HUBBERS DOT COM BLOG

We were supposed to spend the day house sitting the other Kiwi boys place on the beach while Woza took them for a one or two day sail. The morning got off to a bad start when Beige, Wendy and Woza had “communication difficulties” until Woza eventually called the sail off for lack of time. Toddie and Judge didn’t seem bothered by proceedings. I tried to iron it all out with f*** all success. Hummus predictably slept through it all as he was out all night drinking.

Instead we spent the better part of the day trying to get flights to the semis and finals. The team worked well together and it was as if all the toy trowing on the boat had never happened. That is one of the beauties of this group, everyone has their moments but sulks and foot stamping never last long.

There is a lot of rumour and speculation surrounding the different methods we can use to get to the semi/final. The best one was that we could charter a plane that would get us there in just 40 minutes for only US$3000 each. All I can say is that it must have been a bloody flash plane. Air Jamaica seems to be our best hope and we struggled to get two answers that were the same from them or their website.

By mid afternoon we had flights to Jamaica for the semi booked and a flight to Barbados immediately after the semi final penciled in. The flight to the final is US$330.

Am I A Betting Man?

Now I know I am a betting man. We all are on our yacht. At the 30th over of every game we hold a pool on what the final score will be. $5EC (five Eastern Carriean Dollars equals about one pound) buys you one guess. Usually we get all the crowd around us involved and the total prize has gotten as high as $400EC. Sadly for the boys we have only won it twice. Woza picked up $300EC at the Sri Lanka game and I scored a measly $50 for my efforts when we watched NZ v Ireland in a bar in St Vincents.

The big question is are any of us prepared to bet US$330 by booking a flight from Jamaica to Barbados after the semifinal against Sri Lanka. If we win the semi the bet is a great one because flights are as scarce as good English cricketers. If we loose it is more than likely US$330 down the drain as we all go our separate ways home.

A Very Local Dinner

We have been befriended by a local lady called Dorothy who lives in a badly damaged house just down the beach from the other boys flat. She has been homeless since the category 3 hurricane Ivan slammed into Grenada at 260 kilometers an hour on September 7th, 2004. Ninety percent of their homes were wrecked along with their economy and pretty much everything else. This is what the island looked like after Ivan left:

Dorothy lives on the bottom floor of half a house with her eleven year old daughter. The couple in what is left of upstairs dabble in dealing drugs, prostitution and domestic violence. Some kids grow up faster than others I guess.

Tonight Dorothy is cooking all twelve Kiwi boys dinner. For $20EC each we get some great value authentic home cooked local food and Dorothy makes a bit of money on the side. A pretty good deal all round.

Dinner was deliscious.

Spent the day lazing around at the beach and looking into flights to the semis and final, if we make it that far. We have heard that the flight situation has freed up a bit since the Indian and Pakistani fans have pulled out. After a day of trying different things it doesn’t look like there are any seats available.

We frequently hear form the locals is there hasn’t been the influx of tourist that they expected. The one thing that the fans all agree on is that it is almost impossible to get to the semi and final of the tournament. It has been made especially hard since we won’t really know which semi we will be in until we have played all our games. Add to that the fact that Jamaica is miles away from the other semi and the final and it makes planning and arranging flights virtually impossible. I reckon they would have had a lot more visitors if it had been easier to get to all the games.

With only one game to go we are reasonably certain that we will be in the semi in Jamaica between the second and third placed teams. To solve the problem of getting all the way up to Jamaica we have been coming up with increasingly crazier ideas. The latest mad plan is to charter a couple of Cessnas and fly there.

While writing this the guy at the computer across from me has started singing in a high pitched voice while listening to headphones. Part funny and part grating.

Felt much better today than after the Sri Lankan game. Spent the day at the beach house in Grand Anse swimming and resting.

Runty’s nickname has been changed to Wendy after he made the preposterous claim that Wendy was a girls name and that no guy could ever be called Wendy.

This game was a carbon copy of Sri Lanka game except we were the ones delivering the pasting. A much better feeling. Had our funniest day of the tournament yet as all the boys had a ball in the stands. We were a bit merciless with the South African fans. Funniest call of the day came from a drunk Saffa behind us who yelled out “South Africa you are dead to me” when they were 149 for 6 with only a few overs to go.

Followed the usual post game ritual and had a few beers at the beach house then headed out to Banana Bar.

Must have been a bit tipsy after all that drinking because I got back to the boat and made a 105 minute long mobile call to my girlfriend on my UK mobile. It cost £128.39.

Really struggled today. Tried to use the internet and it proved to difficult to type and think at the same time.

Focused on rest and rehydration instead.

The game didn’t get off to a great start with the Kiwi’s losing two early wickets. After that there was a steady stream of wickets that stopped us posting a decent total. Only Scott Styrus’s unbeaten 111 prevented a humiliating rout.

I don’t remember much of the second innings. After the game we went to some friends house on Grande Anse beach. A super pad that five Kiwis boys have arranged for a paltry $1000 US for two weeks. After that we hit the banana bar.

Hummus has given funnels to that many people that he often has complete strangers calling out “Funnel Guy” to him at random times. He has even made a few Kiwi cricketers do a funnel.

We sailed to Grenada. Unlike the rest of our stops Grenada didn’t have a full service marina that acts as a social hub for the touring Kiwis.

So we are docked in miles away from the pubs and restaurants and have to be more careful about how we get around as taxis will start to add up.

Sailed to Union Island. Went to a French restaurant for dinner. Great food and a table of Americans donated their left over wine to us. They said they were trying to be good Americans. As far as I am concerned any American with a passport is a good American.

Spent the day in Xtreme a local bar getting table service and watching the game on TV. Luxury.

It was an easy two points.

Sailed from Soufrie to Young Island Cut. I did most of the skippering in some pretty rough and windy seas. Lotsa fun.