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Schooner Bay Becoming A Community

Schooner Bay will transform from a construction site to a community in 2012 with an estimated $30 million spent on infrastructure, amenities and homes. Major milestones this year for the South Abaco development include up to 30 homes completed, installation of infrastructure and the introduction of the project’s first businesses.

Construction is now booming with 12 homes at various stages of completion on the island and another four on the mainland.

Orjan Lindroth, the key developer behind Schooner, told Guardian Business an additional 16 are in the pipeline for the coming year.

“Schooner will become a village, on the way to becoming a town. The heavy civil work involving the harbor is done so it’s much easier to see it move from construction to community.”

Malcolm added that up to 20 boats should also be moored at Schooner or more by the end of 2012. A fuel dock should be installed this year and Schooner is now the only harbor within 20 miles in any direction.

Less glamorous but just as essential to the development is the installation of infrastructure now underway. Electricity, water, and sewerage represent a major capital investment, Malcolm explained, providing utilities for up to 140 lots. Costing in the range of $8 million to $10 million, contracts have already been awarded, he said.

Meanwhile, a complement of commerce is expected to follow the housing and infrastructure boom. Schooner has already started to host symposiums in an effort to identity worth candidates for its first “12 core businesses”. Blackfly, the elite bone fishing lodge, has begun construction at the mouth of the harbor, and is slated for completion in January of next year.

Lindroth noted there will be four different food and beverage outlets in place by the end of 2012, including Blackfly, a deli and a general food store.

Courtesy of Nassau Guardian

Diving in the BVI

The British Virgin Islands are best known for perfect sailing conditions, but they also have more than 100 dive sites well worth an underwater visit. While the BVI may not have walls or drift diving, The British Virgin Islands have a wide variety of exotic dive sites with countless reefs, towering coral pinnacles, underwater caves, lava tunnels, canyons, massive boulders and grottoes. The BVI have a choice of dive sites that range from the novice snorkeler the experienced scuba diver. Not only does the dive sites boast dramatic sea caverns and extraordinary shipwrecks and ir temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit year-round but visibility may reach more than 100 feet.
A marine park system and mooring buoy program administered by the National Parks Trust and the Ministry of Natural Resources are dedicated to the preservation of reefs and marine life.

Exploring the BVI underwater havens is in itself extraordinary. Land-based divers can lodge at world-class resorts, quiet villas or campgrounds. . For those who wish to make diving and boating the focus of their holiday, the options range from adventurous to luxurious. Guided tours of Smuggler’s Cove on Tortola, Great Dog Island, Blonde Rock, or dozens of other sites are one possibility.

In the British Virgin Islands, there is much to explore with just a snorkel and mask at one of the many incomparable dive sites around 60 islands and cays. For adventure-seekers, many fascinating shipwrecks lie scattered across the ocean floor. If you’re a novice, choose from sheltered wrecks like the Rokus off the southeast tip of Anegada, or the Chikuzen off Tortola’s East End, a 268-foot steel-hulled refrigerator ship blessed with visibility so good you can stand on the bow and see all the way to the stern. More advanced divers can explore the Rhone off Salt Island, a British mail ship sunk in a storm in 1867, generally recognized as the best dive site in the Caribbean.

VIRGIN GORDA - Spring Bay in Virgin Gorda has a gorgeous sandy beach perfect for snorkeling. Nearby at The Baths, an extraordinary natural landscape awaits, with partially submerged grottoes created by huge boulders that were scattered by ancient volcanic activity. Snorkelers can tour giant boulder fields or immerse themselves in coral-encrusted shallows.

TORTOLA - Brewer’s Bay on Tortola holds schools of trumpet fish, barracuda, octopus, stingrays and sergeant majors, and Smuggler’s Cove at the northwest end of the island, offers two reefs, just 100 feet offshore, which are the playground of grunts, squirrel fish and parrot fish.

ANEGADA - Off Anegada, the wreck of the Parmatta, which ran aground in 1853 on her maiden voyage, provides an opportunity to see butterfly fish, turtles and huge groupers.

OTHER ISLANDS - A tank and a regulator will allow for a closer look at the region’s numerous coral gardens, many in less than 30 feet of warm aquamarine waters. The Caves at Norman Island are rumored to have been the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure tale Treasure Island. At Joe’s Cave, an underwater cavern on West Dog Island, divers can swim alongside giant grouper, eagle rays or flowing schools of glassy sweepers. The Chimney at Great Dog Island near Virgin Gorda reveals a coral archway and canyon covered with a wide variety of sponges and coral, including the rare white variety.

Swarms of schooling jacks circle the tops of submerged sea-mounts that rise from the depths to within a few feet of the surface. Divers can explore crevices and undercut ledges as they spiral down to depths approaching 100 feet, perhaps catching a glimpse of a tarpon, amberjack, turtle, or shark, and listening for the songs of migrating whales.

If you want to "try" to see the whale migration (whales permitting!), go between late December and early April, stay in the North Sound area, and do advanced dives in open waters north of Virgin Gorda at the Chikuzen and Invisibles. The most likely months to see whales is during February and March when they have babies and must travel on or near the surface.

Courtesy of britishvirginislands.com

The Genesis of Scrub Island

Joe Collier wasn’t looking to make a deal when he visited Scrub Island in the British Virgin Islands while on a bareboat charter in 2003.
The hotel developer was looking for a good meal, however, and a man in a dinghy had just passed by with flyers alerting cruisers the island’s sometimes-open Donovan’s Reef restaurant would be welcoming guests the following evening. Joe picked up the VHF and made dinner reservations that would forever change his life and the fate of Scrub Island. Read More

Less than two miles from Trellis Bay, Beef Island, off the east end of Tortola, Scrub Island is easily accessible yet off in its own world. Once a haven for pirates and base for a failed Dutch settlement, the island sat uninhabited until Gene McManus, an American architect, built a home and opened a restaurant named after his favorite John Wayne movie. When Joe visited in 2003, Gene had passed away, and his widow and two sons were running the restaurant. Over drinks and some guitar playing, Joe got to talking with the family, and once they learned he was in the hotel business, they divulged their search for a developer. Soon, the concept of Scrub Island Resort was born, said to be the first new development in the B.V.I. in 15 years.

From the sea, Scrub island is hilly and unassuming so that her beauty almost sneaks up on you. But from shore, it’s something else entirely. High cliffs plunge into startlingly clear waters, the vistas of surrounding emerald hills and open seas seem to roll on forever, and protected beaches and nature trails beg for exploration.

Text and Photos By Risa Merl
Courtesy of Southern Boating January 2010

Caribbean Warms to Beijing

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - By the time Wang Qishan, China's vice premier, arrived in Trinidad for the Third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum early last week, Beijing had already ramped up its involvement with most countries in the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping.

In the days leading up to the September 12-13 event in Port of Spain, China signed cooperation and loan agreements for projects worth millions of dollars with Barbados, The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda. Before the forum ended, it had added Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana to the list of countries benefiting from Beijing's largesse.

If those agreements were not sufficient, Wang took the opportunity at the opening of the forum, also attended by nearly

50 Chinese business organizations, to announce that his country would be providing US$1 billion in loans and preferential treatment to Caribbean countries in support of local economic development.

China is also contributing $1 million to the Caribbean Development Fund (CDF), designed to provide technical and financial assistance to the CARICOM-designated disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors.

Beijing offered no less than 2,500 training opportunities for Caribbean countries and 30 opportunities for Caribbean professionals to study for master's degrees in China.

Wang said China would also boost the ability of Caribbean countries to cope with natural disasters, including support in the building of seismic and tsunami early warning and monitoring networks.

China is the third-largest direct investor in Latin America and the Caribbean, after the United States and European Union, accounting for 9% of foreign direct investment in the region. The value of China's trade with the Caribbean and Latin America is estimated at $156 billion.

Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo, who was among a handful of regional leaders who came to Port of Spain for the forum, said it was necessary for CARICOM to pursue a non-reciprocal trade agreement or a partial scope agreement with China, similar to the one that exists between his country and Brazil.

Jagdeo said that because of the small size of the Caribbean's economies, the top 30 or 40 export commodities could be imported into China on a duty-free basis, which would have a minimal effect on the Asian giant while generating significant wealth for the Caribbean.

Over the past two decades, bilateral trade between the Caribbean and China has grown a significantly, from $20 million in 1990 to $2 billion billion in 2008, he noted.

"In the last 10 years, China's exports have consistently accounted for more than 70% of total trade," Jagdeo said. "In 2008, 93% of Caribbean-China trade consisted of China's exports to the region. The region itself exported significantly (over $60 million in goods) to China in that year.

"China has a growing demand for the region's raw materials including gas and asphalt in Trinidad and Tobago, bauxite in Jamaica and timber, bauxite and minerals in Guyana. In addition, Chinese companies have used the Bahamas' close geographic proximity to the United States to manufacture and assemble products destined for the United States market, and to invest in the service sector such as tourism," Jagdeo said.

Host Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar said that, "The challenge for us in the Caribbean as we welcome foreign direct investment inflows from China is to continue to improve the investment climate to ensure that the interventions contribute to linking domestic firms to the global economy."

"It is also necessary to strive for the matching of financing injections into high-return projects," she said.

Caribbean countries have struggled as a result of the global economic crisis, and regard the so-called BRIC countries - India, Brazil, Russia and China - as integral to the future development of the region.

Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said China must be commended for reaching out to the Caribbean region "at a time when countries are struggling to address the impact of the global financial crisis".

The global economy has been undergoing very significant structural changes piloted by new drivers of global growth, said Guyana's Finance Minister Ashni Singh.

"Increasingly what we see is Chinese companies, having grown rapidly as they have, driven by the domestic growth (are) ... looking increasingly for a global presence. We see Chinese companies looking for investment opportunities throughout the world; we see that happening in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and elsewhere."

The forum here had been billed as an ideal opportunity for Caribbean countries to discuss and establish blueprints for future cooperation in areas such as finance, infrastructure, tourism and agriculture.

Recent data indicate China is not only the third-largest inbound tourism destination, but also the third-largest source of outbound tourism.

Simplifying the visa process for Chinese tourists, or eliminating it entirely, will be a major step for business relations between China and The Bahamas.

"We are seeking a possible way to speed up the process or eliminate the process entirely," said Brent Symonett, minister of foreign affairs, adding "we hope to have a resolution to this issue in short order."

But not everyone is unreservedly enthusiastic regarding China's growing economic influence in the Caribbean.

Economist Indera Sagewan-Ali said that Chinese officials came to the region with self-interest at heart as well.

"China has a lot of money and is looking for investment opportunities. It has a lot of capacity for construction and all these things and they want to send it out there, so they came out very well. The challenge is, has the Caribbean thought about what is in it for us?" she said.

The head of the Joint Consultative Council in Trinidad and Tobago, Afra Raymond, also urged caution regarding the recent Chinese investment thrust in the Caribbean.

"We had a terrible experience with what I call the 'Manning Model' [in reference to the former Patrick Manning government] for the last eight or nine years, with huge unnecessary projects using the taxpayers' money. Chinese contractors came here with Chinese laborers and Chinese fittings, and we still have to continue paying for those projects," he said. "That was a failed model. "

By Peter Richards

Good Night Irene

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) -- A large and powerful Hurricane Irene roared across the Bahamas archipelago on Wednesday, pummeling the country's smaller, less-populated islands while posing less of a threat to the capital, a major tourist destination with 200,000 residents. (Scroll down for photos)

There were no immediate reports of major injuries or deaths but property damage appeared likely to be extensive on Acklins and Crooked islands, in the southern part of the chain, said Capt. Stephen Russell, director of the country's National Emergency Management Agency.

A settlement known as Lovely Bay was destroyed while at least 40 homes were badly damaged on the island of Mayaguana, the agency said. Authorities were still gathering damage reports and there were few details on the destruction.
Major damage was also anticipated on the island of Eleuthera, which was being battered Thursday morning, as well as Rum Cay and Cat Island. All were expected to have full and extended exposure to Hurricane Irene's powerful winds, which had weakened slightly Thursday to 115 mph (185 kph).

"That can be devastating for some of those islands," Russell said.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, warned Thursday that an "extremely dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 7 to 11 feet (2 to 3 meters) above normal tide levels over the Bahamas."

"The surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves," and Irene is expected to dump from 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of rain on the islands over the next day and a half, the center said on its website.

Irene's core was forecast to continue moving over the northwestern Bahamas on Thursday before heading north toward the U.S. coast, with its current path possibly bringing it to North Carolina's Outer Banks by Saturday afternoon.

A hurricane watch was issued early Thursday for much of the North Carolina coast. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours. Also, a tropical storm watch was issued for much of South Carolina's coast.

As of 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), the Category 3 hurricane was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east-northeast of the Bahamian capital, Nassau. Forecasters said the winds will ramp up quickly and Irene was expected to blow into a monstrous Category 4 with winds of at least 131 mph (210 mph).

Forecasters said Nassau, on New Providence, would see tropical storm-force winds no greater than 65 mph (104 kph) because the storm track had shifted and it was not getting the direct hit that many had feared. The island is the most populated, with more than 200,000 people, and is a major tourist destination.

This storm was only the third since 1866 to cross the entire length of the island chain and Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said the country was bracing for extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure. But he predicted few casualties overall.

"As a general statement we do a fair job of managing hurricanes so personal injuries, we hope, will not be substantial," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Property damage, vegetation, public infrastructure, yes, but as a general statement we would hope that personal injuries would be minimized."

Still, the storm could cause problems. Trevor M. Basden, senior deputy director of the country's Department of Meteorology, said New Providence could expect to be buffeted with fierce winds until Thursday evening. "That is quite of bit of time to be experiencing tropical storm-force winds," he said.

Authorities set up emergency shelters throughout the country but most locals were expected to stay in their own homes or with friends and family while visitors stayed in the handful of hotels that remained open.

As darkness fell Wednesday and the first strong winds and rain began to lash the city, the streets were largely deserted. Earlier, the capital buzzed with last-minute preparations as people gathered what supplies were still available and shop owners boarded up their windows. Nassau, surrounded by sparkling greenish-blue waters, is known to flood even in heavy rain so the storm surge was expected to make many roads impassable, especially in the colonial downtown.

Many visitors weren't waiting around to find out what would happen and fled the country, waiting in long lines to catch planes before the airport closed. Some tourists had no choice but to leave since smaller hotels abruptly closed and larger ones were booked up with Bahamian residents looking for a place to ride out the storm. Others flying out simply didn't want to take their chances with what could be a major storm.

Irene barreled through the Turks and Caicos Islands late Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane, blowing off some roofs, flooding roads and downing power lines, said Emily Malcolm, district commissioner for South Caicos island.

Puerto Rico, which also was hit by Irene, is still struggling with heavy flooding that has stranded motorists and affected several neighborhoods. Dozens of landslides have been reported and 765 people remain in shelters, Gov. Luis Fortuno told a news conference Wednesday, two days after he declared a state of emergency.

On Tuesday, a 62-year-old woman died at a hospital after trying to cross a swollen river in her car near the capital of San Juan, police said.

In the Dominican Republic, flooding, rising rivers and mudslides prompted the government to evacuate nearly 38,000 people. Authorities said a 40-year-old man was killed when floodwaters destroyed his home in Cambita, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Santo Domingo, and a 42-year-old Haitian migrant drowned in a surging river near the city of El Seibo.

Impoverished Haiti was left "relatively unscathed," with only isolated damage from flooding, the United Nations said.

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Associated Press writers Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ezequiel Abiu Lopez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Megan Reynolds in Nassau, Bahamas, contributed to this report.