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April 1998 Polynesia PagesBEFORE THE CRUISE
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WEST INDIESby Mitchell Brooke
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This ain't no foo-foo ship |
On April 12, 1997, I was off to the West Indies. My email pals would have to wait a week.
On the flight over, I asked the couple sitting next to me what where they were staying in St. Maarten.
"Oh, we're going on a cruise."
While I knew that some foo-foo ships called in St. Maarten, I was pretty certain that only the Polynesia originated from there. So confidently I said, "Great, I'm on the Poly, too!"
"I think the name of our boat is the Phantom."
"It's a ship not a boat...It's called Fantome (long O)...and it's in Belize or Antigua...certainly not St. Maarten." I thought to myself. They had either booked the wrong ship or the wrong flight.
The woman must have seen the puzzled look on my face because she quickly told me that the Fantome was doing a repositioning cruise of the Leeward Islands before she went to Belize for the summer. This was great, I thought, I would get to see one of the other ships in the Windjammer fleet. This was their first Windjammer and of course, they had many questions when they found out I was a veteran passenger.
After four cruises, arriving at Sint Maarten had become routine. The cab ride from the airport is short and there is always a Windjammer representative there to wrangle passengers and get them to the pier. There were crew members at the pier in their blue and white striped shirts waiting to help us with our luggage. But this time they had to make sure that the Poly luggage was kept separate from the Fantome luggage. I looked out onto the Great Bay and there were two tall ships. Polynesia on the right ...Fantome on the left...and in between the biggest, ugliest, nastiest foo-foo ship I'd ever seen. The good news is that when a piece of shit like that is in Phillipsburg, all the shops will be open on Sunday but unfortunately it was ruining my view and my photographs. I shopped for some staples then went to a bar near the pier...I met a couple from Wisconsin who were on the Poly and a couple from Scotland who were on the Fantome. All four were first timers and they were all excited.
Whenever I tell a first timer how many Windjammer trips I've been on, they almost always have the same reaction. They're voice says, "Wow!" but their face says, "You must be some sort of head case."...and their probably right. But I always make a point close to the end of the cruise to ask them if they're planning on Windjamming again. Invariably they say, "As soon as possible."
At five o'clock I made my way down to the pier where Zelda, the purser, was giving an orientation talk to the passengers. We then boarded the launches for the Poly. Once aboard, swizzle in hand, I checked in, went to my cabin, changed into some shorts and went topside to meet my fellow passengers. After about a half hour, the long day caught up with me and I decided t take a short nap. When I woke up, it was ten-thirty. The band was winding down their final set and the Stowaway party was coming to a close. I did go down to the bar where some of the crew of the Fantome were visiting. Annie was the purser and Captain Guyan was the relief captain on the Poly when I sailed last year. I visited with them a while and then headed back to BQB to turn in for the night.
Something new and different did occur at Story time the first day. Captain Neil announced the entire week's itinerary. In the past the Captain and crew have been very closed mouthed about where we were going. But Captain Neil told us,"First we'll go to Columbier Bay for a swim.. then tomorrow St. Barth's proper...Wednesday we'll go to Nevis and I need to go to St. Kitts on Thursday to get some fresh water. Then Friday I'll drop you on a beach and burn ya." Except for the order, it sounded like a typical Poly cruise...wrong again.
With the exception of Anguilla, I had visited all the Islands. (At this point, I didn't know we were going to Anguilla.) I've already covered the itinerary on my Polynesia page so, I'll tell you what made this Poly cruise unique.
One of the misconceptions of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, Ltd. is that there is not enough planned activities and that they can become boring. While I can understand how some would have this perception, I would have to disagree. Captain Neil and his crew kept the Polynesia rockin' for a week that could have been a disaster in the hands of less capable mariners.
I'm referring specifically to rain. Windjammer literature says that rain is rare in the Caribbean and when it does occur it's short...not the case in an El Nino year. We had rain almost every day. On some days it rained consistently. The showers were short in duration but they came one after the other, stopping long enough to dry out and then starting all over again. The seas were also high, making wet landings impossible and dry landings difficult. The captain and crew always had Plan B ready to go. We landed at the pier in Nevis instead of Pinney's Beach and when the rain and high seas made the beach party impossible, Captain Neil brought the band to the ship.
Speaking of bands, Captain Neil was able to secure live music almost every night. This was not an easy feat considering Sint Maarten was celebrating Carnival at the time. There was a band at Le Select in St. Barth's of course and the aforementioned band from Nevis. I was also glad to see and hear the Coronets in St. Kitts, one of the Caribbean' top steel bands. There's no sweeter sound than that of a steel drum. If you've only heard a recording, you really haven't heard one. Another musical highlight that week came on Friday night. Jack Shepherd, a Scottish folk singer who now lives in Sint Maarten performed almost all night and into Saturday morning. His set included everything from traditional Gaelic songs and sea shanties to the Beatles and the Star Spangled Banner. Mr. Shepherd was a first class entertainer. He sang until his voice gave out and when he could sing no more, Captain Neil stepped up to the microphone and gave us a two hour comedy routine. If Caroline's or the Improv decide to open a club in the Caribbean, I think Captain Neil would be right at home on stage. Many of us had planned to go into Phillipsburg for Carnival that night but again the rains came. The shipboard entertainment was fine and I was not disappointed in the least about missing Carnival. My hat's off to Captain Neil for making sure we had live entertainment every night and providing wide variety of music.
In the predawn light of Wednesday morning, a ship appeared on the horizon. With her sails full she stealthfully approached Charlestown Harbor. The gracefulness of the great ship hid a her ominous goal...the total and complete annihilation of the S/V Fantome. Captain Neil's strategy for the conquest was simple...play nice until the moment of truth.
During storytime, Polynesia's passengers noticed a great silence from their counterparts aboard Fantome. They had already become accustomed to their own Skipper's bawdy humor and wondered why none of the crowd across the harbor were engaged in uproarious laughter. Captain Neil, always courteous, encouraged his flock to greet the master of the neighboring vessel.
"GOOD MORNING CAPTAIN GUYAN, YOU ENGLISH PIECE OF SHIT!!!", the Poly passengers shouted in unison.
Heads turned and jaws dropped aboard Fantome but she was still silent.
As the afternoon rains poured, passengers from both ships gathered under the inadequate shelter of Sunshine's beach bar for lobster, Cokes and Killer Bees. But there was still tension in the air. All knew that a showdown was eminent.
The moment of truth arrived at 5 o'clock-ish (a quarter to six in island time). As Fantome's passenger's manned the lines. The word came over Poly's Public address system.
"He may be my brother but I don't care." announced Chief Mate Paul as he strolled over to the massive cannon mounted on Polynesia's starboard rail.
The outcome was inevitable. Earlier in the week, Paul had taken target practice on one of P&O's finest foo-foos. Purser Annie made a noble effort with Fantome's artillery but she was no match for Paul, who managed to fire five shots for every one of her's.
As Fantome circled around the bow of the Poly she was greeted with an even more stunning surprise. No fewer than twenty-six cheeks greeted the crippled ship with a full-moon salute. It was over as quick as it began. The crippled Fantome limped away into the sunset, as the Polynesia prepared for a night of drinking and dancing to live reggae.
[ For the revisionist version of the above story click here ]
There has been much discussion on the Barefoot Bulletin Board about children on Windjammer ships. Until this trip, this had not been an issue for me. Only on one trip before had there been anyone under eighteen but they were older children...a teenage boy and his 12 year old sister. Both were well behaved and caused no problems.
This time there were several children aboard ranging...ranging from eight to young teenagers. Again they were well behaved and caused no problems as far as I could tell. One young lady was disappointed when her parents decided that the crab races were a little too bawdy. After that the crew made an effort to make inform us which activities were "adult" in nature and provided some alternative activities for the young ones. Boat Races, Crab Races, costume night and Joke telling were not infringed. The presence of children did not effect the enjoyment of this cruise.
To those who want to bring children on Windjammer trips...remember that there's no way to keep them completely isolated them from the adult stuff.
To those who subscribe to the no-children dogma...quit whining.
Conclusion
This was a unique trip. The weather was bad a lot of the time. The Captain and crew made the best of it and the passengers all had a good time. Much of the credit goes to Captain Neil who was able to secure live entertainment (and provide some himself) each night . This was also the first time I was able to see the Fantome. She was a beautiful ship and it's a shame to have had to destroy it in Nevis. And finally the anti-children dogma was finally put to rest in my mind.
But it this was only half of the story. My second Singles Cruise and
first trip to the British Island was still to come.
April 1998 Polynesia PagesBEFORE THE CRUISE
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