GRENADA - Caribbean Compass

JULY 2010 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 6
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…which included NSA patron Governor General Dame Louise Lake-Take, Prime
Minister the Honourable Dr. Winston Baldwin Spencer, and area representative
Eleston Adams, along with a who’s who in the Antiguan yachting industry.
The ceremony was opened by AYC Commodore and President of the NSA,
Elizabeth Jordan, who thanked those who had made significant contributions to
help start the Academy. Reviewing the history of the AYC Youth Sailing Programme,
she showed a picture of the class of ’93. It contained 18 students, of whom nine are
now working full time in careers within the marine industry — the blueprint for what
the Academy is trying to achieve. Also of note from the class of ’92 is Faraday
Rosenburg, now captain of superyacht White Wings.
The Academy is removing logistic and financial barriers to youth entering the
marine industry. Previously, those who were able to take part in the AYC progamme
either lived in the area or had the financial resources available. With co-ordination
from the Ministry of Sports and Education and the Ministry of Transport, those children
who select sailing as their sport of choice will be transported once a week to
Falmouth or Jolly Harbour for their tuition, with the cost being covered by the
Academy. Aside from sponsorships, every yacht which docks in Antigua will be
asked to make a donation to the programme of US$1 per foot of overall length.
Other Academy board members are Pippa Pettingell, who runs the Youth Sailing
Programme at Jolly Harbour; Karl James, twice Olympian sailor who is Senior
Instructor at AYC; Graeme Swatton, director of Swalings International School of
Swimming who is heading up the swimming programme; John Duffy, president of
the Antigua & Barbuda Marine Association; Peter Anthony of Ondeck Ocean
Racing, the charter company that will provide training once the children have
gained enough experience to move onto bigger boats; and Eddison Williams, who
acts as liaison between the Government and the private sector.
The Prime Minister expressed his support for the programme, citing it as a significant
investment in the development of the nation’s youth in the marine sector.
The presentation ended with a video sponsored by Woodstock Boatbuilders, North
Sails and Antigua Rigging, showing what children enjoy about sailing and swimming,
and some of the careers now enjoyed by many Antiguans who have taken part in
the sailing programme at the Antigua Yacht Club.
For more information visit www.nationalsailingacademy.org.
Eight Bells
KEN MACKENZIE, best known in the Caribbean as the long-time owner and skipper
of the famous classic 80-foot Herreshoff ketch Ticonderoga, died on May 27th in
Massachusetts at age 69. Ken was instrumental in organizing the yacht races in 1974
and 1975 that evolved into the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta; he participated in 12
Antigua Sailing Weeks; raced in Bermuda Fitted Dinghy Races; with Ticonderoga,
was overall winner of the 1976 Bermuda to Newport Race; was America’s Cup
Reserve Crew on the 12-metre Enterprise; was a helmsman on Mistress Quickly for
1979’s Cowes Week and Fastnet Race (a race in which 17 lives and 21 boats were
lost, but MQ finished safely); raced in the Southern Ocean Racing Conference on
Mistress Quickly 1980-81, made many trans-Atlantic passages and experienced eight
survival-type storms including 1973’s Hurricane Gilda; and captained Off Soundings
and Physalia, both 70-foot motor sailors, and Lord Jim, a 72-foot Alden schooner.
MARILYN KAY PRICKETT-WOMERSLEY of the yacht Caribdream died on April 1st in
New York at age 66. Marilyn lived aboard Caribdream with her husband, Alan, and
A long-time member of the cruising
community, Marilyn Womersley of yacht
Caribdream will be missed
was active in recovery efforts in
Grenada after Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
A gathering of friends and family was
held at Clarkes Court Marina on her
birthday, June 11th. Donations in
Marilyn’s memory were made to
Grenada’s Pink Ribbon Society, an
organization dedicated to promoting
breast cancer education and supporting
people whose lives are
affected by breast cancer.
Saffir-Simpson Scale Revised
The US National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s
National Weather Service will implement
a new hurricane scale for the
2010 season called the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale. Using the original
Saffir-Simpson Scale, it keeps the
same wind speed ranges for each of
the five hurricane categories, but
does not tie specific storm surge and
flooding effects to each category.
The original scale has been widely
used to convey the threat levels of
tropical cyclones. Current changes
were made because storm surge values
and associated flooding are
dependent on the storm’s intensity,
size, motion, barometric pressure, the
depth of the near-shore waters and
local topographical features. As a result, storm surge values can be significantly outside
the ranges suggested in the original scale.
As an example, NOAA cited Hurricane Ike in 2008, which was a very large storm
that made landfall on the Texas coast as a Category 2 hurricane with a peak storm
surge of 15 to 20 feet. In contrast, Hurricane Charley struck Florida in 2004 as a
Category 4 hurricane, but produced a peak storm surge of just six to seven feet.
Storm surge forecasts will continue to be included in hurricane advisories and statements.
Beginning with the 2009 hurricane season this information has been
expressed in terms of height above ground level, giving residents a better understanding
of the potential for flooding at their location.
Visit www.noaanews.noaa.gov to see the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale
summary table.
St. Lucia Dinghy Project Update
Bruce McDonald reports: The on-going 505 dinghy restoration based at IGY Rodney
Bay Marina in St. Lucia, received some international attention in the form of a recent
visit from Australian 505 guru Malcolm “Pip” Pearson.
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