The clubhouse was a low, thatched building, unremarkable on the outside except for the presence of a rather battered-looking windsock flying briskly from a pole. In response to a remark from one of us, Stapeko explained that it had been given him, as a kind of auspicious gift, by a visitor who wished the islanders well in their endeavours to secure the construction of an airstrip. "No airstrip yet," he added, "but you could say it's a beginning."
The interior of the clubhouse was decorated with a large number of stamps framed under glass, and the usual profusion of kitschy, bizarre objects.
"I wish someone could explain to me, gentlemen, why God should have created such an awesome eating machine," said Stapeko at one point, referring to a large set of shark jaws, which hung from one of the walls close to our table. "Yes, yes, of course, the balance of nature and all that, but personally, if it were at all possible, I should like to see that particular kind of shark replaced with a less painful link in the ecological chain."
Jack smiled politely, but declined to pursue this existential line of conversation. He was concerned about the safety of his boat.
"What do you make of the weather, Mr Stapeko?" he asked. "Have you experienced this sort of thing before?"
"The weather. We have all sorts of weather here. No snow, of course, ha, ha. But plenty of rain. The rain is on its way, sir, as you no doubt know. Masses of it. But our little harbour is safe. No vessel ever came to harm in it, under normal circumstances, that is. Meaning, sir, that if we get a tropical revolving storm, as the handbooks call it, or some other such catastrophic event, no vessel is safe, is it? Not even our little island is safe, ha, ha. But why be pessimistic? We already had a pretty bad hurricane here only a year ago. Two years in a row is unlikely, isn't it? Not mathematically, perhaps, but you know what I mean – ha, ha, ha. Seriously now, sir, no revolving event is forecast, is it? So we may infer we are safe."
"What about this greenish colour of the water? Is it often like this round here?"
"The ocean varies in colour considerably. Yes, sometimes it takes on this green sheen, God alone knows why. Today, admittedly, it is intensely green. But I daresay the colour of the sea, as such, would not imperil your boat. I believe you are reasonably safe, captain."
