{"id":1830,"date":"2026-09-21T14:41:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T18:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/charpentiers\/good-expectation\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T16:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T20:56:49","slug":"good-expectation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/charpentiers\/good-expectation\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Expectation"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1438\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-sous-voiles-sainte-lucie.webp\" alt=\"Good Expectation sous voiles au large de Sainte-Lucie\" class=\"wp-image-1847\" srcset=\"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-sous-voiles-sainte-lucie.webp 1438w, https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-sous-voiles-sainte-lucie-300x167.webp 300w, https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-sous-voiles-sainte-lucie-1024x570.webp 1024w, https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-sous-voiles-sainte-lucie-768x427.webp 768w, https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-sous-voiles-sainte-lucie-18x10.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1438px) 100vw, 1438px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Good Expectation under sail off Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia. Photo Jus&#039; Sail, all rights reserved \u2014 Facebook page <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jussail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>facebook.com\/jussail<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Boat type<\/strong> \u2014 Carriacou sloop, wooden hull<\/li><li><strong>Launching<\/strong> \u2014 in 1984, in Carriacou<\/li><li><strong>Length<\/strong> \u2014 11.70 m, or approximately 38 feet<\/li><li><strong>Built by<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"\/en\/charpentiers\/zepherine-mclaren\/\">Zepherine McLaren<\/a>, from Windward \u2014 the Antigua regatta records write it Zepharin McKlaren<\/li><li><strong>Original function<\/strong> \u2014 a cargo ship, a large open hold, no cabin or bulkhead, no engine<\/li><li><strong>In Saint-Barth\u00e9lemy<\/strong> \u2014 present at the very first West Indies Regatta, in 2009, and then again in 2011<\/li><li><strong>Owner<\/strong> \u2014 the company Jus&#039; Sail, owned by James and Pepsi Crockett, since September 2011<\/li><li><strong>Home port<\/strong> \u2014 Rodney Bay Marina, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia<\/li><li><strong>Today<\/strong> \u2014 in dry dock for a major refit since December 1, 2025, at Ottley Hall, in Saint Vincent, under the supervision of the Bequian shipwright Herbert Olivierre<\/li><li><strong>Future<\/strong> \u2014 the boat will probably be put up for sale this year<\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1984: a slipway, and nothing else<\/h2><p>When Zepherine McLaren began construction of Good Expectation in 1984, he wasn&#039;t building a pleasure boat. He was building a truck. Inside its 11.7 meters, there&#039;s no cabin, no bulkhead, no berth, no engine compartment\u2014because there&#039;s no engine. There&#039;s a hold, as large as the hull allows. The entire design of the boat answers only one question: how many bags can you fit in there, and how fast can you transport them from one island to another?.<\/p><p>This is one of the last boats built by the master shipwright of Windward, the one from the <a href=\"\/en\/charpentiers\/mermaid-of-carriacou\/\">Mermaid of Carriacou<\/a>. And it also marks the very end of an era: after Good Expectation, no one orders sloops for freight work anymore.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fifteen years carrying the merchandise<\/h2><p>Good Expectation carried out this trade for over fifteen years in the Grenadines: goods, merchandise, and anything else transported without being declared. This trade sustained these ships for one hundred and fifty years, and Good Expectation was one of the very last practitioners of it.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Worms and fresh water<\/h2><p>Then the freight stopped. The ship remained stationary in Carriacou for a long time. A German took it over, but couldn&#039;t do much with it. Then, in the mid-2000s, an Englishman living in Antigua, Martin Dudley, bought it and sailed it for three years in the northern Leeward Islands. He, too, was unable to maintain it.<\/p><p>The ship ended up in the mangroves of English Harbour. There, it rotted on both sides: shipworms attacked the underwater hull, while fresh water caused the deck above to rot. In 2011, Good Expectation was still afloat, but only just: &quot;She was close to taking on water and sinking,&quot; said James Crockett.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">May 2011: seven sailors, no engine, and two days of dead calm<\/h2><p>That year, Good Expectation had to be sailed from Antigua to Saint Barth\u00e9lemy for the West Indies Regatta. Seven crew members of the three-masted barque Picton Castle took on the task, led by the first mate, Mike: Paula, Katelinn, the brothers Davey and Fred, trainee Wendy Heisler, and Ollie, who came aboard as an extra. No engine on board, paper charts, and two days allotted.<\/p><p>The wind drops. It won&#039;t return for another forty hours. The boat circles slowly off the coast of Antigua, on a glassy sea. The crew swims, gets out cold drinks, and one of them plays the violin on deck. The wind returns on the third day; they catch an eighteen-kilo mahi-mahi and eat it together. The crossing will have taken three days instead of two.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A business plan written for a degree<\/h2><p>What saved Good Expectation wasn&#039;t born on a Caribbean dock, but in a classroom in England. In 2008, James Crockett earned a master&#039;s degree in responsible tourism from the International Centre for Responsible Tourism. His final project was a business plan he called &quot;Heritage Sailing&quot;: offering day trips to clients on a heritage boat and proving that an old local working sailboat could become a viable tourism tool.<\/p><p>The boat, at that point, hadn&#039;t been chosen. It would be a traditional boat, but not necessarily a Carriacou sloop. A chance encounter with a sailor decided the choice: during the Easter regatta in Bequia, in the Tobago Cays, the Crocketts came across Beauty, built in Petite Martinique by Jeff Stevens. &quot;Wow, that&#039;s a boat that could be perfect for us.&quot; They posted a photo, and someone replied that they were practically next door to Carriacou, where these boats are built. The person on the other end of the line was Justin, one of the producers of Vanishing Sail, who put them in touch with <a href=\"\/en\/alexis-andrews\/\">Alexis Andrews<\/a>.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Autumn 2011: Someone places a bet on the wreck<\/h2><p>In the fall of 2011, James and Pepsi Crockett bought the boat. Three months of structural work in Jolly Harbour, Antigua, to rebuild the underwater hull; then the finishing touches in Saint Lucia. Six months in total. The boat, which had never had an engine, received one, along with its compartment; the one that had never had a cabin received one, with a toilet; and it left the shipyard with a new set of sails.<\/p><p>Good Expectation was relaunched in February 2012 at the IGY Rodney Bay shipyard in Saint Lucia, and resumed service in March.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A cargo ship turned school<\/h2><p>Jus&#039; Sail does more than just take visitors along the Saint Lucian coast. Every year, the company trains unemployed young people from the island, aged eighteen to twenty-five, for six weeks: sailing, swimming, first aid, certifications recognized in more than fifty-five countries, and the skills needed to enter the maritime sector. Captain O&#039;Brian Forde and First Mate Krishna Joseph, who currently captain the boat, both came through this training program. In 2016, Jus&#039; Sail was a finalist for the World Travel and Tourism Council&#039;s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards in the People category.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In the credits of Vanishing Sail<\/h2><p>Good Expectations appears in the opening credits of Vanishing Sail, Alexis Andrews&#039; documentary about the end of wooden shipbuilding in Carriacou. On December 12, 2016, Jus&#039; Sail organized the film&#039;s Saint Lucian premiere, two screenings at Caribbean Cinemas, with proceeds funding the sixth edition of its youth training program.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">December 1st, 2025: the major overhaul<\/h2><p>Fifteen years after the 2011 refit, the wood is showing its age. Jus&#039; Sail has announced the suspension of sea trials from December 1, 2025, for a complete structural overhaul. The stated goal is to return to service for another fifteen years. The initial plan was to bring Good Expectation back to Carriacou, its birthplace, where shipwrights still know how to work with these types of hulls.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ottley Hall: A Bequia hand on a Carriacou boat<\/h2><p>The work was ultimately carried out elsewhere. Good Expectation was rebuilt at Ottley Hall in Saint Vincent, and a shipwright from Bequia, Herbert Olivierre, is in charge of the project. A Bequia hand on a Carriacou hull: the two Grenadines&#039; traditions, separated by forty miles of sea, meet on the same cradle.<\/p><p>And there was someone else at that construction site when Good Expectation arrived. <a href=\"\/en\/charpentiers\/exodus\/\">Exodus<\/a>, Alwyn Enoe&#039;s sloop, whose construction is recounted in Vanishing Sail, was completing a stern repair there. Two Carriacou sloops ashore at the same time in Saint Vincent, under the hands of a Bequian: this is, in one image, the state of this heritage today \u2014 it no longer holds together by island, it holds together by the few men who still know how to repair it.<\/p><p>And then what? Once the refit is complete, Good Expectation will probably go on sale this year.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"759\" src=\"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-etrave-nom-jus-sail.webp\" alt=\"L\u2019\u00e9trave de Good Expectation au sec, avec son nom et celui de Jus\u2019 Sail\" class=\"wp-image-1848\" srcset=\"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-etrave-nom-jus-sail.webp 1280w, https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-etrave-nom-jus-sail-300x178.webp 300w, https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-etrave-nom-jus-sail-1024x607.webp 1024w, https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-etrave-nom-jus-sail-768x455.webp 768w, https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/good-expectation-etrave-nom-jus-sail-18x12.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The bow and the two names, those of the boat and the company, are high and dry after being hauled out. Photo Jus&#039; Sail, all rights reserved \u2014 Facebook page <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jussail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>facebook.com\/jussail<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sources<\/h2><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Jus&#039; Sail, Facebook page<\/strong> \u2014 the two photographs on this sheet are from it; they remain the property of Jus&#039; Sail. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jussail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>facebook.com\/jussail<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/jussail.com\/good-expectation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>Good Expectation<\/a>, Jus&#039; Sail site \u2014 the 1984 construction by Zepharin McKlaren, the fifteen years of freight, the condition of the boat in 2011, the purchase in September 2011, the three months of work in Jolly Harbour and the relaunch in February 2012 in IGY Rodney Bay.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/jussail.com\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>About Us<\/a>, Jus&#039; Sail site \u2014 James and Pepsi Crockett, Captain O&#039;Brian Forde and Krishna Joseph, the six-week training course, IYT accreditation and the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2016.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/jussail.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>jussail.com<\/a> \u2014 the announcement of the major refit: \u00abAs of December 1st 2025 Jus&#039; Sail will cease operations of charters whilst our vessel \u2013 Good Expectation \u2013 returns to her home island of Carriacou for a comprehensive refit. \u2019<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/picton-castle.com\/2011\/05\/10\/a-good-expectation-antigua-to-st-barts-in-an-old-smuggling-sloop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>A Good Expectation: Antigua to St Barts in an Old Smuggling Sloop<\/a>, logbook of the Picton Castle, May 10, 2011 \u2014 the convoy, the crew and the dead calm, as told by Wendy Heisler.<\/li><li>James Crockett, interview with Marlinspike Magazine, <a href=\"https:\/\/jussail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Article-April-2017.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>Not Jus\u2019 Sailing<\/a>, April 2017 \u2014 the 2008 master&#039;s degree in responsible tourism and the &quot;Heritage Sailing&quot; business plan, the chain of owners (a German, then the Englishman Martin Dudley in the mid-2000s), the encounter with Beauty in the Tobago Cays, the masts carved from telegraph poles, and the 80 % of new planking below the waterline.<\/li><li><strong>Jus&#039; Sail, direct testimony<\/strong>, September 2026 \u2014 the refit ultimately took place not in Carriacou but at Ottley Hall, St. Vincent, led by the Bequian shipwright Herbert Olivierre, who was simultaneously completing the repair of Exodus&#039;s stern at the same shipyard. Jus&#039; Sail also announced the boat&#039;s likely sale this year.<\/li><li>Antigua Classic Week 2019, list of boats entered \u2014 \u00ab1984 \u00b7 11.70 \u00b7 St. Lucia \u00b7 Carriacou Slup \u00b7 Zepharin McKlaren\u00bb. This is the only source giving the length.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/slhta.com\/st-lucian-premiere-award-winning-vanishing-sail-movie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>St Lucian Premiere of Award Winning Vanishing Sail Movie<\/a>, SLHTA, December 2, 2016 \u2014 the opening credits and the premiere of December 12, 2016.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allatsea.net\/west-indies-regatta-showcases-traditional-sailboats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>West Indies Regatta Showcases Traditional Sailboats<\/a>, All At Sea, July 1, 2009 \u2014 the eight boats of the first edition.<\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact<\/h2><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Jus&#039; Sail<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/jussail.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>jussail.com<\/a>, Dock A, IGY Rodney Bay Marina, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.<\/li><li><strong>Social networks<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jussail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jussail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jussail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/jussail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-no-translation>Pinterest<\/a><\/li><li><strong>Phone and WhatsApp<\/strong> \u2014 +1 758 287 1071<\/li><li><strong>E-mail<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"mailto:sail@jussail.com\" data-no-translation>sail@jussail.com<\/a><\/li><li>Vous avez des photos de Good Expectation \u00e0 Gustavia en 2009 ou en 2011 ? <a href=\"\/en\/sinscrire\/\">\u00c9crivez-nous<\/a> \u2014 this form will be completed.<\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Type de bateau \u2014 sloop de Carriacou, coque bois Mise \u00e0 l\u2019eau \u2014 en 1984, \u00e0 Carriacou Longueur \u2014 11,70 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":942,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1830","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_hostinger_reach_plugin_has_subscription_block":false,"_hostinger_reach_plugin_is_elementor":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1830"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1944,"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1830\/revisions\/1944"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westindiesregatta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}