Friday, November 26, 2010

Errol Flynn and Port Antonio Jamaica

Patrice Wymore Flynn (Right)

Errol Flynn's love affair with Port Antonio began in the 1940's while he was on a sailing trip destined for the Galapagos. Back then, a storm blew his boat the Zaca off course to Jamaica and soon he discovered the island's northeast treasure. Port Antonio became Flynn's home for many years and as he wrote in his memoir, "After thirty-seven years of wandering I had found my Grecian isle."

Now, the Marina at Port Antonio has been renamed the Errol Flynn Marina, in tribute to the town's most famous resident. "It's amazing that even today Flynn's presence remains an undercurrent in Port Antonio," said William Tatham, Vice President of Cruise and Marina Operations. "The renaming of the Marina is merely an affirmation of what residents and visitors have known for a long time, and that his mystique is still very much a part of the fabric of this part of Jamaica. The Jamaica Yacht Club Host the annual Port Antonio Blue Marlin fishing Tournament from the Errol Flynn Marina. The Tournament is held between September and October each year. The Tournament is  over 40 years old and attract Anglers from all over the world.

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2014

After his initial visit to the island, Flynn would return to Port Antonio and his 2000-acre Errol Flynn Estate at Castle Comfort on hiatus between films. While here he would go rafting on the Rio Grande,on shopping trips to the Port Antonio marketplace, picnicking at the nearby Navy Island, and swimming at Boston Beach. For a time he was the proprietor of the Titchfield Hotel, then Port Antonio's grandest hotel. Errol Flynn's mother and father would also join him in Jamaica.

"This endearing tribute to Errol is perfect in so many ways; he loved the sea, and he adored Port Antonio, so this is a wonderful union of his passions" said Flynn's widow Patrice Wymore Flynn, who continues to live at the Estate.

The Errol Flynn Marina is a 32-slip yacht complex that accommodates vessels up to 350 LOA with a maximum depth of 17 feet. It also boasts single and three-phase power and shore storage and is an official Port of Entry with 24-hour Jamaica Customs and Immigration. Boat repairs and maintenance are available at the full-service boat yard, which features a 100-ton boat lift, the only one of its kind in the Western Caribbean.

Some of Errol Flynn movies include Captain Blood (1935). Quickly typecast as a swashbuckler, he followed it with The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936). After his appearance as Miles Hendon in The Prince and the Pauper (1937), he was cast in his most celebrated role as Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), his first film in Technicolor. He went on to appear in The Dawn Patrol (1938) with David Niven,Dodge City (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940) and Adventures of Don Juan (1948).
Working throughout his career with a cross section of Hollywood's best fight arrangers, Flynn became noted for his fast-paced sword fights as seen in The Adventures of Robin HoodThe Sea Hawk and Captain Blood.
Flynn co-starred with Olivia de Havilland in eight films: Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood(1938), Four's a Crowd (1938), Dodge City (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), and They Died with Their Boots On (1941) these films are a part of the Errol Flynn Biography.


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