Two outstanding restaurant locations are available for lease at Errol Flynn Marina. One is located adjacent to the Ken Wright Pier and marina beach and includes complete kitchen furnishings in addition to tables, umbrellas and seating. The facility further includes two cold rooms and a high volume commercial ice maker. The second restaurant in located on the second level of the Errol Flynn Marina office complex and is also fully furnished and includes breathtaking view of the marina and mountains. Additional property available includes the former offices occupied by the Tourist Product Development Corporation and another former duty free store that lends itself to development as a sidewalk café or deli. For details on any of the above, contact Christine Downer at 876-715-6044 or email [email protected]. The Port Authority of Jamaica which operates the marina offers several incentive lease plans to assist entrepreneurial operators in getting new ventures launched.

 

JOIN US FOR PATRICE WYMORE (Mrs.Errol Flynn) NIGHT DEC. 16- Port Antonio’s first lady, Mrs. Errol Flynn, also known professionally as Patrice Wymore or Pat Flynn, will be the honored guest Friday, Dec. 16, at Marybelle’s Pub on the Pier at the marina. All friends of Mrs. Flynn are invited to come out and help celebrate her 85th birthday that evening from 7:30 p.m. Mrs. Flynn, who was widowed more than 52 years ago when Errol Flynn died unexpectedly of a heart attack, was an accomplished actress, singer and dancer in her own right. Among her notable performances was that of Frank Sinatra’s girl friend in the original version of Oceans 11. Excerpts of this film and several others in which Mrs. Flynn appeared will be shown on the Pub’s 14’ wide screen during the evening. For memorabilia collectors, there will be miniature posters from Oceans 11 and photos of her and Frank Sinatra which she will autograph for party goers. A special buffet meal will be available, in addition to some special presentations and easy dancing music throughout the evening. There is no admission charge for the party. In lieu of birthday gifts, Mrs. Flynn is asking that donations be made to assist the homeless shelter.

 

THE OLD CUBA WATCHER- There’s an unusual story that will unfold in Havana on May 21, 2012, when the Club International Nautico Hemingway at Marina Hemingway marks it’s 20th Anniversary with a big celebration. Just the fact that the club even exists today is testimony to the tireless work of its avuncular commodore, Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich, who founded the club in 1992 with Fidel Castro’s blessing. According to a recent article in Soundings Trade Only: “Credit Escrich with one of the great ironies of the Cuban revolution. The revolution was fought to rid Cuba of its plutocrats and elite institutions such as yacht clubs, but by 1992 times had changed. The country's economy had ground to a near halt after the withdrawal of Soviet subsidies. Fidel Castro was an avid fisherman and, as the story goes, Escrich pitched the yacht club as an economic engine that would host several annual game-fish tournaments and sailing regattas. Castro's favorite writer is said to be Ernest Hemingway, another fishing enthusiast with international cachet, so why not name the club after him? Escrich, a retired Cuban naval officer, became the club's first and (so far) only commodore. During the last 19 years, the Hemingway International Yacht Club has formed alliances with 57 yacht clubs around the world. Escrich says the club receives no government money and has supported itself with donations and dues ($150 a year) paid by thousands of members from 45 nations, including the United States. Escrich has used the club to form relationships with numerous wealthy Americans, U.S. congressmen, Coast Guard officers and business leaders. Loathe to discuss politics, Escrich says he admires American business for its pragmatism and U.S. citizens for their generous spirit. "We all know that American tourism is the best kind of tourism for our country," he says. His efforts have earned him a seat at the table where decisions are made about government policy toward foreign boaters. Escrich is part of a "working group" of Cuban officials that meets regularly to discuss nautical tourism. Not only do they talk about new marina sites and expansion of existing marinas, they discuss such general issues as recreational fishing permits and Cuba's famously burdensome port clearance procedures.In a recent interview with Soundings Trade Only, Escrich promised he would continue to be an advocate for foreign boaters. Asked whether it was possible that Cuba will adopt a more streamlined cruising permit system like that of the Bahamas, he said not right away but reckoned reform was inevitable. ” In anticipation of a thawing in relations between the USA and Cuba, Escrich, along with Dale Westin representing Jamaican interests and Neville Scott, representing Cayman Islands marinas, met in Miami earlier this year to preplan strategies for the end of the USA tourist ban. A follow-up meeting will be held in February, 2012, in advance of a Caribbean-wide marina and boatyard conference planned to be held in Havana in association with the club’s May anniversary. This writer went to Cuba in 1994 in anticipation of a thawing relationship that time between the two adversaries only to have any chance of an embargo lifting totally sandbagged by several vindictive South Florida congressmen.