Windjammer Barefoot Cruises

Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = Windjammer Barefoot Cruises
company_
company_type = Cruise Line
foundation = 1947
location = Miami, Florida
industry = Transportation
products = Cruises
homepage = [http://www.windjammer.com]
defunct = Services: 2007
Company: 2008
fate = Went bankrupt in late 2007. Assets were liquidated in September 2008.

Windjammer Barefoot Cruises was a leisure cruise line based in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1947, the company scheduled one and two week cruises in the Caribbean and Central America, using a fleet of sailing ships. The ships are former yachts and commercial vessels that were refurbished as cruise vessels, now accommodating 60-100 paying passengers and 20-40 officers and crewmembers. The ships have been refitted to resemble 19th century sailing vessels called windjammers.

Caribbean itineraries included the British Virgin Islands, French West Indies, Grenadines, the ABC islands and The Bahamas. Recent and former Central American itineraries included Costa Rica, Panama, and Belize.

In September 2007, Windjammer's entire fleet was suspended from operating any further cruises. Although the company initially stated that it intended to resume service, no significant steps in that direction took place. Customers who were already booked on future cruises didn't receive refunds from the canceled voyages. All remaining parts of the company that were still operating were shut down in April of 2008. Later that year, the company's assets were auctioned off. The four ships they operated are all laid up and were left in a neglected state of condition. [http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/news/#story41] cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
title = Windjammer Cruises Officially Out Of Business
work =
publisher =
date = 2008-04-02
url = http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/feature/040108.cfm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-04-05]

Fleet

Retired ships:
* "s/v Flying Cloud"
* "m/v Amazing Grace"
* "s/v Fantome" ("see below")

The fleet listed below were active at the time the company shut down.
* "s/v Legacy"
* "s/v Polynesia"
* "s/v Mandalay"
* "s/v Yankee Clipper"

Issues

Loss of "s/v Fantome"

In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch was responsible for the loss of the "s/v Fantome", a four-masted schooner operated by Windjammer. All 31 crew members aboard perished; passengers and other crew members had earlier been offloaded in Belize. The story was recorded in the book "The Ship and The Storm" by Jim Carrier (ISBNlink|0-07-135526-X). The ship, which was sailing in the center of the hurricane, experienced up to 50-foot (15 m) waves and over 100 mph (160 km/h) winds, causing the "Fantome" to founder off the coast of Honduras. [cite web
last = Corzo
first = Cynthia
authorlink =
title = A Cornered Ship, 31 Men, and a Date with Doom
work =
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.fortogden.com/fantommiamiherald.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-04-05 ]

2007 financial difficulties

According to reports in "The Wall Street Journal" and elsewhere, Windjammer has been in serious financial trouble since 2007 or earlier. [cite web
last = Keates
first = Nancy
authorlink =
title = A Rough Ride on Windjammer Cruises
work =
publisher = Wall Street Journal
date = 2007-08-23
url = http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118782467973905832.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-04-05 ] The "Journal" article explained that crews had gone unpaid, and the fleet of ships was found to be in disrepair. There were also reports that cruise passengers had complained of being stranded, either aboard the ships or at intermediate destinations.

After ceasing operations for several weeks, the company planned to relaunch cruises on its fleet of ships, starting with "s/v Legacy" on November 3, 2007 followed by the other ships in the spring of 2008. In a series of 2007 press releases, however, the company later canceled all sailings of through at least January 2008. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
title = Press release archive
work =
publisher = Windjammer Barefoot Cruises
date =
url = http://www.windjammer.com/press_release.html#show
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-04-05 ] No further information has been distributed by the company since November 2007, and no cruises are currently scheduled. The last press release on their website was released on December 21,2007. [ [http://www.windjammer.com/press_release.html#show Windjammer Barefoot Cruises - Sail a tall ship to the Caribbean ] ]

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has received numerous complaints about Windjammer since its shutdown, because the company has not refunded prepaid fares for the canceled cruises. The Department has responded to these complaints with statements indicating that Windjammer is no longer in business.

References

External links

* [http://www.jammerbabe.com/flotilla The Flotilla Message Board]
* [http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/feature/windjammerpt1-111607.cfm Articles by Independent Cruise Web site CruiseMates.com on the financial difficulties of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises Limited]