Visit of Jeans For Freedom Ferry from Guadeloupe To Montserrat

Author

Shauna A. Harley (PRO)

Release Date

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

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On Saturday March 21st, 2015, Montserrat experienced and influx of 454 French Tourists from the Island of Guadeloupe. This one day Tour aboard the Ferry 'Jeans For Freedom' was organized through RTT Travel & Tours, Runaway Travel, the University of the West Indies, Sun Lea, Scriber and the Tourism Division of the Montserrat Development Corporation.

However, nothing can describe the national efforts that were displayed on Saturday morning when it was realized that due to rough seas,Port Little bay would be unable to Berth the vessel. The Montserrat Port Authority, Customs, DMCA, Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), the Minister of Communications, Works and Labour, the Honourable Paul Lewis, who holds the responsibility for access and the local agent for Jeans Ferry- Wall Trading Ltd., had to immediately put heads together and make a quick decision to divert the berthing of the Ferry Jeans For Freedom, to Port Plymouth.

Despite the diversion, Jeans For Freedom arrived at Port Plymouth by 9:15am which was the scheduled time. The last minute contingency for Plymouth was not quite completed at this point and so Jeans For Freedom was not able to Berth before around 9:40am. Although some passengers were able to disembark, coastal surges in Plymouth posed more of a challenge than was initially anticipated and so Jeans For Freedom had no other choice than to pull up ropes and wait for the Montserrat Port Authority to install some temporary fenders on the side of the wharf. Once the surges lessened the Ferry was allowed to dock and passengers were carefully discharged, where over 20 buses and taxis were waiting to shuttle them to the non-exclusion zones. It is important to commend the 454 persons from Guadeloupe for their calmness and cooperation during this process.

By 10:45 all excursionists were well on their way to exploring our beautiful Island. Clifford Ryan was able to utilize his fleet of buses to transport some of the visitors, including the UWI Cultural group known as CORECA (Contact, Research, Caribbean) of 64 persons, while Blessings Bus Service transported the 146 passengers that had signed up with RTT Travel & Tours ( Rhonda Boatswain).

Local Vendors including Pastry Barn, Jaxonzz and Elizabeth Leibbrand, had set up their colorful stalls at the Public market and Mooses, Time Out and the Ice-cream Parlor in Little had an overflow of activities and business which were well received and accepted. It would be remiss to forget the 20 plus bikers who came to Montserrat equipped with their bicycles and took the adventure of tackling our hills in the midday sun.

Without the assistance of the Montserrat Royal Police force it would have been impossible to stage such an important operation. With very little advance warning, Inspector Courtney Rodney along with a few of his officers made themselves available and were able to man the gate,to ensure that only the relevant persons were allowed to enter. Officers from the Marine Division were also visible on the Plymouth Jetty and one of our local fishermen Ivason ‘Jim’ Fagan, could be seen in the area and this solidified the collaborated efforts of all citizens in ensuring that safety and security were in place.

The cultural event at the Montserrat Cultural Centre was an exchange and exhibition of our local masquerades and the masqueraders from Guadeloupe. Our French visitors enjoyed this experience immensely and were warmed by the hospitality and food that were prepared on their behalf. Miss Gracelyn Cassell Resident Tutor for the University of the West Indies, has indicated that all funds were received from the French visitors, prior to their arrival. Other Tour operators concurred that they had received payment in advance for the excursions. Despite the advance payments, many of the visitors still lined up outside of the Royal Bank of Canada to access funds from the ATM.

By 4:30pm buses made their way back to the Exclusion Zone to Port Plymouth and in an orderly manner our French friends embarked the Jean For Freedom. The class and meek persona of our French Visitors were refreshing and appreciated and Montserrat looks forward to a rapid repeat.

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