Tall Ship Sailing in the Caribbean with Island Windjammers
Tuesday October 27, 2009
A group of former passengers of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises have found a way to satisfy their love of tall ship sailing -- they've founded their own cruise line and named it Island Windjammers, Inc. 
The company has purchased its first sailing ship, the S/V Diamant, a 101-foot brigantine schooner that sleeps 12. The Diamant is air conditioned, has private facilities, 110v outlets, and will operate out of the new Port Louis Marina in St. Georges, Grenada.
The Diamant's inaugural sailing will be on November 15, 2009, and the ship will call on Carriacou, Mayreau, Bequia, Union Island, Tobago Cays, and Palm Island.
Back in the last century (in the 1990's), Ronnie and I sailed on three of the Windjammer Barefoot Cruise ships--the Mandalay, the Yankee Clipper, and the Flying Cloud. We loved the casual atmosphere and onboard camraderie of the many repeat passengers. It's exciting that some of them have joined together to form a new cruise company so that they can relive those sunny days and starry nights of the less-traveled areas of the Caribbean.One question -- I wonder if the S/V Diamant will carry blue mats?
St. Georges Harbor in Grenada (c) Linda Garrison
Of course we will have ‘blue mats’ – how else could we sleep comfortably on deck?
Of course we will have ‘blue mats’ – how else would we be comfortable sleeping on deck!
WHO ARE THE OWNERS OF THIS COMPANY & WHERE CAN I FIND INFO ON THEM?
I don’t have any information on the ownership or the organizational structure. I suggest you inquire via their contacts page. Maybe you can get the information there.
http://www.islandwindjammers.com/contact-island-windjammers.aspx
Yes, I would like to be certain that there is no affiliation or connection with the owners of the former Windjammers Barefoot Cruises.
Yes….many of us were left high and dry from WindJammer Barefoot Cruises, having invested heavily in what was our favorite way to vacation. We sailed all the 4-masted schooners and invested in their future. Like many others we found out the hard way about the LaMeir’s fine print that took thousands and gave us nothing. But we sure miss it. Maybe it’s time to take another chance. I look forward to reading reviews from those taking the first ones!
I would love to sail again with my family. My family originally won a trip on the first “Polynesia” in 1972…I returned years later as an adult and repeated sails on the Poly and on the Legacy.I was planning on going again when unfortunately Windjammer went out…I will be watching closely and reading the reviews about the upcoming trips and their safety record. Windjammering is the best way to sail and vacation…best of luck…..cc
I’m so excited to read this news. I had sailed on four of the former Windjammer fleet and was so disappointed to learn of the demise of the company. My man and I will be watching for more information and reviews on this new company with high hopes . . . . When we plan our next cruise, we’d like to try it out! Best of luck to the owners of the new company!
We’ve been missing Windjammer sorely. Perhaps this line will offer a similar experience. We’ll be watching for a few reviews first…
My husband and I sailed 6 times with Windjammer and they were the best vacations we ever had! We are retiring this year and had planned to cruise on the Amazing Grace, being able to hook up and supply all the Tall Ships as well as cruise from Miami to Venezula. How disappointed we were when they went out of business. This is very exciting to see that we may once again be able to sail the beautiful waters of the Caribbean!
Cruises – I can tell you I have no concerns whatsoever and am looking forward to sailing with Island Windjammers this winter. Very excited! But I encourage you to contact them to learn for yourself.
My husband and I were married by the captain on the Mandalay in 2004 and enjoyed 5 more cruises in the next few years. We were saddened by the demise of the company especially for the crew’s sake. We have high hopes for the new Island Windjammers and are excited to
plan our next trip.
Best of Luck! Made some GREAT memories on the small informal ship setting. Hope to sail again someday!!
Patty and I were engaged on the Windjammer Barefoot Cruises (WJBC) Mandalay on the run from Antigua to Grenada in 1994 and fell in love with the ship…I sailed with WJBC for almst 20 years and loved every sailing adventure from Tortola in the BVI to Trinidad. Island Windjammers has found the 101 foot 2 mast DIAMANT that has the look and feel of the former WJBC ships on a smaller scale…Theyare determined to do their very best to rekindle the sailing atmosphere that former WJBC Jammers have grown to love and enjoy…Can’t wait to sail again..
Does anyone know who the Captain will be for S/v Diamant?
MJE – I know one of the captains is Captain Matt. I never sailed with him on WJBC but I hear he is a lot of fun to sail with. I’ll be booking a trip for this winter in the next few days. Been following updates of the maiden voyage on twitter and facebook and I can’t wait to sail!
Bill & I met on The Polynesia in Aug ‘03 in the Grenadines and were married on it in May ‘04–Capt. Casey did the honors off the coast of Jost Van Dyke (hi to all!). We also celebrated our 2nd anniversary with the ABC’s WJ.
HURRAY for these people getting this going! We will be booking as soon as possible and can’t WAIT to see who we know amongst the crew–everyone was always so nice and fun!
My husband and I have sailed with Captain Matt several times and will be sailing with him again in April. He’s a great captain and takes pride in his ship. I would see him on the Mandalay picking up glasses to return to the galley, and straightening curtains! But don’t worry, he has a fun side too. Loved his “pirate spandex” during pirate week
For anyone who is interested, I’ve been following Island Windjammers trip updates from their maiden voyage on their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Island-Windjammers-Inc/90920015468#
Bringing back a lot of great memories!
Great idea. Especially with Capt Matt coming back. I will sail with them. It is just a question of when.
Hello Island Winfjammers; I had Hoped that someone would pick up the ball once again when WJBC left. My most memorable place was the Luau on Palm Island-For those of you that have never been there-”Your eyes will feast onto one of the most beautiful places in all the world- “How did you pull that one off??- I am delighted to hear that you will be visiting there again “PLEASE- fill me in on everything (lenth of visit there,will you have Luaus there once again??) Other question-”Can I/We buy into this venture with stock???- Bill Weber
Congrats to the new owners for their courage and vision. I sailed on Windjammer B.C’s. seven times.
While the sailing vacation was great, the chance to meet and play with other folks from around the globe was also a criteria and a key highlight for me. With 50 or so passengers you always found others you enjoyed sharing the full Windjammer adventure with. My concern is that with only 12 passengers you will not have that.(If you are single, that’s 5 couples,into themselves, and you!!) Hopefully another larger ship is on the drawing boards!! ??
My husband and I have sailed on ten Windjammer cruises. We brought groups on several of them. We had the time of our lives on those cruises and miss them so much. The last one we took was on The Amazing Grace in Tahiti. We wish you the best of luck with the new venture and hope we can sail with you in the future.
Unlike most posters, my hubby and I only sailed once on the Yankee Clipper for our honeymoon in 2005. (The cost of of airfare is more than the cruise itself and therefore a can’t do on a regular basis.) But we loved every minute of the Pirates Cruise including the tail end of Hurricane Wilma and the 20 foot seas. So glad there is a come back of the best cruising! We will have to start saying our frequent flyer miles to get back!
LOOVVED WJC we did 4 and we’re on the last with Yankee Clipper, I’m glad she was able to retire…(so to speak) I’ll raise a toast to wish you the best in your new endeavour of sailing the tall masted ships in the Caribbean. Can’t wait to hear review’s…hope to join you soon !