Wave Dancer, the wooden sailboat crafted by the Mitchell family, was used for several fun Sailing Club events, and the pig roast at Isle a Quatre was the first. Lyston Williams and Cecil Ollivierre had organized the drinks, I had organized the food, and Mac, Mackie and Hodge had volunteered to roast the pig. Several tickets had been bought by tourists as well as locals, and once Wave Dancer had been loaded we set off from Bequia with Orbin Ollivierre at the helm.
It was a beautiful day, absolutely perfect for the pig roast. The boat was filled with happy people ready for a fun time, and I recall thinking Wave Dancer looked a bit like Noah’s Ark as we left Admiralty Bay. With food and drink supplies piled high on the deck, and about 80 passengers perched wherever they could find space, we looked as though we were leaving Bequia for an extended period of time instead of just one day. We didn’t have animals on board but hopefully there was a pig roasting over on Isle a Quatre!
Wave Dancer made her way through the cut and into the sheltered bay at Isle a Quatre, and I saw with relief that Mackie’s boat Kiruna was anchored off-shore. This meant that the three piggies who had been roasting the sow at Lower Bay had managed to get the half-cooked beast to Isle a Quatre, something that had been worrying me throughout the morning. I could see them as we approached, waving madly as they turned the pig on its spit, and the crowd cheered at their antics. Few people realized that the pig had been roasting over a fire on Bequia for several hours, the men looked like they had been on Isle a Quatre all night. I was amazed that the three volunteers, who had been so incredibly wasted at 3:00 A.M., were not only conscious but able to stand!
What a day that was! There were many small children at the pig roast, and Isle a Quatre was the perfect place for them to play tag and swim in the shallow water while their parents relaxed with cold drinks. The smell of the roasting pig was tantalizing, and the aroma of fresh fish being grilled over a fire downright mouth-watering. Those who had brought spear guns shared the reef fish they caught; once roasted and offered on a sea grape leaf with a squeeze of lime everyone had a taste of the perfect Caribbean beach appetizer. Nancy and I were busy getting the buffet table set up, and soon it was groaning under the weight of breadfruit salad, rice and peas, stewed goat and much more. No-one was going to leave Isle a Quatre hungry, that was guaranteed!
The bar was doing a brisk business, Lyston and Cecil were working hard to make sure the drinks were kept cold. They had a huge chest filled with bottles of beer which they kept replenishing with ice, and the rum punch was being consumed at a fast pace. The more drinks we sold the sooner we could get those dinghies built for the Junior Sailing Club, and I was therefore grateful that the bartenders were doing such a fine job. I doubted they were keeping track of their OWN drinks, but as long as everyone else paid that was fine!
When Mac, Mackie and Hodge announced that the pig was ready they received a big round of applause, they had worked hard and deserved a lot of credit for their efforts. They may have become shit-faced in the process but they had not charred the pig, for which I was truly thankful! People lined up with their plates and soon everyone was eating the deliciously moist, succulent pork. The tender meat was incredible, and along with the rest of the food I had prepared the first Sailing Club Pig Roast was a huge success. Visitors to Bequia who had bought tickets experienced an event that I am sure was the highlight of their trip to the Caribbean, and those of us from Bequia still talk about that day, it was downright magical.
