Boat Boys of Ile a Vache

The boat boys we have encountered throughout the Caribbean are usually not boys at all. The term is applied to anyone, really, who makes
their way into the anchorage to visit you at your boat. For example,
in Grenada, the flag man rows out to visiting yachts with his
inventory of courtesy flags for sale. In St. Lucia the Fruit and
Veggie guy announces his arrival in the anchorage with blasts on his
conch horn. In the Tobago Cays, several locals from Union Island and
Mayreau with strong, fast wooden powerboats run provision services,
T-shirt sales, fresh fish sales and beach cook-out operations. In
Dominica, a strict pecking order dictates which "boat boy" will
approach each arriving vessel, welcome them to the island and offer
their services. They have special ID cards and an association.

In Haiti the people coming out into the anchorage share three dugout
canoes. If no adults are around, young boys jump into the boats and
come alongside. The soft thump of the water logged wooden boats on the
hull alerts you to the visitors. The boys like to say hello and
introduce themselves - that's about it for their English skills. They
hang on to the side patiently hoping you will give them a snack.
Usually the boys are summoned by someone older onshore who wants to
use the boat to come out to talk to the cruisers. This is how me met
Vilna and her husband Dou Dou. They speak very little english, but
carry a plasticised card introducing their laundry business on one
side and their dinner offer on the other. They will serve you dinner
at their home for $10 per person. Since we had been given some bleach
as part of the cruiser "aid" donations, we declined the dinner offer,
but were able to pass along the Clorox to a beautiful laundress.