While the boats load at the Supenaam Stelling, some of the operators and bowmen await their turn by playing cards under one of the sheds overlooking the water. They are occasionally joined by taxi drivers who are awaiting the boats. As the boats dock, taxi drivers shout out to passengers, asking where they are going as they, too, ply their trade. Overseeing it all is Colin Roberts, 61, who is the monitor at the stelling and is responsible for ensuring order is maintained in the operations of the speedboats that ply the Supenaam to Parika route on a daily basis. As a boat arrives or departs, Roberts can be seen at a desk making notes. “If it weren’t for us monitors on the wharves at Supenaam and Parika, there would be chaos and confusion as speedboat operators would be fighting for passengers as used to happen in the past when there was no system in place,” said Roberts during a recent interview at the Supenaam Stelling, in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
