It's Crab Racing Season in the Caribbean

October 24, 2009 at 12:50 PM | by Victor Ozols | 2 Comments

True story: in 1979, I went on a vacation with my parents and sister to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, and our timing couldn't have been worse. The day after we landed, Hurricane Frederic began lashing the island with rain, and we spent three long, boring days playing charades in our darkened hotel room as water leaked from the ceiling. By the time the storm had passed, our vacation was over, and we made arrangements to fly back home. A rush of people doing the exact same thing, however, necessitated one more night in a hotel near the airport, and while killing time there I noticed a sign advertising crab races at a certain time and place in the hotel. My eight-year-old mind thought that nothing could be cooler than a crab race, and I insisted that we all gather to witness the spectacle. Sadly, the appointed time came and went with nary a crab in sight. The hurricane had ruined the last hope I had to have fun in St. Maarten.

A story in the Washington Post reminds me of this painful memory by introducing readers to Ted Scheer, the keeper of the racing crabs of the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. John and St. Thomas. Scheer collects the crabs at various places on the islands and organizes several kinds of races for the boozy patrons of area resorts. In the most common scenario, crabs race on a beach track made of concentric circles, starting in the center. The first crab to breech the outermost circle wins. Patrons who bet on the crabs win prizes like a day sail on a party yacht.

Another type of crab race popular in bars has the critters crawling up a two-foot wire mesh cylinder. The winner is the one whose shell makes it over the top and points downward on the "free" side of the wall. Happily for all involved, the crabs are returned to the wild after their servitude.

So after more than 30 years, I finally know what I missed on that fateful vacation. But I won't have closure until I get to witness a crab race in the flesh. I'd better start planning a ~~Virgin Islands~~ Caribbean island vacation today, to start the healing process.

[Photo: La Tortugas Villa]

Related Stories:
· Island Crab Racing: The Crawl of the Wild [The Washington Post]
· Caribbean Travel [Jaunted]

2 Comments

Return to » It's Crab Racing Season in the Caribbean

Heather Tackling Court
Jaunted Reader

crab races
you should come back to St.Maarten, there are several places here that still, 30 years later have crab races!! sometimes the islands never change, we too have "the crab man"

October 25, 2009 at 1:03 PM

#Permalink

frugalcaribbean
Jaunted Member

crab racing in Tobago
Crab racing is alive and well in Tobago - while you're there check out the goat racing too!

October 28, 2009 at 9:53 AM

#Permalink

Jaunted

Select a Destination:

Tags: Caribbean Travel / Hermit Crabs / Crab Races / Hurricane Frederic / Wild Animal Travel / → All Tags