Snake on a Boat (almost)!


Written Dec. 10, 2015.

St. David’s Bay, Grenada Marine

Sooo, Moss killed a boa constrictor with a machete the other night. Just a typical evening really.

It had hitched a ride back to the boat aboard the dingy. Moss didn’t want to kill it, but every time he tried to flick it away, the damn thing kept its tail coiled around whatever it could grab — which sometimes was the very cane Moss was using to flick it away.

We made lots of noise.

It was night and was dark out. Very dark. Remote bay in the countryside dark. At the time, Moss couldn’t tell what kind of snake it was, nor whether it was venomous or not. So, we scrambled around looking for Spot (our mega flashlight) and the machete.

The kids held the mega light, while I rushed around closing all the hatches and port-lights in case the thing managed to get aboard. This task also kept me well away from all the snakey action, which I do not enjoy.

In the end, the thing perished. It’s unfortunate because the next day we discovered that it had been a Grenada Tree Boa, which being a constrictor is not venemous. Moss could and would have taken him back into the jungle, next to the boat yard, had he known.

A reptile-loving friend back in Toronto is somewhere between furious and disgusted with us. He  has informed us that there will be a mandatory snake-identification class held at his house the day we return; the presence of all crew is required. I think we’ll go. But I also don’t know any sailor who would willingly allow any wild animal come aboard his ship. There are just too many little nooks and crannies it could hide in.

No thanks.

This is a person boat. It is for people. It is not a mosquito boat, nor a fly boat, nor an ant or cockroach boat, nor a mouse boat, nor a rat boat, and it is definitely not a snake boat. Sorry Giorgio. Cosi e la vida.