Jus' Sail Blog: Learning more about Carriacou Sloops from Alexis Andrews...

Without the passion and commitment of Antigua based yachting photographer Alexis Andrews it is unlikely that you or I would even be aware of the classic Caribbean working vessels from the Southern Grenadines - the Carriacou Sloops. Alexis, sailed throughout the Eastern Caribbean from 1997 to 2003 in a beautiful old Carriacou Sloop called Summer Cloud. In 2003, Alexis commissioned a brand new Sloop, with one of Carriacou's last remaining master shipwrights Alwyn Enoe and his sons, it would be the first sloop built on the beach of Windward Village on the small island of Carriacou in over a decade. Genesis has subsequently become the leading race winner in the small class of Carriacou Sloops that compete in regional regattas such as Antigua Classic Week and the West Indies Regatta in St Barths.

Alexis has published a stunning set of coffee table books - Carriacou Sloops Vol I&II, the first of each Vanishing Ways charts the history of these vessels from 1830 when Scottish shipwrights were brought to the Grenadines to help plantation owners ship their produce to markets on the larger islands. Vol II - Genesis documents the building of his own vessel. Together these books offer a wonderful insight into the heritage and cultural roots of these vessels and really convey the beauty and uniqueness of the boats which makes them so much fun to sail and be onboard.