Sailing Training

Clipper 2014 in Port Antonio Jamaica

Visitors to Sandals and Beaches Resorts are set to benefit from enhanced sailing training through a professional certification program currently being undertaken in association with the American Sailing Association.  Demonstrate your skills and earn your US Sailing national certification at either the dinghy (Flying Juniors) or keel-boat (J24) level.

“Not only will Sandals team members build on their skills in teaching the art of sailing, crew overboard recovery, capsize recovery and other areas, they will also be on par with the rest of the world,” remarked David Lumian, ASA instruction evaluator.

Jamaica Get All Right Clipper 2014

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Picante Easter Sail Around Jamaica

Follow Picante as she Sail around Jamaica, Captain Wright and crew sailed out of  (RJYC) Royal Jamaica Yacht Club Kingston on an Easter Sail around Jamaica. Without the usual winds yesterday it took 18 hours for their first stop in Bowden St Thomas arriving last night at 11:PM 3/23/2013.

Sunrise Sunday 3/24/2013 Captain Wright and crew departing Bowden for Port Antonio Errol Flynn Marina embarking on  one of the most challenging part of the sail the sea's around Morant Point on the North Easter end of Jamaica. 

Picante and her crew with Peter Wright at her helm helped by beautiful tropical winds made good time and latest update is passing the coastline of Long Bay in Portland. The Crew has a eta of 8:30 into the Errol Flynn Pier Port Antonio.Long Bay, long beautiful beach lies on the North Eastern end of Jamaica, Long Bay. The contentious ocean pounds ashore onto a wide, palm shaded sandy beach. The beach is dotted with Tiki Hut bars, restaurants and cabins. The vibe is laid back and European. 

Boston Beach is a coastal community on the north coast of the island of Jamaica, with a public beach which is one of the few beaches in Jamaica attracting surfers.It is located nine miles east of the town of Port Antonio. Boston Beach is known for its "jerk" pork and "jerk chicken" stands and is known as the the birthplace of the spicy jerk seasoning made from Jamaicas allspice now used on cuisines all over the world.In Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, there is a popular local take out restaurant known as "Boston Jerk Pit" with several Boston Jerk in the Bronx New York , Atlanta Georgia, Miami Florida and elsewhere.  

At James Bond Beach Oracabessa near Ocho Rios

James Bond Beach sits on a small peninsula at Oracabessa Bay about 10 miles (16 km) from Ocho Rios on Jamaica's north coast. Located just off Main Street Oracabessa, adjacent to luxury estates Golden-eye and Golden Clouds, James Bond Beach has brightly painted changing rooms, a water sports center  a bar and a restaurant. It is surrounded by crystal clear water on three sides and an amazing backdrop; the lush mountains of St Mary reaching straight down to the sea.

Both locals and tourists come to James Bond Beach to drink, dine, sun and swim. Celebrity friends of owner Chris Blackwell, who is also a movie producer and founder of Island Records, sometimes stop by. A weekend regular is Carl Bradshaw, who appeared in such well-known Jamaica-based movies as The Harder They Come and The Mighty Quinn.

Update on Easter Sail after a few days Captain Peter Wright report Picante is about to Port in Montego Bay Yacht Club, some other news about one of the other vessel is not so satisfying. Captain wright mention lost  vessel but will give us those details later.

Montego Bay is known for its large regional hospital (Cornwall Regional Hospital), port facilities, second homes for numerous upper class Jamaicans from Kingston as well as North Americans and Europeans, fine restaurants, and shopping opportunities. The coast land near Montego Bay is occupied by numerous tourist resorts, most newly built, some occupying the grounds of old sugar cane plantations with some of the original buildings and mill-works still standing. The most famous of these are the White Witch's Rose Hall and Tryall, both of which now feature world-class golf courses.

The infrastructure of the city is going through a series of explosive modernization which once completed, aims to keep Montego Bay as a top destination in the Caribbean and the world.

Update on the Easter cruise from captain Peter Wright News on Tai Pan, it is not clear as to the difficulty she had but her crew is well.

Peter Wright, " I just got out of bed in Bloody Bay in Negril Jamaica.  It is a glorious morning on the start of the second leg of this cruise. 

It has been great for Picante so for great sailing and camaraderie.  

Yesterday we however got the bad news that Tai Pan who started the cruise with us in Kingston and followed us to Port Antonio never made it back to Kingston.  Good news Tai Pan captain and crew are all 100% fine and better off with a lot of useful experience.  Tai Pan is however in Davy Jones locker by Yallahs Jamaica.  

The best part of the cruise for me however is the fact that my big son Jared Wright who like the rest of the HATE sailing took the minibus from Kingston and joined in Montego Bay and woke up by my side this morning.  As the saying goes, somethings in life are priceless.  

We are here for today and tomorrow, leaving for Bluefields in Westmoreland on Monday morning".

Bloody Bay Beach

Picante moored at salubrious Black River for 2 days now. Rupert and Michelle Bent brought down one of their jibs last night and stayed and we all got Picante shipshape, we've done all our repairs from 011:00 hrs this morning. 

Weather just as bad as yesterday as predicted by Met office. Waiting on weather window as predicted by Met Office to be good tomorrow to make a one hop to RJYC at 05:00 hrs in morning. Cap. Peter Wright

Picante, Jamaicas Black River St Elizabeth

Word from Cap Peter Wright this morning as Picante and her crew avoided dangerous westerly winds, Peter,  "Left Black River 2 hrs in light winds, an mi nay beg fi no big breeze again. All systems fine all crew rested. Sail plan to do one hop to Kingston."

Audi I Sail Around Jamaica

Flotilla In James Bond Beach

Getting maintenance done 

Swimming at James Bond Beach 

Alongside at James Bond Beach Jamaica

The Royal Jamaica Yacht Club is very active in sailing, with races on weekends in the protected waters of Kingston Harbor  Two Regattas are held during the year, one at the end of January/early February and the other over the first weekend of August, when we celebrate our Independence. The Piper-Heidsieck Pirates Race from Port Royal to Grand Cayman is hosted by the Club the third week in October each year. The Club and its members are represented internationally by the Jamaica Yachting Association.

  

Boating at the Jamaica Yacht Club Kingston

Clipper 2014 in Port Antonio

The Jamaica Yacht Club was formed in 1884 by a group of enthusiastic sailors. On the 29th of November 1889, the Club was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria following a visit by Prince Edward, then the Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII. Until 1962, when Jamaica became an independent nation within the Commonwealth, the Commodores were all Governors of Jamaica, whether or not they were yachtsmen. In 1963 the Commodore was chosen for the first time from the membership of the Club.

To establish, maintain, and conduct a yacht club and marina for the accommodation of the members of the Club and their friends, and generally to afford to them all the usual privileges, advantages, and accommodation of a Club.

                     Royal Jamaica Yacht Club  

 The Clubhouse has a bar and restaurant, with a beautiful view of Kingston and the Blue Mountains; is open for lunches and snacks seven days a week and depending on the occasion, breakfast and dinner are also available.

We accept credit cards, cheques and cash. The Club has its own private label credit card for use by members. Value added tax obtains to all purchases from the restaurant or bar. Our Quarterdeck accommodates 250 persons, and we cater for member's private parties. Casual apparel and beachwear are offered for sale by the Club.

There is a large swimming pool in close proximity to the restaurant and bar. Meals can be taken in the dining room, on the veranda, at the bar or poolside... or on board! 



The RJYC Club is 2 mins of the Norman Manley Intl. Airport.

Marty Robbins Sings 'Jamaica Farewell.'

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 Hood, The 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.