Upon arrival in the Tobago Cays, I was expecting the usual procession of Boat Boys lined up to take a run at our wallets.  I’ve always maintained that they should employ an experienced air traffic controller to keep them from colliding with each other.  This time was different.  We were not swarmed.  I wondered why.

Free Willy and Mr. Quality popped by to say hello, but that was it.  I could see the rest circling like sharks, but they did not move in for the kill.  Was our money not good enough?  Were we not worthy of the usual harassment?  I was insulted. 

I flagged down Walton Bob from Free Spirit 2 because we needed ice.  Walton is a very serious looking dude with a mouthful of gold teeth.  He’s all business, provides an excellent service, but rarely says much.  This time was different, in that for the first time, he was engaging in conversation.  He was being extremely friendly, and it was obvious it was not just in an attempt to sell me something.  Up until now, I did not know that he even spoke!  I managed to get a great photograph of him on his boat, grinning from ear to ear.  What was going on?

A few minutes later, Kojak from the boat More Fresh stopped by, but not to sell me anything.  He wanted the address of my website so he could read my Boat Boys of The Grenadines feature – somebody had shown him a printout of it and he somehow figured out that I was the author.  Suddenly I understood.  The Boat Boys had read the feature and wanted to be sure they received favorable press in future editions.

The feature was never intended for them to read.  It was in fact directed at potential charter guests in an effort to ease some of the unwarranted concerns over Boat Boys, educate visitors on how to treat them, and introduce some of the more helpful fellows. Now it seems that the Boat Boys were reading it.  Hopefully, they had learned something and changed their sales tactics as a result.

When I arrived in Union Island, Heather Grant from Erika’s Marine Services confirmed my observation that the Boat Boys were behaving themselves better this season.  I asked around, and the reports were all the same.  Less reports of harassment.

I took this as a positive thing, and hoped that perhaps in some small way, the Boat Boy feature helped make a small difference.  If reading the article helped a few of them understand how visitors should be treated, then this would be reflected in their behavior.  Perhaps visitors treated them better, and they reciprocated.  It has always my hope that the Boat Boys in Union Island and the Tobago Cays would provide a reasonably-priced, reliable service and make visitors feel welcome, not threatened.  Hopefully word would spread and charter guests would give them a break, perhaps making it easier for them to earn a living.  One small step at a time…