C A R I B B E A N On-line C MPASS MARCH 2012 NO. 198 TheThe Caribbean’sC Monthly Look at Sea & Shore GRENADA SAILING FESTIVAL 2012 – see story page 17 BOB GRIESER MARCH 2012 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 2 DEPARTMENTS Info & Updates ......................4 Island Poets ...........................42 Business Briefs .......................8 The Caribbean Sky ...............43 Eco-News .............................. 15 Cooking with Cruisers ..........45 Regatta News........................ 18 Readers’ Forum .....................46 Meridian Passage .................33 What’s On My Mind ..............48 Time Capsule ........................37 Calendar of Events ...............49 The Caribbean’s Monthly Look at Sea & Shore Caribbean Voyaging ...........38 Caribbean Market Place .....50 www.caribbeancompass.com Book Review ......................... 41 Classified Ads ....................... 54 Sailor’s Horoscope ................ 42 Advertisers’ Index .................54 MARCH 2012 • NUMBER 198 Caribbean Compass is published monthly by Martinique: Ad Sales & Distribution - Isabelle Prado Compass Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 175 BQ, Tel: (0596) 596 68 69 71, Mob: + 596 696 74 77 01 Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. [email protected] Tel: (784) 457-3409, Fax: (784) 457-3410 Puerto Rico: Ad Sales - Ellen Birrell Go West! [email protected] (787) 219 4918, [email protected] Downwind BVI to Boquerón .........30 www.caribbeancompass.com Distribution - Sunbay Marina, Fajardo Olga Diaz de Peréz, Tel: (787) 863 0313 Fax: (787) 863 5282 Editor...........................................Sally Erdle [email protected] [email protected] St. Lucia: Ad Sales & Distribution - Maurice Moffat Assistant Editor...................Elaine Ollivierre Tel: (758) 452 0147 Cell: (758) 720 8432. 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[email protected] Distribution - Bryan Lezama Record-Busting Round Barbados .16 Compass Agents by Island: Tel: (340) 774 7931, [email protected] Antigua: Ad Sales & Distribution - Lucy Tulloch St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Tel (268) 720-6868 Ad Sales - Shellese Craigg [email protected] [email protected] Tel: (784) 457 3409 Think Green Distribution - Doc Leslie Tel: (784) 529-0970 Barbados: Distribution - Doyle Sails Antigua’s Green Island, that is ....26 Tel/Fax: (246) 423-4600 Tortola/BVI: Ad Sales - Ellen Birrell (787) 219-4918, [email protected] MARCH 2012 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 3 Curaçao: Distribution - Budget Marine Curaçao Distribution - Gladys Jones [email protected] Tel: (5999) 462 77 33 Tel: (284) 494-2830, Fax: (284) 494-1584 Dominica: Ad Sales & Distribution - Hubert J. Winston Trinidad; Sales & Distribution Dominica Marine Center, Tel: (767) 448-2705, Boaters' Enterprise Ltd, Tel/Fax: (868) 622-6580 [email protected] [email protected] Grenada/Carriacou/Petite Martinique: Venezuela: Ad Sales & Distribution - Patty Tomasik Ad Sales & Distribution - Karen Maaroufi Tel: (58-281) 265-3844 Tel/Fax: (58-281) 265-2448 Cell: (473) 457-2151 Office: (473) 444-3222 [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 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. High There Newbie No More ©2012 Compass Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication, except Spectacular southern St. Lucia ....28 A cruiser’s learning curve ............34 short excerpts for review purposes, may be made without written permission of Compass Publishing Ltd. ISSN 1605 - 1998 On the cover, Jaguar and Tanga Langa driving for the mark in Cruising Class 1. Photo by Bob Grieser for Grenada Sailing Festival Compass covers the Caribbean! From Cuba to Trinidad, from Panama to Barbuda, we’ve got the news and views that sailors can use. We’re the Caribbean’s monthly look at sea and shore. “I’ve really gotten pleasure from the Compass since I’ve been cruising down here. Good sailing!” Will Gibson Narrow Escape Click Google Map link below to fi nd the Caribbean Compass near you! http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=112776612439699037380.000470658db371bf3282d&ll=14.54105,-65.830078&spn=10.196461,14.0625&z=6&source=embed To those engaging in parasailing activities south of Runway 08 in Union (see photo), the department also urges you to exercise caution, as this is close to the runway’s final approach path. Similar to the above, additional risks arise in turbulent or low-vis- ibility conditions and with pilots unfamiliar with the area. For more information contact Assistant Safety Officer Shana Jones at [email protected]. New Yacht Club in Grenada Info New to Grenada is the Petite Calivigny Yacht Club (PCYC). Headquartered at Le Phare Bleu Marina on the island’s south coast, the PCYC was formed by a group of boating enthusiasts to support yachting events and watersports in Grenada. & Updates According to Jeanie Parr, who is currently serving as Commodore, the PCYC plans to offer sailors of all skill levels and age groups more opportunities to participate in water-related activities by organizing small boat races and other events in the Calivigny Bay area, and also to develop friendly camaraderie and Club awareness Avoid Low-Flying Planes! by hosting fun social activities for its members and friends. The safety department at SVG Air strongly urges operators of yachts in the To date, successful and fun-filled events organized by the Club include a Grand Grenadines to avoid the area within two miles of the runway final approach areas in Anse Beach Bar Tour, and Hobie Cat Match Races. In fact, the Hobie Cat races Union Island and Canouan. On numerous occasions marine vessels have crossed the were so popular that the Club is planning to host another exciting afternoon of rac- ing in the spring. In addition, plans are underway for a South Coast Marina Dinghy Tour, a slightly different and more water-related twist on the previously held Beach Bar Tour. So stay tuned for these, and more, upcoming Club events! The PCYC will offer a great opportunity to do a bit of sailing, meet new people, and have some good old Grenadian fun. For more information contact Jeanie Parr at [email protected]. BIG Books from Boats to Bequia On February 1st, Laure and Denis of the yacht Escapade brought four boxes of books to Bequia. The new and good-condition children’s books had been collected and packed in the US by yacht charter agent Ann-Wallis White of Annapolis, —Continued on next page final approach path, particularly of Runway 13 in Canouan, at the precise moment when aircraft are at low altitudes on final approach. This poses a problem to both aircraft and marine vessels alike, especially at night or in low-visibility conditions. MARCH 2012 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 4 — Continued from previous page Cruisers’ Site-ings Maryland in association with Books for International Goodwill (www.big-books.org). • Long-time yachtsman, chandler and Bequia resident Hodge Taylor has created a Ann-Wallis then contacted passage-making yachts willing to carry boxes of books colorful and comprehensive web album about Bequia. from the States to various islands of the Caribbean. Have a look at https://picasaweb.google.com/112362889456269132940. This most recent donation from the ongoing BIG project was gladly received by the Bequia Children’s Reading Club, hosted by Cheryl Johnson at the Fig Tree restaurant in Belmont, and by Miss Friday of the Paget Farm Government School. Transport was through the kind courtesy of Sandra Ollivierre of Challenger Taxi. Laure said, “I wish we had more room on our boat (an Alden 52 monohull) so we could have carried more books!” She said she would try to get more boats — including roomy catamarans — to help bring books to the islands next year. For more information contact Ann-Wallis at [email protected]. Yacht Captain‘s Killer Sentenced in Antigua Just over three years after Australian Captain Drew Gollan of the 163-foot Perini Navi ketch Perseus was shot and killed while resisting a robbery attempt in English Harbour in Antigua, his killer, 24-year-old Sylvester Lindsey of Potters, Antigua, was sentenced in early February to 22 years in prison. Gollan’s girlfriend, Alena Sitkova, reported to the Australian press that they had been walking home from dinner with their 21-month-old daughter when they were accosted by a man with a gun, attempting to rob them. Gollan reportedly swung with his backpack at the would-be robber, who then shot Gollan in the chest. The day after the January 22nd, 2009 incident, more than a hundred concerned members of the local business community and visiting yacht captains and crew convened to find out what the government