Across the street from H. Lavity Stoutt Community College’s main campus last Thursday, two sloops recently refurbished by students were on display in front of the HLSCC Centre for Applied Marine Studies.
The small sailboats were part of the Stingray Showcase, an end-of-semester presentation of what students in various departments have been working on in recent months. Inside, an upstairs room overlooking the boats (named Irma and Maria) was lined with elaborate wedding cakes created by culinary students.
Nearby, other students presented projects requiring skills learned in other majors: accounting, carpentry, automotive repair, business and sciences.
Christening
The Irma and Maria, which were restored by students in the Marine Professional Training Programme, were also christened during the event.
“Through the MPT Programme, HLSCC — over the last five years, with six cohorts and almost 70 graduates — have engaged the workforce, 80 percent of whom are working to this day,” HLSCC Marine Programme Manager Matt Holt said. “They have the skills, abilities and behaviours that are essential for careers to take place in the workforce.”
After thanking adjunct professors Drew Whittaker and Koufi Modeste, Mr. Holt handed the microphone to Virgin Islands Studies Institute Director Bernadine Louis.
“My role today is to talk a bit about the tradition of christening boats in the maritime history,” Ms. Louis said. “We will smash [rum bottles] against the bow, and it’s traditional also for us to say a prayer.”
Traditional invocation
Then Ms. Louis began an invocation she said was adapted from one used to christen boats in the “olden days.”
“We thank you for those who designed and planned for these vessels, and in particular [for] the students that we have in the programme,” Ms. Louis prayed. “We thank you, Lord, for their hands and eyes that are responsible for their construction.”
After the invocation, Scaffco Shutters Owner Michael Burrill, who helped sponsor the sloop restoration, took the microphone.
“When I first came here, there were no such things as catamarans,” Mr. Burrill said. “Everything was like these boats [the Irma and Maria]. They all had keels, and they were all beautiful. It was obvious in those days when we were chartering that this was part of the future of the BVI.”
A bottle of rum
After his speech, Mr. Burrill lifted a rum bottle for the ceremonial christening and read off a toast.
“For thousands of years, we have gone to sea. We have crafted vessels to carry us, and we have called them by name,” he read. “These ships will nurture and care for us through perilous seas, and so we affectionately call them ‘she.’ So then we toast and ask to celebrate this particular boat which we’re calling Irma.”
However, instead of breaking the thick glass of the rum bottle against the boat’s bow — and fearing damage to the recently finished paint job — Mr. Burrill poured the alcohol on the Irma.
More hands on deck
After the christening, Mr. Modeste gave a tour of the workshops where he teaches woodworking and ship building.
“The BVI is a beautiful place, and we have a lot of marine life,” he said. “We have a lot of boats that come [requiring] work. So what we do need [are] the professionals who are going to be able to fill that gap.”
Mr. Modeste’s woodworking tour began near four wooden “gingerbread house” structures that previously served as frames for edible creations prepared by culinary student.
“These particular gingerbread houses may look simple, but we were able to incorporate the use of almost every machine: the table saw, the bandsaw, the planer — even the drill press,” Mr. Modeste said.
He added that the HLSCC programme teaches such skills from the ground up.
“You don’t have to know anything about it,” he said. “You can come from zero knowledge. We have had many students with zero knowledge.”
When such students have completed the course, he added, they have “left feeling very confident” to go out into the field and start their new trade.
In another section of the marine centre, students presented proposals for small businesses.
Delana Hodge explained that her “Break the Limit Academy” is an idea for a special needs school.
“This is my logo, which is the autism puzzle piece inside the sole [of a shoe], along with the shoes. The reason behind the sneakers is that we are an early intervention school,” Ms. Hodge said. “We are basically the stepping foundation for each child. We cater to children with stage one autism and learning disabilities from ages 2 and up. Our specialised curriculum caters to the child’s individual needs.”
Cakes
Across the building from the business students, music emanated from a room lined with wedding cakes made by culinary students.
One such cake, adorned with gold leaf, mixed edible and inedible materials to push the limits of cake decoration.
“The top is basically for the female — more decorated for the female,” said student Ronnaya Philip. “The middle is for how beautiful the relationship is. … And the bottom is basically for the man, for the structure of the relationship.”
