Hotel & Tourism Marketing Blog

Caribbean Consulting

Merchandising w Marketing w Distribution w Profitability

Three individuals stand out as having owned quite a number of vessels during their lifetime:

Captain Vanterpool also owned the 'Thelma' and the 'Mary C. Santos'. In 1909 he owned the 'Dreadnought', the 'Priscilla' and the 'Estelle'. These vessels brought much wealth to their owners.

Captain Reuben Simmons who commanded the 'Mayflower' for Captain Vanterpool between 1928 and 1930 states that in 1929 he left St. Kitts with 375 passengers and arrived 48 hours later at Curacao. Once he carried 460 passengers with the 'Mayflower' to Curacao. On return trips from Curacao he carried as many as 100 people. The least amount of passengers he ever carried to Curacao was 110 from Dominica. Every fifteen days he would make the run to carry workers for the oil refinery there.

These passengers paid Fls. 25,-- first class, and Fls.12,-- for a passage on deck. When one considers that in those days a Captain was paid Fls. 250,-- per month, an Engineer Fls. 100,-- per month and the cook Fls. 100,-- per month, and that the 'Mayflower' only carried eight in crew, the profits made by Captain Vanterpool were rather large.

The 'Mayflower' was built in Glouchester, Massachusetts to compete in the 'Bluenose' races, but was not allowed to compete because she was built in the style of a yacht.

The old Administrator's house which was later rebuilt in the same style, belonged to Captain Vanterpool. His daughter was married to the late Mr. W.F.M. Lampe who was Administrator of Saba in the Nineteen-Twenties, and who later became Minister Plenipotentiary to the Netherlands from the Netherlands Antilles. Captain 'Tommy' died in 1950 and was buried in St. Thomas.

Other Schooners owned by Captain Hassell were: 'Margie Turner', 'Olympic', 'Love and Loulou', 'Indusrie', 'Carib', 'Daisy', 'Wild Rover', 'Edward 7th', Nathaniel L. Gordon', 'Priscilla', 'Nicola', 'Zurah', 'Mary Love', 'Rhode Island', 'Peerless', 'Delphine Cabral', 'Mona Marie', 'Agnes', and the 'Lasca'.

The 'Lasca' was a yacht owned by the German Kaiser Wilhelm's son and was purchased from the British after the German capitulation at the end of World War I.

The 'Mary Love Hassell', owned by Captain Ben, sailed from St. Kitts on April 28th 1896 bound for New York, and made it there in twelve sailing days. His 105 ton 'Esther Anita' made a record run from New York to Saba in nine days.

The 'Zurah' was navigated from Rhode Island to Saba by Bernard Leverock during the month of May 1919. Captain Ben owned more than twenty schooners during his lifetime. He died in 1933 and was buried in Barbados.

Barnes at one time or another also owned the 'Nuevo Altagracia', 189.71 tons, the 'Lena Hassell', 50.44 tons; the 'Rhode Island' and the 'Juliana.'

Registration of vessels, as far as we have been able to ascertain. began on Saba around the year 1860. To give an idea of the many vessels owned by Sabans in the past, we here list some of the schooners registered between 1868 and 1880.

Between 1881 and 1930:

For many years the mail service to and from Curacao was taken care of by Saban vessels. Among them were the 'Priscilla', the 'Dreadnought', the 'Estelle', the 'Ina Vanterpool', the 'Georgetown', and the 'Three Sisters'. All but the 'Three Sisters' belonged to Captain Tommy Vanterpool.

The last of the Saban vessels to run the mail service was the 'Three Sisters'. After that, steamships took over the run. Communications between Curacao and Saba by boat fifty years ago was much better than it is today.

This page was last updated on 06/29/2008