Sailing Week starts slowly

Hundreds and hundreds of people were planning to go and see the yachts race around the east coast of antigua today. The yachts have left Falmouth Harbour, but many of us who were going out to follow have stayed behind to wait until the weather starts to clear up. We woke up to rains today and although they have finally stopped now at 10:25 am, it's still quite overcast out there.

Anyway, the rosé and champers are still on ice and we are probaby going to leave "jollywood" in an hour. The Dickenson Bay Beach Bash (sound clash) seen in the image above sounds MAD but thousands will be there later today for sure. The Adventure Antigua catamaran "Dolphin" is already out on the water with people celebrating "indi and ari's" birthday. Just spoke to them and they say it's looking very good from where they are..

The United Progressive Party do an about turn on the Guiana Island development.

I think I must be going crazy and imagining things because yesterday I thought I heard our tourism minister say that cabinet has approved a 2000 acre development of Guiana Island and all the lands associated with Dato Tan. This can’t be right can it?

Before they got into power the United Progressive Party marched, and campaigned against the project declaring that it would be an environmental disaster. In their manifesto before they were elected for the first time they promised that the area would be protected, and now on the Observer Radio talk show “Voice of the People” with Winston Derrick yesterday, John Maginley, minister of tourism, just mentioned it in passing. He spoke of thousands of hotel rooms, and “36 holes of golf”, a marina and other things and then moved on to the next subject without a comment from Winston.

This I must have imagined right?

How could the most controversial development in Antigua’s history, something that the UPP and their supporters were so passionately against be now approved by cabinet and mentioned on the radio by the minister without a single comment or mention of its significance. I am extremely worried about this development and its implications. There have been no consultations with our local environmental groups, the fishing associations, or any other body that I am aware of except the people who stand to make money from this massive development once Vantis sells it.

What is also strange is that the Minister kept saying that the government can’t do anything with things owned by Stanford, specifically speaking about the big marina that Winston asked about.

Why can’t the government do anything about the Marina, but they can authorize the Dato Tan development plan for Guiana Island which is owned by Stanford also. I suppose there may be different company names. Keep in mind that this plan isn’t the last and most recent Stanford plan for the area which in my opinion is far less damaging for the environment than even a modified Tan project with its marinas and golfing.

As someone who is now on the board of two environmental organizations and someone who makes a living doing “Eco Tours” in the area, I think that this 2000 acre development needed far more inclusion of stakeholders and I while I agree that we need development, I think it needs to be done in a sustainable manner.

EDIT:
Since writing this i have been told that the new plan is different than the Dato Tan plan. The new one is for 1000 hotel rooms and not the 5000 that Tan had wanted!!! Makes me feel so much better....

Disaster at sea that could have been prevented

The unfortunate boating accident which ended up with three men being left in the sea without anyone searching for them until one was found just by chance is something that simply shouldn’t have happened and it’s been bothering me for many reasons.

Firstly, in this day and age no boat should leave port to go offshore without an EPIRB. I think it’s high time for Fisheries and the Marine Department to make this bit of life saving equipment mandatory. An EPIRB is a little emergency beacon that sends messages to satellites and to coast guards in the USA, and locally that your boat is in trouble.

What’s more is that the beacon which floats in the water with you keeps sending the exact GPS location so the coast guard know where you are. The US coast guard speaks with whatever ships and other coast guards are closest to you. IT works world wide and is recognized as the most likely tool to save you quickly. They cost as little as US $350. The more expensive ones ($800 us) can be personally registered, so that the US Coast Guard will have your name and the numbers of people you want notified in an emergency. They get called as well as the ships and coast guards. A few years ago people on those row boats coming across the Atlantic were saved because of their EPIRBS after their boats were compromised.

With or without an EPIRB, mariners should let someone back at home know that they are leaving port and will call when they get to the next port, also telling them that it shouldn’t take longer than “X” amount of time. This way if there is no call, then someone knows something is wrong. When I was 16 and going to Barbuda on the little pirogue, we would use this method every time and I still do it on much bigger trips.

Of course all boats should have proper marine VHF equipment and if you are going offshore you should have a waterproof handheld VHF radio that you can use if the boat goes down. All boats even “unsinkable” Boston Whalers can go down. Think of a Boston Whaler catching fire with 200 gallons of gasoline on board!

Something we use and learnt about years ago is a “Grab Bag” (click here for an example) which is a bag containing basic survival equipment and can include the hand held VHF too. On a 500 mile trip we did last summer on our wooden sloop we had a huge grab bag ready to go into the water with us if something bad happened. The EPIRB, life jackets, energy food packs, water and many other things were in that bag. Hundreds of people have been saved by similar bags.

The things I have mentioned are all good generally, but this week’s incident points out that much more was missing.

It doesn’t sound as though the boat cleared customs, immigration or the port in either SXM or ANU which means that possibly they didn’t really want to notify many people of their movements or even of their problems until it was too late.
I have seen the boat (in St. Martin) and to say that it was properly maintained for an ocean crossing would not be accurate.
There needs to be a policy where the 911 operator writes down or records people’s calls in such emergencies. I am hearing reports that despite the crew on the boat telling 911 that they were going down 7 miles NW of Diamond Reef, the message the coast guard got was that they were in the North Sound (some 14 miles away). These are life and death communications and need to be better dealt with.
In this image X shows where the crew said they were. Y shows Diamond Reef and Z shows the North Sound. As you can see there is a huge difference:

To me it is very strange that knowing a boat was going down as the 911 operator was told, that the coast guard didn’t alert everyone they could that a boat was going down with people on board. If I had known, I would have gone down there as I am sure many other boaters would have done. Why did they wait until Tuesday after Toby Fuchs and John Watt found the only survivor to resume searching and to contact ABSAR and the coast guards of the other islands? It’s as if they were forgotten about just like Inigo Ross, brother of Xabier Ross – Wadadli Cats) was forgotten about by the St. Vincent coast guard all those years ago.
One other thing that I thought about last night while trying to sleep is that I was under the impression that cell phone calls can be triangulated to give a very rough estimate of where the call was made. I may be totally wrong with this, but if a boat is sinking and you can’t get the people on the phone again, couldn’t you try to figure where they called from? You would know for sure that it is or is not The North Sound.
Now I come to an unpleasant mistake that is there for everyone to see on youtube. Why on earth would the coast guard and medical people sit back and interrogate someone who had nearly died or possibly is dying in front of them? This guy has been in the ocean for days and instead of rushing him to the hospital, or possibly sticking an IV into his arm to try and rehydrate him, they are asking him for the same story over and over.

MADNESS!!!
All in all there are many lessons to be learnt here and I don’t think we are paying close enough attention to this story.

Things you may see on this saturday's special Eco Tour

To celebrate Earth Day, Adventure Antigua has teamed up with the EAG to bring you a very special eco tour of the North Sound this Saturday leaving from Shell Beach at 12:45 pm. You can get your tickets from the EAG by calling them on 462 6236 or emailing eag@candw.ag

The photos below show some of the wildlife and other things that you can see in the area we will cover:

Brain coral while snorkeling.

Mangrove Habitat at Guiana Island

Whales outside the reef. (possible but not a guarantee)

Bottle nosed dolphins

Spotted Eagle Rays

Interesting and diverse "flats" eco systems.

Endangered Hawksbill turtles

Corals

Maiden Island's Controvercial artificial reef

The fans

Hells Gate

Queen conch

and even smaller shells

The gentle Southern Stingrays

Frigate Birds and many others.

There is a special price for kids on Saturday so make sure you call the EAG soon to reserve.

Antigua Classic yacht Regatta 2010 still has one more day

The racing this year has been tough for many boats with strong winds and blustery conditions. After not having rains for months and months, Antigua finally got some! We got quite a bit actually with inches falling over the past week mostly falling later in the afternoon and at night. Yesterdays conditions were windy enough that many boats didn't put their "chutes" up. As you know if you read my blog a few days ago, I am not racing this year, but Jason, our main sailing crew is out there racing on Ocean Nomad.
Slightly rusty and not having the proper sails, they finished fourth the first day but with better sails and the crew more experienced they pulled a close second on the second day of racing.
The racing today is cloudy and fairly windy once again and they should have another close day of racing. Check the results here later. If you can make it you should come down to the Antigua Yacht Club Marina to see all the Classic yachts. There are ten Carriacou Sloops (traditionally built wooden Caribbean boats) racing this year and each is alongside the Skulduggery bar. As usual there is plenty of interest surrounding these colourful boats, but slightly more this year with the Pink Lady taking part for the first time. Pink Lady is owned by the Palm Island Resort which is where my wife and I recently spent a few nights during our honeymoon. Palm Island is part of the Elite Island Group of hotels and resorts which also includes Verandah, Galley Bay and St. James Club here in Antigua. The top boss had told me sometime in the Fall that he'd have the boat up here being run by a bunch of ladies. I wasn't sure it was going to happen, but sure enough there is a pink boat sailing in this years event skippered and crewed by a bunch of female pirates. The eye catching crew of this Palm Island boat can actually be heard before you eyes are drawn to them. WOW! Those girls are real "sailors" and are taking the "traditional" sailing and partying theme to the outer reaches of imagination. There was a funny little story and a bunch of photos on the antiguanice.com site the other day. (click here) Baywatch meets Pirates of the Caribbean!!!
Will speak to Jason a little later to see how it all went. Tomorrow is the final day of racing.
Apart from the regatta, people here are also watching developments of the European No Fly Zone which has cancelled all trans Atlantic flights since Thursday. Our Adventure Antigua bookings have slowed dramatically as is expected. I understand that British Airways has already cancelled their flights for tomorrow too. With a very active volcano only 25 miles away, I don't think anyone here expected that we would be severely effected by one thousands of miles away. The hotels and tourism sector here which is the backbone of our economy is praying for the flights to resume ASAP.
The photo above was done by Roddy Grimes-Graeme of http://www.acquafilms.com/ when we were out sailing. His team of video and photo people are out covering the regatta for the main sponsor.

QUEEN OF HOUSE MUSIC BARBARA TUCKER IN ANTIGUA

A friend of mine is trying to help Antigua's nightlife and its music in general. Torsten is writing, composing, playing and producing music for many Antiguan artists as well as many from abroad through his company Offshore Music. He has also brought Ministry of Sound to Antigua several times and once again they are here to liven up the dance floors at Abras in English Harbour. Here is a little press release he sent me:

QUEEN OF HOUSE MUSIC BARBARA TUCKER HEADED TO ANTIGUA


Offshore Music Ltd. Announces Tucker will Headline at Abracadabra’s April 16th.

Torsten Stenzel, owner of Offshore Music recognised the need for a different kind of sound in Antigua, to complement the traditional genres of soca, calypso and reggae. His instinct to promote dance music served him well as witnessed by the positive reception of Antiguan nightclub goers to the successful staging of a major event in the country. Stenzel brought the biggest name in UK dance club music the Ministry of Sound to Antigua and Barbuda in 2009 and followed up on the successful evening in January 2010.



To further capitalise on the momentum, Offshore Music will host a landmark music event at Abracadabras, English Harbour on Friday, April 16, 2010. Ministry of Sound will continue to play a major role in the evening through the inclusion of DJ Phats and Small (Turn Around, Feel Good) and featured headliner, the one and only Queen of House Music, Barbara Tucker.



Barbara Tucker is a tour de force in the dance club music world, having recently celebrated 25 years in the business. The artist, who writes most of her own music, is a household name in the world of house music reaching the top of the Billboard Club Hits charts seven times with such mega hits as Beautiful People, Precious Love, and Everybody Dance, while her latest chart-topper Feelin’ Like a Superstar released on her own record label, continues to gain strength. This multi-talented performer is also a noted Broadway actress and choreographer, working with the likes of Moby, Pet Shop Boys, Wyclef Jean, and Herbie Hancock. Ms. Tucker performs all over the world from Africa to Siberia, Tokyo to New York, and Offshore Music is adding the twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda to this respected list.



This will be Ms. Tucker’s first live performance in a Caribbean country and she is slated to perform for one hour at the event. Along with the multi-million record selling Ministry of Sound DJ Phats and small, are prized local DJ’s in their own right; Offshore and Alan Russell. Luyo Sound System will provide special staging, lighting, animation and P.A. system. Prizes will be given away throughout the evening and performers will be dancing for the crowd. The doors open 11 p.m. until…with ticket prices $35 pre-sale and $45 at the door.

This event is strategically positioned between the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta (April 15-20th) and the 43rd Antigua Sailing Week (April 24-30th) giving residents and visitors another major entertainment option to enjoy. Sponsors signed to date include Carib beer and Mount Gay Rum.

Offshore Music is proud to announce a successful negotiation for the presence of German television station ProSieben (Pro 7), the second largest privately owned T.V. station in the country, to broadcast the event live. A potential viewing audience of 2-3 million across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland has the opportunity to take in the event during airing of the popular entertainment show Red! Das Star und Lifestyle (Red! The Star and Lifestyle Magazine). This is a first for German television in the region.

Offshore Music Ltd. is an Antiguan-based production company specialising in film scoring, and music and video production. Based in English Harbour, the company has sold over three million records worldwide of the dance music scene.

I'm not crying wolf, but the shark email going around is a hoax!

People have this obsession about sharks and one day i blogged about shark attacks around the world, the Caribbean and Antigua (click here). As you know if you read it, there has never been any shark attack around Antigua. Someone was bitten by a little reef shark in Barbuda while they were spear fishing late in the afternoon in Barbuda. A bag of bleeding fish in the old days when the reefs were fully alive wouldn't have taken long to attract some sharks. Anyway, over the past week there has been a horrible email being sent around titled "shark attack in Antigua". The first pic is a lovely photo of a great white shark showings its jaws for the camera. We don't have great white sharks in the Caribbean as the water is too warm. Since the waters are warmer than usual then even less likely.


The rest of the photos show a horribly disfigured young woman in a blue bikini. The extremely graphic photos make you want to gag and i never understand why people send those kind of images around to all their friends. In this case I wanted to see them because I hadn't heard about a shark attack in Antigua. Nobody here had because we did not have a shark attack in Antigua.

Upon close inspection, i could see that the unfortunate lady looked like she had the tell tale scars of propeller damage as seen on manatees up in Florida here:

The close long gashes looked like those we found on a turtle that had been hit by a boat last year. Anyway, i searched high and low for info on the net about a young woman who had been attacked and killed by a shark, losing an arm in the process. The photo showed her arm severed but on the beach next to her without any other scars on the arm.

There is no doubt in my mind that she was hit by a prop of a boat and not killed by a shark. Whatever happens I know for sure that she wasn't killed here in Antigua and surely not by a shark here in Antigua.

Why someone would go so far as to email the photos around, put them on forums and tell the world she was killed by a shark in Antigua is beyond me. Some people are really sick.

Environmental Awareness Group news

The Environmentat Awareness Group is planning a series of activities to celerate Earth Day and to try and raise a few $$ to help run the organization. Environmentalism isn't as strong as is needs to be in Antigua and support for the EAG is even weaker especially financially.

One of the things Adventure Antigua is trying to do to help the EAG is joing them in a special Eco Tour of the North Sound on Saturday April 24th using one of our boats. The tour will be a half day tour during the afternoon and we will be using our biggest boat The Dolphin which is normally reserved for private charters and the half day snorkeling tour from the Pineapple, Verandah and Long Bay area.

Anyway, we will collect guests from the old small dock at Shell Beach near the end of the airport's runway at 12:45 pm. There will be a maximum of 49 people on the big catamaran and we will do the eco tour seen on this link (click here) with the exception of the Hells Gate adventure.
You can have a general idea of what the tour will be like if you check the video there too, but remember it will be on the slower and larger boat. Since we will already be in the North Sound, we won't have to do any cruising up and down the coast to get there.
The main thing to remember apart from this being one of the coolest things to do in Antigua because of the beautiful and very interesting surroundings of the North Sound, is that this is a fundraiser for the EAG. You can learn more about the organization at http://www.eagantigua.org/
Drinks, snacks, all the interesting narration of the area, a short eco walk/hike and some snorkeling all included for just EC $130 or US $50. To reserve you spot on this unique tour please email the EAG. There isn't a kids rate as this rate is fairly low for this type of tour and also because this is a fundraiser. Think of it as you helping out the environment of Antigua and Barbuda.
In a day or two I will blog about a new development that will make going on this tour even more interesting and important.

Sunday Chill

If you come to antigua and ask anyone what you should do on a Sunday, they will tell you to go to Shirley Heights which is an old British Naval Fort that now has been tuned into a lively party every sunday afternoon. Of course if you have been there as many times as i have, then you may want to try something different. Sunday Chill is a concept taken from places like the party island of Ibiza where mellow clubby kind of music is played near a pool. It's hard to describe exactly since I have never been to Ibiza, but yesterday we decided to check out Sunday Chill up at Charmichaels above Sugar Ridge Hotel. The longtime Ibiza DJ and producer Torsten Stenzel, who is now living and working here in Antigua producing and writing music takes a few sundays a month out of his busy schedule to play some very cool music up there.

The sunset was pretty "insane" up that high and the music and drinks all came together to provide a pretty neat atmosphere that can only be described as..... SUNDAY CHILL. I'm not sure when he will be playing next up there, but I will probably be there. IT's the next best thing to do on a sunday afternoon (on the mainland anyway). The photos are from the sugarridge site.

Developments at Adventure Antigua

While living in the Caribbean is usually accompanied with smiles, there are times when things are not as laid back as one would think........
With Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta starting next week, it looks like our new boat Zemi will have to wait until next year to race in that regatta. When it comes to building a traditional yacht on the beach on a tiny Caribbean island like Carriacou, you need plenty of time and patience and you really need to go down and take part in the process as much as possible. I think its more difficult that building a house in the Caribbean, but I am not sure about that as I have been trying that too for almost 4 years and we still haven’t broken ground. That’s another story for another time.


Anyway, as you saw in this blog (click here) Zemi was launched and is sitting on anchor in Carriacou ready to have it’s mast and rig finished and attached, the rudder installed and the ballast loaded. We are at the point now where we can do all of that, but I think it would be impossible to get it done and sail her up here in time for the first race at the end of next week. Well I know it wouldn’t be impossible because I did the same thing with Ocean Nomad when we finished her back in 2008, but I just don’t have the time to drop everything and take off from Adventure Antigua at the moment. These pics were taken by stevie mendes while we tried to finish the mast and get the boat ready for the crossing (without an engine) back to Antigua and the Classic Regatta 08.

I also think that finishing a boat down there and rushing everything in order to race in classics is too difficult to call it fun IMO.

Back home here we have been busier than expected with one of our main crew members “Tony” resigning out of the blue at what has been our busiest Spring in years.

With the two powerboats, and the sailing catamaran we have been ultra busy making sure we have had enough crew members to run the boats professionally. We haven’t even had time to do much sailing on the Classic Yacht.

When everyone kept saying that the tourist season was going to be dead, we thought they’d be right, and prepared ourselves for a slow 09/10. The opposite was the case and we had to scramble to make it all work.

Tony leaving the company left us in a bind at the worst time. He was a very strong worker, but a terrible communicator. This time he gave me two weeks notice out of the blue and never gave me a reason as to why he was leaving. We don’t even know where he’s gone to, but it was a blow to the company and to me personally. With him gone, it was so much more difficult to leave Antigua and go to see about Zemi. 

To make matters worse, JD our Xtreme captain came down with very bad tonsillitis and was out for a week. Then Jason got a nasty flu and was out for a week.

I guess that’s one of the reasons I haven’t been writing lately. I have been spending quite a bit of time working on Xtreme and trying to balance all the other “boss” jobs.
We have hired a few new crew members that bring some excellent skills to the Adventure Antigua team. I will introduce them in blogs to come. The Eco Tour has a new narrator who is getting great reviews at the moment after a week on the job.

With all the new help, I think I will be able to leave the island soon for Carriacou to go and collect Zemi and have her back here in time for the West Indies Regatta coming up soon. The Adventure Antigua team won that one too last year.

Will write more soon.

Fixing a prop shaft on the catamaran

The day before we collected the Dolphin Catamaran for the first time, the Captain at the time told me he had an engine mount break. They did the work and fixed it by the time i went up to collect the boat. As soon as I put the starboard engine in reverse, I noticed some vibration coming from that engine. Upon inspection I could see the engine had quite a bit of movement. I called Carl Mitchell at A1 Marine down in Jolly Harbour and he told me to bring it down for him to have a look at. The first thing he noticed was that the "coupler" (part that attaches the engine to the prop shaft) was slightly bent and actually the wrong size too. Anyway, Carl and his team did quite a bit of work changing parts including other engine mounts that were broken. The engine was out of alignment too. Since the shaft was significantly larger than you would have expected on a boat this size we didn't think that the prop was also a problem until after we tested the boat once again. There was still some vibration but it seemed much better than before. The reason it seemed much better was that all the mounts were like new now and the coupler was the new and correct part. Anyway, we used the boat for the past few months knowing that there was still some vibration. I checked the alignment once with a mechanic friend who was out on the boat with me one day and he said that it was fine. Anyway, this past weekend we noticed more vibration and I made the trip back down to see A1 Marine after i noticed broken mounts again. Carl said this time he would check the shaft first before doing anything else. While still in the water a diver went over the side and pulled out the shaft as someone in the engine room put another piece of shaft in the stern tube to make sure no water came into the boat.
Once the prop had been removed and the shaft had been totally cleaned it was then put into the huge lathe so that Carl could check for a bend. Even before we got that far, I could see the bend near the prop.

Who knows how long the shaft had been bent, but the prop showed no damage. It could have been that way for ages. Anyway, this shaft was a European 40 mm diameter shaft and one that would be impossible to find in Antigua. As is often the case in the Caribbean and other "third world" areas, a part is fixed before it is replaced. A foreign yacht skipper came in and told Carl that it would be a miracle if he managed to straighten that shaft. We knew better about Carl's life long engineering skills. With a crack of noise the blow torch burst into life and the shaft was heated right in the area of the bend. For a few hours the shaft was heated and slowly bent back into shape. It was a very difficult job and one that few people would have attempted. Before the sun set the prop was back on the shaft and the diver was in the water pushing it back into the boat. During all of this "Junior" had taken the engine out and fixed or replaced all the engine mounts. By the time the shaft was back in the boat, he was ready to align the shaft and engine. As the amazing colours of another Caribbean sunset told the story of a long hard day, it was time to test the work done. She started up and I eased the engine into gear. All seemed fine at first, so i pushed the RPMs up a bit. No vibration felt and I went below to look at the engine. It was perfectly still and I came upstairs to tell Carl that we could balance a Rum and Coke on it just fine now! Once again Carl Mitchell and A1 Marine saved the day. It saved me thousands of dollars in parts and also in tours. Today we have 42 people from a cruise ship.

Statement from the Government of Antigua & Barbuda on the Stanford Victims Coalition Claims

Here is finally something from the Spencer Administration who currently leads our government.

Statement from the Government of Antigua & Barbuda on the Stanford Victims Coalition Claims








ST. JOHN'S, Antigua - The allegation by the self styled Stanford Victims Coalition that the State of Antigua & Barbuda was a partner in, and beneficiary of, R. Allen Stanford's alleged criminal behavior is totally unfounded.



Despite the Coalition’s claims and insinuations, the Baldwin Spencer Administration, which assumed office in March 2004, did not sell any Crown lands to Stanford; received no loans from Stanford; and was not a beneficiary of any largesse of Stanford. In fact, R. Allen Stanford considered this administration an obstacle to his ambitions.



Stanford was the sole owner of two banks in Antigua & Barbuda: Stanford International Bank Ltd., an off-shore financial entity registered under our International Business Corporations Act with, and regulated by, our Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC), and the Bank of Antigua, registered under the Companies Act and licensed to operate ordinary banking business under our Banking Act, but regulated by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).



The business of Stanford International Bank Ltd. was run from Houston, Texas, and its books maintained in Memphis, Tennessee. The bank was operating in Antigua as a transit point and for purposes of registration and regulation.



While the Government and People of Antigua & Barbuda can understand the frustration and disappointment being experienced by the SIBL depositors, we cannot countenance the attack these persons have begun to wage on our country without first looking at other entities and organizations – including the United States’ regulatory authorities.

Information in our possession supports the following:



1. In late 1998, despite objections by the State of Florida’s top banking lawyer, Richard Donelan, Florida’s regulators gave sweeping powers to Stanford that allowed him to operate and open a trust office in Miami, which was hardly regulated by the US authorities.

2. In December 1998, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed by Arthur M. Simon, the then Director of the Division of Banking for the State of Florida’s Department of Banking and Finance, and Yolanda Suarez, the then Secretary of Stanford Trust Company Limited, authorizing the establishment of a foreign trust office – the first company of its kind ever set up in the state.

3. Between 1998 and 2003, over 2000 customers purchased certificates of deposit from the Miami office lured by the promise of receiving yields higher than those offered by other United States banks.

4. Brokers generated millions of unreported dollars from depositors, particularly Latin Americans, who were lured by the promise of high returns and who hardly questioned Stanford's bona fides as long as their accounts grew on paper. In the first six years, the office, known as Stanford Fiduciary Investor Services, took in US$600 million from customers, Florida state and court records show.

5. It is reported that some of the millions went to support Stanford’s lavish lifestyle, which included private jets, personal loans, expensive cars, and mansions, including a US$10.5 million home in Gables Estates, Florida that he has since torn down, the records show.

6. Nevertheless, as far back as 2003, some investors had begun questioning the legitimacy of SIBL's certificates of deposit, and the United States’ Securities & Exchange Commission was aware to the best of our information, knowledge and belief of these reports and other complaints some of which had been lodged by former Stanford employees, themselves. We are not aware whether, or to what extent, the SEC took investigative or corrective measures.

7. Since the arrest of Stanford, Arthur Simon has admitted that his actions in 1998 should have been done differently, that he would have liked to have stopped the Trust company from doing what it did, and that, in hindsight, “tighter provisions” should have governed the operations. Further, Linda Charity, Florida’s Director of the Division of Financial Institutions, admits that “there was no one that specifically regulated the office”.

8. On Tuesday February 16, 2009, a Court Order was made by a judge in the Northern District of Texas appointing a Receiver over all of Stanford's assets wherever located. When the international and local media reported this breaking news, there began literally a run on the Bank of Antigua, with customers withdrawing millions from the bank.

9. By February 18, 2009 the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) had to extend credit to the bank in the sum of EC$19M; by February 24, the amount was EC$79M, and the final figure stood at EC$89M when normalcy was restored. The amount represents a debt for which Antigua & Barbuda is currently responsible.

10. The prompt intervention by the ECCB was necessary in order to maintain the stability of the OECS Monetary Union as well as, the stability of the common currency shared by 8 OECS countries.

11. On February 23, 2009 the ECCB assumed control and management of the Bank under its emergency powers given by the law which created it. A new corporate entity, the Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Financial Company Ltd., comprising representatives of the indigenous banks in the OECS, was incorporated as an agent of the ECCB to run the day-to-day affairs of the Bank of Antigua. That was necessary to prevent a financial meltdown within the OECS grouping, given our common currency, which is tied to the US$ and has remained constant and stable since its pegging in 1971.



The Bank of Antigua continues to do business and credibility has been restored and is being maintained. The ECCB has commissioned an international firm to evaluate the Bank's assets and worth with a view to purchasing the Bank, given Stanford’s continued inability to provide policy directives. There has, to date, been no purchase of the Bank. Both the SEC Receiver and Stanford's representatives have been kept informed by the ECCB of its operations and intentions regarding the Bank.



It is alleged that, by failing to properly regulate SIBL, Leroy King, the former Administrator of the FSRC, facilitated Stanford's Ponzi Scheme for personal gain. In the wake of his indictment on these charges in the United States Federal Court, the Cabinet of Antigua & Barbuda moved to officially strip King of his position. He is now the subject of pending extradition proceedings to stand trial in the USA. There is neither now nor was there any collusion between Stanford and the Spencer administration.



Following the revelations surrounding the alleged Ponzi fraud scheme operated by Stanford, our Government commissioned an investigation of the FSRC to identify any systemic failures or breaches in operational procedures both within the FSRC and in its examinations of off-shore financial institutions. This was conducted by a group of international experts, whose findings were that Antigua & Barbuda’s international finance laws and regulations, of themselves, could not be faulted.



As everyone knows by now, Stanford International Bank Ltd. is in liquidation. Apart from the Bank of Antigua – which, as an integral part of the OECS banking system had to be rescued by the ECCB’s intervention – none of Stanford’s other local businesses were profitable; in fact, some have been closed, since they were highly dependent on massive monthly injections of capital from Houston, Texas.



The Bank of Antigua has invested a large part of the funds of its depositors – including monies from citizens and residents of Antigua & Barbuda and customers in the United States – in Florida, particularly, and these assets continue to be under the control of the SEC Receiver. As to the source of the funds used to purchase the Bank's fixed assets (three parcels of land in St. John's), to date, there has not yet been any determination of this matter by the Liquidator.



To date there has not been any service of any legal process on the government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the diplomatic channel by any person or persons in this matter.



The Government of Antigua & Barbuda continues to take every practical and legal measure to position ourselves to win this battle. We do not take lightly the threats of the self styled Stanford Victims Coalition. Our overseas missions and consulates are playing and will continue to play a critical role in the government’s actions, as will our Tourism offices. We are in discussions with overseas counsel and intend to defend our country, our Treasury, our citizens’ welfare and our patrimony.



We encourage all patriotic Antiguans and Barbudans – wheresoever they may reside – to marshal their forces and join in our collective defence of fair Antigua and Barbuda.

Adventuere Antigua's tours are busy this week!

Of course as soon as we get very busy (spring holidays) we get problems with either our equipment or our crew. Last week we had a few electrical problems which are now sorted out and now this week we have had poor JD come down with a bad throat infection.
We have taken on some extra crew since we are also doing several trips a week on the catamaran as well. Anyway, this week i have been skippering Xtreme doing around the island trips. It's been quite windy for a change too so the waters have been a bit bumpy at times. Everyone has been enjoying it and that is always very cool for me.
We have seen dolphins and turtles but this week there hasn't been any whales! I am hoping that today I get to see some. All the crew who snorkel regularly at Pillars of Hercules are saying that they hear whales from time to time. I haven't heard them before but know from TV what they sound like. Trevor tells me that there is no doubt what the sound is, but sometimes it sounds like it's right next to you. If you are following me "antigua" on twitter, then you will see photos I upload as i cruise along around the island. Enjoy!
The photo above is one i uploaded yesterday from my phone.

www.adventureantigua.com

Positions for skipper and part time crew available.

Although most of the readers of this Adventure Antigua blog appear to be living abroad, I am still going to put the job opportunity info here in the hopes that some Antiguans may find it this way too. People interested in a job with our company should be aware that you must be able to legally work here in Antigua and that we will not be emplying people who need work permits. For more info check this link.

HARPOONING CARIBBEAN TOURISM: SWALLOWING A DEAD RAT

People who are interested in Antigua or Antigua's tourism and who are involved in almost any area of our government should have a little read of this one which has appeared in various media outlets.

Sir Ronald Sanders
Sunday, March 14, 2010

It's the high seas equivalent of shooting oneself in the foot. Several Caribbean governments are harpooning their own sustainable tourism industry by supporting Japan's ruthless campaign to continue killing whales.

A group of International Whaling Commission (IWC) nations meeting from March 2 to 4 in Florida is reported to have considered recommending to the full membership that Japan, Iceland and Norway be allowed to hunt whales despite a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan in particular would no longer have to pretend that, in killing thousands of whales every year, it is doing so for "scientific" purposes.

Japan does not deny that meat from slaughtered whales ends up in restaurants and shops.

As this commentary is being written a shipment of whale meat is being transported by ship from Iceland to Japan in an expensive and backward step to resuscitate trade in whale meat. Twenty-six nations condemned Iceland last October for expanding commercial whaling, pointing out that it brings little benefit to Iceland's economy and great harm to its tourism industry.

Caribbean countries have nothing to gain if the proposal from the IWC's small working group is adopted by the wider membership. Voting for its implementation would certainly adversely affect the Caribbean's image as an environmentally friendly region, as well as harm the growing whale-watching aspect of its tourism industry.

A study by a group of Australian economists placed whale-watching as a US$2.1-billion global industry in 2008. In the Caribbean and Central America whale-watching is growing at a rate of 12.8 per cent, three times more than the growth rate of the global tourism industry (4.2 per cent). Countries in the region now earn more than US$54 million from whale-watching as part of their tourism product, while earnings from whaling are practically zero.
Despite this, members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Suriname have routinely supported Japan's efforts in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to slaughter whales every year in defiance of the international prohibition.

Significantly, an international meeting in Martinique from February 18 to 21 on "Sustainable 'blue' tourism in the Caribbean" strongly urged Caribbean governments "to give their full support and encouragement to whale-watching activities as a valid and sustainable means of protecting marine mammal populations and creating jobs, earning foreign exchange and providing sustainable livelihoods for fishermen and local coastal communities" . In making this call, the participants - the majority of whom were from the Caribbean - recalled that in 2008, the prime minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit took the "principled position" to withdraw his Government's support for whaling at the IWC as being "incompatible" with Dominica's brand as a "Nature Isle". They called on the leaders of other OECS countries to join him.

The stand-off at the IWC between whale-killing Japan and its supportive small states and proponents of whale conservation such as Brazil, Costa Rica, India, the United States, South Africa, Germany and Australia, has dragged on for some time. Last year, the small working group was established to try to bring an end to the impasse. Many hoped that the group's work would result in strong proposals to ensure that IWC rules are fully respected and implemented, and that whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale sanctuary would be phased out swiftly.

However, it appears that the small group has been coerced into entertaining a different kind of discussion - one in which Japan will be allowed to violate the rules the IWC itself has set and to ignore sanctuaries that have been established. One of the members of the group said that nations must "swallow a dead rat".

Experts from around the world are deeply troubled by the proposals emerging from the group. The proposals include:

*    No provisions to ensure that the existing ban on international
trade in whale products is respected;

• Authorising the killing of sperm whales;
  

• Continued whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary;
  

*    Weakening of the IWC as a rule-making and regulatory international body, encouraging unrestrained actions by individual nations.

Many governments have got away with supporting Japan because their publics are not fully aware that, apart from a small number of indigenous communities in the world, only an elite group in Japan consistently eat whale meat.
In the Caribbean, Japanese associations have paid for the production and broadcast of television programmes which falsely promote whale-killing as a beneficial activity because whales eat fish in Caribbean waters depriving the local population of fish. This claim has been proven, scientifically, to be untrue.

Evidence of the abhorrence of whale-killing and its adverse effect on the world's biodiversity is the fact that an Oscar was recently awarded to The Cove - a documentary film depicting the grisly slaughter of dolphins by Japanese in a cove in south-western Japan.

Kevin Rudd, Australia's prime minister, last month threatened to take action against Japan at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its Antarctic whale hunt. And in New Zealand, the foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, Chris Carter, has called on the government to join Australia in taking Japan to the ICJ.
But Japan remains determined in its stance, not only on whaling but on fisheries generally. Indeed, Japan is so obdurate that it has stated categorically that it will "opt out" of its obligation to stop importing Atlantic bluefin tuna if members of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species vote this month to add the fish to the treaty's list of 'most protected species'. In other words, Japan will respect only those international rules that suit it.

Japan's stance is bad news for small countries which depend, for their own survival, on international rules and respect for them within the UN framework.

Japan has helped to make rules that are imposed on small states -- rules with which small countries have been forced to comply or be punished. Among these are the regulatory and tax information requirements of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

If the proposals of the small working group are accepted by governments, Japan, Iceland and Norway will have a free hand, and Japan will no longer need to lure the support of small Caribbean countries in the IWC.

In June, the IWC will hold its annual meeting in Morocco. That's the time that the OECS and Suriname governments should join the government of Dominica in taking a principled position that upholds their own interest.

Sir Ronald Sanders is a consultant and former Caribbean diplomat.

fancy rowing across the Atlantic Ocean to Antigua?

Every year people take part in this amazing race. Check the latest news here.
There is more info on the site with a realtime tracking tool as well. 

Make plans to come and see the Cove later this week:

The Environmental Awareness Group is going to show the Oscar winning film The Cove this week on Thursday and Saturday nights upstairs of the museum. As I have mentioned before, this very good movie is about Japan's secret slaughter of thousands of dolphins in a small bay there. It also goes into great detail about the support Japan receives from Antigua and Barbuda as well as from other small nations. Although our country doesn't directly kill whales and dolphins, we give the essential support Japan needs to continue killing these amazing wild animals. Money from ticket sales will go towards the EAG. For more on the showing click the image below:

Film with local film crew, local musicians, local producers, and local kitesurfers.

It's quite a big film and may take a while to load (especially if you are in Antigua), but it's very good. Some very talented firends of mine put this together for you to ENJOY! If it's loading too slowly, click the HD button to turn the HD feature off....i think.


We Did Nothing Remix from Kite Scoop on Vimeo.

http://www.adventureantigua.com/

less than five weeks before Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta!

This year the boat the Adventure Antigua team won the Traditional Class with is going to be used by Todd, the man who commissioned "Ocean Nomad" originally. As you know we took over his project and finished the boat, and use it for day and private charters here in Antigua. He is going to come up for the regatta and try to make it a second win for the boat. That may not be so easy though as this year we will be entering our brand new boat "Zemi", and the Adventure Antigua team will be hoping to take home the trophy.
Zemi has never sailed even though she was launched recently for the first time in Carriacou where she was traditionally built by the same local shipwirights that built Ocean Nomad. The mast is being built next week and hopefully we will sail her back to Antigua before the end of the month. JD and Tony don't know it, but they are going to be doing quite a bit of sailing soon! Here is a video we did of us winning last year on Ocean Nomad and at the bottom there is a video of Zemi being finished up and finally being launched.

http://www.adventureantigua.com/

Adventure Antigua featured in the international press again

This time is was simply a tour and interview we did with some media based at the United Nations who were doing reports on climate change. One of the reports was featured last night. I had a text from someone in the UK who had seen it on the BBC, but I know it was a PBS piece in the USA. Please check out the video here in this link.

Earlier she had written a piece about her trip to Grenada and Antigua. My dad had intrigued her with some messages in bottles:

Megan Thompson is traveling around the world for a series on climate change and small islands. She filed this report from Antigua and Grenada.


On Thursday night, during dinner at the family home of our Antiguan guide, conversation turned to the powerful currents that pull the Atlantic waters westward from Europe and Africa to the eastern Caribbean.

I asked – half-joking – if they’d ever found a message in a bottle. Without hesitation they replied, “Of course!” They pointed to a large ceramic pot filled with notes and letters they’d found along the beach, from hopeful, faraway souls – most begging for a reply, some acknowledgment that their message was received.

But along with the bottled notes comes a lot of other foul stuff – trash from Africa and Europe. Neon signs, hard-hats – you name it, it winds up on the Antiguan beach. Other people’s careless actions, wreaking havoc on a distant environment, cause a mess on a Caribbean beach that Antiguans are left to clean up.

The feeling on climate change is much the same: we didn’t cause this problem, but we now must deal with the consequences.

During our two days in Antigua and Grenada, we saw and heard a lot about how the environment is changing. Coastal erosion is a huge problem – whole beaches have disappeared and what’s left is often held up with rocks and retaining walls. Barrier reefs are dying, leaving the weak coast even more vulnerable. Locals also say the weather is changing. It’s unpredictable, and when it comes – as Hurricane Ivan did in 2004 to Grenada, which rarely sees hurricanes – it causes indescribable destruction. Tourism dominates the economies of both countries. But bad weather and no beaches mean no tourists, and that spells trouble.

Both countries admit that they’ve caused a lot of damage themselves. Sand mining in Grenada and intense development in Antigua have done their fair share to beat up the beach. Many scientists we spoke to said these factors — along with El Nino — make it that much harder to pinpoint the effects of climate change. But whatever the cause, these governments feel they need to start cleaning up their acts, and urge the rest of the world to do the same.

Small island nations all around the world have banded together to make some waves before the Copenhagen climate talks in December. Their slogan is “1.5 to Stay Alive – a catchy phrase, but a dead-serious message. They say if the world’s temperature increases more than another 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the seas may rise so high that many of their nations could literally disappear underwater.

During interviews, government officials were polite and optimistic about their campaign. But off-camera, many admitted that achieving the goals of the “1.5″ campaign would require emissions cuts too drastic for many other world players to accept. They seethed especially at the United States, which they see as too beholden to its domestic politics to negotiate seriously.
But their message is desperate, and these countries don’t want to be ignored. They say it’s a matter of survival. They have packaged their campaign with press conferences, slick videos, publicity stunts, and this trip for international journalists. In December, they will travel across the oceans to the Copenhagen summit, hoping their message will be heard and acknowledged, and not lost like a floating bottle, swallowed by the ever-warming seas.
- Megan Thompson