PAGE 14 • SUMMER 2007 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
SAILING DESTINATION
continued from page 13
The Waterfront Café in Bridgetown has a delightful menu
of jazz along with their delicious food to complement the
harbor view and twinkling lights of the yachts at dusk.
Barbados is also the only Caribbean island to have its
own Zagat guide and the reason is easily apparent in the
high quality and diversity of its cuisine. The Cliffs and
Calabaza restaurants offer breathtaking views of the sea
below along with gourmet fare served by torchlight. The
Tides has similarly sumptuous food, but at sea level
where the flying fish provide the entertainment. There’s
also excellent Italian at Daphne’s, Il Tiempo, and Bellini.
Also, Champers is a favorite with its delectable
Caribbean food in a casual island setting.
Those looking to stay onshore will find some lovely spots
at their jumping off point: Carlisle Bay has the Nautilus,
Grand Barbados, and the new Hilton Hotel. Just up the
coast, the luxe Sandy Lane Hotel boasts some of the best
golf anywhere, which is why Tiger Woods is a frequent
visitor (he even got married there). The Crane Resort on
the West Coast is renowned for its gorgeous pink sand
beaches and bucolic setting. But there are a host of
smaller-scale comfortable spots to stay as well, at very
reasonable prices.
(Above) Barbados offers a great stopping off point for sailors doing a
Chartering and regattas
cross-Atlantic sail. (Below) Passengers aboard a small power vessel
enjoy the slowly setting sun.
Clint Brown has two 80-foot sailboats that are available
for charter, the Athina and the Martell. Both have sailed “It’s the first island you hit,” he explains. The one
the Whitbread race (now Volvo Ocean Race). He finds natural bay on the western side, Carlisle Bay, is ideal for
that sailors who come to Barbados are usually doing a mooring, said Brown, but the entire western shore is a
cross-Atlantic sail between November and January. pretty 24-mile stretch, with any number of bays where
you can drop your anchor in the sand and enjoy the
beauty of the pristine white powder beaches. The eastern
side, he said, is impossible because it’s too treacherous,
with the coral reefs and rolling ocean.
The Barbados Sailing Association runs a series of regattas
for the first six months of the year, including the Mount
Gay Regatta and the Banks Offshore Regatta, sponsored
by Banks beer, the local brew, both of which take place in
June. Brown calls them “very friendly regattas” primarily
targeted to the yachting community in relatively nearby
Trinidad & Tobago. Although he sees them slowly growing
as they gain in popularity. Still, they offer a good
opportunity for “young” sailors to cut their teeth.
The island is an ideal destination for sailors up for the
challenge of getting here. An added plus is that the
island is rarely affected by hurricanes. The exquisite
tropical temperatures, between 75 – 85°F year round,
coupled with the constant northeasterly trade winds off
the Atlantic, keep the sails filled and offer enjoyable
sailing conditions, particularly up the west coast.
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