Abramovich, Eclipse & Barbados: Three of a kind

Source: Barbados TravelAdvisor Forum

It's Official ...

... Port Ferdinand of Arrogance on the way:

Click images to enlarge

Links:

King Ferdinand Of Arrogance Finds A Port In Barbados At Last

Ugh! Yet another Six Mens marina in the works

King Ferdinand Of Arrogance Finds A Port In Barbados At Last

Work in progress on the Port Ferdinand Marina at Retreat, St. Peter, Barbados

It has been several months since this blog visited the subject of the Six Mens/Retreat marina, but that's not because a lot has not gone or is going on with that project. Quietly a few months ago work started on the project but as the old Bajan proverb goes - "You can hide and by land but you can't hide and work it" - sure enough, word of the billion dollar St. Peter residential marina project has started leaking in the local media a few weeks ago and already a firestorm has been gathering. You know, for example, that there is a big environmental concern when the daily paper through which the government speaks to the country yesterday had to carry an article trumpeting the environmental procedures that were followed in getting the project off the ground. The article glossed over the fact that the last mangrove on the west coast has already been destroyed by this project, but that may only be the first of several controversies this new marina next door to the still controversial Port St. Charles may generate before it opens for business hopefully in 2012.

Port Ferdinand Marina Master Plan

The master plan calls for just 96 luxury condos to be constructed on the 13-acre site around a lagoon with the capability for berthing 120 yachts. It also involves the construction of a roundabout and a swing bridge to facilitate vehicular and boating traffic, and beach improvements in the area will be carried out.

No word yet on whether this latest west coast monstrosity is in fact named in honor of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile.

Links:

Club Bimshire: Protect historic sites!

Mullins Bay Blog: "This Is Monaco: Is This What We Want For Barbados?"

"Barbados in the year 2050 – The vision of some…" « Barbados Free Press

"Should Barbados Be The Next Monaco?" « Barbados Underground

Toy-Boat Racing Gets On The Way This Weekend

Are they serious? Give me a break! If they were not saying it with a straight face, we would probably all be laughing at the Ministry of Tourism and its claim that this coming week of toy-boat racing in Carlisle Bay "was worthwhile and an important tool for bringing visitors from all parts of the world." Come on, who do they think they are kidding? Are they going to publish hotel occupancy numbers after this event?

Ever since St. Lucia stole the ARC Race two decades ago Barbados has been floundering looking for its niche in yachting and boating in the Caribbean. The only serious effort on this front has been the establishment of the Port St. Charles Marina a decade ago which basically is a gated "luxury" condo community built around a small lagoon. Condo sales and re-sales there have been good but the project has done precious little to put Barbados on the yachting map. If plans come to fruition they should be seeking to correct some of what went wrong with PSC with a controversial expansion just north starting construction in the fall.

Meanwhile, as we await PSC2 and the overdue "Tourism Masterplan" we may as well try to "bigup," if I may borrow a current colloquialism, the toy-boat racing this weekend. Come on, Senator Gilkes, you are no longer sailing coconut shells on the salt pond in Speightstown - these are the big leagues we are playing in right now. Look around and see what our competitors in St. Lucia and Grenada are doing and get with the program!

Crew Aiming To Break Atlantic Rowing Record

"GALWAY resident Peter Williams is to join eleven other oarsmen from around the British Isles in an attempt to smash the current Guinness World Record for the fastest row across the Atlantic ocean. The current record is 33 days, 7 hrs, 30 mins.

The crew will depart from Puerto Mogan in Gran Canaria in a bespoke boat called La Mondiale on December 31 and will aim to arrive in Port St Charles, Barbados in a new record time..."

Click here for entire article.

Port St. Charles Webcam

Port St. Charles Webcam

Click here or above to select one of four views.

Webcam courtesy of Port St. Charles