Category Archives: Caribbean
Blacktip Island Weather
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Blacktip Island Resort To Debut Tuvan Throat Karaoke
Organizers hope a change in vocal format will once again fill the Eagle Ray Cove tiki bar with karaoke aficionados this Friday night. (photo courtesy of groothelm)
Blacktip Island’s Eagle Ray Cove resort will change its Karaoke Fridays to an all-Tuvan throat singing format tonight in an effort to revive dwindling attendance.
“Karaoke night’s always tied the island together, but with tourists still banned, it gets old, the same people singing the same songs,” resort owner Rich Skerritt said. “The last few Fridays we had three, maybe four people show up. That kills the vibe. And our alcohol sales.
“We tried doing a sing-in-the-language-of-your-choice version, but that was a train wreck,” Skerritt said. “Dermott Bottoms just got up there and babbled gibberish. Loudly. And off key. This way there’s no words. You just have to get the tune sort-of right.”
The karaoke DJ Alison Diesel said the idea is popular.
“We axed karaoke for two weeks to give everybody a chance to learn throat singing, and the response’s been bonkers,” she said. “We came up with the idea from a random online video. You can pick any song from the library, you just have to throat-sing it.
“It’s been a bonding experience, everybody learning a new skill at the same time,” Diesel said. “Folks are really looking forward to showing off on Friday night. And Gage Hoase’ll just sing in his normal voice.”
Island residents echoed Diesel’s sentiments.
“I’ve been practicing for weeks,” Christa Goby said. “It hurts to swallow right now, but my voice is spot on. People’re gonna hear ‘Strawberry Wine’ like they’ve never heard it.”
Some remained skeptical.
“I’ve always said there’s no way to make karaoke worse,” Reg Gurnard said. “Well, now Ali’s gone and done it. I’ll be down at the Ballyhoo, as far away from that nonsense as I can get.”
Diesel was unphased by the criticism.
“It’ll be cool to have a full tiki bar again,” she said. “Our sense of community’s been eroding lately. I’m way looking forward to the duets. I heard Marina and Cal practicing ‘Summer Nights’ yesterday and it sounded off-the-hook awesome.”
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Blacktip Island Weather
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Temperature: 81
Humidity 64%
Precipitation – none
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Locals Report Mermaid Near Blacktip Island Resort
Three Blacktip Island residents claim they saw a mermaid swimming off the end of the Eagle Ray Cove Resort dock Tuesday night. (photo courtesy of W. Carter)
Three Blacktip Island locals Tuesday reported sighting a mermaid swimming in Eagle Ray Cove, setting the small Caribbean island’s population buzzing this week.
“She was down at the end of The Cove’s dock, splashing around in them underwater lights,” longtime resident Dermott Bottoms said. “Long green tail and no top, just like all the books show.
“James Conlee and Lee Helm, they saw her, too. Just ask ‘em,” Bottoms said. “Soon as she saw us, though, she swam off right quick. Couldn’t get any photos. Always thought there was mermaids here. Now we have proof. And three eyewitnesses.”
The others supported Bottoms’ claim.
“We’d wandered down from the bar for a bit of fresh air,” Helm said. “We were standing there talking. James had just lit a smoke when we heard the splashing and looked over the edge. There she was, long, scaley tail and all.”
Some on the island questioned the story.
“Dermott and James wandered down from the bar and saw a mermaid?” Herring Frye said. “These are the same yahoos who claimed they saw a platypus behind the Sand Spit a while back. The common element here is heavy drinking. If it’s those two, you know alcohol was involved.
“They probably just some drunk tourist swimming in a long dress,” Frye said. “And as for her swimming away when she saw them, well Lee Helm has that effect on most women. Even when he’s not three-sheets-to-the-wind drunk.”
Others said the claim had merit.
“All kinds of old sailors’ tales about mermaids around Blacktip, y’know,” resident Antonio Fletcher said. “Got to be based on something. And no manatees or dugongs around there. Herring’s got no call to call Dermott and James wahoos.
“Not saying whether it was or wasn’t, but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt,” Fletcher said. “No solid proof there’s a mermaid out there, but there’s no proof there’s not, either. And there’s three eye witnesses.”
The men vowed to produce evidence.
“We gonna take turns watching at the end of the dock, phone cameras ready,” James Conlee said. “Got some trail cams on order, too, so we can stake out all the docks in the cove.”
Eagle Ray Cove Resort, meanwhile, has launched nightly mermaid-lookout events on the dock. “We set up chairs and loungers right out at the end, where the underwater lights are,” ERC owner Rich Skerritt said. “The bar staff runs drinks and snacks down to anyone out there. And we have ‘I Saw the Mermaid’ t-shirts for sale in the lobby.”
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Blacktip Island weather
Sunday, November 8, 2020
Temperature: 76
Humidity 68%
Precipitation – not today
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Blacktip Island Humane Society Closes After Its Dog Is Adopted
The Blacktip Island Humane Society closed its doors this week after Subwoofer, the shelter’s sole occupant, was adopted by local handyman Antonio Fletcher. (photo courtesy of Juan Manuel Gomez Ruano)
Blacktip Island’s Humane Society shuttered its doors Wednesday after a local resident adopted the shelter’s only dog, society officials said.
“Little Subwoofer’s been here for a while. It was great he finally got adopted,” shelter administrator Ledford Waite said. “But since ‘Tonio Fletcher took him home last week, there’s really not much point in keeping the place going. I mean, I can come in and sit at the desk all day, but what’s the point?
“The kennels and carriers are all clean, so that about does it unless another stray pops up on the island,” Waite said. “Probably go back to using the room for storage, short term. Or maybe rent it out as staff housing. Pet carriers included.
Island residents were surprised by the move.
“I didn’t realize we had a Humane Society on Blacktip,” Marina DeLow said. “I knew Led hung out there a lot and was always walking that goofy little dog, but it never occurred to me it was an animal shelter. It’s too bad it’s closed down. I guess.”
Fletcher said he hadn’t meant to cause the closing.
“Didn’t know Led was gonna do something drastic like that,” he said. “I just gave Subwoofer a permanent home. And he’s plain hell on the rats around my place. But now I got folks giving me the stink eye. It was Led’s decision, not mine.”
Island animal-rights activists, however, hailed the move.
“Having no unwanted animals on the island is a good problem to have,” Blacktip Island People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals president Harry Pickett said. “This is not so much a closing as it is a moving forward. Now that Subwoofer has a home, we can focus on other critters that need our help.
“We have a Protect the Iguanas campaign ramping up,” Pickett said. “We’re looking into the fighting the government’s efforts to eradicate the feral cats. And we’ll be starting a Save the Lionfish project, too.”
Waite said he is keeping open the option of reopening the shelter if necessary.
“People leave animals behind when they leave,” he said. “Dogs and cats, they just appear here, too. I’m still taking donations, though. For food and supplies. People need to know that. There’s no strays here now, but that could change overnight and we need to be ready.”
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Blacktip Island Weather
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Temperature: 82
Humidity 71%
Precipitation – soon come
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