Windjammer Fantome
In June of 1994 Gil and I cruised in the Caribbean on the Windjammer Fantome with Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. This particular cruise was to what they called the “Lost Caribbean”, islands off Venezuela. The Fantome was a 282-foot four-masted staysail schooner that carried 128 passengers. On 27 October 1998, the Fantome was destroyed by Hurricane Mitch. All passengers and non-essential crew had been let off at Belize City, but 31 crew members perished. I find this post very sad, but also in a way an honor to them and everyone who has died at sea.
We had a wonderful time on this cruise and would strongly recommend small ship cruises and in particular small sailing ships. Just look up windjammer cruises and you will find lots of ships and places they sail. What is a windjammer? “A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts that may be square rigged, or fore-and-aft rigged, or a combination of the two.”
Was the Fantome every found? “They were just 40 miles (64 km) south of Mitch’s eyewall. Radio contact was lost with Fantome shortly after that. On 2 November, a helicopter dispatched by the British destroyer HMS Sheffield discovered life rafts and vests labeled “S/V Fantome” off the eastern coast of Guanaja. It was all that was found of Fantome.”
What happened to Windjammer Barefoot Cruises? “All remaining parts of the company that were still operating were shut down in April 2008. Later that year, the company’s assets were auctioned off. The four ships they operated are all laid up and were left in a neglected state of condition.”
These photos were taken with slide film and poorly stored in a hot attic for too many years before being scanned. I did the best I could with them…
References:
Fantome on Wikipedia
Windjammer on Wikipedia
Windjammer Barefoot Cruises in Wikipedia