Percy Sweetnam was involved in the raising of the Oranjestad propeller, with Andre Loonstra, Dick de Bruin and Toine van der Klooster!

The Oranjestad propellor is today the focal point of a park in town, next to Boy Ecury Plein. The propeller is from the Oranjestad, the ship hit by a German U-boat in the San Nicholas harbor in 1942. It was found and raised by Percy Sweetman, in 2009, from 225 feet — it weighs 4000lbs.

The propellor was submerged for 67 years.

We are looking for contact information on Percy Sweetnam, for a man in St. Lucia, Nicholas Devaux, read what’s next:

Dear Bati Bleki

I hope this finds you well.  My name is Nick Devaux from St. Lucia, and I came across your post concerning the propeller monument in Aruba

https://batibleki.wheninaruba.com/about-a-park-and-a-party/

Here in St Lucia we have a propeller from a ship torpedoed in March 1942 that was recovered in 2017.  Sadly it sits rusting away and, like Mr Sweetnam, I am determined to have it preserved for all it represents…not just the approximately 30 persons who died during the attack, but also the thousands who died in the Caribbean during WWII.  It is a truly fascinating story that we in the Caribbean do not appreciate.

The woman seated in the photo is the daughter of a (then) 5 year old passenger who was aboard the Lady Nelson on the night the ship was torpedoed in Castries, along with another ship called Umtata.

https://thelogbookproject.com/catherine-martindale/

I’m actually producing a documentary about it called Oil and Ice Cream and i hope to visit Aruba as part of my research.

In any event I have been trying unsuccessfully to contact Mr, Sweetnam and I wondered if you might be able to assist me?

I would be so grateful to hear from you.  Thanks for the great work you do with Bati Bleki, I wish you every success.

Regards

Nick

Nicholas Devaux

Founder & CEO

Cell: 758 285 8435

And this is the link to the entire story:  https://www.lago-colony.com/PROPELLOR/COMPLETEBOOKINPDF/BOOK_THE_PROPELLER_2_COLOR.pdf

Aruba Marine Mammal Foundation broke the sad news to us that the dolphin we were hoping to rehabilitate, passed away, in the water, floated gently by volunteers until his heart stopped, at about 11:35pm, on a Tuesday night.

A large community rallies around the ailing mammal, suffering from a mysterious condition, for a mix of emotional, social, cultural, and psychological reasons. One of my friends put it in simple words, with all that is going on in the world, we were hoping to at least get some good news and fix at least one thing that was broken.

Alas, mother nature worked in mysterious ways, and while many were hoping the dolphin would improve, for unknown reason he did not. We understand an autopsy is being performed.

While here, the dolphin became Charlie, a dear innocent being, in need of our protection. He became a focal point of interest for locals and visitors, representing the best values of both communities, care, compassion, environmental stewardship, unity, empathy, voluntarism, hope, agency as in yes, we can, we are not powerless, and as CEDE Aruba puts it, the idea of doing good, and feeling good is irresistible.

Helping in a meaningful way is immediately rewarding. Moreover, we all agreed on the absolute need to rescue the dolphin, so no conflict, no discussion, no push-back, no opposition, at least not in the first 10 days.

Had this rescue operation gone longer, we would have heard voices in our community advocation, let nature do its thing!

But while it was going on, we saw people put their lives on hold, to contribute under tough conditions, sacrificing sleep, suffering sunburns, irritated skin, and rashes, enduring chilly waters and an extremely hot sun. This was a shared noble cause and the community rose to the challenge. The dolphin did not make it, but many friendships were forged, and Aruba proved to be an island with a big heart.

But then we knew that already.

I visited livingsoilaruba.com, the blog section, From the Field, and found Rose Barros and excellent writer. She is not just a writer; she is a certified teacher in Syntropic Agroforestry. With former Minister of Nature Ursell Arends and Santa Rosa, she turned barren school yards into food forests, also collaborating with CEDE Aruba and the University of Aruba.

She changed my views on a few things and made me a follower.

Visit her website if you are interested in food security, and in local agriculture, and you should be, because as consumers, we could have a greater variety of home-grown fruits and vegetables, reasonably priced, if farmers, governments, and communities work together.

Following a blog I published that was full of admiration for local farmers and growers, Rose wrote to me and asked: Why does minister Geoffrey Wever post on social media and then takes it down, a few hours later?

The text that was removed read the following: Ayera mainta professionalnan di nos proyecto a duna un presentacion tecnico riba un proyecto innovativo den sector di agricultura durante un gesloten commissie vergadering den Parlamento.

Her question: Are citizens not entitled to participate?

Incidentally, the head of Aruba’s agricultural department, Nathalie Maduro, is in Sint Maarten at the DCALFA conference — a regional alliance Aruba signed, that she leads as president. The conference was built specifically to strengthen food security across the Dutch Caribbean.

Thus the minister made a presentation in parliament, but the woman in charge was missing.

What the minister presented was a business case for a new agricultural park. The presentation was held behind closed doors.

While 17 regenerative farms, on government land, are not being watered.

Not being maintained.

Just sitting there.

Meanwhile — farmers and practitioners who have been doing this work for years send emails, make phone calls, voiced their opinions, and get no response.

And now a high-tech tomato park, presented without the people who grow, is decided upon without the public who is destined to consume the product.

The question on farmers’ minds: Minister Wever, what is your actual plan? Not the business case. Not the press release. The plan — for the farmers already on the land, for the knowledge already here, for all the farmers waiting.

And do not get them wrong. Food security must be a priority. No argument here.

But there is a difference between local food production and food sovereignty. A high-tech greenhouse produces locally — but it depends on imported technology, imported knowledge, imported energy to run the operation. The moment any part of that chain breaks, you go back to zero.

Real food security means systems that become more resilient over time. That need less, not more. That any farmer can understand, maintain, and build on — without a project manager or a loan.

That knowledge exists here. It has existed here for years.

The question was never whether to grow our own food. The question is — who controls the system that grows it?

It should be the local farmers, not the government, not the foreign investor.

The mondi is drying out. Local farmers are bled to death, financially speaking.

From the website: Living Soil Aruba promotes syntropic agriculture to restore ecosystems, communities, and implement sustainable food forests across aruba

Chef Robert is not new to the island. I met him several years ago when he was invited as celebrity chef to cook in the kitchen of Tierra del Sol’s clubhouse. He shouldered the responsibility during Christmas and New Year and gave many local and visiting patrons a taste of his artistry.

The chef is back in Aruba, check out his Instagram at: @cca_chef

AfternoonsWithRobert

There are also some interesting YouTube interviews online from the time Robert served as personal chef in the movie industry, especially to stars who needed to lose weight fast, and become ripped for superhero roles. He worked on the set of the fondly remembered 90210 hit series, and is proud of including Al Pacino, Leonardo DeCaprio, and supermodel Gisele, as well as several U.S. presidents, in the list of his former clients.

In the case of Spiderman Tobey Maguire, chef Robert had a special soup recipe, made with quality greens that would flush the pounds off his bones, accentuating muscle, which helped launch the actor’s career.

I am living to get my hands on that magical recipe.

But meanwhile Robert is busy making gorgeous dishes around vacation rentals on the island. In his leisure he is germinating avocado and pineapple on his kitchen windowsills, growing tomatoes and herbs in the garden, and making sinful food, in collaboration with his buddy, supreme pastry chef John Lejuez, Artisanal Pastry, Metro Mall.

Robert promised to cook for my friends one evening… I am waiting. I guess he is busy.

Should you want to book him. Message him on Instagram. WhatsApp +1 310 633 1477 and add me to the list of invitees.

I saw it advertised and dropped in to check it out, Saturday, 10am to 2pm.

The market is small but packed with great quality and value. The most prominent stand, Nos Cunuku, the Land Farm with Ari Lichtenstein. He sells local cucumbers, glossy, smooth skin cucumbers, giant okra, Spinach, Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, Asian eggplants, and string beans at Awg 5 a bag.

I asked him how he manages to sell it so cheaply, and he said it was his wish to make it affordable for the people on this island and besides, the produce got picked that morning, without a middleman, and the consumer benefits from freshness AND direct delivery.

Ari, if you recall started the Land Fam not far from the Arikok Park in 2009, with 12 greenhouses, on 50.000 square meters. It was his own investment, and the sweat of his brow. I was in love with his smooth skin, mini cucumbers, available at the time in just a few supermarkets. I bought his veggies regularly.

Ari went on to do the impossible, for 17 years, grow fresh produce here until 2019, until the rising cost of labor and water took him out of business.

He blames the government for denying water permits and points out that food security is not given the same attention here, as it does in the Netherlands, where it is a major priority. He sees himself as a farmer, not a businessman and as such, he expected the government to be more supportive towards the Cunukeros.

(Ari was part of the Comision Pro Cunukero in 2022, and the United Farmers Aruba Association, UFA. In 2024, but I believe the organization experienced a split, resulting in two Farmers’ Markets, one at Santa Rosa, now weekly, and one at Centro di Bario Playa Pabao.)

Fortunately, Ari gave agriculture another try in 2022, trying to bring the farm back to operation, and since May 2026, he is fully operational and you may find his delicious veggies at Nos Tera market, on Saturdays, and once a month in San Nicolas.

Other vendor at Nos Tera offer a variety of quality products and I could not stop shopping.

Coco, Banana & Carrot cakes, Sopi Carni, Ginger Juice, as well as many others, Artisanal honey, Smach Sourdough bread and specialty buns, Nathy Jay’s Kimchi and Kimchi Hummus, cookies made with turmeric, part of a local a school project, Naughty Hots, pineapple pica and pickled onions…

Another story: One of Ari’s biggest sellers is a small box filled with gorgeous small peppers he called chilis.

I took offense.

These were not chilis, these were Piment Zozoi, pee-mahn-zwah-zoh, famed Caribbean Bird Peppers known for their moderate heat and fantastic flavor.

Bird Pepper? The shiny red beauties are a favorite snack among Caribbean birds who eat the peppers, then excrete them everywhere, in droppings.

I first met the peppers in Haiti, where my mother-in-law had a pepper-filled beautiful bush, growing at the entrance of the outdoor kitchen. It was incorporated in all dishes, to intensify the culinary experience with a spicy kick.

Overtime, peppers became scarce in Haiti, due to one too many hurricane seasons that wiped out the plants, and my brother-in-law took it upon himself to scour the country in search of seeds, for a seed bank. He was determined to create a small bird pepper plantation, answering the demand in the market.

I remember large round rattan trays of bird pepper seeds drying in the sun in the family’s courtyard. The future looked bright. He collected enough seed, to make a modest comeback.

As the pepper plantation became a reality, another hurricane wiped it out, and we never went back to Haiti.