Sloop News, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

SloopNews.org follows the progress on a great and worthy project — — that of building a 21st Century Island Sloop that bridges forty years of boat building in the British Virgin Islands — and the first ever built on Jost Van Dyke. *Endeavour II* The Goal: Designing and constructing an island sloop to pass on sailing and boat building to the next generation of islanders as it is such a strong part of their cultural heritage. Click here for Latest News! A group of the islands elders who have first hand knowledge of the old sloops met to offer their thoughts and suggestions for the project.
The Elders developed preliminary sketches of an island sloop. Ivan Chennery reasoned that the boat should be at least 30 to 32 feet so as to serve the intended purpose: sail training for the children, racing, and some day sailing. Vancieto George came up with a change to the rake of the stem to make her sleeker. Baba Hatchett concurred, as he spent years sailing on classics and wants her to look as fast as everyone hopes she will sail.
	Orlando Martin presented the group with research on the names of all the old sloops and their owners and proposed that the new sloop be named after one of them. Abe Coakley came up with the need to build a cradle to pull her up the beach and keep her safe during the off-season and all agreed this was a real necessity.
Claudius Callwood and Mark Morris supported the idea of a new sloop as being beneficial to the island’s future both in terms of the youth and the visitors who are always keen to learn about the cultural heritage of the island.
	Project Director Captain Kevin Gray is coordinating the building of the sloop using modern methods so as to teach today’s skills and tool use — building a new class of island sloop that captures the old sheer and above-water shape, combined with a slicker bottom in order to achieve a fast, better handling sloop. This will also minimize future maintenance while capturing the classic design of island sloops. A Naval Architect in Nova Scotia is assisting with drawings being done from the sketches created by the elders.
Funding and support for this web page has been pledged by Conch Charters Ltd. at Fort Burt Marina, Road Town, Tortola.
	Primary Funding of $4,000 in materials for hull construction have been committed by Island Marine Outfitters Dennis MacDonald who has been attending meetings on Jost Van Dyke during the design and development stage. Island Marine is now the largest single supporter from the BVI's marine industry.
HiHo's Andy Morell hands over a check for $1,000 to get *Endeavor II's* Sail Cloth Fund started.
	St Thomas Yacht Club members Pat Bailey, Chris and Evelyn Nye accept a Thank You Plaque made from an off-cut from the stern of Endeavour II. The STYC hosted a fund raiser at the club on July 22nd, 2005 with hundreds of members showing up in support. A shipment of bronze rod was also donated by Chris for the stem and deadwood bolts. Evelyn is heading up sail development along with Nick Bailey who has offered to come back into sailmaking to help the JVD 32 project.
Volvo Penta USA has offered to supply the auxiliary engine. The commitment was sponsored by Brian McDonnell of McDonnell Marine in New England. The serial number will be registered as an educational engine in Volvo’s master system, so that no matter where the sloop goes, her service and support will be easily tracked by any Volvo dealer.
	Living and working on a small island is a special experience, especially for the folks at Necker Island. They have come on board this project with a significant donation to complete funding for the sail. Our thanks to the Necker staff – and we look forward to sailing their way in 2007!
Back in 2003 at the germination of the idea to build a wooden sloop, the Corinthian Yacht Club of Marblehead, Massachusetts held a fund-raising, fun-filled Wooden Boat Regatta that netted over $13,000 to elevate the idea into a reality! Their early support and enthusiasm provided a critical boost to the project and the foundation for attracting additional support and local involvement.
	Just in time for the 2007 holidays, our Island Sloop Project received a wonderful Christmas present from one of Jost van Dyke's well-known friends, singer and songwriter Kenny Chesney, in the form of a donation to our project. The reigning Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the year, Mr. Chesney is a frequent visitor to Jost van Dyke, where he is welcomed by the many islanders he has befriended over the years. References to the island and its residents often pepper his song lyrics, conveying Chesney's affinity for this special community. Mr. Chesney's gift is the largest single contribution to our Island Sloop Project and will allow us to continue construction on Endeavour II pushing us further toward launching of our JVD 32 Island Sloop!
Many thanks to Jim Kelley and www.onlinebvi.net for providing us with support (see the video clip under March 2008 sloopnews updates) and for helping to pitch in with fundraising efforts for other JVDPS environmental projects! If you love the BVI, check out this new site for some great videos!
Project funding is being coordinated by the Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society. JVDPS is registered in the BVI as a non-profit corporation and is dedicated to the preservation of the culture and heritage of the islands. Host and JVDPS Chairman Foxy Callwood and Secretary Bruce Donath have expressed the Society's ongoing commitment to fund the project through donations. They will be seeking the support of all interested parties, whether it is labour, materials or funds. Endeavor's design updates those of the old Tortola Sloops like the retired Esperanza Contributions are always needed to complete Endeavour II and keep it maintained. Click here to visit the Donations page at JVDPS.org to get more information to make your donation. Comments, Suggestions and Questions are welcome at Info@SloopNews.org . Please visit our Shopping page to order hat and t-shirt combos. Sloop News will be updated monthly with newsletters. Please check back for to watch progress on this island sloop project! Click Here to see our Monthly Newsletters!