Sept. 5, 2001 — It’s official. Boston Harbor Cruises announced Wednesday that it will return to the territory this winter with its fast-ferry service between St. Croix and St. Thomas.
The company’s high-speed catamaran will begin service in mid- to late-November and run through May, said Kevin Matthews, Boston Harbor’s operations director. The service will run seven days a week and will depart and arrive at the Edward Wilmouth Blyden Terminal on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront and the Gallows Bay dock in Christiansted. The company’s Internet website has yet to post fare information. But a release issued by Boston Harbor Cruises lists these fares: for an adult local resident, $60 round trip and $35 one-way; for those 65 years and older, $55 round trip and $30 one way; for children ages 3-12, $50 round trip and $27 one way. Children under 3 years old ride free.
For non-resident adults, fares are $75 round trip and $42 one way; for non-resident seniors and children 3-12, they are $65 round trip and $37 one way.
Matthews said the trip will take about 75 minutes each way on the $10 million, 270-seat vessel Salacia, which is capable of speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
Along with Boston Harbor Cruises, which conducted a month-long trial run in April, St. Croix-based Crucian Express is set to begin service. It will run its Norwegian-built fast ferry on a year-round basis starting on Dec. 1.
The company's 140-foot, 200-passenger catamaran, unnamed so far, will make two round-trips a day on weekdays and three a day on weekends. Tickets will be $50 round trip for the crossing, which will take about an hour and a half, according to Crucian Express management.

Sept. 5, 2001 — It’s official. Boston Harbor Cruises announced Wednesday that it will return to the territory this winter with its fast-ferry service between St. Croix and St. Thomas.
The company’s high-speed catamaran will begin service in mid- to late-November and run through May, said Kevin Matthews, Boston Harbor’s operations director. The service will run seven days a week and will depart and arrive at the Edward Wilmouth Blyden Terminal on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront and the Gallows Bay dock in Christiansted. The company’s Internet website has yet to post fare information. But a release issued by Boston Harbor Cruises lists a round-trip fare for a local adult resident at $60, $35 one-way. A round trip for local seniors, 65 and older; and children 3 to 12, is $55 and $50 respectively, $30 and $27 one-way. Children under three years old are free.
Fares are $75 round trip, $42 one-way, for non-resident adults and $65, $37 one-way, for non-resident children 3 to 12.
Matthews said the trip will take about 75 minutes each way on the $10 million, 270-seat vessel Salacia, which is capable of speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
Along with Boston Harbor Cruises, which conducted a month-long trial run earlier this year, St. Croix-based Crucian Express Inc. is set to begin running its Norwegian-built fast ferry on a year-round basis Dec. 1. Crucian Express will run its so-far-unnamed 140-foot, 200-passenger catamaran twice a day Monday through Friday and three trips a day Friday through Sunday. Tickets will be $50 round trip for the approximately hour-and-a-half crossing, according to Crucian Express management.

Sept. 5, 2001 — It’s official. Boston Harbor Cruises announced Wednesday that it will return to the territory this winter with its fast-ferry service between St. Croix and St. Thomas.
The company’s high-speed catamaran will begin service in mid- to late-November and run through May, said Kevin Matthews, Boston Harbor’s operations director. The service will run seven days a week and will depart and arrive at the Edward Wilmouth Blyden Terminal on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront and the Gallows Bay dock in Christiansted. The company’s Internet website has yet to post fare information. But a release issued by Boston Harbor Cruises lists these fares: for an adult local resident, $60 round trip and $35 one-way; for those 65 years and older, $55 round trip and $30 one way; for children ages 3-12, $50 round trip and $27 one way. Children under 3 years old ride free.
For non-resident adults, fares are $75 round trip and $42 one way; for non-resident seniors and children 3-12, they are $65 round trip and $37 one way.
Matthews said the trip will take about 75 minutes each way on the $10 million, 270-seat vessel Salacia, which is capable of speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
Along with Boston Harbor Cruises, which conducted a month-long trial run in April, St. Croix-based Crucian Express is set to begin service. It will run its Norwegian-built fast ferry on a year-round basis starting on Dec. 1.
The company's 140-foot, 200-passenger catamaran, unnamed so far, will make two round-trips a day on weekdays and three a day on weekends. Tickets will be $50 round trip for the crossing, which will take about an hour and a half, according to Crucian Express management.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Virgin Islands will meet on Saturday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept. 9, at the Baha'i Center at 129 Contant, St. Thomas.
The National Spiritual Assembly directs and coordinates the activities of the Baha'i communities in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Sept. 5, 2001 – Two weeks after 25-year-old Kaunda Bryan was killed on St. Croix in an argument over an illegal horse race, Police Commissioner Franz Christian announced he will crack down on "illegal gatherings" involving drag races, horse races, cock fights and dog fights.
In a release distributed Wednesday afternoon, Christian said he has directed Police Chief José Garcia "to take a more pro-active approach" in enforcing the law with regard to these illegal activities.
Deputy Chief of Police Theodore Carty told the Source the police can break up such gatherings "once we get information these things are happening."
He added that police "can prevent these illegal activities" when they know they are going on.
Police do know where some of the activities take place. Drag racing on Veterans Drive near Gottlieb's Quickway on St. Thomas is a common occurrence. Carty confirmed that police stopped a drag race on that highway the night after school started last week, when hundreds of young people were gathered along the road waiting for the action — which never happened — to begin.
Much of the time, however, police don't know when the illegal activities are going on and must rely on the public for information.
Carty said the gambling that accompanies the illegal competitions can spark violence. Christian, in his release, similarly noted that such "illegal forms of betting" often "initiate arguments, with some resulting in fatalities."
Some of the activities are not illegal in particular settings. Horse racing and cock fighting are legal when conducted in "facilities already in place for the express purpose of legally accommodating" them. There used to be drag racing at a track in Nadir, and there have been proposals to set up a track on St. Croix.
As far as gambling, according to Carty, wagering on horse races is legal at designated tracks and off-track betting parlors, but wagering on cock fights is illegal.
He said legal cock fights are conducted in approved "pits." However, he said that dog fighting is illegal under all circumstances, adding that he supports the animal rights bill which was killed in committee last week, in part due to Sen. Adelbert Bryan's adamant opposition to the bill. Kaunda Bryan was the senator's son.
From now on, Christian said, police will arrest anyone involved in promoting or organizing these types of "non-sanctioned" racing and fighting and will disperse fans gathered for the events.
Police asked that anyone with information on such illegal activities call the emergency number 911 or report it to a police station.

Tony O is scheduled perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30 at Tillett Gardens.
Bluesman Tony O has played with many legends from Pinetop Perkins to Victoria Spivey.
For further information call 775-1929

Classical and Flamenco guitarist Francisco Burgos has performed in Europe, USA and South America with a repertoire embracing 500 years of music.
For further information call 775-1929

Tom Rush is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 at Tillett Gardens. The music of Tom Rush includes both folk and blues influences having recorded songs from Joni Mitchell to Jackson Browne as well as his own highly lauded compositions.
For more information call 775-1929.

Awadagin Pratt is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan 30 at Tillett Gardens.
Classical pianist Awadagin Pratt is an artist who challenges the classical music establishment and fans alike.
For more information call 775-1929

Sept. 5, 2001 – Things are heating up once again for the Texas Society of the Virgin Islands' annual Chili Cook-Off. This one — No. 17 — is set for Sept. 23 at Sapphire Beach.
"It's a great day of fun, whether you sign up to cook or come out to sample all the different types of chili," organizer Georgeann "Pepper" Peters says.
The event began inauspiciously in 1984 when Texas native Diane Runyan invited five friends and their families to cook up their best pots of chili in the backyard of her Contant home. The informal gathering was such a red-hot success that it grew the next year into the first Virgin Islands Chili Cook-Off, held at the old For The Birds restaurant on Scott Beach.
In 1994, the "Virgin Pod" joined 62 other "pods," or member groups, on the U.S. mainland and in Canada that make up the Chili Appreciation Society International.
Cooking up the best pot of chili is the main immediate objective of participants in the family-oriented fun day on St. Thomas, but the event goes beyond that, according to Peters, who holds the title of Great Pepper of the Virgin Pod and represents the territory at the international society's annual meeting. "The whole purpose behind the chili competition is to have fun and to raise money for charity," she says.
There's a serious side to the cook-off, though — rules and regulations. There can be no beans in cook-off chili, for example. "Competition or regulation chili is simply meat and seasonings, no fillers," Peters explains. It's the mix of spices, herbs and other flavorings added to the meat during cooking that's going to persuade the panel of judges. The winning cook gets a trip for two to the annual World Champion Chili Cook-off in Terlingua, Tex., in November.
Last year, Louis Hull beat out 37 other cooks in the V.I. competition.
Calling all chili cooks
Anyone can compete to produce the best Virgin Islands "pot o' red." (Off-islanders who cook their way around the chili circuit trying to accumulate "points" have been known to show up and take part.) The $25 entry fee gets you a 10-foot-square booth spot on Sapphire Beach. At the meeting for head cooks the evening before the event, participants draw numbers for booth spaces and go over the rules and regulations with fellow "Chiliheads."
At 6 a.m. the next morning — after ingredients have passed inspection — comes the order: Fire up your chili pots. "Cooks can cut up their meat ahead of time, but beyond this, everything has to be prepared from scratch at the beach," Peters says. In the official rules, "scratch" is defined as starting with raw meat. No marinating is allowed. At noon, each head cook is to turn in a coded regulation cupful of the results to the judges.
During preparation, commercial chili powder is permissible, but all-in-one or pre-measured chili mixes — the kind that advertise "just add meat" on the box — are not. Not to give away any secrets, but the winning recipe at Terlingua last year boasted nearly 20 ingredients in addition to the meat, including two brands of commercial chili powder, cayenne pepper, tomato sauce, chicken broth, beef broth, onion powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, cumin and sazon.
Cooks must provide their own stove and fuel, typically propane or white gas, as no charcoal is permitted, Peters says. Other suggested essentials include a cooking vat, cutting board, knife, water, cooler for the meat, paper towels, can opener, spoons and recipe ingredients, plus with table, chairs and sun-umbrella or tent. Those planning to compete for the annual showmanship award as well will need their decorations and props.
The panel of tasting experts samples each cup of chili, and each judge assigns it numerical ratings in five criteria — aroma, consistency, red color, taste and aftertaste. At the end, the numbers are totaled, and around 4:30 p.m. the winners are announced.
Meanwhile, the showmanship competition begins at 12:30 p.m. "Think up a theme, grab a few props and costumes, work up a number or skit and join in the fun," Peters invites. A different set of judges will rate the showmanship competitors in the areas of theme, costume, booth set up, action and audience appeal.
Eat, drink, play games and enjoy the music
While a few dozen folks do the cooking, thousands turn out to taste their wares, which go on sale in sample-size cups for 25 cents a taste starting at noon. After submitting their official chili for judging, competitors are free to toss in fillers — such as beans, rice and hominy. For the eating public, if not the judges, there's usually even vegetarian chili. Cold drinks are also available.
The afternoon will also feature games and live music. "We'll have flipper races, watermelon spitting seed contests, volleyball and tug-of-war," Peters says. There'll be something heavy, too: This year's Chili Cook-Off is also the venue for the Coors Light Extreme Silver Summer Sumo Wresting finals.
In addition to providing an enjoyable afternoon, "the whole point of the cook-off is to give back to the island we've adopted as our home," Peters says. The event benefits the Queen Louise Home for the Aged, the St. Thomas/St. John chapter of the American Red Cross, Family Support Network, St. Thomas Rescue, V.I. Institute of Performing Arts, St. Thomas Swimming Association, Kidscope and Dial-A-Ride.
To get an application form and the rules and regs, or to obtain more information, call Peters at 775-8011.