Passion

I first met Heidi and Marty Pritchard at the Pizzeria, Heidi often bought my bread and quiches for the charter boat they operated. Heidi was short, pretty and always smiling; before my staff knew her name they referred to her as “de small smiley lady”.  Marty sported a red beard and had a gruff voice, and whenever they had a chance to get off the charter boat the couple ate at the restaurant.

The day came when Marty and Heidi decided to make a rather dramatic change. They bought a piece of land on which to construct a house, and built a very large catamaran called Passion.  The vessel was perfect for excursions, but until the Wind Star and Wind Spirit began visiting on a regular basis business wasn’t as good as it could have been.  That changed the day we started offering snorkel excursions to the ships’ passengers, it was a popular tour that filled Passion to overflowing.

The night before a ship’s arrival my fax machine would start to whir, and a message from the ship’s social director would come through with numbers for the following day’s tours.  I would call Marty to let him know how many passengers to expect for the snorkeling excursion, after which my job for that tour would be done.  Marty took Passion alongside the cruise ship at his appointed time, and crew from the ship’s galley would board with trays of food, for a wonderful buffet that Marty’s crew would spread out for the excursionists at lunch time.

The passengers boarded Passion straight from the gangway, so much simpler than going ashore in the ship’s tender!  Marty and his crew welcomed them on board, and as Passion was a large vessel there were often 50 or more people seated around the spacious deck.  I thought of it as the “Happy Tour”, people always seemed to have a great time when they sailed with Marty on Passion. As ship’s agent I made a point of trying all the tours except the one to Mustique (why torture myself? I always got seasick!) to make sure that they were right for the passengers, and I particularly enjoyed Marty’s snorkeling trip.

Depending on weather conditions Marty would take the passengers to three different locations where he knew the snorkeling was good, and that was an excellent way to entertain the guests. Each spot offered unique underwater scenery, and those who truly wanted a good snorkeling experience were gratified.

They saw many varieties of colorful fish, beautiful reefs, anemones, several types of coral and more.  Passion was a fast vessel, and while underway the passengers sipped rum punch or a cold beer and enjoyed the ride.  I especially liked lounging up in the bow of the boat, the sea spray would come up through the netting between the pontoons, keeping me nice and cool in the hot sun. The buffet lunch provided by the cruise ship was always a treat, I ate food I usually never saw in the Caribbean when I went on the snorkel tour and I enjoyed it immensely.

When the tour was over the passengers were delivered back to their ship in time to shower and watch the sun set before the dinner hour. They rarely failed to give Marty and his crew favorable mention when they filled out their comment cards, the Passion snorkeling tour was popular, and it remained popular for many years.

Something else that remained popular for several years was Marty and Heidi’s dog “Indy” – she never missed a trip!