A search for a number of weeks in response to a request (/?p=129228) by Oriental merchant, Pat Stockwell, has finally located the errant sailing vessel, Primadonna. Our thanks to Steve Petty for this story from TownDock, see http://towndock.net/on-the-cover/booby-primadonna.

SV Primadonna has been located although the crew may have been detained:
`SV Primadonna, aground at Booby Cay Island in the Bahamas. It is a tiny island of 300, not normally on tourist / cruiser lists. Apparently the vessel & crew entered the Bahamas without checking in with authorities. Pat Stockwell tells TownDock.net (http://www.TownDock.net) he was told the Primadonna crew may have been arrested ‘“ Bahamian authorities are harsher about the rules than they are in the USA. The photo was taken from a US Coast Guard helicopter ‘“ the Coast Guard patrols the Bahamas as part of a cooperation agreement with the Bahamas to fight drug trafficking. ‘ ‘”Towndock.net
Steve Petty

If this is the Booby Cay that is just a bit east of Rose Island, which in turn is east of Nassau, it isn’t all that remote and I suspect the Primadonna crew will be in the not-so-comfortable confines of Nassau jail. Unfortunately, one bad apple like this can severely impact the reputation of the entire cruising community, as we have seen with the so-called `derelict’ boat issue that has been used to create anti-anchoring ordinances in Florida and other places. When in reality the vast majority of the cruising community are themselves totally opposed to this type of behavior.
John Kettlewell

I doubt that these two would go anywhere near Nassau because of the entry fees into the Bahamas. I believe that they are aground between Booby Cay and Conception Island in the Bahamas. Conception Island is in a remote area and is a National Park in the Southern Bahamas. Very few cruisers visit.
There are two anchorages off Conception Island, one is located South of Booby Cay. The entrance to this anchorage is from the Southwest. If they tried to enter from the Northeast, between Booby Cay and Conception Island, the route is very shallow and full of rocks.
It’s too bad they did not sink in the really deep water a few miles from where they are. Word is that they were headed for Haiti or one of the French Islands. With any luck the Bahamas officials will confiscate their boat and throw them both in jail.
The good news is that they are gone from the US and are now someone else’s problem.
Dave Boxmeyer