Record-setting $41 million in boats shipped for season
When the 556-foot Super Servant 4, one of Dockwise Yacht Transport’s four semi-submersible ships, left Newport, R.I. in November, it was packed with a record load of 50 recreational cruising and racing boats. The ship, with her $41+ million cargo, was headed to Freeport, Bahamas and St. Thomas, USVI to unload the yachts for this season. “We are maxed out on this trip; not one inch of room to spare,” said DYT’s Ann Souder.
Grenada-bound yachts can clear in at Prickly Bay
The Marine & Yachting Association of Grenada reports that, as of November 3, a Medical Officer now is stationed at Prickly Bay Marina Customs & Immigration Office so yachts can clear in at Prickly Bay. Yachts also can still clear in at Hillsborough in Carriacou and At The Grenada Yacht Club in St George’s.
Junior sailors circumnavigate Tortola
On November 4, four junior sailors successfully circumnavigated Tortola on 9’ OPEN BIC sailboats, the third try in as many years, in 8 hours and 40 minutes. The event was a combined charity effort for the Tortola Humane Society, which received $2,000, and a fundraiser for the sailors who all represent the BVI in the Opti class. Sailors were brothers Josh and Sam Morrell, Mathew Oliver and Peter Poole.
Welcome back, Kelly Mac
Long time Caribbean salesman Kelly McMillen is now the Florida and Caribbean rep for Toolsnmore/ICCS, a distributor of Dupont Marine & Industrial Coatings. The company also supplies a host of tool brands for all applications of marine, automotive and construction, and carries Sata & DeVilbiss Spray equipment, abrasives & disposables. Email Kelly: [email protected] or call 954-881-7052.
The Moorings Announces Sweepstakes and new, interactive website
The Moorings, the world’s leading international yacht charter company, started its “Treasure Hunt” Sweepstakes on November 23, 2009 with a grand prize of a six-night/seven-day Moorings charter in the British Virgin Islands. The “Treasure Hunt” runs through February 7, 2010, and is open to eligible US and Canadian residents. To begin the adventure, participants must visit the new www.moorings.com. The company’s new, interactive website has been under development for a year.
Soft emergency plugs developed for leaks
Developed by Artelier Studio LLC and now distributed by Forespar, the TruPlug™ is a soft, cone-shaped plug designed to adapt and conform to the unpredictable shapes of most hull breaches. Unlike wooden plugs, the shape form allows it to be compressed by hand or cut to fit.
Tested for over a year in simulated and real life situations, TruPlug™ has already been successfully used to stop emergency leaks by several west coast safety vessels.
Need a bigger cradle?
The UK-based Yacht Leg & Cradle Company (YLCC) has introduced new extra-large, heavy-duty cradles following the success of custom-developed cradles ordered for large cruising and racing boats. Allowing for drafts of up to three meters, they can accommodate a yacht of 85 feet. Twenty-four of the new cradles have been supplied to Baileys Boatyard in Falmouth, Antigua, and Jolly Harbour Marina, Antigua and Nanny Cay Marina, BVI also now offer this larger option. The cradles are delivered to boatyards ready for assembly on site.
Save the date
The first “CrewShow-St Maarten” will take place on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at the IGY Marina Isle de Sol, hosted by CrewShow founder Celia Wagstaff and Brian Deher, marina manager for Island Global Yachting, joined by Ann E. McHorney, who heads The Sacks Group Caribbean division and runs Select Yachts NV.
Passages
Carole Dudley, administrator at Crown Bay Marina, St. Thomas, USVI for the past 24 years, died October 26, 2009. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1946, Dudley moved to St. Thomas with her family in 1964. Crown Bay Marina recruited her in 1986 as Executive Secretary to the development team during the marina’s construction. “The VI marine industry mourns the loss of one of its most capable and highly-respected professionals,” said Dennis P. Kissman, president of the Florida-based firm, Marina Management Services.—Carol Bareuther
Sid Johnson, a founding member of the Trinidad and Tobago Game Fishing Association (TTGFA), and a southern Caribbean pioneer of billfish tag-and-release fishing, died on November 6, 2009. A conservation advocate who lobbied against long liners and industrial trawlers operating in the Gulf of Paria, Johnson was a part of the TTGFA management committee from its inception in October 1986 to 2007. His photographs of large-scale pelagic driftnet boats were published on the front page of the New York Times, leading to a United Nations ban on the practice. Johnson received accolades including a conservationist of the year award from the IGFA.—Steven Valdez
