Caribbean Sail Training ( CST ) Page About Us

Caribbean Sail Training ( CST )

was started and incorporated in 2004 at the Bel Air Plantation in Grenada by Jan Roosens (President) and his business partner Fred Thomas (secretary) as a registered nonprofit / charity foundation with the aim to help in providing education and sail training towards young people of all nationalities, cultures, religions and social backgrounds and especially towards people born and / or living in the Caribbean.

The association constantly also supports the Caribbean Sail Training member vessels (over 70 ships are actually members) with money and material sponsoring, paying harbor and clearance fees while the ships are in the Caribbean and more.

Jan Roosens was visiting Grenada regularly since the eighties and when he was there in 2004, he discussed the possibilities of forming the foundation Caribbean Sail Training with Fred as partner.

Fred agreed, and CST was incorporated.

In 2007 Jan asked Fred to cooperate in the creation of the Grenada Classic Regatta (  Jan created the St.Maarten-St.Martin Classic Yacht Regattas earlier ) and the Grenada Classic Regatta was held for the first time there in 2008.

Caribbean Sail Training

basically receives funds from businesses, private persons and other organizations that are used to provide youngsters with sponsorship to board ships and yachts as trainees so that they don't need to find the necessary money themselves.

Many of the Caribbean youth or their parents and family are not wealthy enough to come up with necessary funds to provide their youngsters a sail training term on board a vessel, so that's where CST comes to help.

As organization we select cooperating Tall ships, square riggers, cargo ships, large yachts and even superyachts and race boats, that take youngsters on a sail training trip.

We arrange the funds ( as each sail training vessel need some money from trainees in order to keep working and exist ), we do all the paperwork, we arrange and pay for transport to and from the ship ( and air line tickets and hotels if necessary ) we pay for food and drinks and most of the expenses.

Our ultimate goal is to build, restore or acquire one day a Tall Ship to run sail training and educational programs at sea all year round for Caribbean and other youth...

For the time being we are now working out a program to sail during one month with Caribbean Youth on board vessels in the Caribbean that we will charter. Check it out at:https://www.classatsea.org

Years ago, we've started a project to build our own sail training vessel and we had commissioned No Limits Yachts to manage the design and the building in case we could find the funding.

285 ft 3 mast schooner

Here is the story...

At that time, we wanted to name the vessel:

The NETHERLANDS ANTILLES.

Well know naval architect Olivier Van Meer made the designs and we had a lot of the calculations done already.

We've spend quite some money in all the preparations, designs, calculations, meetings and brainstorming.

The latest drawings for the project of the Sail Training Tall ship had been finished.

Meetings with the director of No Limits Yachts who started the Tall Ship project together with project leader Harry Klein from Klein Management Consultancy, and naval architect Olivier F. Van Meer and Klaas Huizinga in Enkhuizen Holland, resulted in many changes over a three year period and a great final result.

Several of the people from No Limits Yachts and from Klein Management Consultancy who have been working on the tall ship project have been involved years ago in the building of the 4-mast barquentines Star Flyer and Star Clipper.

Naval architect Olivier Van Meer has build a great reputation in designing several large sail ships and other yachts and was also involved in the Star Flyer and Star Clipper building process. ( see : www.vanmeerdesign.nl )

The latest changes included a reduced draft ( from 5.60 to 4.00 meter ), a retractable keel, a huge "garage" and water toys storage room with swim platform in the stern, glass bottom viewers in the restaurant, hydraulic stabilizers, underwater spotlights with remote control video cameras and other features.

Several double and luxurious staterooms on board had been designed to be available for guests as well as a giant "owners" cabin.

The ship will be ABS and MCA classified, fully air-conditioned, have a heating system for the cold parts of the sailing ( even an open fire place ) and will feature all the latest safety systems, sprinkler installations and more.

Among the "water toys" will be two wave runners and two fast RIB's.

The ship will cruise at about 16 knots under almost 2000 square meter of sail area and maintain a 14 knots speed under power with a 5000 nautical miles range.

The Tall Ship will be build in complete certified steel or aluminum.

When all the plans were more or less ready it was announced that the Netherlands Antilles would stop existing, so we could not use the name anymore and even worse, we never received any money as down payment from governments and others to start the project.

Hopefully one day, Caribbean Sail Training will receive the needed donations and generate enough money to build this ship for the Caribbean youth.

Sail Training for the Caribbean Youth

Caribbean Sail Training has placed many youngsters on Tall Ships and yachts over the past years mainly in co-operation with the ship and yacht agency "Yacht Assistance".

As stated on the beginning of this page, our organization pays the fees for youngsters to do the training on board, we pay for all food and drinks and for airline or other transport to bring the trainees back to the Island from where they left.

CST accepts requests from schools, yacht clubs and institutions that are interested to place a student on one of the vessels as a trainee.

Private persons, youngsters and parents, are also encouraged to contact the association to participate in a sailing adventure on board one of the ships.

Applicants need to have the minimum age of 15 ( sometimes 18 ) and be not older than 25 years on most of the Tall Ships but sometimes older trainees are accepted as well on board some of the sail training vessels.

For information please CONTACT us.

Services for Sail Training Vessels

Our organization has arranged ( with several ports and on several Islands in the Caribbean ) that official CST Member Sail Training Ships do NOT have to pay docking fees when moored or on a pier.

This agreement is only valid for the real training ships, so Tall Ships like Star Flyer, Star Clipper and others that are beautiful ships but operate commercially and have no trainees can not benefit from those arrangements.

Tall ships, Sail Training Vessels, Cargo vessels, Sail Yachts and others that have trainees on board need to contact the Caribbean Sail Training in advance of their arrival to the Caribbean in order to become a CST member vessel before they can receive those free docking benefits.

Every vessel that is already a member of Caribbean Sail Training should also contact CST with their itinerary in advance of sailing around the Islands.

In addition, Ships agent Yacht Assistance offers FREE agency services for all qualified sail training vessels in St.Maarten and St.Martin and ship agents in other Islands will soon do the same.

Caribbean Sail Training sponsors also harbor, docking and other fees for CST member Sail Training Vessels and Tall Ships where local port authorities have not reached an agreement with us as yet to provide reduced or free docking and other services when possible.

If you are a Sail Training Ship owner, operator, captain or management company, please contact us in advance of coming to the Caribbean so that we can work with you to arrange those benefits.

Maritime Experience Day

CST organizes also “Maritime Experience Days” while the sail training vessels are in the Caribbean.

Locals and visitors have been invited to open ship days and hundreds of school kids embarked during day sailing trips on vessels like the Eye of the Wind, the Eendracht, the Tres Hombres, Wylde Swan, Christian Radich, the Danmark, Sorlandet and others.

CST has even organized Maritime Experience Days on race boats and mega yachts like Berzinc and the Superyacht Sherakhan.

Check out the web site: https://www.MaritimeExperienceDay.com