new video on the Xtreme Tour around Antigua

New video of our Xtreme round the island trip by Roddy Grimes-Graeme of www.acquafilms.com (the best photo and video company in Antigua)



For more info on this excellent snorkeling adventure around antigua with an exclusive stop at Stingray City please visit www.adventureantigua.com

The Environmental Awareness Group 2010

Well as many of you know, an unofficial Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) membership drive was forged by some of us who felt that the EAG wasn't getting the support it needed to accomplish its stated goals. Their membership went from about 20 people up to over 200 within a few months. Finally after three months delay there was an AGM and a new executive board was elected which comprised of some of the new members mixed in with old board members. The EAG board is made up with the following people:

Lia Nicholson - Executive Director
Kim Derrick - President

Brian Cooper - VP

Chris Pratt - Secretary

Carol-Faye George - Treasurer

Hyacinth Techeira

Robby Breadner

Andy Williams

Ashton Williams

Eli Fuller
According to the accounts which reported up until June 2009, the total membership and fundraising efforts for the year leading up to that time brought in a total of under EC $800 or US $300. Without proper financing the EAG was unable to hire a full time Executive Director or CEO. With the help of it's new members and new board members the EAG is now dedicated and in a position to make sure that the ED is full time. The organization is looking very good for 2010 with all sorts of projects and events planned and/or being planned. There are four board members who are very web savvy and of the four, three are very good at internet marketing using new media. With the help of it's new members and board members the board members who have been running the EAG from it's creation will finally have the help they need to do more.

Within the next few weeks we hope to have a system set up that will enable people to send donations from abroad as well as for them to join as members using credit cards. Antigua's conservation movement needs plenty of help and we hope that you ca be part of the movement. Please visit http://www.eagantigua.org/ for info on the EAG. There are changes coming soon to the site so please bookmark it and visit it again in the near future. Also, please look for them on facebook by searching for Environmental Awareness Group.

Shark attack in Florida

As a former kitesurfer, I was even more interested upon hearing about a fatal shark attack yesterday in Florida. I don't know the details, but it seems that a young man was bitten by a shark while he was out kitesurfing. Read here. I have actually windsurfed in the area that he was bitten, and know that every year there are huge migrations of sharks off the Florida coast as they follow huge schools of biat fish. In fact, I saw sharks many times while i windsurfed up and down the East coast of Florida. The waters along the coast are usually very rich with bait fish and other predators. In the very murky waters that you find along that coastline it is very common for sharks to come into very close contact with people. That being said it is exceptionally rare for anyone to be killed. We won't know what happened but my guess is that he fell in and just happened to be in an area where a large feeding shark was looking for prey. It's a terribly sad event especially with only a few fatal shark attacks in the USA every 10 years. As you know if you read my blog, my most visited page is the one I wrote a few years ago about sharks here in the Caribbean. The Caribbean gets very few shark attacks and we have never had one happen around Antigua. Of course there are sharks in most parts of the tropics, but with the very clear waters they can see their target prey very easily. Read here for more about Antigua's dangers.

Statistics on Antigua and the population census.

When I was a little kid in the late 1970s, we learned in school that Antigua had a population of about 80,000. I didn't know any Jamaicans, Guyanese, or people from Dominican Republic and most of the villages around were small and compact. During the 80s and 90s Antigua went through a huge construction boom while at the same time there came huge immigration form countries all over the Caribbean and the world with the above nationals being the largest contributor to our workforce. Villages grew and some new villages were born. Every now and then someone tells me that they live in a village I have never heard of. Huge areas of what was once bush and cane fields became residential neighborhoods. Now wherever you go you will meet nationals from all over the world who now reside here in Antigua. On Market Street it's more common to hear someone speaking with an accent that isn't Antiguan.


The point of all of this isn't to say anything other than most Antiguans believe that our population has grown significantly since the 1970s. In 1991 in the middle of the immigration and construction boom a population census was carried out. IT was also a time when a large percentage of the population didn't trust the leading party for one reason or another. I was living in a house with three other youth. One wasn't Antiguan and didn't have a work permit, and he chose to avoid the census. I knew so many people who decided to steer clear of the census because they were worried that somehow the immigration department would receive info on them. This was silly, but it did happen. There were so many people here working and living "under the radar" that it is my firm belief that the 1991 census was totally incorrect. Most people think that our nation's residential population is closer to 100,000 than the 68,000+ that is officially quoted.

So what is the big deal right? Well there are huge implications for all sorts of things including taxation, the social services, and of course general statistics. The crime rate seems to be the one quoted most frequently in the papers and on the internet these days. Our murder rate is one that has been quoted to death recently. Of course if you use the official population of 68K then our murder rate is high, but if an accurate figure was given on our population then the rates would seem more reasonable if that word could describe a murder rate. For some reason, people don't seem to think about this as a major problem. I do and wish someone would figure out that it's time to correct it.

good job JD and crew!

From: M SHYMKO
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 3:53 PM
To: admin
Subject: 4-Snorkel Stop Adventure with Lunch

There were four of us - my husband, myself, our son & his fiancee - so there were a couple of age groups involved. We all thoroughly enjoyed the tour. My husband and I have done Stingray City in Grand Cayman but this one was exceptional as the rays seemed much friendlier here. The lunch we had was delicious and we were impressed with how well the crew cleaned up - I don't think you could tell anyone had eaten there. Our son and his fiancee loved the snorkeling and we were all very impressed with the crew. The captain was JD and one of the fellows was Jason - I'm afraid I don't remember the other boys name but they were exceptional. There were a group of people from Italy sitting behind us and they talked all while the crew were giving us instructions and explanations on the tour. The crew all handled the rudeness very well. Much better than I would have - they are to be commended.

In my son's words - "the tour was phenomenal" and I thought you should know how well your people are doing their jobs.

Linda Shymko

This tour was sold by a travel company for cruise ship passengers called Shore Trips. The real name of the tour is the Xtreme Circumnav (round the island). Check the video of the tour here:

whale tale

The night before was silent and starry after I left the Haiti fundraiser, and along Fig Tree Drive after midnight I knew that the next day's adventure would be memorable. We hadn't really planned a big outing, but a trip over to Barbuda was going to be a must. It had simply been too long, and when you have a sunday without any wind Barbuda seems so much closer. Of course 26 miles isn't that far, but the shallow shelf between the sister islands can provide some awefully choppy seas when it's windy. When I got to Curtain Bluff the stars reflected on the still water and lights were visible from Montserrat. Stunnning! I was exhausted after serving drinks for the past six hours but still excited about the prospects that were waiting for me in the morning.
I woke early and looked out the window. Ocean Nomad didn't move at all on the dock below and the water looked like it had turned to ice. Not a single ripple moved anywhere. I sent out a few texts to people I thought would be awake and might want to join us on a Barbuda trip, and quickly had a few replies. Within two hours we were leaving Jolly Harbour and on our way to Palmetto Point. As we passed the hotels on the west coast, I told everyone to keep an eye out for whales. I said it was early in the season, but very possible to see them in these conditions. We didn't see a thing on the way over until about a mile off when all of a sudden we spotted dolphins off our starboard side. These guys didn't want to hang out with us and only briefly showed themselves before going deep. Just after we got to the point we saw another pod of dolphins, but again they were not excited about seeing us. Usually a Barbuda trip involves plenty of snorkeling, beachcombing and other active sort of things, but as soon as the anchor was dropped into the sand below, a  bottle of wine opened up and I knew this trip would be more of a relaxing one. We had a swim enjoying the pelicans that were doing spectacular dives into bait fish nearby. After a few drinks and a bit of time to enjoy the beauty of the long beach we then decided to head up to Spanish Point. Just after leaving anchor I noticed something black break the surface of the water about two miles to the west. I told Roddy that it could only be one thing. Whales! Enjoy his video:

www.adventureantigua.com

The Adventure Antigua facebook page is growing.

We now have 670 fans of the Adventure Antigua Facebook page and the number is growing once again. Check http://www.facebook.com/AdventureAntigua if you would like to become a fan too. I usually try to upload photos and videos there as often as i can. People also can upload their own photos and videos as well as post comments and reviews. I did my first Adventure Antigua Eco Tour ten years ago this month, and I have to tell you it feels good to know that we are still here trying to make sure that people have a great holiday here in Antigua. It feels even better when people tell us that the "highlight" of their cruise or vacation was the day they spent out with us on the water. Anyway, please visit our facebook page and become a fan if you can.

More Whale news in the Caribbean.

Caribbean whaling countries urged to capitalise more on quid pro quo with Japan


By Observer News - Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

A former top regional fisheries official says Antigua & Barbuda and other Caribbean members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) should leverage for more than just fisheries assistance from Japan in exchange for their votes.

The advice comes from Horace Walters who was St Lucia’s chief fisheries officer and a former head of the Eastern Caribbean Cetacean Organisation (ECCO).

Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada belong to the IWC, which was set up in 1964 to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and the orderly development of the whaling industry.

Walters says their support for Japan is a principled position which affirms their own right to exploit the surrounding marine resources, but it must move beyond that.

“I think the time has come to expand the co-operation, not just in fisheries but in other areas,” he said. “Japan has capacity to do all things and whereas they might have concentrated their efforts in the fisheries sector, where we made the request and the request for assistance came from the government, right now, I think that the governments ought to review the requests they make to Japan because our fisheries sector is well established.

“We have the vessels; we have the manpower and the resources are there. So it is up to us to continue to develop the fisheries sector, but then the co-operation can be expanded to include a number of other areas.”

Walters said with Antigua and the other pro-whaling islands being threatened with tourism boycotts, the prospects for Japanese tourists should be explored.

“We should be looking for Japanese tourists,” he said. “We should be looking to bring a Japan Airline to Jamaica and to have a link between Jamaica and the islands with Japanese visitors.

“We should be looking to bring a lot of Japanese visitors to the island, not just Americans or Europeans. That’s not the only area but I think it will be left to the government to decide where they want the co-operation with Japan.”

Walters’ comments come at a time when the anti-whaling lobby in Antigua & Barbuda is again pressing government to turn its back on countries like Japan and Norway – the main whaling nations.

Well you know what I think about all of this. You can read more here.

Whale video taken yesterday

Yes, we were very lucky to have totally calm waters yesterday and ended up doing a trip to Barbuda. On the way there we spotted two pods of dolphins, but they didn't seem that interested in us at all. After we arrived there and had a swim, I saw a black object break the surface a few miles off and figured we were in for a treat. Armed with cameras we arrived nearby and switched off the engines. The mother and calf came alongside and did about five circles around us before swimming off together. We had 30 minutes of fantastic whale viewing both in and out of the water. Several of the people with us couldn't be held back and went snorkeling with the amazing creatures. Here is a movie taken with our little cheap camera. http://www.acquafilms.com/ were on board with us so hopefully they will have some awesome footage to show us soon.

stuff

After we got married in November several people asked us what was the craziest gift we got. It's kind of a funny question, but I suppose most people expect the usual assortment of wedding gifts. We were delighted to have gotten so many lovely wedding gifts, and yes some of them were things we were hoping to get. We didn't realize it at the start of the plans, but people expected us to have a wedding registry. "It's what you do", so we made one.
We didn't even open any of our wedding gifts at first because after spending a night at Blue Waters hotel we flew down to the Grenadines for a week of honeymoon chill time. After we got back it was time to open gifts and try to figure out where to put them. Most were things to use in our house, and as it's not possible to fit them into our rented appartment in Jolly Harbour we had to put them in storage. I am sure many newlyweds have to do this sort of thing, and we now have even more reason to get our house built. That's another big adventure that's waiting to start up.
Back to that funny question about what was the craziest gift we got. We never really had a crazy gift although a tiny James Bond style waterproof video camera called a GoPro was probably the most unusual. Today I finally had a chance to test it out. I didn't use it underwater but as you can see it works just fine:


This camera will hopefully help this blog with new unusual content. I can't wait until it's good windsurfing or surfing weather. The video will give you a great view of some of the things we get up to.
Anyway, the person who asked me the question went back to Holland before we got our truly crazy wedding gift. One of our craziest friends was kind enough to get us a massive 60+ pack of toilet paper. And that's it! The most unusual and wacky wedding gift we received. Thanks Choppa!

a post from the Antigua Tourism Forum:

Adventure Antigua Classic Yacht w/ Eli Fuller (video links)


by jburton on Mon Jan 18, 2010 12:22 am



We chartered the Adventure Antigua Classic Yacht for a day - January 5, 2010. It is "a 40 foot wooden classically built Carriacou Sloop". It was just the two of us, my girlfriend Dianna and myself.



The day was completely awesome. Tour, snorkeling, fabulous lunch, sailing. There was some larger ocean roll this day and that was a hoot. The day couldn't have been more perfect. Eli, Jason, and Daniel were a fabulous crew and group of people to spend a day with. I recommend this charter strongly. It is worth every penny spent.



Thanks for such a great time, Eli. I can't say enough good things about that day.



I'll post more video links as I get it all processed and reviewed.



----



On the Adventure Antigua Classic Yacht with Eli Fuller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX0wYCdQDEc



On the Adventure Antigua Classic Yacht with Eli Fuller (file 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq7BigYmTsU



Perini Navi yacht seen from Adventure Antigua Classic Yacht tour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HC4SUMeeW8



Snorkeling - On the Adventure Antigua Classic Yacht with Eli Fuller (file 1 of 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kknUGpG-dgE



Snorkeling - On the Adventure Antigua Classic Yacht with Eli Fuller (file 2 of 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_rCFPWlezs

www.sailing-antigua.com

www.adventureantigua.com

Eathquake relief info for Haiti here in Antigua

Many people emailed us and called us wanting to find out if Antigua received any of the effects from the quake that destroyed much of Haiti main city. We were far away enough not to feel anything at all. In fact we are about as far from Haiti as the US mainland, but as is the case in most countries the sadness has been felt here too. There have been numerous funraisers organized and plenty of info about how to help the vitims in Haiti is available. People here know that it could have happened to them and there is quite a bit of empathy for the Haitian people. There is a big event next weekend in English Harbour which we have donated to and hopefully will be helping out with. I hope to see you there.

Great event at Nelson's Dockyard on SATURDAY January 23rd. Lots of bands playing and much fun guaranteed, all for a good cause.


We need to make much money to help people in Haiti.



PLEASE COME, ALL OF YOU IN ANTIGUA !!



See all details on http://www.antiguanice.com/v2/client.php?id=806&whatson=1#event763

logos now on Dolphin

here is a photo of our Dolphin catamaran now up at The Verandah Resort and Spa.

The launch of our other sailing traditionally built boat.

Our second Carriacou Sloop "Zemi" was launched this past Sunday. Launches only ever happen down there on Sundays for a number of traditional reasons, and it all went well according to reports, photos and videos. I was unable to leave Antigua due to several important meetings (one with Sandals about the future of our relationship with them), so I was especially happy to see all of the photos and video of our boat's launch. For those of you reading this who don't know what this is all about, I will just tell you that each island in the Caribbean designed and built their own version of a smaller cargo boat during the early colonial days. Due to "progress" all of the wealthy islands started purchasing fiberglass and steel boats from North America and Europe and one by one the tradition of building wooden boats from scratch died from island to island. Carriacou in the Grenadines is the only place left that is still using the old designs and techniques to build these fantastic boats. Hundreds of years ago boats needed to be able to carry a huge cargo and to do it fast and this design spec remains. Of course these work boats are still used to carry cargo and to do other commercial activity, but they are for the first time being purchased as private yachts. There are several these days doing charter including our other Carriacou sloop Ocean Nomad. See http://www.sailing-antigua.com/


The word Zemi is an ancient Amerindian name describing usually pyramid shaped object which essentially was a concept, meaning both a deity, or ancestral spirit, and a sculptural object that houses the spirit. Our eco tour boat is called "Arawak Odyssey" and I am glad to have another boat recognizing the people who lived here before the Europeans arrived. Their culture was so rich and was so bonded with nature.

My dad has the largest collection of Arawak Zemis and I will copy one of them for the boat's logo. Here is a collection of photos that was put together by Samantha Enoe. She is the daughter of the designer and builder Alwyn. As you can see the boat was launched without the rig. We build that next and then sail her up to Antigua before The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. Enjoy the slideshow!

www.adventureantigua.com

Xtreme round the island photos and reviews.

Xtreme round the island tour (circumnav) photos and reviews are always nice. Here is one I copied from the the Antigua forum. Click here.

However radical and wrong they may be....... at least someone is standing up to Japan.

Scientists declare Dolphins 2nd smartest life form

Last night I finally had a chance to see the internationally famous and award winning movie The Cove which documents Japans position on whaling and specifically on the incredible slaughter of 23,000 dolphins a year in hidden cove. It was excellent and you should try to get a copy online here.
Of course Antigua is mentioned in terrible light because of it's support for Japanese whaling. My dad was even interviewed since he was the International Whaling Commission representative prior to Japan's blood money being given to our country. READ HERE. Of course Antigua isn't alone, but it's terribly sad to know that our leaders can be so ignorant. Anyway, today scientists were quoted in the BBC article as saying that new research suggests that Dolphins are way smarter than they had thought and should be treated as "non-human persons".  READ HERE
Keep in mind that when you go to a dolphin park to swim with these non human persons you are not only doing something questionable, but you are helping the slaughter of thousands of other dolphins in Japan. Want to know why? See the film.

Used Day Charter Saling Catamaran for Sale

"Dolphine" a 52 foot Buhler sailing catamaran with twin 75 HP Yanmar diesel engines. She is registered to carry 49 passengers, but could carry more as it's a very very wide boat. The boat has had quite a bit of work done to her recently including an engine rebuild, and is ready for use in the day charter industry. I am not sure of the exact year that she was built but i am guessing some time in the late 90s. This is a money making machine if put to work in the right market. The owners are asking US $150,000 and the boat is available for sea trials at any time. IF you are interested please call me on 268 725 7263 or email me on eliantigua(AT)gmail.com and I can give you more info. 

happy new year from adventure antigua!

Hi there, I'm writing this blog once again from my phone. It seems that recently time has been zooming along faster than Xtreme goes on the way back to the harbour. Last week our Eco Tour boat experienced some engine problems. This kind of thing usually happens on the busiest week of the hear and it wasn't a huge surprise. Our crew sprang into action in an effort to fix it in time for the next day's tour. Even after putting in an almost all nighter the boat wasn't ready for our tour right at the final hour. Without any time to spare, the decision was made to use our new sailing catamaran Dolphin for the tour. The guests, many of whom were on a cruise, took the alternative boat and had a great day out. After plenty more hard work by the crew, the Eco Tour's boat was fixed today and is ready for tomorrow's private tour. Although the end of 09 was quite challenging, the 1st of 2010 started out very well. Our Dolphin boat will start doing tours up at Verandah for that hotel and Pineapple late next week. In these challenging times its people like our regular adventure Antigua team that make it all work so well. In my opinion, Tony, Jd, Shamel, Trevor, Chris, Leslie, Jason, my sister Nell and my mom Jill all put in so much effort to make these tours the best in Antigua. There are many more people out there helping us too. THANKS TO YOU ALL.

new catamaran goes out for a cruise.

A1Marine in Jolly Harbour has spend the past few weeks helping us get the Dolphin ready for tours and charters. Dolphin is Adventure Antigua's new sailing catamaran. Today we are taking her out on a test cruise to see how the modifications work. Tours on the new Catamaran will start up the first week of January 2010. We will have several half day trips and several full day snorkeling cruises as well. The boat will spend most of the week based in Dian Bay on the Verandah dock and will take passengers from The Grand Pineapple Beach Resort and Spa as well as the Verandah Resort and Spa. More info and photos to come soon!
http://www.adventureantigua.com/