“BOAT HIGHER THAN TUNG” was the remark of an old lady as she was being driven down Victoria Road and saw the QUEEN MARY TOWERING OVER BASSETERRE. It is left to wonder what her comments would have been seeing THE ALLURE OF THE SEAS from the same position.
The tourist LINER’S coming was highly anticipated and its eventual coming and docking was/is proof of PORT ZANTE’s CAPACITY AND SUITABILITY. SHE was docked and kissing the pier at Port Zante before 10:00 a.m. on December 30, 2011.
2011 would be remembered not only for the record murder rate and the election fraud over in Nevis but for achievements such as the successful maiden visit of THE ALLURE OF THE SEAS.
The gods of the winds displayed their power just that much to show who is in control but were kind enough to allow HER right in. Based on what Labour wished for Port Zante it takes little to imagine what Labour’s wishes would have been had the PAM been in office. God has been good, Labour’s’ badmouthing and curses did not come back to haunt us. Instead the record goes down that the world’s largest Cruise Liner made a successful docking at ST. KITTS’ PORT ZANTE. This must serve as encouragement and confidence for other companies and smaller liners to put St. Kitts on their itinerary. For some by now the pictures should be on the TOURISM AUTHORITY’S SITE.
Persons from all over the Federation went into Basseterre to see the GREAT WHITE SHIP, almost a carnival attraction. Of course the members of the Labour party which wished that PORT ZANTE be destroyed took the opportunity to “BIG UP THEMSELVES”. They enjoyed reaping the crop they cursed.
Dr. Simmonds and the PAM envisioned a port to accommodate ships that were not yet made, not yet on Massa God’s sea water. One is free to think that God INSPIRED Dr. Simmonds and the P.A.M. The good Lord knew that Dr. Simmonds and the PAM-NRP had the people’s interest at heart, was spending their money honestly. It was not a scheme or smart man business to siphon off the people’s money into the pockets of friends and cabal members – not like the scheming and bandoolooism taking place at BEACON HEIGHTS between SOCIAL SECURITY, CONTEC AND PERSONS WHOSE NAMES WILL NOT BE MENTIONED, BUT WHO KNOW WHO THEY ARE.
Port Zante accommodates ships which might very well be more than ONE-AND-A-HALF TIMES the AVERAGE TOURIST LINER. PORT ZANTE is one of the few ports in this region that can accommodate THE ALLURE OF THE SEAS and ships near its size.
In all of this the recent comments made by Ricky “Rhodes” Skerritt cannot go unnoticed, must be revisited. Up to this day Ricky cannot tell anybody what he studied with the Rhodes Scholarship. His recent comments about the poor and faulty design of PORT ZANTE caused some people to believe that Ricky studied MARINE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING. Ricky is now seen by many in the public as such an Engineer.
It cannot be missed that Ricky Skerritt has now gotten so big that he can condemn the vision and work of Dr. Simmonds. It is sad and unfortunate because it was Dr. Simmonds who saved Ricky the unenviable record of being the FIRST RHODES SCHOLAR in the Caribbean or THIRD WORLD to be a HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER.
Ricky in his callous disregard for Dr. Simmonds forgot that the same hurricanes destroyed Labour’s BIRD ROCK PORT BEFORE a single ship had docked to it. He did not condemn Labour and the company that built it. Actually the PAM had to repair the facility. It has not shown any more process to damage than any other port in St. Kitts or the Caribbean.
Though Ricky has deemed the design poor it cannot be missed that the core of PORT ZANTE has withstood number of hurricanes and has saved Basseterre numerous times. Ricky has not defined or specified the defects he claims exist and so far Labour has not built the second pier it promised nearly five (5) years ago.
Ricky’s comments in parliament are to be compared with those he recently made to the press in relation to the coming of THE ALLURE OF THE SEAS. He told the press (the country) that PORT ZANTE was built envisioning the accommodation of ships the size of THE ALLURE OF THE SEAS. Apparently Ricky forgot the comments he made.
Ricky made the classical Freudian slip. He has probably let slip that he was at the table when PORT ZANTE was conceived, essentially that he might have had a hand or voice in its design especially as Dr. Simmonds overrated his ability. Maybe the defects of which Ricky spoke were his contribution to the project.
Dr. Simmonds’ vision of PORT ZANTE goes deeper than what meets the eye. He invested in the Human Resources to operate the facility. The pilot who “smooched” her to the pier at Port Zante is a local individual. It is of tremendous significance, that the ships visit to St. Kitts was a departure from its regular schedule. The training that PAM provided the individual equipped him with the expert knowledge to tell and convince the operators of the ship that our facility can accommodate the ship. He had the scientific and navigational skills to pilot HER without a bruise to HER lovely coat of white paint.
The storms removed the Dolphin-Tail section but what has been left is yet accommodating the BIGGEST SHIPS. It shows that when PAM builds anything, even if part is damaged or lost, what remains can still function for the benefit of our people.
STORMS are indeed getting more frequent and more unpredictable and indeed any government has to be cautious about spending money. One is not too sure if Labour is exercising caution and it has to be understood that Port Zante has the potential to be the best Tourist Port in the region. Consideration and careful study should thus be given in terms of the economic benefits of bringing the port to its full capability and capacity, especially since cruise tourism is such a feature of our tourist product.
While Ricky is criticizing PORT ZANTE, LA-VALLEE AND WHITE GATE REMAIN FABLES. It will forever be hard to criticize their design because they do not exist, and will they ever exist? Ricky needs to criticize the ground wastage that is costing the country more and more every day. For sure the money lost on both could have repaired the flaws that Ricky speaks of at Port Zante.
The next generation of super liners are already on the design boards and we are all awaiting the promise from Ricky Skerritt that the Port at WHITE GATE (IN THE NEWTOWN AT WHITE GATE) will be PERFECTLY DESIGNED AND READY TO ACCOMMODATE THEM. Their boats will be higher than St. Paul’s, Dieppe Bay and possibly Kittitian Hill. Yes Ricky, that port that your Labour party has promised will be better than Port Zante! Better! Better! Ha, Ha, Ha…….
