Queen's Olympic Skydive

I MUST say, the Queen’s skydive into the opening of the Olympics has certainly newsily preempted the scuba dive that this reporter helped plan for the Queen’s annual visit to St. John on April 1^st 2013!  She’s supposed to be going to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company’s Rhone’s wreck wremains of course.

My primary court contact, Mr. Bean, has assured me that she is still excited about the Rhone excursion, even though she has visited all 54 of the Commonwealth's countries, the U.S. and St. John and has performed in some astonishing sports events such as the SAOZS, South African Marathon Outrunning Zulu Spears and the Gibraltar to Morocco Afternoon Swim.

We are thinking that perhaps she should enter Caneel’s Jackie Onassis Memorial Water Skiing Competition and the Bordeaux Mountain Skeet Shoot just to compliment her time under the water.

The London skydive shows that the “real” world’s pace is somewhat advanced over anything this reporter can imagine!

Raúl Castro’s Private Yacht Anchored off Caneel

By Poin T. Enn, Yachting Editor

The 280-foot motor yacht, “Royal Scion,” was spotted in the channel near Caneel Bay Resort.

This superyacht was built by Camper and Nicholson at their Portsmouth, England yard in 1951. It was a very modern design for its time and was originally named “Fiona Mae.” It was presented to Fidel Castro after it had been confiscated while at anchor in Havana by the Communist Party of Cuba in the summer of 1966. It has been retrofitted many times with extreme luxury. The last update included three hot tubs, a tennis court, a modern library with over 150,000 e-books and a 1,200-square-foot galley designed by Emeril.

Asked about the name change, Raúl said that Fidel didn’t think it proper to keep the name of the capitalist’s wife on his private yacht. Also he wanted a more fitting, aristocratic name. “You think the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba should have to put up with a peasant fishing boat named ‘Maria’? No way, José” said Raúl.

After a couple of years Fidel grew tired of it and gave it to Raúl. With a staff of over 280, it has a minion for every foot.

An island dinner party is set for August 1^st. It will be hosted by Niles and Susan Chair, long-time Castro family supporters, with special guest, Elsa Engel, heiress to the Winnebago fortune. Mrs. Chair said, “The last time ‘Raul,’ we call him ‘Raul’ at our house, was here he kept saying he wanted to shoot whales that were just outside Hart Bay. He brought one of those Kalashnikov BB guns with a scope. Niles and I did what we could to divert his attention. We knew he’d be on to something else soon. He’s such a dear.”

According to Mrs. Chair, recent visitors to the yacht included Warren, Sunday and Jimmy Buffet. “Hughie Chavez kept circling in a dingy, but Raul wouldn’t let him aboard. Chris Christie was there in his famous Speedo – he always makes such a splash. And George W. Bush who did a lot behind the scenes to keep the Castros in power,” said Mrs. Chair. “Poor ’Dubya,’ we call him ‘Dubya’ at our house, was seasick the whole time.”