dip in the ocean, a bit more dish soap, and we were all clean and ready to start the day. It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget, but I might sleep in next year.
Until next time!
-Fenton