GUSTAVIA It came down to a rum-off.

For the first time, the most exclusive rums in the Caribbean went head-to-head in a blind tasting competition at Caribbean Journals Caribbean Rum Awards in St Barth, and a team of seven international rum judges finally decided on a winner.

It was a superstar rum field: Ron Del Barrilito Five-Star; Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles; Havana Club Maximo; Brugal Papa Andres; El Dorado 25.

And after a round of voting, Puerto Ricos Ron del Barrilito and the Don Q were neck-and neck, with the Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles finally emerging victorious in the second round.

It was the culmination of a week of rum celebration: arrival in style via Tradewind Aviation; a rum expo in Gustavia, a Peoples Choice jury; a dinner at Pearl Beach sponsored by WIMCO Villas; a Ti Punch seminar and cocktail afternoon; and a seven-course cocktail-and-food pairing VIP dinner at the Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Lab on Saturday (helmed by top chef Andrew Zarzosa of Yuzu Miami fame).

2019 marked the arrival of the Caribbean Rum Awards in St Barth, set at the Rhum Room, proprietor Christopher Davis rum Mecca that has more fine rums on its menu than any bar in the Western Hemisphere, including the largest selection of rhum agricole of any bar on earth.

We are so pleased with the reception of the Caribbean Rum Awards in St Barth, said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal. St Barth is one of the most remarkable markets for rum, and our partnership with Christopher Davis and the St Barth Rum Festival is a natural fit. This years competition was filled with outstanding rums from across the Caribbean, and a reminder of the wonderful diversity of Caribbean rum.

In a field marked by broad excellence, rums from Martinique to Guadeloupe to Puerto Rico took home the double golds in seven different categories.

The Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles took home the Double Gold in the Ultra-Premium Category, while Ron del Barrilitos Four-Star Rum won Double Gold in the Premium Rum category.

On the Rhum Agricole side, Double Gold medalists included Rhum A1710 for its Renaissance rum in the Rhum Blanc Martinique category, while Rhum Bolognes La Coulisse took home the Double Gold in the Rhum Blanc Guadeloupe category.

Martiniques Rhum HSE won top honors in the XO category, while the Guadeloupe-made R St Barth Authentique won for the Hors dage category.

The partnership of the Saint Barth Rum Festival and the Caribbean Rum Awards inaugural event in Gustavia this year was incredible, Christopher Davis said. The judges, both professional and amateur, experienced some of the finest rhums/rums/rones from the Caribbean, culminating in a seven-course Japanese-inspired tasting menu with rum cocktails during the awards program. As it was our first year, we kept everything intimate, so we could make sure the quality of our event was top notch. We are already having distilleries and other potential partners on island as well as our peoples choice panel enquiring about the second edition next year, which for all of us at the Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Lab and Rhum Room is the best reward.

The festival also bestowed a special jury prize on Martiniques Gregory Vernant of Rhum Neisson, choosing him as the Caribbean Rum Maker of the Year.

Judges included Martinique chef and restaurateur Guy Ferdinand; Caribbean Journal editor and publisher Alexander Britell; Caribbean Journal EVP and managing editor Guy Britton; New York-based vintner and spirits importer Steven Shaw; Peter Berntsen, operating partner of Casa de Montecristo by Prime Cigar in Miami; Cuba Journal editor-in-chief Simons Chase; and the aforementioned Rhum Room and Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Lab proprietor Christopher Davis.

Judges on the Peoples Choice panel included Steven Miller, Eddy Maddox; Benoit Lavigne and Ted Houseknect.

St Barth is the natural home for an event that celebrates rum, one of the worlds greatest artisanal, luxury products, Britton said. And we are excited about what the future has in store.

See the full results of the Caribbean Rum Awards 2019 below:

Caribbean Rum Awards Results

Rhum Blanc Agricole (Martinique)

Double Gold: A1710 Renaissance

Gold: La Favorite Riviere Riviere Belair

Silver: Rhum HSE Parcellaire

Bronze: Rhum Neisson LEsprit Bio

Rhum Blanc Agricole (Guadeloupe)

Double Gold: Rhum Bologne La Coulisse

Gold: Rhum Saint Barth Blanc

Silver: Pere Labat 50

Bronze: Karukera LIntense

VSOP Rhum Agricole

Double Gold: Rhum Karukera Black Alligator

Gold: HSE VSOP

Silver: Rhum Bologne VSOP

Bronze: Rhum Clement VSOP

XO Rhum Agricole

Double Gold: Rhum HSE XO

Gold: Rhum Damoiseau XO

Silver: Rhum Depaz XO

Bronze: Rhum Bologne XO

Hors dAge Rhum Agricole

Double Gold: R St Barth Authentique

Gold: Rhum HSE 2003

Silver: La Favorite Privilege Pour Lulu

Bronze: Rhum Depaz 2002

Premium Rum ($450 and under)

Double Gold: Ron del Barrilito Four Star

Gold: Foursquare Zinfandel Cask Blend

Silver: Appleton 21

Bronze: Facundo Paraiso

Ultra-Premium Rum ($450 and above)

Double Gold: Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles

Gold: Ron del Barrilito Five-Star

Silver: Havana Club Maximo

Bronze: El Dorado 25

Special Jury Prize: Caribbean Rum Maker of the Year 2019

Gregory Vernant, Rhum Neisson

Caribbean Rum Awards Peoples Choice Results

Best Molasses Rum: Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles

Best Rhum Agricole: R St Barth Authentique

Judge accommodations were provided for by Wimco Villas, Les Ilets de la Plage and St Barth Properties.

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The Winners of the Caribbean Rum Awards in St Barth - Caribbean Journal

Updated: May 25, 2018:

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Energy and infrastructure boost Latin American & Caribbean M&A - JD Supra

I get wary when a beach in the Caribbean is described as having pink sand, yet here I am holding a handful of grains and shell fragments that are without doubt roseate.

We never had pink sand before, explains Barbara Petit, the French co-owner of Barbuda Belle, a barefoot luxury beach escape on the north coast of Barbuda, Antiguas flat and arid sister isle. It was a surprise gift from Irma.

In September 2017 the eye of this category five hurricane passed right over the island, causing so much devastation that Barbudas 1,800 residents had to be evacuated for a year. It took the Petit family and their staff eight months to get the resorts chic wooden bungalows back in shape, but now Barbuda Belle is one of the most soul-soothing escapes Ive come across in more than two decades of Caribbean travel. Set beside a remote and deserted beach but with every comfort laid on, Barbuda Belle is the sort of castaway paradise to which Hollywood scriptwriters get banished with a stern instruction finish that movie or else!.

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10 amazing ways to visit a resurgent Caribbean this winter - Telegraph.co.uk

Hurricane Lorenzo is continuing to home in on Ireland and the United Kingdom. The latest forecast advisory suggests that the British Isles could begin seeing impacts from the storm as early as Wednesday night. Furthermore, forecasters dont expect to see a significant reduction in strength in the next 48 hours.

The eye of the storm is slated to cross into the area early Friday morning. Meteorologists from the National Weather Service say the storm has a 70% chance of bringing tropical storm-force winds to the Emerald Isle.

Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, two disturbances have appeared overnight. Forecasters currently put the chance of further development in the next five days at a low 10%.

The system south of Cuba should continue moving towards the Yucatan Peninsula while the system in the western Caribbean is expected to be escorted to the mid-Atlantic by a surface trough.

HURRICANE SEASON IS HERE: Get ready and stay informed at tampabay.com/hurricane

PREPARE YOUR STUFF: Get your documents and your data ready for a storm

BUILD YOUR KIT: The stuff youll need to stay safe and comfortable for the storm

PROTECT YOUR PETS: Your pets cant get ready for a storm. Thats your job

NEED TO KNOW: Click here to find your evacuation zone and shelter

What the Panhandles top emergency officials learned from Michael

Were not going to give up. What a school superintendent learned from Michael

What Tampa Bay school leaders fear most from a storm

Tampa Bays top cops fear for those who stay behind

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As Lorenzo heads to the Ireland, two disturbances appear in the Caribbean. - Tampa Bay Times

Every island in the Caribbean has one, if not many: Popular songs inspired by the awful storms that have always been at once facts of life and shapers of history. In this region, from whose indigenous people we got our word huracan for the fierce tempests that swirl off the Atlantic in late summer and early fall, hurricanes have long been key to culture.

And hurricane songs mournful, brave, witty or sad are everywhere. Even before 1953, when the United States National Hurricane Centers move to give storms human names provided clever lyricists with new ways to decry those storms capriciousness, iconic songs and singers in the Caribbean were hymning the power of hurricanes to make or break leaders, to wreck industries, to force the vulnerable or devastated, at a weekends notice, to flee their homes and hunt new ones.

When Hurricane Dorian brought this fate to the poor people of the Bahamas, many across that sandy archipelago were no doubt reminded of a famous Bahamian folk song, Run, Come See Jerusalem, that a Bahamian calypso singer known as Blind Blake Higgs wrote to recall a harsh storm there in 1929.

In the 50s, the Weavers and other American folkies covered Blake Higgss tune. But here on the mainland, hurricanes havent historically featured as strongly in our cultural memory. Yes, theyve marked our past and our cities. But in the American songbook, even our best-known songs about climactic disasters from Woody Guthries Dust Bowl ballads to the blues songs about rivers rising and levees breaking have tended to be less about storms, per se, than about water.

This may soon change: Ever since 2005, when the levees did break in New Orleans and the city was drowned not by one of the Mississippis periodic floods but by Hurricane Katrina, Americans have begun learning to scan the horizon and the forecasts for whatever atmospheric doom approaches next. With what feels like ever-worsening storms being fed by warming seas, and every hurricane season seeming worse than the last, the names of hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, Maria, Matthew have come to function here much as they have in the Caribbean: as markers in time, and moments of collective trauma, that both occasion and demand a response thats as much cultural as it is economic or social.

Unfortunately, there will be plenty of extreme weather events to write and sing about in coming years. As we look to the Caribbean to see what these storms may bring, and what they may leave behind, we can also catch glimpse of one powerful way people deal with these storms by writing great songs about them. Here are a few.

When two years ago Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Lin Manuel Miranda and friends recorded a West Side Story-themed ode to his island that was also, in the manner of modern benefit records, a cry for help. But an older classic was at least as much in evidence on the social media pages and in the memories of Puerto Ricans who call their island by the same name, Borinquen, its native Tano did. Que sera, it asks, de mi Borinquen cuando llegue el temporal? What will become, when the storm lands, of my dear Boriniquen?

The best-known version of Temporal was recorded by the singer Tony Croatto in the 1970s. The tune may date from the turn of the last century, when Puerto Rico was becoming a de facto colony of the United States and its folk music called plena was taking shape in the southern city of Ponce. But the hurricane with which its most identified occurred in 1928. Known as San Felipe Segundo in Puerto Rico (and in the United States as the Okeechobee Hurricane), the hurricane was named for the feast day of the Catholic saint on whose week it blew ashore; it remains the only hurricane on record to make landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 5. Its sustained 160 mile-per-hour winds scythed across the island and left half a million homeless.

It also ruined the livelihoods of thousands of Puerto Rican coffee farmers, cementing the grip of United States sugar companies on the islands economy and pushing a sizable early wave of what would become a sea of migrants north.

Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean with 3,500 miles of coastline, offers a big target for hurricanes. Not a few of these have acted as fulcrums in its history among them Hurricane Flora in 1963, whose deft handling by a young Fidel Castro helped secure his grip on power. But this most musical of islands won its best-known song about the weather from a storm that didnt touch it at all.

Trio Matamoros was a seminal group in the rise of son, the lilting style born in an eastern province, Oriente (and later made famous by the Buena Vista Social Club). It became a musical lingua franca not merely for Cuba but across the Americas in the 20th century. The members of Trio Matamoros were experiencing their first blush of fame when they traveled to the Dominican Republic, where their music was hugely popular, in the summer of 1930. It was a fateful time to visit Santo Domingo. An army colonel named Rafael Trujillo had just seized power by coup dtat and a historic cyclone was soon to strike.

The San Zenon Hurricane was small but powerful; it scored a direct hit on the Dominican capital. The stone buildings of Santo Domingos colonial center survived its fierce winds, but the citys outskirts and flimsier dwellings didnt. Estimates vary, but at least 2,000 people died. Many more were injured. And Trujillo, mobilizing the army to clean up the wreckage, used the storm to unleash a vile dictatorship that would last 30 years.

None of this, though, is whats recalled in Cuba about the San Zenon storm. There it matters because of the song it inspired Miguel Matamoros to write about surviving its winds. Every time I remember the ciclon, my heart gets sick, it goes. The most sabroso thing about the experience, it goes on, was getting on an airplane to return to Cuban soil. Thats how the story ends, it concludes. The dead go to glory / and the living dance the son.

Trinidad is tucked away in the southern Caribbean, just a few miles from South Americas coast. It hasnt dealt with nearly as many hurricanes, lying below their usual path, as its peers. But as the source for two of the English Caribbeans essential musical forms calypso and steel bands Trinidads cultural sway in the region has been outsized. So its hardly surprising that a calypso from Trinidad became perhaps the first great song to make use, in 1955, of the still-novel practice of naming hurricanes for women. (Mens names joined the parade in 1978.)

In September 1955, Hurricane Janet ripped through the Lesser Antilles before becoming, when it slammed into Mexicos Yucatn Peninsula, the first Atlantic hurricane to strike a continental mainland as a Category 5. Wrecking Grenadas nutmeg crop, Janet visited havoc on Barbados, the Grenadines and St. Vincent, too. Then it inspired the great calypsonian Lord Melody (n Fitzroy Alexander) to cut a tune in which he described Janets attributes (silky hair / about six foot) and capacities (Janet lick down a million buildings) before imploring her, having seen the suffering shed caused on other islands, to spare his own. By the time he did so (Janet, I beg you hard! Janet, not Trinidad!), shed dissipated into air. Two years later, Lord Melodys peer Christo recorded a lovely version.

Haiti, as the first Caribbean nation to win its freedom from colonial rule and a country whose modern poverty has made it especially vulnerable to disasters, has long been seen as a source as countless songs from across the Caribbean and beyond show of both inspiration and pity for its neighbors. Which is one reason it feels like poetic justice that the most enduring song to come from the worst hurricane to strike the region in the 1970s a hurricane that did more damage to several of Haitis neighbors, for a change, than it did to Haiti was Haitian.

In August 1979, David formed in the Atlantic off Cape Verde and rumbled west toward Barbados before taking a sharp turn to catch Dominica, in the Windward Antilles, flush in the face. The islands people were caught almost completely unaware by David, which rendered 80 percent of them homeless. The world learned of the devastations extent, the following day, from a local ham radio operator whose reports amplified a sense in the Dominican Republic situated on the eastern half of Hispaniola, the island it shares with Haiti, and so next in line that this was a horrific storm. So it proved, killing 2,000 people. By the time it traversed Hispaniolas central mountains to hit Haiti, David had weakened. But not so much that it didnt cause sufficient mudslides and suffering to inspire one of Haitis most beloved musicians, then a New York resident, to record a song about watching from afar as a great water flooded the sun over his homeland and about worrying, after it did so and with phone lines knocked out, whether everyone there was dead.

Ti Manno was a sublime singer of Kompa, the dominant pop style in Haiti since the 60s. He recorded David with his Brooklyn-based band, DP Express, to describe how, after finally learning that his family was O.K., he realized he needed to to return to Haiti (which he did, staying for a few years before returning to New York to die, before his time, in 1985).

Lovindeer isnt the best-known reggae singer outside Jamaica. But he became one of its best-loved in the 1980s when he released this classic track about the most destructive hurricane to ever strike the island. Gilbert ranks among the largest hurricanes ever recorded its tropical storm-force winds measured 500 feet in diameter and it remains the most intense storm in the history of Mexico, where it drowned Cancun and the larger Yucatn Peninsula under 23-foot waves and a storm surge that extended three miles inland.

Before that, though, it ransacked Jamaica. There, Prime Minister Edward Seaga compared the storms effects where amid flash floods, mudslides and destruction of property, 49 people died to Hiroshima after the atom bomb.

But none of this kept Lovindeer from laughing in Gilberts face. Older Jamaican storm songs, like the folk tune Dry Weather Houses, sang of mortal danger in a similarly playful tone. And Lovindeer, rap-singing in local dialect over a bouncy backing track that sounded as if it was made with a simple synthesizer in his bedroom, mourned the bits of domestic equipment, like his satellite dish, the storm had claimed. He lamented the now high cost of beer and food spoiled in his freezer. And he expressed sympathy for those affected in more dire ways.

But the songs overall tone mimicked its nursery rhyme chorus (Water come inna mi room / Mi sweep out some with mi broom / Di likkle dog laugh to see such fun / And di dish run away with the spoon!). After this storm, many Jamaicans sought to gain visas that would allow them to leave the island for the United States or England. Some got them, some didnt. And some, no doubt, wished they could follow the model of a key part of the singers house: Mi roof migrate without a visa.

Joshua Jelly-Schapiro (@jellyschapiro) is the author of Island People: The Caribbean and the World.

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Listen to the Storm Songs of the Caribbean - The New York Times

MIAMI, Oct. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The second edition of the Caribbean Rum Awards will take placeNov. 6-10in the pinnacle of Caribbean luxury, the French Caribbean island of St Barthelemy or St Barth.

The event, which is curated by Caribbean Journal, the world's largest Caribbean travel media company, will bring a panel of spirits experts to the heart of Gustavia to judge some of the most exclusive rums anywhere in the world.

It will be combined with the Saint Barth Rum Festival for an unforgettable week of rum experiences.

Caribbean Journal is partnering on the four-day event with the Rhum Room, the now-renowned bar that is home to the largest collection of top-level Caribbean rums in the Western Hemisphere, and its adjacent Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Lab, the most inventive bar and restaurant in St Barth.

The combined Caribbean Rum Awards and Saint Barth Rum Festival are an injection of new energy in St Barth, a new kind of festival for the island and a wonderful addition to St Barth's position as the gastronomic capital of the Caribbean.

"We are so excited to bring the Caribbean's leading celebration of rum to an island that is the Caribbean capital of cool," said Caribbean Journal Editor and Publisher Alexander Britell. "For years, Caribbean Journal's Rum Journal has striven to place rum on its rightly-deserved pedestal and that's the point of this event the field will be unlike any other rum festival out there, from some of the most exclusive molasses rums in the world to an unmatched slate of agricole rums."

The event will begin with a villa cocktailon Nov. 5, a full-day of rum judging across eight categorieson Nov. 6, a distiller expoon Nov. 7and a Ti' Punch Houron Nov. 8.

The rum judging will also include a People's Choice panel comprised of travelers and local rum enthusiasts.

The evening ofNov. 9will feature a rum-and-food tasting dinner helmed by noted Chef Andrew Zarzosa of Yuzu Miami, followed by a VIP rum celebration at the Rhum Room.

Rums will be selected for the judging in eight categories across Molasses Rum and Rhum Agricole.

The Molasses category will include Premium Rum, featuring rums priced up to $450, and the Ultra-Premium Rum category, featuring rums over $450.

"We are so excited to be the new home of the Caribbean Rum Awards at the Saint Barth Rum Festival. Our format may not be typical of Rum competitions, but we think it is a great way to go. First, having an UBER Ultimate Rum category with the most prized Caribbean Rums is exciting; let's see how these Big Boys play out in a heads up competition, huge bragging rights are at stake, Second, we are honored to have some great guests of Rhum Room flying in to be part of our People's Choice Panel, rum/rhum/ron aficionados, tasting across all categories and choosing their overall favorite rum of the Festival. From my point of view it doesn't get any better than this!" saidChristopherDavis, proprietor of the Rhum Room and Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Lab.

The latter category will be a first for the region, pitting some of the most legendary rums in the Caribbean against one another, from Havana Club Maximo to El Dorado 25 to Ron del Barrilito Five Star, among others.

Story continues

The Rhum Agricole field will include categories of Blanc, Blanc 50-degrees plus, VSOP, XO, Cask Finish and Hors d'age.

Judges include Alexander Britell, Guy Britton,Peter Berntsen, ChristopherDavis, Guy Ferdinand, Steven Shaw and Simons Chase.

"The panel of judges is comprised of leading rum and spirits experts, with the aim of creating an objective array of palates and tastes to give these rums the respect they deserve," said Guy Britton, managing editor of Caribbean Journal. "And St Barth is the perfect place to do it."

Sponsors of the Caribbean Rum Awards in St Barth include Tradewind Aviation, WIMCO, Les Ilets de la Plage, and SC Capital.

Tradewind, the Platinum Sponsor of the event, will be transporting judges from San Juan to St Barth.

For more, visit the Caribbean Rum Awards or contactrum@caribjournal.com.

Rhum Room is the world's leading Caribbean rum bar.

Quarter Kitchen & Cocktail Lab will be the host of the VIPdinner on Saturday.Nov. 9.For more information or reservations, please contactHello@25sbh.com.

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The Caribbean Rum Awards Are Coming to St Barth - Yahoo Finance

Erica Moiah James is an art historian who helped paved the way for contemporary art to flourish in The Bahamas.

Lately, art history assistant professor Erica Moiah James has been struggling to keep away from Facebook. The images of her native Bahamas, where she was the founding director of the national art gallery, are both distressing and consuming her.

James feels fortunate. Her parents, extended family and most friends along with the gallery are safe in Nassau, about 100 miles from the worst destruction of Hurricane Dorian. But as she fielded calls from concerned friends and colleagues throughout the Caribbean, the storm forced James to realize the grim impacts of climate change on the region. It even prompted her to write a piece for The New York Times on the need for governments to work together in what is sometimes a fractured region.

Every year its someone, she said. This is the new normal.

James, who teaches African Diasporic Art Histories with a focus on the Caribbean at the University of MiamiCollege of Arts and Sciences, made many of her connections across the Caribbean as the founding curator and director of the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas (NAGB).

Her journey to that position, where she gave tours to everyone from the prime ministers of the country and Ms. Universe contestants and the First Lady of South Africa and the Secretary General of the United Nations, was heralded by a series of strong mentors, James said.

Growing up in Nassau, an art museum on the island of New Providence was just a fantasy for James. Although she always loved to draw and paint, James desire to be an artist seemed a bit farfetched to her parents, so she compromised and decided to major in architecture and urban studies at Vassar College. Yet when it was time to craft her thesis, James drafted a gallery design, and wrote a paper about the need for a space to showcase fine art from The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean.

And then I sort of put that dream away and graduated and went to art school, she said.

Many years later, after honing her painting skills and earning a Masters of Fine Art at the University of Chicago, as well as working as a collections manager at the DuSable Museum of African American History, James was three years into her Ph.D. in art history at Duke University, when she got a call from Nassau. It was the board of directors looking to start a national art museum, and they asked if she would be interested in working there. James immediately sent them her resume. She did not hear anything for a year. When she finally went to interview, they asked her what day she could start.

The artists kept pushing for it, and eventually my training met the national will, she said. It was kismet.

James started working at the gallery in 2003, six months before it opened. Located at the former home of the first chief justice of the Bahamas, Williams Henry Doyle, she was initially named as the gallerys visiting curator. James worked feverishly to renovate the space and furnish it, as well as to hire staff.

It still wasnt set up as a museum, so all of my architecture training came in really handy then, she said.

When the museum opened, James was promoted to director and chief curator, a post she held for eight years. James said it was extremely difficult to leave, but she is proud of the museums growth and its impact. As a result, The Bahamas is incorporating more art programs in schools and native Bahamians have a place to see the evolution of art in their own country, James said.

It wasnt a part of our culture we had developed before, but by the time I left, people gave me a chance to see that the work we did mattered, and I saw how it had grown to reach out and impact the community, she said. Not many people get that opportunity; I understood the work that an institution like the NAGB needed to do for The Bahamas.

James was enticed to take a break from the museum when she was offered a temporary post-doctoral teaching fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. She had recently finished her Ph.D. at Duke and was interested in returning to an academic setting.

Life changed very quickly after that, she said.

But shortly after she began her fellowship, James was offered a position as a professor of Caribbean and African Diasporic art histories at Yale University. After some hesitation she had planned to return to The Bahamas James decided to teach art history, along with African American history at Yale and left her museum position. At Yale, James began teaching full-time, wrote a book about the art of Bahamian collector Dawn Davies, and curated exhibits across the country. Then two years ago, she was approached by University of Miami to interview for an opening in the art history department. She decided that she wanted to be closer to home.

Nathan Timpano, who serves as the area head for art history in the Department of Art and Art History, said James is a perfect example of UM seeking out desirable professors, and that she is the only professor in their department who teaches art of the Caribbean, or African art.

She is really filling a gap that had previously existed in our curriculum, he said, adding that students often comment about how much they enjoy her classes. Also, the fact that she is both a highly trained art historian and a skilled painter provides a dual perspective on the discipline thats really unique.

Rosie Gordon-Wallace, the founder of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI), an organization that works to cultivate and elevate Latin American and Caribbean artists work in the United States, said James insight about Caribbean art is invaluable. When she opened the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas in Nassau, Gordon-Wallace said James helped create a cultural springboard for Bahamian artists like Blue Curry, John Beadle, Heino Schmid and John Cox, who are internationally recognized today.

Erica has been at the helm of the maturation of contemporary Caribbean art in The Bahamas, said Gordon-Wallace. She is also rigorous in her knowledge of the Caribbean, and in placing that knowledge in the canon, as well as in the contemporary canon in America.

Gordon-Wallace said James is writing an essay for an upcoming DVCAI exhibit that opens Nov. 16 at the Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. James is also opening a different contemporary Caribbean art exhibit at Miamis Little Haiti Cultural Complex in December. In between, she is teaching classes on Cuban Art, African Art and Western Art, and hoping to get back to The Bahamas, so she can help the survivors of Hurricane Dorian in any way possible.

Although James is grateful her family was spared from the latest storm, she is still concerned about the future of her country. She hopes the University of Miami continues its intensive research on climate change issues to find solutions to pressing problems such as medical health impacts and resilient building methods, among others.

We are all facing the same battle.

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A trailblazer for art in the Caribbean - University of Miami

Key points:

Four weeks after Dorian slammed northwestern Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane, the Government of The Bahamas is shifting efforts from response to recovery.

Tropical Storm Karen passed over the Caribbean leaving minor damages.

Tropical Storm Narda is tracking northwards along Mexico's Pacific coast with potentially flooding rains.

The rainy season in Guatemala has triggered various emergencies across the country, including flooding, landslides, sinkholes and collapses.

A pair of earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 6.1 rattled Chile.

BAHAMAS: HURRICANE DORIAN

Four weeks after Dorian slammed northwestern Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane, the Government of The Bahamas is shifting efforts from response to recovery.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reports that the official death toll is 53, with more expected. NEMA also reports that authorities have successfully located some 690 people previously reported as missing and that there are 1,600 people still in shelter, mostly in New Providence.

Although response presence is transitioning, partners continue to deliver humanitarian assistance, as coordinated by NEMA through their Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) in Abaco and Grand Bahama. Humanitarian organizations are providing health and protection services, supply delivery, debris removal, waste management and temporary housing.

Humanitarian organizations have delivered more than 350,000 meals and 135,000 liters of water

In a 26 September press release, the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources called Dorians damage to the agricultural and marine resources industry in Abaco and Grand Bahama catastrophic, noting that preliminary assessments in Grand Bahama suggest losses of some US$60 million.

CARIBBEAN: TROPICAL STORM KAREN

Following Tropical Storm Karens path near Trinidad and Tobago and the British Virgin Islands (BVI), both territories deactivated their National Emergency Operations Centres (NEOCs) as of 25 September.In Trinidad, Karen affected 10 municipalities, with landslides and flooding reported in several areas. The Trinidad and Tobago Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) is carrying out cleanup activities and distributing cleaning supplies.Tobago reports some 133 emergency calls over damaged roofs, fallen trees and landslides. All services on both islands have returned to normal.BVI reported little damage and normal activity.

Karen later produced 1-2 inches of rain across Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, with isolated storm totals of eight inches, before weakening in strength and speed ahead of a clockwise loop towards the southwestern Atlantic, breaking apart without posing any serious threat to land.

MEXICO: TROPICAL STORM NARDA

Narda, currently some 15 miles westnorthwest of Mazatlan, weakened to a depression on 29 September before strengthening again on 30 September.Narda continues to bring flooding rains and maximum winds of 45mph.

Narda is moving up the western Mexican coast at 15mph, a track that the National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects to continue over the coming days, albeit with decreasing speed. NHC projects that Narda will move over the Gulf of California near the coast of northwestern mainland Mexico through 2 October. Narda may produce 3-6 inches of rainfall in Nayarit and Sinaloa, with 1-3 inches over Colima, Jalisco and Michoacan, rainfall that may potentially cause flash floods and mudlsides, especially in mountainous terrains.

Following the recent multiple impacts by Hurricane Lorena along the western coast, federal-level Civil Protection prepositioned response assets and personnel to strengthen local civil protection systems and governments.

REGIONAL: NATURAL HAZARDS

GUATEMALA - RAINY SEASON

Heavy rainfall in recent days has led to several minor emergency incidents across Guatemala, including flooding, landslides, sinkholes and collapses.Most of the reported incidents are in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, Quiche, San Marcos, Santa Rosa and Zacapa. As of 26 September, the rainy season (June-October) has affected some 539,000 people, causing the evacuation of 2,600 people and rendering 1,100 people homeless.

The rains have also triggered lahar flows for volcanoes throughout Guatemala, most notably the Volcn de Fuego and Santiaguito volcanoes. The National Coordination for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) continue to carry out the corresponding response actions, with the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and UN Emergency Technical Team (UNETT) monitoring the situation.

CHILE - EARTHQUAKES

On 26 September, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck southern Chile, with reports of shaking in the cities of Ancud, Osorno, Puerto Montt and Temuco. The quake occurred some 610 miles south the capital of Santiago, with a depth of 80 miles below the surface.

A powerful 6.8 earthquake later shook Chiles coast on 29 September, swaying buildings in the capital city of Santiago.The quake struck some 255 miles south of Santiago, with an epicenter of 10.3 miles below the surface.

Chilean officials reported that most of central and southern Chile felt the earthquake. Chiles national emergency service said that there were no reports of injuries or damage to basic services, adding that the quake did not meet the requirements to issue a tsunami warning

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Latin America & the Caribbean: Weekly Situation Update (23-30 September 2019) As of 30 September 2019 - World - ReliefWeb

Emily Hower, a research assistant at Nova Southeastern University doing field work on coral off Key West in Florida, bobs up out of the water and removes her diving mask. The news is not good.

Most of the pillar coral that her team have been monitoring for years are dead.

Hower and her colleagues are on a race against time to find what causes a disease dubbed Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, which since 2014 has been raging like an inferno through reefs under the deceptively calm blue paradise of the Caribbean.

In just five years, it has wreaked devastation on the fragile coral ecosystems that are already at risk of extinction from the effects of climate change.

Of 40 reef sites in the Florida Keys monitored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 38 are already affected.

"It is a huge disaster that's going on underneath the waves," says Karen Neely, a coral ecologist at Nova. "This is on the level of the Amazon burning. It is on the level of a disease that's wiping out all of America's forests."

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease attacks the tissue of coral, transforming healthy, vibrant marine ecosystems into drab, dead worlds within weeks.

The disease has ravaged much of the Atlantic reef off Florida, spread across parts of the Caribbean, and has recently been reported near Belize in Central America. Pillar coral, whose clusters of spiky fingers appear to reach up from the sea bed, is "reproductively extinct" off the Florida coast, says Keri O'Neil, chief coral scientist at the Florida Aquarium.

At the aquarium, a rare ray of hope comes from a room that has the lights off for much of the year. Here, an elaborate and expensive system of LED lights is designed to emulate sunrises, sunsets and phases of the moon to coax pillar coral in tanks into reproducing as if they were in the ocean.

Neely's team has also been laboriously applying a paste combined with amoxicillin to the coral, which they say has been effective in treating the disease.

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease kills over 20 species of coral, including most of the important ones that build the reef, hold it together and protect the shoreline, says Neely.

Scientists are working together to try to find solutions. A Disease Advisory Committee has been set up to help coordinate and scientists are performing fieldwork to bolster each others' research. They are, they say, like first responders at the scene of a disaster.

Despite that, little is known yet about what causes the disease. In Sarasota, Erinn Muller and her team at the Mote Marine Laboratory's Coral Reef Research & Restoration Center are among those trying to identify the pathogen behind it and how it spread from Florida to the Caribbean. "We're getting these jumps and so that would suggest that there's some type of human influence that is allowing that jump to occur," says Muller.

Near the start of 2019, it was spotted off the coast of the Virgin Islands. There, Marilyn Brandt of the University of the Virgin Islands' Center for Marine and Environmental Studies and her graduate students are ripping out the diseased coral to try to stop it spreading.

Her team - like Neely's and others - are joining forces and working frantically to prevent the loss of this delicate and complex underwater world, with its iridescent colors and rippling textures.

Such a loss would represent "a loss of biodiversity which could be a source for future medicines, the loss of fisheries, the loss of tourism value," says Brandt. "A lot of Caribbean islands have part of their culture based around coral reefs and if you lose those reefs you lose an aspect of their culture."

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In the Caribbean, scientists race against time to save the coral from a deadly disease - NBCNews.com

Newly minted Cannabis connoisseur, Mike Tyson, is planning to bring his booming weed business to the Caribbean.

Beyond the Smoke: Three ways to invest in cannabis and grab a piece of the $10 billion industry

Tyson, who owns a 400-acre marijuana resort in California, plans to help boost tourism in Antigua and Barbuda by opening a cannabis farm and creating an annual cannabis conference, The Daily Mail reports.

I thought about how much good I could do by helping people with cannabis. It was a no-brainer, Tyson toldCannabis Tech Today about his latest enterprise.

Tyson sat down with Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda to discuss his business proposals.

It will be good for the country and will bring in much-needed funds to help your economy, Tyson told news reporters of his efforts in Antigua and Barbuda. The islands suffered from two hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and the former boxer believes that the cannabis industry can help with recovery efforts.

[The conference] will be like the Davos of cannabis; it will take place on an annual basis and will bring stakeholders from throughout the globe for that matter right here on Antigua to discuss various opportunities within the industry, said Prime Minister Browne.

So, we are very excited about that. They are also interested in establishing a hotel accommodation property and they will be looking at a number of sites to determine suitability.

Black woman business owner to open first luxury cannabis lounge in Southern California

Tyson broke ground and opened a 400-plus acre Tyson Ranch which aims to produce high quality products including THC and CBD as well as supporting research on the health benefits of marijuana.

The ranch also includes acres that will be used for the cultivation of marijuana by master growers, and features facilities to train growers and those interested in the industry. In addition, the ranch offers an edibles factory, an amphitheater and areas for glamping, according toThe Washington Post.

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Mike Tysons weed farm to boost economy on Caribbean islands - TheGrio

ST THOMAS, Virgin Islands/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Off the coast of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a group of scientists is tearing a reef apart in a feverish attempt to save some of its coral.

They are battling a fast-moving, lethal disease that researchers say is unprecedented in the speed with which it can damage large numbers of coral species across the Caribbean Sea.

Breaking their cardinal rule to never touch the coral, the scientists are removing diseased specimens to try to stop the disease spreading and save what remains.

Meanwhile, researchers and divers in Florida, where the disease was first spotted in 2014, are also removing coral samples and shipping them to places as far-flung as Kansas and Oklahoma, in a last-ditch effort to save the 20 species or more thought to be susceptible to what has been dubbed Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease.

The disease prompts rapid tissue loss, appearing first as white patches that sprawl out across the coral, before eventually stripping it of color and life altogether.

About half the coral species that make up Floridas reef tracts and about a third of those throughout the Caribbean are vulnerable to the disease, at a time when the delicate ecosystems are already threatened by climate change.

Overall, Floridas Upper Keys have seen greater than 40% loss in coral cover between 2013 and 2018, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease tmsnrt.rs/2nfybsM has been identified in seven other Caribbean localities, according to the Florida Sea Grant, a university-based program funded by the federal government. Unlike the more well-known coral bleaching phenomenon, coral typically cannot recover from Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. The species fall victim to it at different paces, with a mortality rate of66-100 percent.

I have never seen anything that affects so many species, so quickly and so viciously - and it just continues, said Marilyn Brandt of the University of the Virgin Islands, who is one of the researchers involved in the efforts to save the reefs near St. Thomas.

All the diseases Ive studied in the past could be considered like the flu. They come every year, seasonally, and sometimes there are worse outbreaks. This thing is more like Ebola. Its a killer, and we dont know how to stop it.

Brandts team first spotted the disease along the west coast of St. Thomas in January and have launched a frantic effort to try to stem its advance, resorting to removing diseased corals with a hammer and chisel to try to salvage the rest.

The coral basically liquefies from the inside out, Brandt said.

The disease was first identified near Miami, Florida, where the port was conducting a dredging project, and has now spread throughout almost all of the states reef tract.

The coral in the area were already stressed from the dredging and a recent bleaching event, so it was unsurprising they got hit with a disease, the scientists told Reuters. Like with a human body, a weakened immune system can make coral more susceptible to disease.

We tend to just study these events. We monitor them. We try to research what to do. We just watch it happen and assume that Mother Nature is going to be able to take the reins and everythings going to be fine, said Maurizio Martinelli, Coral Disease Response Coordinator at the Florida Sea Grant.

But the scale of the new disease has led to a more urgent approach. Large coral individuals that scientists have estimated to be hundreds of years old have been dying within a matter of several weeks, according to the scientists estimates.

We cant just watch these corals all die in front of us, Martinelli said.

Corals, which cover about 1 percent of the Earths surface, are animals that settle on the ocean floor and support more sea life than any other marine environment. As well as supporting thousands of species of plants, fish and other sea life, they draw huge numbers of tourists, scientists and divers.

They also provide a natural barrier to flooding, preventing $1.8 billion worth of damages to buildings, business and coastal economies and protecting more than 18,000 citizens annually in the United States alone, according to a 2019 U.S. Geological Survey report.

But the federal budget to protect coral reefs has been largely unchanged for years, and thats left coral science in the Middle Ages, said coral scientist William Precht.

The disease is likely the deadliest for coral since so-called white-band disease emerged in the 1970s, almost wiping out two kinds of coral, he said.

Now, were looking at a similar type of disease, but instead of affecting two species, it hits 22, said Precht.

The end result could be catastrophic.

Reporting by Lucas Jackson in the Virgin Islands and Chris Prentice in New York, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien

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As new disease wipes out Caribbean coral, scientists tear up reefs to stop the spread - Reuters

If youre the kind of person who starts dreaming about beach getaways as soon as the first day of fall arrives, we have good news for you. Getting to the Caribbean from the United States this winter will be easier than ever, thanks to several convenient new flight routes. American Airlines loyalists will be the happiest, since the carrier is launching nearly half a dozen new routes to places like St. Thomas, St. Lucia, and more from the Midwest, East Coast, and Texas this year.

On February 1, 2020, JetBlue is launching direct flights between New Yorks JFK airport to Pointe--Pitre in Guadeloupe. This new flight route will make JetBlue the only airline to operate flights between the Northeast and the French overseas territory after Norwegian Air ended its service to the island earlier in 2019. The new JetBlue flight will last four and a half hours and will operate on Airbus A320 aircraft.Fares for this new flight could be found this week on Google Flights for as low as $387 for departures throughout March 2020.

On December 21, 2019, American Airlines is launching new Saturday-only flights from both Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago OHare to the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas. The Dallas flights will operate on Boeing 757 planes year-round, while the Chicago service will be seasonal and fly on A319 planes.

American Airlines is launching a seasonal service between Chicago OHare and St. Lucias Hewanorra International Airport on December 21, 2019. The Saturday flights will operate on Boeing 737 planes.A search on Google Flights at press time showed that fares for this new route are in the low $800s throughout the entire winter high season for the island.

Those who depart fromAmerican Airlines Charlotte, North Carolina, hub will be able to start flying direct to the island of Grenada starting December 21, 2019. The Saturday-only flights will operate year-round on A319 planes.

American Airlines is launching new flights to Jamaica a month earlier than the rest of its new Caribbean routes. On November 21, 2019, daily service between JFK and Montego Bay (MBJ) will begin to operate on Boeing 737 planes.Delta, JetBlue, and Caribbean Airlines also operate nonstop flights on this same route. Fares for all four airlines appeared to be hovering in the $400s for travel dates throughout this winter on Google Flights this week.

Midwesterners will have a chance to escape to the warmth of the Bahamas without any pesky layovers once Sun Country launches direct routes between MinneapolisSt. Paul and Nassau on December 21, 2019, on Boeing 737 planes. Nassau and its resorts like Baha Mar and Atlantis were unaffected by Hurricane Dorian. Sun Country is a budget airline that will charge extra for everything from seat selection to carry-on bags.

Bermuda isnt located anywhere near the Caribbean Sea (its about 1,000 miles due north of Puerto Rico), but weve included this new American Airlines route to the British overseas territory for anyone looking to book an island getaway. The new year-round service launches on December 21, 2019, and will fly between New Yorks LaGuardia airport and Bermuda on Boeing 737 planes. Keep in mind that because of Bermudas northern location, the highs throughout most of winter there are in the 70s instead of beach-friendly 80s.

Basic economy fares for this new route could be found on Google Flights this week for as low as $322 from December 2019 through April 2020. Main Cabin fares went for $372 in that same time period.

>> Next: 10 Best Places to Travel in January

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7 Exciting New Airline Routes Coming to the Caribbean This Winter - AFAR Media

Phoenix will have a new destination for Caribbean and Central and South American cuisine when Little Cay opens its doors on Friday, Oct. 4. The new fast-casual restaurant will be located at4912 E. Shea Blvd. on the northeast corner of Shea Boulevard and Tatum Road in Phoenix.

Owner Ben Sinon, who previouslyhelmed the Wrigley Mansion as the general manager, says the restaurant is designed to offer a miniature getaway for diners even if the reprieve only lasts as long as your meal.

"The entire vibe is meant to feel like a day at the beach," Sinon says. "Our motto is 'call it a day.'"

Sinon says the menu at Little Cay is "intentionally broad," incorporating dishes from Cuban, Puerto Rican and Jamaican cuisine, to name a few.

"We really try to make sure we're not pigeonholed," Sinon says. "So we really tried to not be any one of the cuisines specifically."

Dishes on the Little Cay menu include:

The Original Cuban Sandiwch at Little Cay includes roasted pulled pork, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles.(Photo: Debby Wolvos)

The restaurant also serves a selection of salads topped with various proteins ranging from grilled mahi mahi or slow roasted pulled pork to sauteed shrimp or slow cooked beef.

Sinon is particularly proud of the many vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options on the Little Cay menu. Side dishes include plantains cooked various ways, all of which are gluten-free options, including as tostones, mariquitas (fried plantain chips), maduros (caramelized sweet plantains) and mofongo (green plantains cooked with chicharron, garlic and olive oil).

"We do great things with plantains," Sinon says.

EXPECT A CUBAN FEAST: This is why you have to try F La Cubana

Sinon says the inspiration for Little Cay came from a similar restaurant in San Diego. Called Embargo Grill, the Southern California restaurant opened six years ago and was named one of Yelp's top 100 restaurants in 2016.

Sinon partnered with Embargo Grill's owner, whom he's known for years, to bring the concept to Arizona. Metro Phoenix didn't have anything similar to Embargo Grill, Sinon says, which made it a perfect place to open a similar restaurant.

"I live here," Sinon says. "And being a foodie, I couldn't find someone else doing food the way we do."

Vegetarian options at Little Cay include Berenadas, or grilled eggplant with sweet citrus chili.(Photo: Debby Wolvos)

The restaurant will be fast-casual, meaningcustomers will be able to order at a counter, but also will have an option for full-service dining. If diners want to sit and have a server to refill waters or take drink orders, they can either seat themselves or order at the counter first.

Little Cay also will offer a full bar with Caribbean beers including Red Stripe, wine and tropical cocktails. Happy hour will include discounted drinks ranging from $3-$5 from 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Weekend drink specials will include "Buckets of Happiness," which come with five Red Stripes, White Claws or wine cans for $20.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Fall in love with Peruvian food at Los Andres in Phoenix

Opens on Friday, Oct. 4.

Details:Mon.-Sun. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.4912 E. Shea Blvd. Suite 108, Scottsdale. 480-534-4110,LittleCayAZ.com.

Reach the reporter at lauren.saria@azcentral.com. Follow her on Instagram at laurensaria, on Twitter at lhsaria and on Facebook at facebook.com/lsaria.

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Little Cay is Phoenix's new destination for Caribbean food. Here's what's on the menu - AZCentral

Well ladies and gents, it is officially fall. But before we start reminiscing about warm weather memories and loathing months of heavy coats and boots, we need to remember one thing its still summer somewhere!

The Caribbean is blessed with endless sunshine and sandy beaches, which is why travelers love chasing the sun across the regions idyllic islands all year long in search of the perfect tropical escape. From the happy island of Aruba to the irie vibes of Jamaica and iconic views of St. Maarten, there is plenty of sunshine to be found.

If youre in need of some inspiration to keep you warm as the chill sets in, weve found a few jetsetters who love chasing the island sun and will have you ready to keep your summer going in the Caribbean this fall.

@sweetlikeoyin, @onlyonedisaaa, @0g_tammy, @chioma.atanmo

Sunshine and friends, all a girl needs.

@oneikatraveller

Relaxation at its finest in Antigua.

@aundi_lanae

Flamingo friends in Aruba.

@cedtripping

Iconic shots for the 'gram in St. Maarten.

@med_ced

Buenos dias from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

@lavish_blaze

Evert ting is irie in Jamaica.

@auntiesophsoph_

All smiles in Aruba.

@bykwest

Never a cloudy day in Antigua.

@fola.shade

Travelers can never get enough of that Haitian sunshine.

@jetsetsarah

Morning views on the island of Anguilla.

@shereadelsol

A visit to the U.S. Virgin Islands is always nice.

@eltonandersonjr

Black boy joy in Barbados.

@onegrloneworld

Melanin magic in Martinique.

@mrtravelgoals

Scenic views from the hill in Saint Kitts.

@foodlife_tampabay

Melanin drip in Turks and Caicos.

@iamianthia

If you lived in the Bahamas you'd smile all the time too!

@desifletch

Swimming with sharks in the Bahamas? No Problem!

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17 Times Travelers Chased The Sun In The Caribbean - Essence

By Alexander Britell

One of the Caribbeans most legendary resorts is making its long-awaited comeback in the second quarter of 2020, Caribbean Journal has learned.

The historic Rosewood Little Dix Bay resort on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands is set to relaunch on March 1, 2020.

The company is already taking reservations for stays beginning March 1, according to Rosewoods website.

What a cottage will look like.

Rosewood Little Dix Bay, set a spectacular crescent of sand in the southwestern corner of Virgin Gorda, will have a mix of cottages, suites and large villas.

Food and beverage concepts will be comprised of the Sugar Mill eatery, the wholesome slow food-focused Pavilion; the Rum Room, an open-air rum bar; and The Reef House, offering a farm-to-table culinary experience.

The beach at Little Dix Bay is one of the most beautiful in this corner of the Caribbean.

And yes, the resorts renowned Sense, a Rosewood Spa, will return, along with a fitness center with state-of-the-art training equipment.

The resort will feature two pools: the Pavilion Pool, set at the edge of the beach, and the spa infinity pool, a tiered ocean-view pool.

It will be a triumphant return for a hotel that has been closed since 2016, when it began a large-scale, multimillion-dollar renovation project.

That project came to a halt in 2017, when Hurricane Irma came through the BVI.

Now, the renovation and transformation of the resort, the largest of the property since Laurance Rockefeller founded the property more than a half century ago.

Its reopening will reestablish Little Dix Bay as arguably the premier resort in the BVI, joining a luxury portfolio in the archipelago that includes standouts like Guana Island and Scrub Island, among others.

It will be another jolt for the tourism sector in the wider Virgin Islands chain, which will soon see the relaunch of the Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas and the Renaissance Carambola in St Croix, all in the next year.

Its also a significant boost for Rosewoods Caribbean portfolio, which expanded last year with the debut of the Rosewood Baha Mar in The Bahamas and will soon grow with the planned launch of the Rosewood Half Moon Bay in Antigua. (Rosewood also has a resort in the Mayakoba development on the Caribbean coast of Mexico.)

For more, visit Rosewood Little Dix BayRosewood Little Dix Bay.

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An Iconic Caribbean Rosewood Resort Is Returning in 2020 - Caribbean Journal

Hurricane Lorenzo, currently located in the mid-Atlantic, became a category 3 hurricane overnight. Forecasters from the National Weather Service expect some additional strengthening to occur Thursday.

The hurricane is expected to continue moving to the north. The storm does not currently pose a threat to the Caribbean or Bermuda.

Tropical Storm Karen is hanging on to her current classification, but barely.

A 5 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center shows that Karens maximum-sustained winds are sitting at about 40 miles-per-hour. Little change in strength is expected to occur over the next few days.

Karen is projected to move east today before beginning a change of direction.

Meteorologists say that the system is supposed to make a clockwise loop over the southwestern Atlantic and begin a westward track this weekend.

No coastal watches or warnings are currently in effect.

HURRICANE SEASON IS HERE: Get ready and stay informed at tampabay.com/hurricane

PREPARE YOUR STUFF: Get your documents and your data ready for a storm

BUILD YOUR KIT: The stuff youll need to stay safe and comfortable for the storm

PROTECT YOUR PETS: Your pets cant get ready for a storm. Thats your job

NEED TO KNOW: Click here to find your evacuation zone and shelter

What the Panhandles top emergency officials learned from Michael

Were not going to give up. What a school superintendent learned from Michael

What Tampa Bay school leaders fear most from a storm

Tampa Bays top cops fear for those who stay behind

Read the rest here:

As Hurricane Lorenzo moves north, Tropical Storm Karen rests in the Caribbean - Tampa Bay Times

Mexicos Caribbean coast and Yucatan Peninsula continue to be a sure bet for hotel investors, with a projected 137,000 hotel rooms in the pipeline in the area.

We take a look at who is banking on making returns in this part of the world.

Cancun has been a reliable location for new hotel openings for quite a while now, so its perhaps no surprise that there are hoteliers out there who want a slice of the pie.

Atelier de Hoteles, a Mexican company which has been up and running since 2015, is hitting Mexicos Caribbean shores hard with their latest offering in the idyllic beach resort of Playa Mujeres.

The group will launch their new ESTUDIO brand in this location, which will grow their presence in the area to three properties. Ateliers CEO has indicated that they plan to grow their current stock of 600 rooms to 1,000 by the end of 2020.

Its not just Atelier that has its sights set on the Yucatans Caribbean coast: there are plenty of other players in this game of hotel monopoly.

Cancun itself and the surrounding area is set to receive an incredible 22,000 new rooms in the near future.

The area remains high on the list for prospective investors, developers and operators, despite a drop in occupancy rates last year, possibly down to the increased competition. However, hotel group AMResorts doesnt seem fazed by this, as they plan to open 30 hotels across Mexico in the coming years.

Among the hotels that will open in Mexico are the Dreams Acapulco Resort & Spa, the Now Natura Riviera Cancun, the Secrets St. Martin Resort & Spa, the Breathless Cancun Resort & Spa and the Breathless Tulum Resort & Spa. Dont expect this to be the last of hoteliers Mexican adventures.

Lets take a look at a few more hotel projects in Mexico:

Read more:

Hotel groups investing bigtime in developments in Mexican Caribbean [Construction Report] - TOPHOTELNEWS

For some of us, trying to figure out what to wear to dinner can be daunting. But imagine trying to pack clothes for a Caribbean cruise. While it seems like youd be just fine wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, theres a lot more to account for when deciding what to wear.

On a cruise you dont have the luxury of your complete wardrobe and closet to pick from. Instead, you only can choose from what youve brought with you.

And thats just the start of the confusion when it comes to what to wear for a cruise

The big issue is that with cruising you can go through more wardrobe changes in a single day than you might see on an entire week at a regular vacation.

Take a hypothetical day on a cruise and see how many different situations you need to prepare for:

And this is just one day!

Not to worry. Its understandable that you might be wondering exactly what to wear when visiting the Caribbean on a cruise.

Below we break down each of the big parts of your cruise, including a number of items of what to wear in each situation

Theres simply no day like Embarkation Day. It really starts the instant you see the ship in the distance. Then you realize that the day youve been looking forward to for months is finally at hand.

If youre wondering what to wear during embarkation day, you want to take your cue from the weather in port. While ships start letting passengers board around noon on the day of your cruise, the ship wont actually leave until around 4-5 p.m.

In other words, you need to dress for the weather in the home port.

Depending on where and when you sail, that can mean everything from just shorts and sandals all the way to full winter gear. For instance, sailing from Galveston in February is much different than sailing from Miami in July.

Embarkation Day: Wear casual dress thats comfortable and appropriate for the weather in the home port.

Since the ship wont leave until the afternoon, those in cooler ports wont see the warmth of the Caribbean until the next day. Leaving from a warmer port? Shorts and sandals are perfectly fine. No need to dress up, casual is the order of the day all around the ship.

Pretty much any cruise you sail will have at least one day at sea as it heads from port to port. During these times you have all day and evening to explore the activities on a ship. Depending on which ship you sail, that can mean anything from hanging out poolside to playing in the casino, working out, heading to a show after dinner, dancing in a nightclub, riding in a go-kart, flying down a waterslide and more.

In other words, what you wear is going to vary based on what you want to do.

In general terms, however, the dress on a Caribbean cruise at sea is decidedly casual. Short and tees are acceptable everywhere. Swimsuits are appropriate on the top decks around the pool, and its not unusual to see people wearing them around the ship while covered up.

During the evenings you are going to want to cover up a bit more. Despite being in the warm Caribbean, nights can be chilly. Temperatures drop as the sun goes down, and with the ship underway, there is always a constant breeze.

Thats why we suggest warmer dress, including pants and a light jacket. As well, if youre headed inside to the theater for an evening show, its nice to dress a little warmer as the air conditioning can be chilly.

Day: Casual is the order of the day, with shorts, sandals, and swimsuits found around the ship. Its polite to cover up swimsuits if headed indoors. Restaurants are all casual during the day, so no need to dress up.

Evening: Wear what makes you comfortable, but keep in mind that evenings on the ship even in the warm Caribbean can be cool and breezy outside. The air conditioning inside can be cool as well. We suggest pants and at least a light long-sleeve shirt to stay comfy.

Not sure what to wear to dinner? Its understandable to be confused. Head to the main dining room with the white tablecloths and well-dressed waitstaff and you might think you need to wear a tux to be served.

A trip to the buffet, however, is much more casual and there are a number of other restaurants on a ship that range from casual to fancy.

During a 7-night cruise, there are usually two formal nights, which means that the majority of your nights are considered casual when it comes to what you wear to dinner. That said, there are some guidelines we suggest you adhere to.

If you head to the main dining room or a higher-end restaurant like the steakhouse, then we suggest dressing up a little bit even if its not formal night.

For men, that means wearing pants and closed-toe shoes. A buttoned-down shirt is also ideal. For women, leave the bathing suits for the pool, but sandals (not flip flops) are usually fine.

If you just want to grab a bite without worrying about what to wear, then head to the buffet or one of the casual restaurants on board. Here its perfectly fine to wear flip-flops, shorts, t-shirts and the like. You wont be out of place.

Cruise lines do ask that you dont wear bathing suits into the eating areas without covering up, so if you are headed to or from the pool, be sure that you are wearing a shirt and/or a cover-up.

Dining Rooms and Upscale Restaurants: Dress how you would for any other nice sit-down restaurant, but dont feel like you have to be too formal.

Buffetor Casual Restaurants: Where whatever is comfortable as there is no dress code for these spots. Sandals and shorts are fine, but cover up if you are wearing a swimsuit.

One of the biggest questions people have is what to wear to formal night. Some people think that anything short of a tuxedo or a formal evening gown is too casual. Thats not the case at all.

While formal night might be intimidating for some, its actually not that big of a deal. Yes, you could dress casual to dinner and no one would really pay much mind. However, we suggest dressing it up some.

Formal night is a big deal to some people on the ship, and if its not important to you, its good to keep the atmosphere nice for others who do enjoy dressing up.

As for what to wear, dont think you have to go all out. Youll find that the outfits run the gamut from simply a nice shirt and pants all the way to a tuxedo for some guys. For ladies, a cute blouse is fine, all the way to a full-length formal gown.

Do you have to dress up if you arent going to dinner in the dining room? Absolutely not.

Formal night is really just for the main dining room. So while you will see people dressed up around the ship, dont feel obligated to do so if youre eating somewhere else.

(For more on what to wear on formal night, see our article here.)

Dining Rooms and Upscale Restaurants: Everything from button up shirts with pants all the way to tuxedos are acceptable for men. Women can wear anything from a blouse to formal gowns. No shorts should be worn, nor should t-shirts or jeans.

Buffet or Casual Restaurants: Feel free to wear whatever you like, including casual wear. Formal night applies to the main dining rooms, but not the casual restaurants or buffets on the ship.

Headed into port? If youre sailing in the Caribbean then chances are that youre going to the beach. In that case, wearing your swimsuit with a cover-up or simply wearing something casual into the port is ideal.

Keep in mind that many countries in the Caribbean can be conservative, so its best to be respectful and not wear anything too revealing unless youre at the beach. As well, some countries have laws against civilians wearing camouflage patterns, so leave that at home as well. Finally, rude or offensive clothing (such as shirts with foul language) should be avoided.

If youre going on an excursion, check to see if they have any requirements for clothing. For instance, many excursions that involve motor vehicles like 4-wheelers or dune buggies require participants to wear closed-toe shoes.

Dress in Ports of Call: For the most part, ports of call are casual dress. The only exception is if you are going on an excursion. They may require special clothing like long pants or closed-toe shoes, depending on what youre doing.

Do I have to dress up for formal night?

Absolutely not. Formal nights are completely optional. Want to spend your cruise wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt? Thats perfectly fine.

That said, if you dont want to dress up, its best to dine somewhere other than the upscale restaurants or the main dining room during formal night. These spots for formal dining, and youll be out of place if you show up wearing sneakers and a t-shirt.

Instead, if you dont want to dress up look for somewhere else to dine on formal night.

Are there rules about the swimsuits I can wear?

There are no hard rules about swimsuits, and weve seen it all on a cruise. Where whatever makes you feel comfortable, but just know that other people will be wearing what makes them feel comfortable too.

These days its not unusual to see some skimpier swimsuits on some people. As long as there is no nudity, then its ok.

One thing to keep in mind is that you should cover up if you are heading indoors from the pool. Wearing your swimwear around the ship is frowned upon.

How am I supposed to pack so many different clothes for a cruise?

First, while it might seem like you have to pack tons and tons of clothes for all the situations mentioned above. In reality, its not that much.Thats because clothes can be worn more than once on your trip.

For a week cruise, wed suggest bringing 3-4 outfits, two swimsuits, plus something to wear for formal night. Thats plenty to get your through the week. Shorter cruises need fewer clothes.

Second, unlike air travel, cruise lines dont have hard rules regarding how much luggage you can bring. You can pack a huge suitcase and theres no charge or weight limit. That offers more flexibility in packing for your cruise.

Have more questions about what to wear? Let us know in the comments below

More:

What to Wear on a Caribbean Cruise (Complete Guide) - Cruzely.com

MIKE TYSON is taking his successful cannabis business to the Caribbean.

The boxing legend, 53, has landed a deal to help boost tourism in Antigua and Barbuda, where thousands of Brits go on holiday every year.

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Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne has revealed Tyson wants to develop a cannabis farm alongside other projects including entertainment, leisure and accommodation.

The 53-year-old also plans to introduce a marijuana conference on the island - which is expected to take place in April 2020 and every year thereafter.

Speaking at a press conference, Browne said:Their interest goes beyond marijuana products or hemp products.

"They are also looking at the whole area of entertainment and leisure and one of the most exciting projects that they will establish within the next nine months is the establishment of an annual marijuana conference here in Antigua.

It will be like the Davos of cannabis; it will take place on an annual basis and will bring stakeholders from throughout the globe for that matter right here on Antigua to discuss various opportunities within the industry.

"So, we are very excited about that. They are also interested in establishing a hotel accommodation property and they will be looking at a number of sites to determine suitability.

One of Tysons colleagues who accompanied him on the long trip from The US said that Antigua was chosen as the spot for these endeavours because of it's hospitality, beauty, location, and history.

In speaking about the benefits of instituting those projects on the twin-island, Tyson told local reporters that he believes that through this collaboration, Antigua and Barbuda would become a force to be reckoned with.

He declared: Absolutely, I think that with your association with Tyson Ranch that it would be a far good conclusion that we accomplish that and make this a powerhouse.

"It will be good for the country and will bring in much-needed funds to help your economy."

The boxer owns Tyson Holistic Holdings, which he created in 2016. It sells marijuana strains, edibles, and merchandise.

He broke into the marijuana trade when he opened his own cannabis ranch in California.

And the retired heavyweight has revealed he smokes around 33,000 of cannabis each month at his 40-acre complex.

After scouting out the possible opportunities in Antigua and Barbuda, a concrete plan will be established between Tyson and the government.

The country has still been feeling the devastation from Hurricanes Irma and Maria back in 2017, and has relied on money brought in from tourism to help rebuild the communities and support the citizens.

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A tourism official in the island's capital St John's said: "We have a lot of tourist coming from Europe, especially the United Kingdom market and we think that is a wonderful idea which will help bring in more and more visitors to our island who will want to explore the cannabis farms."

"Our tourism numbers are falling and anything we can do to promote and help bring in the tourists should be welcomed.

"We depend heavily on tourism which helps create employment for our people. We are grateful to Mike Tyson for coming to the rescue."

Read more from the original source:

Mike Tyson reveals plans to set up cannabis farm on Caribbean island to cater for pot-loving Brits - The Sun

Back on the British Virgin Islands, Horton says its been an educational journey since the rafts of Sargassum wafted in back in 2011.

The island natural resources officials have learned what to do, what not to do, when to leave it so it can be incorporated in the sand; when to actually step in, clean it, and move it along.

That journey has had its ups and downs. The downs were most obvious when, in 2011, Horton saw that an abundance of Sargassum can deplete oxygen in the water when it decays.

Because marine life needs oxygen, some were not able to survive, Horton explains. We had a lot of fish, sharks, and eels that ended up dying. Thats when we got a big understanding of the negative impacts of seaweed once its in a large quantity.

Right now shes thankful that the majority of the Islands sea turtle population is in the northern area of the islands, where theres less of Sargassum, which emits the strong, rotten-egg smell when it begins to decay. Thats because when the seaweed begins to decompose, a process that starts about 48 hours after it washes ashore, it releases hydrogen sulfide, a colorless, poisonous gas.

Because its in an outdoor environment, that gas hasnt caused major health issues after immediate exposure. But that doesnt mean its not causing any harm: Research recently conducted by the Tropical Disease Unit at Toronto General Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health determined that decomposing Sargassum releases ammonia alongside the hydrogen sulfide gas, which can cause respiratory, skin, and neurocognitive symptoms.

During an eight-month period of 2018, there were 11,000 cases of acute Sargassum toxicity reported on the neighboring islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The illness can cause heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, vertigo, headache, and skin rashes.

Continue reading here:

Sargassum seaweed links Amazon rainforest fires and the Caribbean Islands - Inverse