Caribbean Compass Sailing Magazine

IS NO LONGER DORMANT!
by Hank Henry
Established in 1967, the Montserrat Yacht Club was originally located on the beach
at Wapping, half a mile from the port in Plymouth, the old capital of Montserrat.
In 1995 disaster struck, not in the form of a tsunami as one might expect, but in
the eruption of the Soufriere volcano. Plymouth, built in the shadow of the Soufriere
Hills, was swept away by pyroclastic flows that gradually covered the old town in ash
to a depth of 20 feet. The yacht clubhouse suffered the same fate as Plymouth, which
was evacuated and abandoned to the ravages of the volcano.
More than half the population of the island of Montserrat, their businesses and
homes destroyed, emigrated to the UK and North America. The volcano continued to
erupt erratically for a period of 15 years and land and maritime exclusion zones were
imposed in the southwest of the island.
During this period of volcanic activity the yacht club became inactive. Reduced to
a population of less than 4,000 people, the island’s economy was shattered.
NOVEMBER 2014 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 8
But Montserrat had two things in its favour: resilient and determined residents
and the fact that it is a British Overseas Territory.
The people stoically awaited the inevitable pause in the volcanic activity and the
United Kingdom provided financial aid to rebuild the infrastructure.
Today, after a pause in volcanic activity of almost five years, the island is back
on course:
• a new electricity power station is being built
• geothermal drilling to tap the volcano’s underground energy is in progress
• two airlines provide flights into the new airport
• an upgraded ferry service is in operation. Ferries connect Montserrat to Antigua
and St. Kitts
• and the Montserrat Development Corporation funded, by DFID, the UK Foreign
Office’s international aid and development organization, is responsible for attracting
investment in the new capital, port and marina which are being built in the north of
the island at Little Bay and Carr’s Bay.
Dormant for 15 years while the volcano was active, the Montserrat Yacht Club has
been revived and is now based on the beach at Isles Bay. (See photo above.)
Isles Bay Beach Bar is a new purpose-built facility for the yacht club, with immediate
access to what is considered the best anchorage on Montserrat. The holding is
excellent in deep gravelly sand along the one-mile stretch of the sandy shoreline.
Helical-screw moorings will be installed in 2015 at 16°44’N, 62°14’W. We already
have one screw mooring installed in 30 feet of water and plan another six to ten next
year. We’ve been experimenting to find the best combination. Double helix moorings
provide the best holding with 30 feet of ground chain, 30 feet of chain riser and a
30-foot pick-up rope. In 30 feet of water, the moorings are far enough from the shore
to minimize the ground swell effect on the boat.
What Montserrat has lacked is a yacht-friendly environment for visiting yachties.
The MYC aims to extend a warm sailors welcome to all who visit our shores. The
club’s signature drink is Weston’s Herefordshire cider, exclusively imported to the
Caribbean, and we are busy frying as many lionfish as we can catch!
It is proposed that we become a second port of entry, in addition to the existing
port of entry at Little Bay port in the north.
SailClear yacht entry software has been implemented by Montserrat Customs and
Immigration and on-line entry and departure clearance can now be done electronically.
WiFi is also available at the yacht club for visiting yachts.
The yacht club is situated four miles as the crow flies from the Soufriere volcano,
which has now become the biggest tourist attraction on the island. Guided tours
from Isles Bay into the exclusion zone and to the Montserrat Volcano Observatory
can be organized for visitors.
The other tourist attraction that draws a lot of visitors is the St Patrick’s Day week
of celebrations. Originally settled by indentured Irish labourers, Montserrat is the
only country besides Ireland to mark St. Patrick’s Day with a national holiday. A
week of festivities around March 17th includes a travelling Dublin ceilidh band, the
Masquerade dancers with fife and drum, and a recent innovation: the African music
day when bands from Africa add spice to the blarney.
Arrow, Montserrat’s most famous musical son, has now departed this world but
his Soca legacy lives on and the island that hosted the rock world’s biggest stars at
Air Studios is now back in business. The Rock has been “Hot, Hot, Hot” for too long
— but now we’re cool!
To see a map of the exclusion zone and current volcano hazard levels
visit http://www.mvo.ms.
For more information about the Montserrat Yacht Club contact Hank
at hankhenry@me.com.