The exciting Valentine's Day Cup in Middle Caicos!

Amazingly, it is now eleven years since the first festival to promote and encourage the traditional TCI hand-carved model sailboats was held. Back in 1999, on the remote island of Middle Caicos, those who knew how to carve the toys and those who thought this carving was a treasure and those who figured they could sort out some promotion all sat down and hatched a simple plan….let's get this traditional sport going again! And so Daniel O Forbes, proprietor of the Middle Caicos Co-op, ordered the first ten boats of the fleet from well known local sloop builders Headley Forbes, Marcus Forbes and Carlin Forbes. In the days before electricity, radio, TV and computers, children learned from their fathers and uncles how to carve and sail these boats on the shores and ponds of each island in TCI. Indeed, the boats built in Grand Turk (where there are no gum-elemi trees) are very different in style and shape.

The boats are hand-carved from sections of the gum-elemi tree, chopped down and dragged home, skinned, hatcheted into rough shape, then trimmed, carved and sanded to sleek hulls for racing through the water. It is easy to see the craftsman's hands in each model as the hull shape reflects his sloop lines! Once the boat hulls are done two next steps await. Keel can be added if the shape of boat and depth of the gum-elemi hull require it, and all the hulls now stand ready to be fully rigged. The rigging is an exact duplicate of the large sloops – mast, stays, jibsail, mainsail, boom, tie down etc – are all replicated in miniature to fit each size model boat created. Boats from as small as 15" to as large as 62" have been carved and rigged since 1999, and over 100 boats in total have been sold to owners in many countries, including TCI. The MC Co-op maintains a fleet of 20 – 30 boats for teaching, for demonstrations, for fun and for the annual festival. Many model boats were sold to owners living in Provo, and these boats, as well as model boats built and owned in North and Middle Caicos, are all warmly welcomed back for the race day event. Classes "A", "B" and "C" allow boats to compete against boats their own size, with hilarious results. Trophies and cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners stimulate the competition, and every boat captain sailing at the Valentine's Day Cup gets a free red cap!

The Valentine's Day Cup is a fine example of modern promotion, small business and community resources working together and bringing to life a traditional sport – and it's a lot of fun too! It is a cultural heritage that has now been firmly ensconced on the modern calendar thanks to the efforts of the Middle Caicos Co-op. The local church (Church of God of Prophecy) has been cooking all the food for the day since 2004, keeping up with the growth in popularity of the festival and leaving no one hungry each year! All thanks and praises to their Pastor Shirley Smith and her great congregation for the cooking and feeding each year – and we look forward to tempting treats this year too. All the funds they raise go toward the children and youth programs of the church in Middle Caicos. The music has, of course, always been a big part of the day - cheerful, bright, often live local talent, always making you glad to jump up and dance! This year North Caicos DJ "Gently B" will bring the music home, with guest "Dr. Love" (Bambarra born!).

Valentine's Day Cup model sailboat races at Bambarra beach, Middle Caicos. Pack a cooler & beach toys, take the ferry over to Sandy Point, rent a car on North Caicos and come on down to Bambarra beach for a day of great fun! The public beach site has cool shade from casuarina pines, shallow beach for kids, tiki huts, bandstand, toilets... in every way a fabulous destination and a very special event.

Author Sara J Kaufman , Middle Caicos Co-op