- Boat type — two-masted schooner, wooden hull
- Launching — 2002
- Length — 73 feet — approx. 22.3 m · beam 16.6 feet
- Built by — Alwyn Enoe, based on a half-hull model carved by Jassie Compton
- Ordered by — Jeff Stevens
- Complete refit — 2010
- Base — Grenadines
The largest unit to leave Carriacou
Jambalaya is the only schooner from Carriacou built as a passenger ship. Its history hinges on a single detail that speaks volumes about the transmission of knowledge on this island: it was built by Alwyn Enoe, but based on a hand-carved half-hull model by Jassie Compton. The shapes of the largest unit to emerge from Carriacou at that time are therefore those of a Compton.
Three years of work for Jeff Stevens
Jambalaya was the brainchild of Jeff Stevens, a Briton who had been sailing in these waters for sixteen years. He spent three years building her himself, using timber from the Grenadines and with the help of master shipwrights from Carriacou. She was launched in Tyrrel Bay.
Stevens lives on board and takes clients of the private resort of Petit St. Vincent out to sea: day trips or overnight trips, diving, snorkeling, sashimi and grilled lobster on deck.
In 2008, he entered her in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, where she finished third in the Traditional Class. In a good breeze, she can maintain speeds of eleven to twelve knots.
A name derived from its carpenters
The boat's name comes from the men who built it: according to Forbes, Jambalaya is an anagram of their initials. The magazine doesn't name them, and no other source explains it. In Carriacou, a boat's name remains secret until the day it's launched.
The most likely hypothesis would be the following.
- JAM — for the carpenter to whom some sources attribute the half-hull model of the boat: Jassie Compton.
- BAL — for the carpenter who might have helped build it: Baldwin DeRoche.
- ALAYA — for the carpenter who officially built it: Alwyn Enoe.
One question remains: why not call it "JasBalwyn"? Probably because of the association with jambalaya, a traditional specialty of Cajun and Creole cuisine, a spicy rice cooked with meat, seafood and vegetables.
A popular explanation of the word jambalaya suggests a contraction between the French word "jambon" and the term "aya," which means "rice" in West Africa, and evokes the mix of cultures that gave rise to the recipe. See the origin of the word jambalaya.
This hypothesis is only speculation. If you know the story, please share it with us!
Taken over by Peter and Sylvie Bennett
In April 2009, Stevens sold Jambalaya to a British captain, Peter Bennett. Peter and his wife Sylvie became the owners at the beginning of the following year. The sale took place a few months after the launch of another sloop built in Petite Martinique. Discover the Beauty of Petite Martinique.
Peter had many ocean crossings and a five-year circumnavigation behind him, completed before the advent of GPS. Sylvie, born in France, ran the galley and gave the Creole specialties a French touch.
The couple had it completely refitted at the beginning of 2010, then registered it in 2011 in the charter fleet of Nicholson Yachts, which was still presenting it to its clients at the beginning of 2013.
Fitted out for six passengers in three cabins and crewed by two, it sails on private charter in the Windward Islands — Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenada — with a classic varnished wood interior.
Several owners, then the island of Grenada
After the Bennetts, the schooner reportedly changed hands several times. No source details these transfers. Two brokerage advertisements, now offline, suggest it was offered for sale in the mid-2010s.
The boat left the Grenadines for Grenada, where it operated as a charter vessel from St. George's under the name Sail Jambalaya Grenada, a Spice Island Collective operation. Its website offers four options: day trips, sunset cruises, private dinner cruises, and private group charters, starting at US$650. See sailjambalaya.com.
The boat's two accounts keep track of these outings: Facebook, Instagram.
The stories circulating always place the schooner in Grenada. Some mention a sale that has been ongoing for several years, but nothing confirms this.
Sources
- Forbes Life, July 17, 2009 — Jambalaya, Petit St. Vincent Resort, the Grenadines
- Caribbean Compass, April 2005, Alexis Andrews — Traditional Launch of Carriacou Sloop Genesis
- Caribbean Compass, February 2008, Susan Payetta — Launching in Petite Martinique
- Caribbean Compass, June 2008, Frank Pearce — Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta 2008
- Caribbean Compass, January 2009, Susan Payetta — Clean Sweet Wake
- Caribbean Compass n°194, November 2011 — the issue in PDF
- The Multihull Company, January 26, 2018, Chrystal Young — The Dream Boats of Carriacou
- CharterWorld — Jambalaya charter sheet
Contact — Jambalaya
- Site — sailjambalaya.com
- Facebook — SailJambalayaGrenada
- Instagram — @sail.jambalaya.grenada
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