The Final Report on the Gli Gli Leeward Island Expedition -May 2007

The Gli Gli, her crew of 11 Kalinago Caribs from Dominica and the support vessel ‘Fiddlers Green’ arrived safely in the BVI on May 26th .The expedition had taken 20 days to sail through the Leeward Islands from Antigua to the BVI, with stops at Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Barths, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Anguilla and Sombrero.


Antigua
Having been based in Antigua for a year, and participating in two Classic yacht regattas, the Gli Gli crew was sad to leave its temporary home and new friends. Our stay in Antigua was in many ways a training ground for the new crew members as well as an opportunity to generate awareness of Carib culture in Antigua. During the year Gli Gli got a lot of attention from both the local media and the yachting community. It was the first time a truly indigenous Caribbean boat had participated in the Classic Yacht regatta, which resulted in a lot of heads turning. Seeing Gli Gli’s ancient dugout design sail amongst the most glamorous Classic yachts in the world, gave her Carib crew great pride and the fellow participants a positive insight into an aspect of Caribbean culture they barely knew existed. The Karifuna Cultural group bought traditional Carib music and dance to enhance the Gli Gli’s impact. A performance was held in front of the Admiral’s Inn as a tribute to the late Desmond Nicholson, who had spent much of his life researching the Pre-Columbian peoples of Antigua. His daughter, Nancy Nicholson, was Gli Gli’s special host, and we give our greatest thanks to her for making our stay possible….not to mention the Antigua National Trust, the Yacht Club, the Yacht Club Marina staff and many other businesses and friends that did so much to make the Gli Gli visit to Antigua a great experience and a perfect starting point for our expedition.

On May 6th 2007 we sailed out of Nelson’s Dockyard accompanied by the beautiful top sail schooner ‘Fiddlers Green’ owned and rigged by Captain Doug Watson of Fremantle, Australia. Under full sail and with light winds we set our course for Nevis. Gli Gli took to the open ocean in true form, the crew was keen and the sail to Nevis was blessed by fresh breezes on our stern.

Nevis
On arrival in Nevis, we jumped straight into the social purpose of our mission. Our host, John Guilbert from the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society and a thick crowd had gathered on the water front. They had been waiting all afternoon, and were very inquisitive to see this much talked-of Carib canoe arrive in Charles Town. Within minutes it seemed, we where at the Nevis museum, being officially greeted by the Hon. Minister Hensley Daniel. We then gave the first of our presentations in the packed courtyard. We showed the BBC film and the Gli Gli band gave a performance of traditional Carib music. Under the masterful leadership of Paulinus Frederick, the chief spokesperson and musician of the expedition, speeches on Carib culture and lively drumming performances were to become a major feature of our trip. Sometimes we gave these shows up to 10 times a day by the end of the journey! Gli Gli t-shirts and Carib craft sales were also brisk. All this and the following day’s school presentation at the overflowing community centre served to reassure us all that we were doing the right thing.

An energy and purpose gathered amongst all of us, the Carib and multi-national support crew alike, that was to build to make a very dynamic team. Some of us were fortunate enough to visit the Nevis pottery co-operative, where a group of ladies make beautiful clay pots in the exact same method as the pre-Columbian potters of the region. It is interesting that in St Lucia, Antigua and Nevis this ancient craft that was transferred from the Caribs to the African newcomers has been kept alive for generations.

The generosity of the people of Nevis was overwhelming , from the Nevis Tourist Board to Teach, the Carib taxi driver and the Yearwood family of Oualie Beach Resort, we where given everything from a free lunch to island tours and resort accommodation. On leaving we were very happy to give our hard working host John Guilbert a sail to St Kitts….starting something of a tradition on the trip of taking our hosts with us to the next island!


St. Kitts
Once again blessed by good sailing conditions, we sailed into Port Zante marina to the delight of a massive crowd of excited school children, the public and the press. Our generous host here was Hazel Brooks from the St Christopher Heritage Society, who worked extremely hard to arrange a smooth arrival for us with the authorities and conjured up island wide support for our visit through the media. That first evening Paulinus spoke and the Gli Gli band performed to a huge crowd outside the museum. The crowd loved the show and was intrigued to see ‘real Caribs’ and Carib crafts.

Kalinago Caribs play an important part in the historical lore of St Kitts, though sadly most noted for their last stand against British and French invaders and final massacre at Bloody Point. It was here we were taken the next day by a very interesting Kittitian of old European descent, Greg Pereira. Greg has a lifelong passion for the pre-Columbian history of his island and has made a business sharing that knowledge as a tour company owner. At Bloody Point we were met by a large group of school children and their teachers, who accompanied us on the walk to Bloody River to see the site of the massacre and the huge amounts of petroglyphs carved on the walls of the cliffs. This was a very moving place for every one in the group. You can immediately understand why the Caribs withdrew en-masse to this sacred site. The water source, the ceiba trees, the bats (seen as ancestral spirits by the Caribs) and the womb like nature of the ravine combine to create an air of spiritual security. The tragic reality was that they had trapped them selves in a dead end where they were to be cruelly murdered in their thousands. At the Carifesta 2000 an all night ceremony of cleansing and atonement had been performed by a powerful group of Amerindian shamans and leaders. John Francis, the Gli Gli project’s co-director had been at that ceremony, so it was befitting that he lead another ritual of remembrance for the fallen ancestors by singing the ancient Carib spirit calling songs. We also took the opportunity to hold a minutes silence in honour of Prince Hamlet one of the key men on the 1997 Gli Gli expedition, who passed away three years ago.

We left Bloody River in awe; it was for many in the Gli Gli crew a powerful yet melancholy connection with their ancestors. The overwhelming British fortress of Brimstone Hill, where we went next, though impressive, could not muster much positive feeling amongst us after such a close spiritual liaison with its victims. Paulinus made an interesting discovery in one of the fortress store rooms, the bones of some of the victims of the Bloody River massacre, packed up in cardboard boxes…like so much archaeological evidence around the world. We all gathered around to contemplate this physical encounter with the remains of the souls we had just been with. It was something of a shock to be holding the skulls of those who fell 400 years before. Paulinus made a pledge to ensure that the authorities of St Kitts show due respect to his ancestors and rebury their remains in a monument to their honor.
St Kitts was a powerful experience for the Gli Gli crew. We were sorry to have to leave so soon, but we made sure we took our host Hazel for a sail in the harbour and Greg a passage to Nevis, where we prepared for the crossing to St Barths.


St. Barths
The St Barths crossing began in good spirits, with fair breeze. We had an enlarged flotilla as three boats from Antigua had caught up with us…..not the one as planned. Phil and Julie on ‘Rush’ had brought more friendly boats with them, ‘Jadie’ and ‘Cooie’. This worked out very well and gave our camera crew opportunities to shoot Gli Gli and the ‘Fiddlers Green’ sailing together for the first time. We where also glad of the extra security, had we needed it. Gli Gli’s most dangerous point of sail is dead down wind in rolling seas and as we lost St Kitts in the Sahara haze the swells started to pick up, nearly swamping us a couple of times. Chalo took the initiative to call for shortened sail, so we dropped the sprit and retied the upper clew 3 feet lower down the bamboo. We haven’t reduced sail in this way before; normally we take out the sprit completely and sail with a folded lateen rig. However it worked very well to reduce the roll of the canoe as we slid down the swells, allowing us to continue safely through the afternoon heat to St Barths. Having waited a while at the eastern tip of the island for ‘Fiddlers’ to catch up and deliver the drums and camera man, we made our way into Gustavia. We where greeted by a happy gathering of St Barths locals….nothing like the hordes of school children in St Kitts, but a mellow group, with some friendly faces. Something close to the elite of St Barths, starting with our good friends Lou Lou and Jenny Magras, then our very gracious host Daniel Blanchard (an ex-mayor, now in charge of Club UNESCO), then Raymond , Lou Lou’s brother( another ex-mayor) and then the current mayor Bruno Magras and his deputy Yves Greaux. A bond of language was immediately made between the Carib crew and our hosts, who all spoke the same Creole French. Other cultural links were soon to reveal themselves, during our stay.

The Gli Gli crew was given very special treatment by Club UNESCO. We where accommodated in the municipal lodge, used for visiting sports teams and we were provided with a mini-van to transport us around the island. Our cultural expedition turned into something of a relaxing island sojourn for a few days, a big change from the confined conditions and hammock and mat sleeping routine on the ‘Fiddlers Green’.

The pre-Columbian heritage of St Barths is somewhat lost in the cosmopolitan luxuries of this beautiful, once tranquil…now peaking island. Aside from historical records of the first settlers being forced off the island by Carib warriors and the few artifacts in the museum, there is little evidence of Carib culture, except, as we discovered, that the traditional fishing boats of St Barths, were once dugout sailing canoes.

For an island with no trees to speak of this was a strange choice of vessel. We learned from Daniel and his cousin Edouard, the pirogue, or dugout, hulls were bought over from Guadeloupe or Dominica and then fashioned into fishing boats on St Barths, by the application of the boardage to raise the free board and frames. By amazing parallel co-incidence and before Daniel knew anything about Gli Gli’s intention to visit St Barths, he and his cousin had begun a project to make one of these boats. They had contacted Prosper Paris in the Carib Territory of Dominica and commissioned an 18’ pirogue to be made. Prosper of course gave the job to Chalo, his wife’s father. Before we arrived, Chalo had finished his work and shipped the hull to St Barths, where we met it set up and being worked on in Edouard’s workshop. They were very excited to have the two master canoe builders of the Caribs and their apprentice sons come to view the work. It was very interesting to see a canoe being made in a neat workshop with all available tools…you could see Chalo and Papa Merlins eyes light up at the sight of it. The next day we went up into the bush at la Grand Fond, to cut some Poywe (white cedar) ribs to attach the boardage. The moon was good and the chain-saw working. It was fun to go ‘en bois’ again with the Gli Gli canoe building team and our new friend, looking for the right shape of branch for the job. The Poywe of St Barths are small compared to Dominca ,but due to the dryness of the island the wood is slow growing and very hard, giving good quality boat ribs.

The other interesting aspect of our visit was the shared musical culture of St Baths and Dominica. We played some beautiful old time Creole music together, most memorably at a beach picnic at Petit Cul de Sac. The French accordion mixed with the Carib drums and shak-shak, accompanied by the magical innuendo of the Creole songs gave a perfect musical blend, making it sound as though the Gli Gli band and our St Barths hosts had played together for years.


St. Maarten
After taking our hosts for a sail on Gli Gli, we had to move on. There was a certain amount of debate amongst the crew as to whether it was prudent to head out to sea on Ascension Day, as the religious members of our group believe it be an ominous day, worthy of respect. Though our project respects all religion, we could not change the schedule. A compromise was struck that those not wishing to take the chance of sailing on Gli Gli would go on the less risky ‘Fiddlers Green’. Gli Gli’s reduced Carib crew was complemented by members of the support crew. There was a strong wind and rolling sea, so after a short stop at the beautiful dry and rocky Isle de Forches, we reduced Gli Gli’s sail to a lateen and flew the 15 miles down wind into Philipsburg, catching a good size Tuna en route.

St Maarten , the big city of the Leeward islands, was fully awaken to the Gli Gli visit. Our hosts, the St Maarten Heritage Society run by the tireless Elsje Bosche, assisted by our friend Zdenka Kiric, had spread the word through the local media and when we arrived to show our film and perform some Carib music at the public library it was standing room only. The population was intrigued to see and hear about our project, many especially interested to watch the traditional basket-making demonstration. We are grateful to Mrs Ans Koolen, who runs the library, for setting up this opportunity. Our visit to St Maarten also served as a positive way of bringing the Carib diaspora together, many friends and family members of the crew, some long lost, came out to see the Gli Gli and give their support to our mission. Being a regional economic centre, St Maarten has attracted many Kalinago Carib people from Dominica, who come in search of work. It was interesting to discover that some of them, under the leadership of Lindo Federick have come together to form the Kalinago Support Group, which strives to help raise money and awareness for issues back in the Carib Territory .

Elsje Bosch, the energy behind the Heritage Society, has created a wonderful museum full of choice artifacts from St Maarten’s past. We had a very enjoyable lunch party amongst the relics, with various officials, including the acting Lt Governor Mr Mathias Voges dropping by, to informally welcome us to the island. The head of the International Association of Caribbean Archaeology, Jay Haviser, was amongst the lunch guests. An interesting debate got started about Pre-Columibian canoe design and whether or not sails were in use before the Europeans arrived. It is a tricky question, as no hard evidence has been unearthed of an ancient sail, quite possibly because sails are usually made from fast decaying material. There are also no early reports of sails in the Antilles, though it is believed the Maya had used them. For me this does not write off the possibility that some form of sail was used on occasions, human ingenuity didn’t start in 1492. Trying to paddle a canoe the size of Gli Gli , or bigger , in the ocean swells of the Caribbean is no easy task and we spent a lot of time discussing this question whilst on the move. Chalo firmly believes his ancestors used a sail of sorts, the design of which he is not sure. He concedes that Gli Gli’s sprit rig is quite possibly influenced by the early French, Breton sail type, but it could well be a modification on an existing pre-Columbian design. The debate is on-going.

The museum has a steady contact with the Carib territory as Elsje buys crafts from there to sell in the shop. At some point she had ordered a small 4 foot pirogue to be made for the Carib display inside. When being shown the artifacts, Chalo spotted the canoe and immediately recognized his own handiwork! The museum staff where delighted to have the maker of one of their prize pieces in the house and to know it was the work of the master-builder himself. They are also proud owners of an old Carib canoe that is on display outside the museum. Though definitely Carib made, our crew where unable to pin point who had made it. It has been in St Marten for a long time apparently, and no one knows for sure how it got there.

Another highlight of our stay in St Maarten was the musical night at Tallulah Mango, a great beachfront restaurant in Philipsburg. The owner Norman Wathey, from a very well-known old St Maarten family, was enthralled with the Gli Gli project and honored us all with a dinner at his place. Norman introduced us to the Lieutenant Governor Mr. Franklin Richards and his brother who came by to see Gli Gli. The officials have a very relaxed and approachable style in St Maarten we found, and were keen to show their support. Before the feast the Gli Gli band drew a huge crowd on the promenade with a full scale performance of our Carib and Creole music. Paulinus, Johnny and Mahafi on the drums,Papa Merlin on his home made Banjo, T-Boy and Solda on the shak-shaks, Drake on the tok-tok…with Paulinus intermittently playing the bamboo flute and leading the singing….we have made a tight band that can get any crowd jumping for hours. Definitely in need of recording some time soon.

The musical theme of our visit continued at our next stop. After a gentle sail down the coast to Simpson bay we found ourselves at Picante, another beach bar. Zdenka had worked some of her magic and arranged another dinner and musical event. This time we played the early set and then our very good friends Tani and the Boys, St Maarten’s premier old time fungi-band played in our honour (the band has been playing together for 45 years!!).The house moved with a rare selection of the best traditional music you are likely to hear in the Leeward Islands.

After rowing under the bridge and a relaxing sail across the flat waters of the lagoon we left the Dutch side and headed out on the French side. Little had been organized for the Gli Gli visit in French St Martin. Our initial approaches to the authorities before the expedition did not stir the right people to help host our visit. After such a massive response from the Dutch side we were glad to use the night to relax and prepare for our next leg to Anguilla.
 
Our flotilla increased yet again at this point, with the welcomed addition of ‘Breath’, captained by my good friend Peter Mulenburg from St John. The classic lines and rig of his home-built double-ender, was a good visual companion to the ‘Fiddlers Green’. Peter has been writing about the Caribbean and the Kalinago people for many years and he was commissioned to write an article for Caribbean Travel and Leisure on the Gli Gli’s voyage. ‘Breath’ went ahead of us to Anguilla to pick up a top notch photographer called Mcduff Everton, who was sent by the magazine. He shot some great pictures for Peter’s article.

Anguilla
Our sail to the flat island of Anguilla was picture perfect with smooth seas and an easy breeze. We invited Zdenka to join us, her organizational and sailing skills where a great addition to the Gli Gli team. What was to be a short trip around the western tip of Anguilla and up the north side to Sandy Ground turned into a long day’s sail….possibly delayed by a picnic lunch at one of Anguilla’s irresistible sandy coves, but certainly extended by a dying breeze and an up-wind haul to the bay. By late afternoon we were still making long tacks across the sound. Our ETA of 3-ish, got stretched, and by the time 4.30 came, we got the message on the radio from our host, Damien Hughes, that the crowd was getting impatient. It was only when we got within sight of the beach that we quite understood what he had meant by crowd! When Gli Gli did finally glide into the bay, soaked in sunset light, we realized we had stirred a nation. The boat loving people of Anguilla had turned out in their hundreds (over 1500 people), the white sands turned black with bodies, all bursting with excitement to see our ancient vessel and meet the Caribs. Within minutes of reaching the shore Gli Gli was hauled up the beach by a hundred hands and we were set upon by scores of happy people and news-hungry journalists. It was an overwhelming response that goes down in Gli Gli’s history as the mother of all welcomes! Soon enough we were on stage where Paulinus hushed the crowd for a moment with some words of thanks, but set them off in laughter when he assured them that the Caribs had not come back to reclaim their island, just to bring a bit of the Carib spirit for all to share. From that point on, we were into a medley of drumming, singing, dancing and feasting….that faded only late into the night.

The generosity of the Anguillan people blessed us with shore-side accommodation right behind the beach. Sydans guest house gave us two big rooms for the Carib crew. Sir Emile Gumbs, the noted ex prime minister, lives right next door, as his family has done for generations, very kindly gave us his back yard cottage for those wanting some land comforts. A skeleton crew was left on the ‘Fiddlers Green’ and Gli Gli stayed high up on the beautiful white sand beach to be admired by the population.

Our next few days and nights were something close to a fully fledged rock star tour, which doubled as an intense Carib culture educational road show. One of our first invitations was from Bankie Banks, Anguilla’s international reggae star. We spent a great evening out at his driftwood palace “the Dune Reserve”, feasting and sharing musical inspiration.

Our official host, Damien Hughes, is a very professional organizer who arranged our whole stay down to the last detail. The first two days we undertook a whirlwind tour of almost every school in Anguilla including the national festival grounds, which accommodated two or three schools. At each stop, under the now expert leadership of Paulinus, we gave the children a brief talk about Carib history and culture, followed by a musical performance. The response was astounding, aside from intelligent questions and genuine interest in the Carib legacy, the children (sometimes to the dismay of their teachers) went wild at the sound of the Carib music. At the festival grounds things went into a genuine rock festival frenzy, with hundreds of screaming and dancing kids rushing the stage. It was a great sight to see, and a wonderful experience for the Gli Gli crew to be so well appreciated. Papa Merlin reaching down from the stage to touch the children’s waving hands, banjo slung over his shoulder, Hendrix style, was a memorable sight.

In between all this show-biz we managed to squeeze in a press release at the National Trust office that soon turned into a general discussion about the pre-Columbian history of the region and its importance to Anguilla, especially with regards to the sacred cave site we had yet to see known as “the Fountain”. Later in the day we attended a very positive workshop on Carib craft, traditional drumming and cassava bread at the Ijahnya’s cultural centre. Ijahnya is a well respected culture-woman in the Rasta tradition, who has built a space for all peoples to come and share and learn. Here the afternoon was spent teaching groups of school children various elements of traditional Carib culture. Basket-making was taught by Mahafi, Patricia and Althea, Elvis taught a class in Calabash carving, Paulinus and Johnny lead a group of drummers in the shade of a Tamarind tree and Chalo and Papa Merlin , working with a lively 85 year old Anguillan lady called Ruby Read, grated cassava, squeezed out the juice and baked some delicious bread. It was a wonderful afternoon that really put hands into action for the regional cultural preservation effort. The real magic of the exercise was that it brought to light many elements of the ancient Carib way of life that are still cherished as the roots of our Caribbean culture. Though adapted and developed by the African, European and East Indian arrivals, the foundation of many aspects of what we call Caribbean Culture are directly inherited from the pre-Columbian inhabitants.

The days were long, or so it seemed from what we crammed in during our stay in Anguilla. One afternoon Damien very kindly arranged an opportunity for us to sell our crafts and T-shirts to the public, which greatly helped our en route fund raising efforts. It was here that we met the Hon.Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming. He gave us kind words of encouragement, and I think enjoyed having the opportunity to see for himself what his people had become so excited about! That evening we did a showing of the BBC film and musical performance under the tamarind trees that acts as the public meeting place in the middle of town. It was a perfect spot for the huge crowd that gathered to see our show. The place was packed and traffic backed up around town, as the police had closed off all the roads to the area.

The people’s enthusiasm for the Gli Gli expedition was one thing, but the real highlight of our visit to Anguilla took place out of sight of the public, in a sacred cave that has been closed to visitors since its became recognized as a major archaeological site 20 years ago. The Fountain can be described as a pre Columbian cathedral, a cave 60 feet underground that houses petroglyphs and carvings of the complete pantheon of the Amerindian gods as well as a spring of crystal clear water. Archaeologists rank this site as one of the most important cave sites in the Caribbean and the evidence found inside it suggest that it was a major ceremonial centre. Shards of pottery from as far away as South and Central America have been found inside, suggesting that it was an important shrine for travelers from throughout the region.

For all of us, but most specifically for the Kalinago members of our group, being inside the cave was a profoundly moving spiritual experience. A genuine feeling of making contact with the ancestors was felt by all. The spirit-calling songs were sung to the flute and drum and the cave resonated with an atmosphere that had all within it entranced. Chalo broke the silence and spoke to his ancestral spirits with a seemingly possessed sincerity “We have come to raise you up”. A simple line, which in many ways encapsulates the essence of the Gli Gli’s mission , to bring to light the spirit of cultural resurgence that is spreading amongst the indigenous people of the Caribbean.

Tracing one’s fingers around the petroglyphs and standing next to the only known three dimensional carving of the supreme deity sends one’s mind into the mysterious world of the ancient inhabitants that once occupied this sacred space. Shelter, shade and water in a womb that also houses thousands of bats. It is the same environmental requirements for all the sacred sites we have visited. History was made, in that the Gli Gli crew was the first group of pre Columbian descendents that had called the spirits in the Fountain in historical times. We were honored to have been allowed into the cave by the Anguilla National Trust and are extremely grateful for the opportunity. We also hope that our visit will help the Anguillans’ bid to get this special place recognized as a World Heritage site.
Everything felt right about being in Anguilla, the people’s love of wooden boats and genuine enthusiasm for the Gli Gli and its cultural delegation made us feel very at home. Evenings like the one spent at the Laurie Gumbs’ bar ‘The Pump House”, where we all danced through the night (and rain) to celebrate our success, made leaving Anguilla very hard.

We decided to change our sailing plan to the BVI. Instead of crossing the Anegada passage in one long run, we plotted a course for Sombrero, a tiny rock a little north of the rum-line to the BVI. Though something of a dog-leg, we figured it would be an interesting place to check out and a relaxing break in our journey. Sir Emile, knows more about this desolate rock than anyone. Having been the owner of the speedy schooner “Warspite” that once supplied the light house keepers; he had many tales to tell of this hazardous rock which he had to visit in all conditions. His advice to us was “go…..the seas are flat and the forecast says no wind, you don’t get many opportunities like that in a year to visit Sombrero”. So we slid out of Sandy Ground with a light breeze coming from the southwest, ‘Fiddlers Green’ captained by Sir Emile for old times sake, and his son Laurie and grandson taking it in turns to sail on Gli Gl. As we reached Dog island the Gumbs family and friends had to return in their speed boat. The wind dropped to nothing and so Gli Gli was dismasted and towed the 20 miles to Sombrero… through a flat glistening sea and schools of dolphins.

Sombrero
Sombrero is a sheer, rocky outcrop not more than 400 metres long and 100 metres wide, alive with birds, crystal clear waters and abundant sea life. The whole flotilla managed to tie to the rocks surrounding the tiny inlet by the islands landing ladder. It was a perfect place for our team to disperse for a day to wander the island, explore the abandoned lighthouse, fish, eat and laze around. After the previous twenty days of high profile presentations throughout the Leeward Islands, being in an empty space, a total cultural void, where we could immerse ourselves in pure nature, was a needed psychological relief for every one.

Two hours ahead of schedule nature told us clearly when it was time to leave. A north swell came in with little warning and our lines began to strain dangerously…..the shell was blown and within ten minutes ‘Fiddlers Green’ and Gli Gli pulled out of the rocky hole under power. There was still no wind, so after much planning and anticipation for our biggest crossing under sail, it turned out that Gli Gli was to make the rest of the Anegada passage under tow. This was something of a let-down for the core sailors of the Carib crew, but a chance for all to wind down and prepare for the end of our voyage.

Tortola
The welcome in the BVI was intentionally low key. Family and friends gathered in Trellis Bay for a relaxed dinner and an impromptu slide show of our adventure. The Kalinago spirit was celebrated amongst ourselves with drumming and singing around the fire. Gli Gli was back on the beach in its palm-shaded boat house and ‘Fiddlers Green’ sat lighter in the water, as all the equipment and project team was removed to our beach camp. The Gli Gli’s mission was accomplished for now, the Kalinago Carib people were given high profile exposure and respect throughout the islands and our message of a cultural resurgence was heard by thousands of Caribbean people. The positive energy of our experience and the quiet pride of our achievement bonded us all.

Huge congratulations to all the Gli Gli project members for accomplishing this historic journey and for presenting the Kalinago Carib culture to the people of the Leeward Islands, with such positive energy and inspired spirits.
John Francis: Project co-director, craftsman, musician and cultural activist.
Paulinus Frederick: Project spokesman, artist, lead musician and cultural activist.
Aragorn Dick-Read: Co-founder of the project, artist and cultural activist.
Etiene “Chalo” Charles: Master canoe builder of the Kalinago , builder and captain of Gli Gli.
Augustine Charles: Apprentice canoe builder and seaman.
Hyacinth Stoute: Master canoe builder, musician and seaman.
St John Stoute: Apprentice canoe builder and sea man.
Casimir Auguiste: Master crafts man, first mate of Gli Gli.
Algernon Frederick: Master basket maker and seaman.
Elvis Valmond: Craftsman and seaman.
Patricia Sanford: Basket maker, dancer, cook and sailor.
Althea Williams: Basket maker, cook and sailor.

Massive thanks for all the hard work undertaken by our hosts through out the Leeward Islands. The Gli Gli project was blessed with perfect publicists, impeccable organizers and kindred spirits in every island.
Antigua: Nancy Nicholson and Michelle Henry , The Historical and Archaeological Society of Antigua and Barbuda.
Nevis: John Guilbert, The Nevis Heritage Society.
St Kitts: Hazel Brooks, The St Christopher Heritage Society.
St Baths: Daniel Blanchard, Club UNESCO.
St Maarten:Elsje Bosch and Zdenka Kiric, The St Maarten Heritage Society.
Anguilla: Damien Hughs, The Anguilla National Trust.

Special thanks to the multinational support crew who help so much to make this expedition
happen and be documented for future generations to share our experience.
Douglas Watson, the always up for an adventure owner captain and rigger of the beautiful schooner
Fiddlers Green, with out whom the whole trip could not have been pulled of with such style.
Constantijn Lambrechtsen, the first mate of the Fiddlers Green, a master of the top sails and soul of the party.
Pan Meibers, A core project member, veteran of the Gli Gli 1997 expedition, an invaluable seaman and free spirit.
Jorge Acevedo, An artist on the true path and master drummer in the Culebra tradition.
Nick De Carlo, The expedition photographer who was ever ready to join the action and capture the spirit of our voyage.
Timothy Wheeler; Our ,to the bone, professional documentary film maker, who’s confidence, competence and cool soul will tell our tale better than no other.
Jane Coombes, the co-founder of the Classic yacht regatta, who magnetized to project and blessed us with her sea spirit and wonderful photography.
Peter Muhlenburg; Captain of “Breath” , dedicated researcher, writer and journalist for the cause of the Kalinago people, who battled all odds to be with us.
Mc Duff Everton, the Caribbean Travel and Life photographer, who captured great images of our Anguilla visit.
Phil and Juile Lowrens: Owners of the support boat “Rush”, full energy creative folks that where always there to help.

Leslee, Daniella and Martin :Owners of the support boat “Jadie”, mellow friends that joined the spirit of the adventure.
Brontie and Helmke : owners of the support boat “Cooie” keen sailors and steady suppliers of fish.

Annie Westcott: The invisible, highly skilled, graphic designer and web mistress, that took on our cause and image with a cool calm dedication.
A big Thank You to our Sponsors and Supporters. The Robinson Bequest Trust, the Carib cultural preservation fund for a grant of $ 10.000.00 LIAT and Derek Frederick ,the Caribbean Airline that kindly gave the project members 50% air travel.
The Golden Hind Chandlery , BVI, for discounted marine equipment.
The Carib Atlantic Group, St Maarten for quality graphic design.
Lignum Vitae Arts, BVI. For organizational support.
Trellis Bay Cyber Café, BVI.
Woodstock Boat builders, Antigua.
Caribbean Amerindian Center Link
Mr and Mrs Bill Chaney of the BVI.
The Kalinago Cultural Group, Dominica.
The Carib Council Office, Dominica.
The Kalinago,Barana Aute Carib Model Village, Dominica.
The Carib Craft Association, Dominica