When boats collide

 

During the past month a Beaconite has witnessed a two minor boat collisions near Virgin Gorda.

The first accident happened at the VG Yacht Harbour. Despite instructions from marina employees, the captain of a catamaran was unable to avoid the dock. Fortunately, no one was injured, though the boat had a large crack in its bow.

The other collision happened between two ferries. As one boat was departing the ferry dock at St. Thomas Bay on VG, it backed into a docked vessel. Several passengers ran to the back of the boat to see what had jolted them out of their seats. Again, damage was minimal, and no one was hurt.

 

To the Beaconite, the peculiar thing about these recent accidents is that they happened at a snail’s pace. Helpless onlookers yelled and waved their arms in an attempt to stop the pending collisions, but the boats’ momentum was too much and the accidents unfolded in slow motion. Although this may seem entertaining for gawkers, Beaconites can only imagine that all accidents are nerve-wracking for captains.

 

 

 

Student visit

 

 

 

Every now and then the Beacon is visited by a group of aspiring journalists. Well, maybe not. But a class of Ebenezer Thomas Primary School students did show interest on Friday when they came by the Beacon office to see what exactly Beaconites do around here. Staff members explained the rigours of tight deadlines and chasing down sources as the students toured the office. They are always glad to have visitors, and welcome any other students who want to drop by.

 

 

 

‘Hermit kingdom’ or bust

 

Journalists tend to do a lot of routine fact checking, but unusual circumstances sometimes make that difficult — like when they’re writing about North Korea. For an article in last week’s edition about a Virgin Islands-registered company’s purported link to the heavily sanctioned country, a Beaconite Googled the Pyongyang address of the company’s directors to see if he could corroborate it. While street listings in the “hermit kingdom” aren’t easily accessible, a search found the confirmation the Beaconite was seeking. The company, Larivader Solutions, was reportedly registered to a director who lived in the Mao Lang Bong district, which according to Bradt Travel Guides also contains the Chinese embassy. Curious about travel to the country — which is tightly controlled and generally only accessible through guided tours —the Beaconite looked up Bradt’s website. The company is one of only a few to write about North Korean travel, which was greatly appreciated by one of Bradt’s customers, the Indian ambassador to North Korea.

 

“He was surprised that we had a guidebook about the country; he didn’t know it existed. He then spent most of the journey writing down notes from the guidebook, and said he would find it very useful!!” the company wrote in a testimonial posted on the site.

 

 

 

G8 garb

 

 

 

A Beaconite who was closely watching media coverage of this week’s G8 Summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, was interested to see that one topic in the headlines of such news outlets as the Guardian and BBC was the wardrobe. It seems leaders were instructed to dress “smart casual” for the summit, which meant a blazer but no tie for the men. Although the reporter doesn’t think she’ll be including coverage of wardrobe in the House of Assembly any time too soon, she can appreciate that the light stories about the wardrobe might make the summit more accessible to many news consumers.

 

 

 

Int’l Sushi Day

 

 

 

Until about three years ago, one Beaconite had never eaten sushi, because she was uncomfortable with the idea of eating raw fish. She now loves the Japanese delicacy so much, she observed the recently established International Sushi Day on Tuesday. This is one holiday on the growing list of not-so-sensible observances that she doesn’t mind taking seriously.