C A R I B B E A N On-line C MPASS JULY 2011 NO. 190 The Caribbean’s Monthly Look at Sea & Shore SAILORS GET AWAY TO GUYANA See story on page 23 KAY E. GILMOUR JULY 2011 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 2 DEPARTMENTS Info & Updates ......................4 The Caribbean Sky ...............34 Business Briefs .......................7 Book Reviews ........................35 Eco-News .............................. 11 Cooking with Cruisers ..........36 Regatta News........................ 12 Readers’ Forum .....................37 Meridian Passage .................22 What’s on My Mind ............... 40 Sailor’s Horoscope ................ 32 Calendar of Events ...............41 The Caribbean’s Monthly Look at Sea & Shore Cruising Crossword ............... 32 Caribbean Market Place .....42 www.caribbeancompass.com Island Poets ...........................33 Classified Ads ....................... 46 Dolly’s Deep Secrets ............33 Advertisers’ Index .................46 JULY 2011 • NUMBER 190 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 (0) 696 93 26 38 SEWLAL Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. [email protected] Tel: (784) 457-3409, Fax: (784) 457-3410 Puerto Rico: Ad Sales - Ellen Birrell [email protected] 787-504-5163, [email protected] HARNEY www.caribbeancompass.com Distribution - Sunbay Marina, Fajardo Olga Diaz de Peréz Editor...........................................Sally Erdle Tel: (787) 863 0313 Fax: (787) 863 5282 [email protected] [email protected] Assistant Editor...................Elaine Ollivierre St. Lucia: Ad Sales & Distribution - Maurice Moffat [email protected] Tel: (758) 452 0147 Cell: (758) 720 8432. Advertising & Distribution........Tom Hopman [email protected] [email protected] St. Maarten/St. Barths/Guadeloupe: Art, Design & Production......Wilfred Dederer Ad Sales - Stéphane Legendre Mob: + 590 690 760 100 What’s the Problem? [email protected] [email protected] The Caribbean yachting industry.. 15 Accounting............................Shellese Graigg Distribution - Eric Bendahan [email protected] Tel: (599) 553 3850, [email protected] St. Thomas/USVI: Ad Sales - Ellen Birrell Compass Agents by Island: 787-504-5163, [email protected] Fun and Tasty Antigua: Ad Sales & Distribution - Lucy Tulloch Distribution - Bryan Lezama Tel (268) 720-6868 Tel: (340) 774 7931, [email protected] Eye on Anguilla .........................18 [email protected] St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Barbados: Distribution - Doyle Sails Distribution - Doc Leslie Tel: (784) 529-0970 Tel/Fax: (246) 423-4600 Tortola/BVI: Ad Sales - Ellen Birrell BURR Curaçao: Distribution - Budget Marine Curaçao 787-504-5163, [email protected] [email protected] Tel: (5999) 462 77 33 Distribution - Gladys Jones JULY 2011 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 3 Dominica: Distribution - Hubert J. Winston Tel: (284) 494-2830, Fax: (284) 494-1584 Dominica Marine Center, Tel: (767) 448-2705, Trinidad: Ad Sales & Distribution - Chris Bissondath, [email protected] Tel: (868) 222-1011, Cell: (868) 347-4890, Grenada/Carriacou/Petite Martinique: [email protected] Ad Sales & Distribution - Karen Maaroufi Venezuela: Ad Sales & Distribution - Patty Tomasik Cell: (473) 457-2151 Office: (473) 444-3222 Tel: (58-281) 265-3844 Tel/Fax: (58-281) 265-2448 [email protected] [email protected] Inagua — Great! Caribbean Compass welcomes submissions of short articles, news items, photos and drawings. A salty Bahamian island............22 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. ©2011 Compass Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication, except Mystery Cruise Tank U short excerpts for review purposes, may be made without written permission of Compass Publishing Ltd. Guess where.............................20 Holding tank for dummies.........31 ISSN 1605 - 1998 Cover photo: Veteran traveler Kay E. Gilmour’s portrait of the 251-metre (822-foot) Kaieteur Falls, one of Guyana’s major attractions 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. We truly enjoy the Compass for each of the six months we are in the area each year. It is entertaining and a great resource for all the cruising community. We also frequently do business with your advertisers — this is the way a publication should work, meeting the needs of all stakeholders. Great job and thanks! — Bill Bouchard S/V Dolce Vita 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 American country aims to develop its nautical tourism industry to bring more tourists to its Caribbean coast. A joint forum between public and private entities in the field was held in March in the popular tourism and yachting destination of Santa Marta with the aim of includ- ing the Colombian coast in cruising routes between the Caribbean islands, Central and South America. The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Sergio Diaz- Granados, presented policies that his agency has designed for businesses in this sec- tor, which seek to make nautical tourism endeavors both attractive and profitable. Info There are approximately two million pleasure boats in the Caribbean Sea each year, said Diaz-Granados. He estimated that more than US$1 billion would be need- & Updates ed to develop the industry in Colombia with ten marinas and other tourism services. Welcome St. Maarten’s New MTA Board! On May 26th the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association had its annual general meeting and elections. The new board consists of President Brian Deher (IGY); Vice Colombia Aims to Develop Yachting In 2007 the Government of Colombia hosted the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s General Assembly with more than a hundred ministers of tourism and a thousand participants from around the world gathering in Cartagena de Indias. Now, Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism reports that this South CONSTANCE ELSON The St. Maarten Marine Trades Association’s new board: from left to right, Valeska Luckert, Kass Johnson, Lorraine Talmi and Brian Deher President Kass Johnson (Dockside Management); Treasurer Lorraine Talmi (The Wired Sailor); Secretary Valeska Luckert (Palapa Marina); and members Patrick Barrett Colombian yacht-tourism interests met in the newly popular cruising destination of (Yacht Club Port De Plaissance); Michael Ferrier (Napa); Robbie Ferron (Budget Santa Marta to discuss developing the industry along this country’s Caribbean coast Marine); Mark Mingo (Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority) and Garth Steyn (Aqua Mania). —Continued on next page JULY 2011 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 4 — Continued from previous page capital, St. George’s. These solar-powered lampposts complement the ambiance Small Vessel Reporting System for Puerto Rico and USVI and natural aesthetics of the Carenage, and also give an additional sense of securi- On May 25th, the US Customs and Border Protection announced the availability of ty to anyone enjoying an evening walk along the harbour. However, boaters are the Small Vessel Reporting System in areas including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin reminded that these lampposts are not to be used for tying up dinghies or other ves- Islands. The online reporting tool is a voluntary program and will expedite the entry sels. The Grenada Board of Tourism would like to encourage everyone to preserve process for participating boaters coming back into US waters. The system is open to the integrity and beauty of this unique waterfront. US citizens and permanent residents, and Canadian citizens. “The Small Vessel Reporting System allows boaters to pre-register with [Customs] in Eight Bells order to obtain an expedited clearance upon arrival in the US,” executive director JOE RUSSELL John Wagner said. “The [system] makes the reporting process easier and faster.” Patsy Bolling reports: Sailing writer Joe Russell died of cancer in April in California. Once enrolled, boat owners file a small vessel reporting float plan prior to their Joe was a bluewater sailor, Caribbean charter skipper, and author of cruising departure from the United States if the trip begins there or prior to their entry into guides, articles for Cruising World magazine, and the book The Last Schoonerman. that country if the trip begins elsewhere. MALCOLM MAIDWELL Upon arrival in US waters, boat masters can then call Customs at the closest port The CSA Newsletter reports: Relatives and friends of Malcolm Maidwell are mourn- of entry with the float plan identification number they received when the plan was ing their loss as he passed away at age 73 on May 7th. He was born in 1938 and filed, answer a few Customs questions and receive clearance to enter the country. came to St. Maarten in 1968 from Grenada where he