The wind was slow and lazy, so slow, in fact, that we were barely going anywhere, and the boat rocked, gentle as a cradle. I measured our progress (such as it was) by comparing our position to the occasional island; a very slow turtle (the land kind, not a sea turtle) would have made faster progress. It felt lovely as I leaned back with a drink that was in no danger of spilling and a plate of fruit and seafood that wouldn’t tip over. The only sounds were waves lapping against the boat.
In Your Bucket Because…
- It doesn’t get any more relaxing than this.
- The itinerary depends only on your whims (and the whims of the weather, wind, and waves).
- Good for groups of friends or a family vacation, sailors, and snorkelers.
I felt that I have sailed back into another century, and in a way I had: Jambalaya was built by hand along the lines of a traditional Caribbean cargo vessel.
And, although she was built to handle wind and waves, there was none of that adrenaline-seeking nonsense on the day I sailed: we were on Caribbean time, through and through.
“I got the idea for this in the Mediterranean,” said Jeff Stevens, former owner, captain, and designer of the schooner, who was leaning back in the captain’s chair and looked a whole lot more relaxed than you’d expect of someone who was actually at work. “I was sailing in Turkey, where traditional boats take tourists along historic trade routes. The Caribbean has a long history of boat-building and cargo ships, so I thought I coud do the same thing here: maybe take a traditional sailing vessel and outfit it for chartering and touring.”
Building the Jambalaya: a Traditional Caribbean Schooner
As it turned out, rather than retrofit a traditional vessel, Stevens built his Jambalaya in Carriacou, a historic center of the Caribbean boat-building trade. Using techniques that are fast being lost to modernization, he built a ship that is true to the traditional designs of the Antilles. The keel is made of greenheart, a wood so dense it sinks. Wood for the framing had to be cut in the bush in Grenada — an exhausting and painstaking process, because the wood had to be be the right shape to fit the boat.
The process, which included following local strictures such as cutting the timbers only when the moon is waning, took three years. The 65-foot schooner was finally put in the water in 2003.
While I sailed with the schooner’s original owner and builder, Jeff Stevens, the schooner is owned today by Danny Donelan and Monique Mills, who continue to offer a variety of itineraries throughout the Leeward and Windward Islands. Trips can be single-day sails, or customized week-long adventures calling in at islands like Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, and the various small island in the Grenadines chain.
Jambalaya Sailing Itineraries in the Southern Caribbean
I boarded for a day sail on Petit St. Vincent, a tiny island at the southern tip of the Grenadines. (It’s a private island and home to the luxe and lovely Petit St. Vincent Resort.) The tour included a snorkeling stop at Tobago Cays Marine Park, where the waters are that postcard-perfect Caribbean blue, and where sea-turtles are abundant. Other stopping spots on a St. Vincent and the Grenadines itinerary can include Bequia, Mustique, Mayreau, and Union Island, where activities range from snorkeling to beach-combing to sea-side lobster dinners.
Practicalities
Jambalaya can host up to seven guests in surprisingly (for a boat) spacious cabins, but she is more comfortable with four.
Activities can be arranged on a custom basis: Snorkeling gear is available on board, but it’s also possible to arrange for excursions like scuba diving and fishing, and even hiking and horseback riding, when you stop at various islands.
Note that the best-laid itineraries of man and boat are subject to the winds — it may take much longer to get from Point A to Point B than expected.
