Speightstown Welcomes First Luxury Cruise Vessel, Emerald Sakara, in Historic Milestone

Speightstown will welcome its first small cruise vessel this Sunday in a historic milestone for the storied northern town, one of the island’s oldest major settlements.

Guests aboard the luxury super yacht, Emerald Sakara, will be the first to utilise moorings installed off Speightstown by Barbados Port Inc., (BPI) earlier this year in collaboration with the Coastal Zone Management Unit, according to a BPI statement.

The guests will be brought ashore via smaller tender boats, utilising the Speightstown Jetty for inland connection, the state-owned port management company said. The day before, the 100-passenger capacity Emerald Sakara is to make its inaugural call at Bridgetown. The vessel will leave the port and cruise along the west coast to the north on Sunday.

BPI Chairman Peter Odle, said: “The occasion marks a significant milestone in the creation of satellite facilities for the luxury vessel niche who prefer to sail into smaller ports and harbours for a more intimate guest experience. Extensive collaboration with the Coastal Zone Management Unit meant we were able to identify the ideal coastal leisure spots for moorings while safeguarding against ecological disruption.”

The Speightstown Jetty, officially re-opened in April 2022 after extensive refurbishment, will prove valuable infrastructure support at St Peter for cruise guests, he added.

Personnel from the Customs and Excise Department, the Immigration Department, and Port Health under the Ministry of Health, will provide their respective services to cruise passengers at Speightstown.

The agency officials will operate out of the Speightstown Fish Market under the auspices of the Fisheries Department, according to the BPI release.

It has been almost a quarter of a century since the SV Legacy, operated by the defunct Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, first brought guests ashore at Speightstown via tender boats. The vessel made ten calls between June and August 2000.

Tourism officials are touting the revival of this small cruise berth as a boost to the island’s visitor offerings. But the development is the latest in a series of attempts to revitalise the town’s retail and recreation profile which many townfolk say has sagged significantly since the building of the Speightstown by-pass along Highway 1.

Attempts to restore the town’s architectural and historical appeals have ebbed and flowed in recent years.

Speightstowners have clung fiercely to their community’s ancient heritage which dates back to the earliest years of the heyday of Barbados’ settlement and colonisation.

Established just three years after the first English settlers arrived in 1627, the town is named after William Speight, a wealthy landowner and merchant who played a major role in its early development. It quickly became a bustling centre for trade, particularly in sugar, cotton, and tobacco during the 17th century.

Initially known as “Spyke’s Bay”, the settlement grew due to its strategic location, earning the nickname “Little Bristol” owing to its strong trade connections with the English port city. By the mid-1600s, Speightstown had become the island’s busiest port before later ceding that title to Bridgetown. (BT/PR)