Racing in a Workboat

"Racing in a Workboat," A Painting by Alton R. Lowe

There’s a proud history here. Dozens, if not hundreds, of these workboats from many of the Family Islands carried produce of all kinds when I was a boy. I remember once seeing some fifty of these boats at the docks in Nassau. Many of them you can see in my paintings over the years. It was a splendid sight seeing them entering the Nassau harbour and, at the end of the day, leaving in their dozens heading back home.

On holidays many of the men with these boats would race them. In my painting, you can see up close one of the workboats filled with friends and family. Once a year this kind of boat brought salt to my island from Ragged Island. Salt carried in a large woven basket would last our family for a year.

Today, like many other changes that have taken place over the years, most of these boats no longer sail the Bahamian waters. Instead, motorized boats have replaced them. Many of the Bahamian scenes I have painted, such as this one, I paint to remind all of us what a wonderful, storied history we have had the good fortune to be a part of. Here’s hoping our future will be as rich as has been our past. - Alton

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