C A R I B B E A N C MPASS FEBRUARY 2010 NO.NO. 173173 TheThe Caribbean’sC Monthly Look at Sea & Shore CRUISERS ‘GET DOWN’ IN CARRIACOU — see story on page 24 GORDON NICHOLL FEBRUARY 2010 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 2 FEBRUARY 2010 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 3 DEPARTMENTS Business Briefs .......................9 Meridian Passage .................35 Regatta News........................ 13 Book Review ......................... 35 Destinations ........................... 18 All Ashore ..............................36 Off Track with Street .............23 Readers’ Forum .....................38 Sailors’ Hikes ........................29 Doyle’s Deck View ...............41 Fun Pages.........................30, 31 Monthly Calendar ................ 42 The Caribbean’s Monthly Look at Sea & Shore Cruising Kids’ Corner ............32 Caribbean Marketplace...... 43 Dolly’s Deep Secrets ............32 Classified Ads ....................... 46 www.caribbeancompass.com The Caribbean Sky ...............33 Advertisers’ Index .................46 FEBRUARY 2010 • NUMBER 173 Caribbean Compass is published monthly by Grenada/Carriacou/Petite Martinique: CHRIS DOYLE Compass Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 175 BQ, Ad Sales & Distribution - Karen Maaroufi Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Cell: (473) 457-2151 Office: (473) 444-3222 Don’t Miss St. Kitts Tel: (784) 457-3409, Fax: (784) 457-3410 [email protected] Welcoming and interesting .... 18 [email protected] Martinique: Ad Sales & Distribution - Isabelle Prado Tel: BOSHOFF www.caribbeancompass.com (0596) 596 68 69 71, Mob: + 596 (0) 696 93 26 38 [email protected] Editor...........................................Sally Erdle [email protected] St. Lucia: Ad Sales Maurice Moffat Tel: (758) 452 0147 Cell: (758) 720 8432. Assistant Editor...................Elaine Ollivierre [email protected] [email protected] Distribution - Lisa Kessell Advertising & Distribution........Tom Hopman Tel: (758) 484-0555, [email protected] [email protected] Art, Design & Production......Wilfred Dederer St. Maarten/St. Barths/Guadeloupe: Ad Sales - Stéphane Legendre [email protected] Mob: + 590 (0) 6 90 49 45 90 Accounting.................................Debra Davis [email protected] [email protected] Distribution - Eric Bendahan Barbuda Boys Tel: (599) 553 3850, [email protected] Seeing red in the sanctuary .. 26 Compass Agents by Island: St. Thomas/USVI: Distribution - Bryan Lezama Antigua: Ad Sales & Distribution - Lucy Tulloch Tel: (340) 774 7931, [email protected] Tel (268) 720-6868 St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Ad Sales - Debra Davis, [email protected] Tel: (784) 457-3527, [email protected] Montserrat Barbados: Distribution - Doyle Sails Tortola/BVI: Distribution - Gladys Jones Tel/Fax: (246) 423-4600 Tel: (284) 494-2830, Fax: (284) 494-1584 Munchies Curaçao: Distribution - Budget Marine Curaçao Trinidad: Ad Sales & Distribution - Jack Dausend [email protected] Tel: (868) 621-0575, Cell: (868) 620-0978 Eating, Emerald Isle style ......... 3 Tel: (5999) 462 77 33 [email protected] Dominica: Distribution - Hubert J. Winston Venezuela: Ad Sales & Distribution - Patty Tomasik Dominica Marine Center, Tel: (767) 448-2705, Tel: (58-281) 265-3844 Tel/Fax: (58-281) 265-2448 [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]. San Blas Bliss We support free speech! But the content of advertisements, columns, articles and letters to the editor are the sole So much, so little… 21 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 supplied by other companies. ©2010 Compass Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication, Panama Canal Grenadines Gripe except short excerpts for review purposes, may be made without written permission of Compass Publishing Ltd. Tips from a recent transit ..... 22 Can yacht entry be eased? ....41 ISSN 1605 - 1998 Cover photo: Louise Kupka diving in Carriacou / Photo Gordon Nicholl 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. “If you really, really want to know what’s going on through- out the Caribbean that matters to cruisers — whether it’s port clearance costs, safety issues, community outreach projects, the latest in dining or rigging — this is your source. I am a devoted fan.” FEBRUARY 2010 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 4 — Elaine Lembo, Deputy Editor Cruising World 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 that is Christmas spirit from their hearts to many boats around the Rodney Bay Area. On December 22nd, 13 uniquely decorated vessels participated in what was hope- fully the first of many Carols Afloat flotillas organized by the St. Lucia Yacht Club. Craft participating ranged from ocean-going yachts that had arrived on island with the ARC, to fishing boats, to the SLYC crew on board Lucia, an Impulse 21. At dusk, the procession set off from the marina entrance for the anchorage at Pigeon Island, the crews singing along with our in-house DJ Mickey, who piped an eclectic mix of traditional carols and Caribbean vibes. The flotilla then headed back into Rodney Info Bay Lagoon for a fly-by on The Edge restaurant and the end of the parade. After tying up back at the marina, all crews converged on H20 restaurant for the prizegiving and complimentary beer courtesy of Heineken. Prizes were given to the & Updates best-decorated boat, most improvisation and best crew uniform, as well as a host of others. All prizes were donated by local companies, including Fire Grill, Delirious, The Edge, Colombian Emeralds, Café Ole, Rain Forest Sky Rides, Steel Pan Band Harmonites and Spinnakers. Special thanks go to IGY Rodney Bay Marina, which provided free berths for the night for the participating boats, and to the partici- Christmas Carols Afloat in St. Lucia pants themselves. Callum McArdells reports: “It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air,” For more information on SLYC activities visit www.stluciayachtclub.com said W.T. Ellis, and I don’t think anyone who participated in St Lucia’s inaugural Carols Afloat would argue with that. The boats that participated brought the joy Compass’s Antigua Agent Wins ‘Best Sailing Photo’ Award DANIELLE DE ROUCK The photo below taken by Lucy Tulloch, an artist, sailor, designer and Compass’s agent in Antigua, was selected by the YachtPals website as one of its Best Sailing Photos of the Year 2009. —Continued on next page LUCY TULLOCH FEBRUARY 2010 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 5 The first-ever Carols Afloat brought singin’ and swingin’ holiday cheer to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia Simplicity. Reliability. Long life. Antigua Grenada St. John St Thomas Tortola Marine Power Services Grenada Marine Coral Bay Marine All Points Marine Cay Electronics English Harbour St. David's Coral Bay Compass Point Marina Road Town, Tortola Ph: 268-460-1850 Ph: 473-443-1667 Ph: 340-776-6665 Ph: 340-775-9912 Ph: 284-494-2400 Fx: 268-460-1851 Fx: 473-443-1668 Fx: 340-776-6859 Fx: 340-779-2457 Fx: 284-494-5389 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Trinidad Seagull Yacht Services Martinique St Lucia Diesel Technology Services Marine Maintenance Services English Harbour Inboard Diesel Service The Sail Loft Siparta Road Town, Tortola Ph: 268-460-3050 Port of Case Pilote Rodney Bay Marina Ph: 868-649-2487 Ph: 284-494-3494 Fx: 268-460-1767 Ph: 596-596-787-196 Ph: 758-452-1222 Fx: 868-649-9091 Fx: 284-494-8491 [email protected] Fx: 596-596-788-075 Fx: 758-452-4333 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Bequia St Maarten Dockyard Electrics Parts & Power Caribbean Diesel St Croix Electec Chaguaramas Road Town, Tortola Port Elizabeth St. Croix Marine Cole Bay Ph: 868-634-4272 Ph: 284-494-2830 Ph/Fx: 784-457-311 Christiansted Ph: 599-544-2051 Fx: 868-634-4933 Fx: 284-494-1584 Ph: 340-773-0289 Fx: 599-544-3641 [email protected] [email protected] Fx: 340-778-8974 [email protected] — Continued from previous page Inspector Nigel Butcher as saying, “We consider him a threat to the [tourism] indus- YachtPals says, “Sometimes, you just need to be reminded what it’s like to be sail- try.” Grant was sentenced to three months in jail for this latest offence. ing in paradise — particularly in the middle of winter. This shot was taken by Lucy Tulloch, and her accomplished eye has captured both the essence of what draws Boating Community Helps Haiti us to the Caribbean, and of these classic yachts that slip through its waters. It says After an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale devastated the Haitian cap- ‘wish you were here’ in letters as tall as the sky itself, and we do.” ital of Port-au-Prince on January 12th, individuals, groups and governments around To view all the winning photos visit http://yachtpals.com/sailing-photos-7095 the globe rushed to help, and the Caribbean boating community is doing its part. First, cruisers John and Melodye Pompa offer this advice: “if people want to con- Yacht Burglar Jailed in St. Vincent tribute money, they should only do it through established, reputable organizations Less than a month after the cover story of St. Vincent & the Grenadines’ national like the Salvation Army or the Red Cross. Unfortunately, there will be frauds out on newspaper, The Vincentian, lamented “Yacht Crimes Crippling SVG Tourism”, the the Internet that sound sincere but are not.” paper reported on the January 3rd arrest of Kenroy Grant, 28.