My Father, the Captain

Today we examine the book “My Father, the Captain”. Author Jean Ferdinand Tannis takes a look back at the life of her father Alfred and his brother Isaac with pride. Known as “the captain” throughout the Caribbean and South and Central America, the way Alfred and his brother lived remains a source of inspiration for the entire Tannis family.

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Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

Today we’re going to open the book “My Father, the Captain” by Jean Ferdinand Tannis. The story takes place on the tiny island of Bequia (Beck-way) – it’s about seven square miles and it’s located in the Caribbean just north of Venezuela near the Island of Saint Vincent in the Eastern Caribbean. The nation is made up of several small islands that are known as the Grenadines. Bequia (Back-Way) is the second largest of the islands and it is from Bequia Island that the Tannis family originated.

Jean originally wrote this book to help trace the roots of the Tannis family, to leave an accurate and true history but it became quite a bit more. She takes a look back at the fascinating life of her father Alfred, and as his younger brother, Isaac. Two men you probably haven’t heard of before this, even though they made significant contributions to history.

Jean Ferdinand Tannis – I’ve been quite dissatisfied that they have not been honored and I think they should have posthumous awards because what they have done has been overlooked and should not have been and this is the reason I wrote this book with such passion.

And there is plenty of passion in the telling of this story. Her dissatisfaction with the lack of family history was a strong motivator but this is a tale of universal appeal and I need to say, telling the story of important people overlooked in history is not only a matter of justice but it’s a way of enriching our understanding of the past; of fostering inclusivity, and it should serve as an inspiration to present and future generations.

So Jean in her book Jean tells the story of the visionary Shipbuilder, Alfred George Tannis who not only built a fortune from some very humble beginnings but he contributed greatly to the success of the Eastern Caribbean during and after World War II.

Jean Ferdinand Tannis – You know looking back, it’s very exciting because he was a determined man. He built the ship himself. As a child I would go dowe to the shipyard and see everything, how they built the ship, carving the hull of the ship, everything. As a little girl I went down there, played with the ship, played with the tools and saw how the ship was built and how it wet right up to the top. He was a very, very, brave man and courageous man but in spite of all that he made he remained a humble man.

That is Jean Ferdinand Tannis and she’s talking about his first ship, the “Amanda T” Don’t you just love those visuals. I was imagining playing pirates on the beach, fighting over buried treasure and sailing to other exotic lands. I suspect my friends and I would also get into a bit more trouble than our father would have liked. Well…pardon me for digressing a bit there. This was a time in history when there weren’t a lot of choices when it came to transportation.

Jean Ferdinand Tannis – To get from one island to the other they had to have a deep vision to see that’s the only means of transport and between both brothers they develop an accomplishment.

Yes, and it was a huge accomplishment. They eventually had several ships and we’re not talking about row boats. These were tall multi-masted Schooners doing important work during WWII….more on that in a minute.

Speaking of visuals, let me share one of my favorites from the book as the Amanda-T was finally ready to set sail.

“On this amazing day, all the males of the Tannis clan came out, along with many of the males from the island, and gathered at the ship site. At the same time, the women were cooking, baking, and singing about the upcoming launch. It was a festive period. Then a man or two climbed onto the ship with a bottle of wine, strapped it to the bow of the ship, and prayed, asking God’s blessing for a safe launch and continued safety for the voyages of the ship and its crew. Then they broke the bottle of wine and pronounced, “I name this ship the Amanda T. God bless all who sail in you.”

Then men and women went on opposite sides of the ship, approximately twelve on each side, with axes. They cut down the wooden pillars that had held up the ship as it was being built. Some took hold of long pieces of lumber and others held pieces of rope that were professionally strapped to the ship for the purpose of launching.

As a Shanti woman began to sing in a loud melodious voice, “Today we Are going to launch this ship,” the men and women on the ropes strapped to the ship responded by pulling and singing, “Go are we go.”

The keel of the ship, which was sitting on wooden rollers made from the trunks of large trees, began to slide towards the sea. They did this for hours or sometimes days. There was so much excitement experienced during these festive moments in time, and my father supervised each launching process, making sure the keels of the ships did not slip off the rollers and land in the sand.”

Jean Ferdinand Tannis – These ships did all the trade in the islands, around the islands. The story goes into my father who was an ordinary man with a very big vision and later on in life this turned out that he was able to help during the World War to do a great job.

Yes, the Carpe-Diem moment in our tale was when Queen Elizabeth wanted all British ships used in the war to have steel hulls which created an opportunity for her father, not being in the war, he could use his ship to transport oil.

Jean Ferdinand Tannis – While the other steel hull ships had gone to be at war it left a void and the oil from the island of Trinidad where they extracted the crude oil. There was nowhere and no ship to transport it to Guyana, British Guyana where they did the distilling of the oil and my father saw the opportunity and he used his ship and introduced it to the people who accepted it and so did many others of the other ship builders but since my father more or less started it he was the one that more or less got the recognition mainly.

Hopefully you were able to get all that. Our connection wasn’t that good. As human beings we set our own limits and when travel by sea is the only means of transportation you either rise to the occasion or live content in your surroundings. Alfred and Isaac were not only driven to travel by sea, they were driven to make a difference in the world; to live for something; to have a purpose. To seize the moment when opportunity comes knocking. A very brave thing to do at the time.

Jean Ferdinand Tannis – The sea is a dangerous place. It is a friendly place. If you ever get the opportunity to go to the islands, the Grenadines, do go there because it’s a place where everybody goes yachting; but the sea is a friendly place and it’s a dangerous place. Depends on how you treat it. If you respect it or you just take it for granted we will earn to respect the land and the sea.

Perhaps one day I will sail my yacht in the Grenadines, you never know.

If you enjoy ordinary people doing extraordinary things then you will definitely enjoy this one. It has elements of man vs man and man vs. nature and it is not just historical but it’s also suspenseful. Imagine you’re at sea during a storm. You need to take shelter and you also realize that there are 600 barrels of crude oil in the hull of your ship, and a raging fire in the galley.

Jean Ferdinand Tannis – Read the rest of the story and you would know why I finish my book by saying, disappointment is inevitable but discouragement is a choice. No matter how disappointed you get, never get discouraged because we have a God. In disappointment, in any situation you are, you must hold on to the hand of God like my father held on to the wheel of that ship that day.

If there was ever a time to look to the heavens it had to be that one. The book is called My Father, the Captain by Jean Ferdinand Tannis. The story of two brothers from poor and humble backgrounds who, with vision and determination, became wealthy men – but never forgot their roots. It is available now wherever you like to shop for books online. We’ve put a link to Amazon and Barnes and Noble in the show’s description for you. And that will do it for this edition of Newsgram from Webtalkradio.com.

Jean was recently featured on the Book on Air podcast with Suzanne Harris. Take a listen to her interview to learn more about her family and her book. 

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