It was quite fitting that famous sailor, adventurer and holder of this country's highest award, Harold La Borde, made his last voyage on the seas from Grenada to T&T.
His body, sealed in a casket, sailed on the 55-foot Hummingbird III for the last time with sons, Pierre and Andre.
La Borde would have celebrated his 83rd birthday yesterday. He died in Grenada last Sunday when he slipped and fell.
Dozens of family and friends showed up at the T&T Coast Guard headquarters in Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas, from as early as 7.30 am, among them his 86-year-old brother, Rudy, and his eldest nephew, 73-year-old Maldan Pantin.
According to Pantin, his grandfather, La Borde’s father, Charles Harold La Borde, worked as a typesetter at the Trinidad Guardian.
Pantin said he remembered when La Borde built his first boat when he lived at St Francois Valley Road.
“It was called Revenge. That was the first time he sailed to Grenada with it. It took him days and they thought he was lost at sea.”
Yesterday, La Borde’s widow, 83-year-old Kwailan, arrived in a Coast Guard vehicle around 8.30 am and greeted relatives while smiling and chatting.
The couple was married for 59 years. They made their maiden voyage in 1960 to England in a 26-foot vessel called the Hummingbird.
Their historic voyage around the world started on February 2, 1969, in a 40-foot ketch (sailing craft with two masts) Hummingbird II.
Alert and agile, Kwailan hugged Father Thomas Lawson and her best friend, Sister Regina, of the St Francis parish.
Spotting the Hummingbird III from a distance, a boat which her husband built and designed for his second circumnavigation of the world from 1984 to 1986, Kwailan held on to Lawson and said, “Father, look the Hummingbird there.”
Pierre captained the Hummingbird III which was accompanied by a fleet of sailboats.
The flotilla was led by a T&T Coast Guard vessel and was organised as a mark of respect for La Borde and his phenomenal sailing record in this country.
A small group including Kwailan, Lawson, Rear Admiral Richard Kelshall, and relatives received the body when the boat docked. It was then escorted from the jetty by coast guards and loaded on to a waiting hearse which took it to the funeral home, RM de Souza Memorial Chapel. At the hearse, Kwailan held back her tears.
The casket was draped with fabric and a print of the ocean at sunset.
Niece, Marcia La Borde, former communications specialist, told the media that Kwailan had been strong with good friends at her side.
“We were looking forward to him returning from his holiday in Grenada and to commemorate his birthday today (yesterday) but while it is a sad occasion, we are also happy he was able to return to his homeland on his birthday,” she said.
She added that her uncle was a “reticent individual” who did not like the public glare.
She said he was happiest when he was on his yacht out at sea and with his books.
La Borde wrote three books—An Ocean to Ourselves (1962); All Oceans Blue (1977); and Lonely Oceans South (1987).
His funeral will be held on Thursday at the St Finbar’s RC Church in Diego Martin at 10.30 am.