PORT ANTONIO, Jamaica- Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, in addressing the crews from the clipper yacht in the race around the world on Thursday at the Errol Flynn Marina in Port Antonio, said "the clipper is the latest of the greatest ventures of the sea that have found Jamaica an exciting place".

Minister Bartlett spoke of the history of Port Antonio to the start of tourism and referred to it as "the prettiest little town".
Port Antonio, he said, "has many firsts, the first luxury destination of Jamaica because we had here the first truly ultra luxury all inclusive facility, the Frenchman's Cove".

"This is the first place in the western world where people paid US$1,000 per week during the 50s and early 60s. This was the forerunner to all-inclusive as it blazed a trail which later set a pace that the world emulated. I want to welcome you to a proud country and a proud people.who have been blessed with wonderful people and a beautiful history. We are blessed with unique geo-physical features, underground taverns, more than 900 species of plants, and the most bio-diverse area outside of the Amazon and the borders of Colombia and Panama.

"Nowhere else in the western world has the bio-diversity of Jamaica. I want to tell you that the yacht that bears the name Jamaica is going to leave Port Antonio to New York and I will be there to see when it wins on that leg," he added.

"Watch the Jamaican boys," he warned "and the minister is here to tell the Jamaican crew that New York is a different story and when we leave New York to Cork (Ireland), wow we are going to be there again", an up beat minister said. Jamaica is presently in 10th place.

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