- Kind — Carriacou sloop, wooden hull
- Launching — March 2005 — construction project lasting approximately 18 months
- Length — 42 feet — approx. 12.8 m
- Manufacturer — Alwyn Enoe and his sons Callistus and Chris
- Place — Windward beach, Carriacou
- Keel — greenheart, with a lead keel cast in Antigua
- Members — West Indian white cedar, selected in Grenada
- Bordered — wana and silverballi from Suriname
- Port of registration — Antigua
Eight years on Summer Wind, then a dream
For eight years, photographer Alexis Andrews sailed on a Carriacou sloop, Summer Wind. Discover his portrait: Alexis Andrews. He then dreamed of building a larger one, in the same traditional way, on Windward Beach. Discover his first sloop: Summer Wind.
It all starts with a model, discussed in every detail with the carpenter. Alwyn Enoe.
Cedar trees in the ravines of Grenada
Alwyn Enoe, his son Callistus, and his nephew Bonnie meet Alexis in Grenada, on a property belonging to the parish of St. David's. Armed with a chainsaw and a rope, the four men fell white cedars for the timbers. They then have to cut the trunks into ten-foot logs and drag them by hand through the ravines, slipping in the mud, to the road.
It was now apparent why this part had been put off for so long. It was hard going!
Alexis Andrews, Caribbean Compass, April 2005
October 2003: Rum on the keel
The greenheart keel was placed on the beach in October 2003. For the ceremony, two old fishermen from Windward, dressed in their Sunday best, blessed it by pouring rum over it.
The frames were cut with a chainsaw, then shaped with an adze. The planking, ordered from Suriname, didn't arrive until June 2004. The summer was very humid, and termites took advantage: several frames and the keel were devoured and had to be replaced. For the mast, a pine tree from the Grand Étang forest, felled by a tornado, was chosen.
September 2004: Ivan spares the hull
In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan devastated Grenada. In Windward, the palm tree that provided shade for the shipyard was uprooted and fell right next to the hull. The sea rose, breached the frames because the boat was only planked above the waterline, then receded without carrying it away.
The next day, from Antigua, Alexis called Alwyn Enoe. The carpenter replied that someone must have been watching over the boat, that a greater force had spared it.
March 2005: a name kept secret
In Carriacou, the name of a boat must only be known to its owner and family until it is launched. On this Sunday in March 2005, it is Alexis' wife, with her youngest daughter in her arms, who unfurls the christening flag: Genesis.
The priest blessed the bridge with holy water, then Alexis, as tradition dictated, sacrificed a rooster on the buttress. The men rhythmically cut down the stays with axes and cutlasses, and the hull was lowered onto wooden rollers. An anchor was dropped offshore with a tackle, a band began to play, and the entire village hauled the boat out to sea.
April 2005: in the lead from the very first race
A few weeks later, Genesis raced in the Antigua Classic. It wasn't finished yet: the interior was bare, the ballast was just a lead box behind the mast, and the rigging wasn't complete. At the end of the first day, however, it was leading its class and first in real time.
I knew she'd be good, but not this good.
Alexis Andrews, quoted by Dan Houston, Classic Boat, July 2005
His secret weapon is a green bamboo bowsprit, cut from the forest, onto which a small leeward jib is set: one and a half knots more, according to the crew. At this stage, the boat has cost Alexis approximately US$50,000.
The first in a new series
Genesis is the first boat completed on the island in over ten years. It has revived boatbuilding in Windward: Zemi in 2010, Exodus in 2013, and then Free in St. Barth in 2015. Discover Genesis's rival: Exodus.
Alexis Andrews recounts the adventure in a book, Genesis: Building a Traditional Carriacou Sloop. In 2013, WoodenBoat magazine's registry listed it as based in Falmouth, Antigua.
Everything else stemmed from this project. In 2009, Alexis Andrews founded the West Indies Regatta with friends, with the aim of preserving these boats, and then realized Vanishing Sail in 2015. The Genesis project led to the construction of five 42-foot sailboats and the creation of the Saint-Barthélemy festival.
She is in her element, and she is part of the elements because she was born here.
Alexis Andrews, on Genesis
Genesis appears on the memorial plaque awarded to Alwyn Enoe in 2019.
Discover the portrait of its owner: Alexis Andrews.
Contact — Genesis
- Site — vanishingsail.com
- E-mail — images@alexisandrews.com
Sources
- Alexis Andrews, Caribbean Compass, April 2005: Traditional Launch of Carriacou Sloop Genesis
- Dan Houston, Classic Boat, July 2005 (republished May 17, 2011): Carriacou sloops at Antigua
- Jan Hein, Sail Magazine, April 9, 2010: A Carriacou Comeback
- WoodenBoat, register of wooden boats: Genesis
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