Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine June 2015

Having friends from the UK visit us aboard Samadhi in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou
makes us appreciative of the life we lead, so we had to introduce them to our boatbuilding
friends in the village of Windward.
Two buses later, we arrive in Windward and walk along the coastal road. As ever,
it’s very quiet in the village, but as we walk along, what is that we hear? The ringing
of caulking mallets? The whine of planers?
At Norman Roberts’ beachfront land, we find two wooden vessels being built. One,
a very pretty-looking sloop of about 40 feet, is already planked up. She was designed
and is being built by Karl and Terry, the sons of Alwyn Enoe, assisted by Verol
Compton and others. She is destined to be based in St. Barth. The other is much
larger: a 70-foot cargo vessel being built by Fitzroy “Nero” McLaren is in frames.
Farther back along the road Verol, a young man taking on a mammoth task with
limited means, is also building a 45-foot wooden motor fishing vessel for his own
use. She looks grand and well built.
All the talk is about Alexis Andrews’ documentary film about Caribbean working
boats, Vanishing Sail, which is to be premiered in St. Barth at the West Indies Regatta
and which may (and in fact does) give much credit to the Enoe family of boat builders.
A Classic Warm-Up
We realize that we just have to go to St. Barth, and why not take in Antigua Classic
Yacht Regatta as well? So, as soon as friends have departed, Anna Landry and I set
off by way of Bequia, St. Pierre in Martinique and Deshaies in Guadeloupe, to arrive
off English Harbour one late afternoon. For Anna, a Canadian artist living in Bequia,
it is a new and challenging experience, beating to windward in sometimes 25 knots
of wind, but she is up to it. For me, arriving in Antigua was nostalgic, as I lived there
for about 20 years.
Approaching the English Harbour entrance, rows of wooden masts appear, topmasts,
ratlines, a sight that would have been familiar in the 1950s when Commander
Nicholson came to English Harbour with his Mollyhawk and other friends with older
gaff schooners and the like arrived in Antigua. It’s wonderful to see what a great job
the National Parks Authority has done in restoring and maintaining Nelson’s
Dockyard. All the modern facilities are there, but with an Old World charm.
We anchor in Ordnance Bay and make contact with Maiwenn Beadle, who has
asked us to crew for her on Andrew Robinson’s Carriacou sloop, Summer Cloud, in
the Antigua Classics, held April 15th through 20th. There are five other Carriacoubuilt
boats competing with each other, and 46 entries overall.
Good winds, hard racing and great entertainment ashore and so much visual
beauty, especially during the race called the “Cannon” — the course takes one out
to sea and back twice, when massive schooners such as Elena and the “J”s go
screaming past on a reach with 30 crew on the rail. But it’s not all about size; the
smallest competitor is Lorema, a clinker-built Folkboat at 25 feet on deck and sailed
out from Europe by Leo Goolden, her young owner. She deserves the biggest cup for
the smallest yacht!
We came second, two points behind Genesis, in the Carriacou Sloops’ Traditional
Racing Class. (See more details on the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta 2015 in Regatta
News, pages 12 through 15.)
The West Indies Regatta
After a few days recuperation anchored in Nonsuch Bay, we are joined by Antiguabased
photographer Lucy Tulloch and set sail for St. Barth. Although Samadhi is not
ALEXIS ANDREWS
A Brace of Regattas
Antigua and St. Barth Keep Tradition from Vanishing
by Frank Pearce
JUNE 2015 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 16
ANNA LANDRY (2)
A sweet fleet of island-built vessels lines Gustavia’s quay at the 2015 West Indies Regatta
The Antigua Classic is a showcase for high-profile traditional sailboats from Europe,
North America and the Caribbean
The Carriacou sloop Genesis, with island-boatbuilding advocate Alexis Andrews
at the helm
a working boat, she is at least a schooner and so we are allowed to moor on the quay
in Gustavia, close to the action of the West Indies Regatta, held April 30th through
May 3rd.
We are joined by Maiwenn, who has flown up and arranged to sail the sloop
Beauty, which her owner, Jeff Stevens, has sailed 350 miles from Petit St. Vincent
for the event.
Another long-distance traveller competing is Cyril “Uncle C” Compton’s Margeta O
II, an actively working (fishing) Carriacou sloop, who when donning her racing sails
is a force to be reckoned with.
Along with the Carriacou-built boats is the Nevis-built schooner Alexander
Hamilton, looking grand and intimidating with her new sails.
The wooden Carriacou boats are all berthed stern-to at the dock, where there is a
large open area for events ashore. They are joined by some non-competing but outstanding
wooden boats: the ketches Gaucho and Woodwind, and Tom Gallant’s
schooner, Avenger.
The event starts in the evening with the showing of Alexis Andrews’ spectacular documentary
film on Caribbean boatbuilding, Vanishing Sail. [See review on page 35.] The
Enoe sons are all there, watching the film and seeing themselves working with caulking
mallets and adze, using lines taken from a half model that they have created.
—Continued on next page