Bugorta Info

Late Saturday night I contact my source to make sure weather conditions will be favourable for our trip to a small bit of heaven just outside Pedder Bay. The news is not good: strong winds, a small craft warning and a strong tidal change make for a likely cancellation. I have a group of Aboriginal Youth from Northwestern ready to go diving at this Marine Ecological Reserve known as Race Rocks. There goes my reputation!

Over the years, I have travelled to this special place to many times to count. The light keepers over the years used to joke about my record of “good luck”. My game plan has always been to pack up and go and see what fortune bestowed me.

But this time, it doesn’t look good.

Sunday morning 7:00 am. I call my source again and he says the water is flat in the Strait and we should give it a shot after all. I jump in my car and head to where the youth are gathering. They are ready and we convoy out to Pearson College in Pedder Bay. Garry Fletcher, a Biology Instructor at Pearson College, is our guide for the day. Just as we arrive, the sun breaks out. Our luck is changing.

We load up the dive gear and head out of the Bay. There is a small wind blowing from the Northeast but the tide is flooding which keeps the waves low. A great day is unfolding!

As we approach Race Rocks, we see about 20 gulls harassing a mammoth sea lion as it tries to eat a very large salmon. The youth who accompany me have never seen anything like this before. Their eyes bug out, “Wow, is he huge!”

We are now nearing the dock, where a guest is sitting– another hefty male sea lion. To the left of the dock is a large contingent of sea lions, lounging on the shores of Great Race, the island where the lighthouse is situated. Mike Slater the Marine Protected Area Guardian comes down to assist our docking and the big sea lion slides into the water. The ones to our left start making lots of noise, expressing their disapproval at our approach, but none of them leave. A large male is rolling around in the water next to a group of females. I think they’re with him.

Ron Kirstein is the owner of a Canadian Travel & Tourism Web
site (since 1995). Ron has traveled the length and breadth
of Vancouver Island BC Canada in search of
adventures; see http://tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/travelmagazine

Each year, for four days only, the best sailors from every major island in the Bahamas converge at Elizabeth Harbour on Exuma Island for the National Family Island Regatta. During these four days, Bahamian sailors arrive prepared to sail their locally-built sloops for the much coveted “Best in the Bahamas” title. The competition is fierce and the atmosphere is alive with excitement as boating enthusiasts the world over descend on this picturesque island in the sun. Since the first race held in April 1954, the National Family Island Regatta has grown in size and popularity. Today, although the race remains the main attraction, visitors are invited to participate in countless onshore activities including fashion shows, beauty pageants, weightlifting competitions, volleyball tournaments, and endless parties. This festival certainly differs from its early days when the boats were smaller and the participants fewer.

It was in April 1954, when about 70 Bahamian schooners, dinghies and sloops assembled in Elizabeth Harbour for a three-day racing event. The first participants in the event were excited to compete and certainly enticed by the reward offered for winning the competition. Unlike the boats you see today competing in the event, the first sailors in 1954 raced in the same boats they used to earn their livelihood. These working vessels were fast, but sailors realized they would stand a better chance of winning the prize money if they had even faster boats. This competitive spirit led many sailors to enter the race with boats crafted for speed in the second year of competition. One of the early aims of the regatta was to help preserve the boat-building skills of the Bahamians, and with the prize money as an allure, Bahamian sailors were motivated to keep up this tradition. Today, the regatta draws top-notch racing boats from virtually every island in the Bahamas, all of which are categorized under one of five classes, A through E. Although the race has changed, the goal remains the same: prove yourself to be the best sailor in the Bahamas.

The Out Island Squadron Committee The early organizers were thrilled that the event was such a success, but they soon realized that if the event was to continue to grow, they would need to form a proper committee that would oversee it each year. Hence, the Out Island Squadron was created. The committee was comprised of avid boaters from the Bahamas as well as from the United States, and these members took on the responsibility of sponsoring and planning the regatta. From 1954 to 1967, this same committee organized what came to be a famous regatta annual event in Elizabeth Harbour, in beautiful and historic George Town, on exotic Exuma Island.

Family Island Regatta Rules The success of the event always depended on the skills and enthusiasm of the sailors and as years went by, the quality of both the boats and their drivers improved. The National Family Island Regatta is about competition and excellence. World-class sailors are pitted against one another in extreme competition that tests skill and endurance. The racing rules dictate that the sailing vessels must be designed, built and sailed by a Bahamian. There are also strict restrictions on the building materials used in order to keep these boats as closely related to their traditional origins as possible.

Although the world of sailing has changed in many ways, the National Island Family Regatta in Elizabeth Harbour, George Town is one of the last places to see sailing vessels crafted in the unique Bahamian tradition. Standing on the shores of Elizabeth Harbour and witnessing the arrival of a traditional Bahamian schooner is a wondrous event not to be forgotten. Not only is the National Island Family Regatta a fun-filled week bursting with excitement, but it is also a unique opportunity to partake in Bahamian history - a history that every islander is proud of.

Fred Coolridge is the content manager and author for the website Great Exuma Island, Bahamas - http://www.exumabahamas.org

The Chandris Line was the precursor of Celebrity Cruises.

One of the ships operated by Chandris was the beautiful Liner America previously owned by the United States Line and initially captained by Demitrios Challioris who had been in charge of a crude oil tanker in Southampton.

Chandris bought the largest passenger liner ever in Greece called the Australis. The Australis had served extensively as a troop ship during the second world war so underwent a major refit and became a one-class configuration geared to carry 2300 passengers. The aft promenade decks were extended, a swimming poolwas added, and air conditioning was installed. She made 3 month voyages around the world from Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Southampton, Casablanca, Las Palmas, Cape Town,(or through the Mediterranean via Gibraltar, Naples, Malta, Piraeus, Port Said and Aden), Freemantle, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Suva, Tahiti, Acapulco, Balboa, Cristobal, Port Everglades and return to Southampton.

Chandris Lines also had the Australian Government’s prized immigrant contract bringing tens of thousands of new immigrants out to major ports in Australia The ships were always sold out so that there were 3 sittings for dinner and special sittings for kids. P&O, a rival cruise line, had ceased the line voyage business to Australia so that the Australis was now known as “the world’s largest express liner” .

In 1977 Australis tried a new itinerary from the South Pacific to points in South America to Portugal.

Interest in Sea Travel at that time was low and Australis and became the sole remaining liner on the trade.

New Immigrants now traveled by jet.

In November of 1977 Australis was laid up.

In 1978 she was sold to US investors.

They mismanaged the ship and their company, Venture Cruises, was declared bankrupt.

Guess who bought the ship in bankruptcy court?

Chandris Lines.

For $4 million less than the amount for which they sold her four months earlier!

The ship was laid up and sold in 1992.

Celebrity Cruises was created by Chandris Lines as a separate luxury cruise line, initially using Chandris’s Galileo, which was renamed Meridian after she was rebuilt. She was joined by the new ships Horizon and Zenith in 1990 and 1992.

In 1989 there was a need in the Cruise Industry for a luxury product at a decent price.

Chandris wanted to establish a worldwide standard for cruising by The company was determined to set a new, worldwide standard for cruising.

Exceptional Cuisine and all its facets became the mainstay of the Celebrity Cruise experience.

Master Chefs serve as the line’s revered culinary and wine consultants since its founding.

In 1995 Celebrity introduced the so called Century Class Fleet with an Industry first:

Luxurious Spa Experiences.

In 1997, Celebrity Cruises merged with Royal Caribbean International, bringing together two extraordinary cruise brands within one corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Today Royal Caribbean uses 29 Cruise Liners.

Cruising has become so popular that from 2000 to 2002 Royal Caribbean doubled its passenger capacity.

Its newest ships use gas turbine engines reducing exhaust emissions by 95% and have become traveling art shows as well. They boast original paneling and artifacts from famous transatlantic luxury liners.

In 2001, building on the strengths of both the Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises brands,

Royal Celebrity Tours was started to offer truly unique vacations in Alaska, Canada and Europe, combining outstanding cruises with exceptional pre- or post-cruise land tour packages now known as “cruisetours.”

J Shipper loves Celebrity Cruise Lines. www.celebrity-cruise-now.info www.2qz.com/condo-cruise-ship
www.condo-cruise-ship.com

When Panasonic formerly began making a new leading series of TV’s somewhere in about the year two thousand, their desire was: Find amazing prices on cheap Sony 26 inches LCD TVs at Sound and Vision. Visit the Sound and Vision website.

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