Seven years and anyone disappeared for that period can be considered legally dead; with 7 years the human body sloughs off the outer layer of skin and renews itself – it’s also the same period it took for to return to Barbados. It was found in Honduras as a floating bar half immersed in their quay with quite a few leaks and rescued from ignominy, then sailed to Jamaica for repairs, it is soon ready to bring on guests again… In fact there are plans to have this weekend!

The man who spearheaded the project to bring back a part of Bajan culture was Rally enthusiast, Martin Bynoe. Looking more like a great grandson of than a businessman (a connotation which enormously tickles him as his company is called – ), we spoke to him shortly after the vessel reached the Careenage safely over the weekend.

The entrepreneur sees a need for Barbados to retain as much of its History and Culture as possible, he is having a proposal prepared for Government to review whereby the Drydock in the City can be made a Historical site {CLICK ON FOLLOWING LINK FOR FULL AUDIO};-

While the dock can never be fully operational like its glory days, Martin sees an opportunity whereby visitors can appreciate the rich history of Barbados’ maritime culture if it was transformed into a Museum.

Martin also explained while this is the sixth incarnation of the famous Party Cruise, it is officially named “” and he also gave a taste of how he came to save her {CLICK ON FOLLOWING LINK FOR FULL AUDIO};-

The vessel was made off the island of Grenada, and is actually in the vicinity of 35 years old!

As the vessel is very similar to a , all the leaks would be a much longer and far more arduous task, so while in Jamaica they used modern technology to restore the not only very well and be seaworthy again but to do so in as little time as possible, no mean feat since the boat was in repairs from about September 2010 {CLICK ON FOLLOWING LINK FOR FULL AUDIO};-

Heaving a vessel this size on to dry land is a serious challenge even in modern times, what was done is to put epoxy-resin of about .625 inches thick on the hull of the boat so as to provide proper safety and minimise maintenance.

I was one of the first people to try out JR-6 after its voyage home, take a look at the video above… The original game-plan was to have shanghai’ing, uh, boarding passengers, LOL! In the next fortnight, since most tests have been positive, they plan to do a trial run this weekend for Rally enthusiasts and to have a full run on Tuesday with visitors from Hotels – avast, ye hearties! Got yer sea-legs? Embark, if ye dare… Arrhh!