Kate Debuts at St. Martin Classic on Page 14 — See Story CHRIS DOYLE MARCH 2007 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 2 MARCH 2007 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 3
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On-line MARCH 2007 NO. 138 The Caribbean’s Monthly Look at Sea & Shore Kate Debuts at St. Martin Classic — see story on page 14 CHRIS DOYLE MARCH 2007 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 2 Info& Updates St. Croix’s Canine Crew And in more silliness, the Krewe de Barkus Dog Parade held on the Christiansted The Caribbean’s Monthly Look at Sea & Shore Boardwalk on January 27 marked the beginning of Mardi Croix, St. Croix’s unique www.caribbeancompass.com ELLEN SANPERE MARCH 2007 • NUMBER 138 Dinghy Thingy Ditch those davits!.................26 ROTTEVEEL JOOKE ROBBINS/NOAA Safer the Whales Sister sanctuaries set up.........8 St. Kitts a Hit Cruisers say ‘don’t miss it’.....16 annual carnival. Sail in next year and let your boat dog join the fun! For more information visit www.stcroixhappenings.com. MARCH 2007 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 3 Whimsical Redondan Tradition Continues On January 6th there was a unique celebration at the Mad Mongoose Bar & Restaurant in Falmouth, Antigua — the King of Redonda’s 2007 New Year’s Honours List. The king of where? A hundred and twenty-six years ago, after eight baby girls in a row, Matthew Dowdy Shiell, a successful trader from Montserrat, was overjoyed to have a son. An idea crossed his mind a few days later when he sailed past the tiny uninhabited Tip Top Tour island of Redonda on a trading voyage. It was to try to have his new son crowned Angel Falls is it......................28 the first King of Redonda. There was only one hitch — the island belonged to Great Britain. Undaunted, Shiell began to bombard officials in London to grant him his wish. For months his bombardment met with silence. Then a letter arrived from the Captain Utz New Crew Blues Foreign Office saying that if the boy “behaved himself” he could become the King A real man of the sea ............22 Sailing with strangers............34 of Redonda at age 15. The Kingdom is still recognised by the British Government and the Colonial Office. When the lad reached 15, a small group set sail to Redonda, where the Bishop of DEPARTMENTS Antigua, Dr. Hugh Semper, performed a ceremony on a stony beach and the Kingdom began. The newly crowned king went to study in England and eventually Business Briefs........................7 Cruising Crossword ...............37 became a writer with over 30 novels to his credit. There have been four Kings of (still uninhabited) Redonda since 1880, with the first Meridian Passage .................10 Cruising Kids’ Corner ............38 “ruling” for 47 years. The present king, Bob “Robert the Bald” Williamson, was Regatta News ........................11 Dolly’s Deep Secrets.............38 crowned in 1998 and lives in Falmouth near his square-rigged topsail schooner St. Peter which has appeared in all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Different Boats .......................15 Book Reviews ........................40 —Continued on next page Destinations ...........................16 Cooking with Cruisers...........42 Product Postings....................24 Readers’ Forum .....................47 All Ashore...............................28 Classified Ads........................52 Sailors’ Horoscope ................36 Advertisers’ Index .................52 Dear Compass, Island Poets ...........................36 Calendar................................54 Caribbean Compass is published monthly by The Compass Compass Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 175 BQ, Grenada/Carriacou/Petite Martinique: Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Ad Sales & Distribution - Bob and Judi Goodchild is our connection Tel: (784) 457-3409, Fax: (784) 457-3410, Tel: (473) 443-5784, [email protected] [email protected] Guadeloupe: Ad Sales & Distribution Stéphane Legendre www.caribbeancompass.com Tel/Fax: + 590 (0) 5 90 84 53 10 Mob: + 590 (0) 6 90 49 45 90 to our second and most [email protected] Editor...........................................Sally Erdle [email protected] Martinique: Ad Sales & Distribution - Isabelle Prado favorite home! 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Winston, Venezuela: Ad Sales & Distribution - Patty Tomasik NOW AVAILABLE! Dominica Marine Center, 24 Victoria Street, Roseau, Tel: (58-281) 265-3844 Tel/Fax: (58-281) 265-2448, Tel: (767) 448-2705, [email protected] [email protected] Caribbean Compass welcomes submissions of short articles, news items, photos and drawings. See Writers’ Guidelines at www.caribbeancompass.com. Send submissions to [email protected]. We support free speech! But the content of advertisements, columns, articles and letters to the editor are the For full details visit: sole responsibility of the advertiser, writer or correspondent, and Compass Publishing Ltd. accepts no responsibility for any statements made therein. Letters and submissions may be edited for length and clarity. Compass Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for delayed distribution or printing quality as these services are www.caribbeancompass.com supplied by other companies. ©2007 Compass Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication, except short excerpts for review purposes, may be made without written permission of Compass Publishing Ltd. ISSN 1605 - 1998 —Continued from previous page The only criterion to become King of Redonda is that each must be a writer. Bob GRENADINES has had eight books published and over 2,000 stories and articles. In January, several law-abiding “citizens” — and even some sailors — received titles honouring their alleged contributions to the whimsical Kingdom at the new head- quarters of the Royal Redonda Yacht Club. The Major Domo of the Royal Flagship SAILS & CANVAS St. Peter, Errol Foster “Roachy” Joseph, made his way through the throng thumping the schooner’s stern flagstaff on the floor and shouting “Pray silence for de King”. He enjoyed it so much he was difficult to stop. One of the first to be invested was BEQUIA Simon Pettet, who was made a Brigadier in the new regiment of Royal Redonda Marines. Claire Grace, the driving force behind a new marina down island, was Come in and see us for all your SAILS & CANVAS needs made a Dame of the Kingdom. Connie Kirkpatrick, the proprietress of the Mad Mongoose, received her Ladyship, leaving His Majesty with hopes of having more including CUSTOM-MADE stainless steel free slices of her chocolate cake. BIMINI & DODGER frames at competitive prices Time to Head for the Hills? According to recent reports from the Tierramérica news service (produced with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Located opposite G.Y.E. Environment Programme), many beaches and other low-lying coastal areas in the Caribbean and throughout the world could disappear under the sea within this century. (northern side of Admiralty Bay) The continued rise in the Earth’s average temperatures, says the Fourth Assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), presented Tel (784) 457-3507 / 457-3527 (evenings) February 2nd in Paris, could reach a 4°C increase by 2100. Global warming, pro- e-mail: [email protected] VHF Ch16/68 duced by emissions of gases that cause the greenhouse effect in the Earth’s atmos- phere, is making sea levels rise as polar ice melts, as well as intensifying storms and hurricanes, with stronger winds and heavier rains, taking a heavy toll on humans and the natural environment. Furthermore, the increases in temperature and acidity of sea water, also caused by greenhouse gases, are destroying coral reefs, and BEQUIA BEACHFRONT VILLAS with them, the basis of the region’s marine biodiversity. a Fort Recovery Resort According to the IPCC assessment, in this century the sea level could rise up to 43 centimetres (almost one-and-a-half feet) as a result of climate change. Featured Architectural Beaches are natural buffers, and their disappearance makes land more vulnerable Design & the only AAA to storm surges, amplifying the effect of more intense hurricanes. “The temperature approved property on of the oceans is the most important factor in the formation of a hurricane.