In Carriacou, the Compton family is said to be at the very origin of the trade on the island — and their name reappears in every generation, on almost every important Windward boat, right up to the present day.
Windward, the village that builds boats
On the east coast of Carriacou, exposed to the wind and protected only by a coral reef, lies the village of Windward. It is there, on the beach and under the trees, that the fastest wooden sailing ships in the Antilles have been built for almost two centuries.
This activity didn't arise spontaneously. In the 19th century, a Scottish landowner living in Carriacou needed boats to transport his goods. Rather than buying them, he brought a team of shipwrights from Scotland. These men settled in Windward, established themselves there, and passed on their trade. That's why the shipwrights of Carriacou still bear Scottish surnames today: McLaren, McLawrence, Patrice—and Compton.
The method hasn't changed. No plans are drawn: the carpenter carves a half-hull model on which he marks the position of the frames and the beam. This model, and this model alone, serves as the reference throughout the entire construction process.
Benjamin Compton — arrived in 1833
The starting point. The first known shipwright in Carriacou arrived from England in 1833. No source names the boats he built. We only know that his descendants continued the trade, and that the golden age of shipbuilding on the island was in the 1920s and 1930s.
Jassie Compton — the master whose forms we still follow
He belongs to the generation of Windward's great elders. His importance lies in two things. He designed and built the Margeta O, a 38-foot sloop that became iconic. And he trained, by example, the shipwright Alwyn Enoe, who is not, however, a Compton.
His influence can be seen even in boats he did not build himself: the two-masted schooner Jambalaya, launched in 2002, was built by Alwyn Enoe based on a half-hull model sculpted by Jassie Compton.
Bernard Compton — the master carpenter
Born around 1948, he works in Windward, in his backyard by the beach, next to a small rum shop he owns. He learned the trade not from his father but from his cousins, and is passing it on to his son and nephews. In 2010, the crew of the British sailing ship Mollymawk, who came to visit all the shipyards in Windward, mentioned him as a builder on the island.
He doesn't draw up plans. The keel is made of Guyana greenheart, soaked in rum and water when it was laid. The frames are white cedar, cut three days before the full moon—wood harvested at that time preserves better. The planking is mahogany, nailed with silicon bronze, the seams caulked with cotton and then sealed with pitch and epoxy.
«"Ten years. Twenty years. Maybe fifty if you take good care of it!" — Bernard Compton
Bernard Compton, questioned about the lifespan of a sloop, 2010
Among its boats: Glacier (2008), which he later expanded onto Windward Beach, and New Moon (July 11, 2010, 32 feet), now a training ship in Antigua.
The launch, a village festival
The laying of the keel and the launching are festive occasions. In the past, the keel was sprinkled with the blood of a sacrificed goat and blessed with secret words; today, they usually just roast the goat and wash it down with copious amounts of Jack Iron, the local rum. A boat only receives its name when it touches the water.
Cyril Compton, known as «Uncle C»
Bernard's brother. An accomplished fisherman and merchant rather than a professional carpenter, he financed the original Margeta O by selling fruit for four years from a sailboat in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After the boat was lost in a hurricane, he led the reconstruction, reusing the mast and pulleys salvaged from the wreck.
In 2007, for the 42nd Carriacou Regatta festival, he led the construction of a new 38-foot sloop with his sons and their friends, carving the half-hull model himself. The wood was felled on the island, split, debarked, and planed by the builders; the only imported parts were the bronze and steel screws.
The next generation
Cyron and Daine Compton, sons of Cyril, built the Margeta O2 with their father in 2007. They inherited the trade from both branches: the Comptons on the paternal side, and on the maternal side Olga Bethel's grandfather, a fisherman and shipwright.
Calvert Compton He is presented as one of the last master shipwrights of Carriacou. Sources attribute to him the Margeta, launched in 2019 — a name that clearly links this boat to the Margeta O2 lineage.
Verol Compton represents the next generation. In 2025, he is cited among the talented young builders on the island, alongside Bernard McLawrence, Benson Patrice and Callistus Enoe.
Contact — The Compton Family
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