Freewinds timeline

=  Introduction   =

Current Issues
22 January 2010


 * Since we started getting regular information from SeaWeb (thank you anonymous leaker; keep up the good work!) we can follow the failboat hour by hour around the place. Recent pattern is A-B-A-B-A-B with one visit of less than 24 hours to Curacao on 10/11 January (to pick up an mportant passenger or what?).  Apart from this fleeting visit to C, her schedule has been as published in the Freewinds magazines for December/January.


 * Freewinds left DNV in November and presumably moved to a class agent who doesn't mind blue asbestos and similar defects. We still don't know who her new class society is.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dnv+exchange+vessel+info


 * arubabycruise.com has had a much-needed new website but in the process has lost all failboat information. Perhaps just too small to bother about but the dismal passenger stats were always fun to read.

General
The main sources of information for the following list are the cruise ship schedules published by port authorities, shipping agencies, local press and tourist offices. A list is given at the end of the page. Updated schedules are published quite often and old material is generally scrapped, so grab it when you see it.

The timeline is believed to contain all the calls reported in the official sources for Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Barbados and several other islands in the eastern Caribbean, and for Cartagena and Santa Marta in Colombia up to November 2009.

Very few of the dates in this timeline are guaranteed and there are some overlaps. There are two reasons for this. Since summer 2008 there has been a marked discrepancy between her scheduled calls (which may be published a year ahead), and actual calls. Advance schedules represent future plans rather than actual events (though some agents provide retrospective summaries). They are reliable for commercial cruise liners but not for Freewinds. Up to February 2008 Freewinds appears to have followed a regular routine for twenty years which favored either Barbados or the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) and visited St Kitts in June/July. But since April 2008 and the confirmation of blue asbestos on board this pattern has been dislocated. In most of 2008-9 she canceled forward bookings but may have made unscheduled and unreported visits. Since Freewinds is not a commercial cruise liner, she can alter or cancel her scheduled sailings at short notice to suit her own purposes.

The information provided by Scientology advertising material about courses, numbers attending, capacity of the ship, or even dates of events has been duly noted but it is also quite unreliable. It is typical of Scientology's capacity for deception that in 2007 and 2008 while she knowingly exposed her own workers to blue asbestos and continued to dump huge volumes of raw sewage on the small island of Bonaire, Freewinds hosted a series of on-board seminars promoting MARPOL, an anti-pollution initiative sponsored by IMO and UNEP.

=  Freewinds Timeline   =

1988-2005
Barbados, 2004: "FOR 15 YEARS the MV Freewinds has helped local charities and exposed schoolchildren to the world of the sea, and on Sunday, officials of the cruise liner will stage a boat parade and musical extravaganza near the Flour Mill, at 2 p.m." The Assistant marketing manager of Barbados Port Inc., Freida Nicholls, says that the cruise liner "Freewinds" was part of the educational outreach program. During 2003 the "Freewinds" was visited by approximately 1,000 school children to help educate them on life at sea.

Tom Cruise got the red carpet treatment in Barbados in 2004 when his birthday was celebrated in a no-expensed-spared party on board, organised by COB, David Miscavige. Thomas Mapother was born on 3 July 1962.

2006
The 2006 cruise schedule for Barbados, like the available information from later years, shows a regular weekly program continuing from 2005 and running over 16 weeks from January to May, the normal end of the cruising season in the Caribbean. No further visits to Barbados are noted in the cruise schedules for 2006 but this routine probably continued as there are a few notes of social events, part of her policy of patronising the natives. The Lions Club met on board 200-2006.

January 2006
01: Barbados dep. 23.59. 02-03: no information.

04: Barbados eta 06.00. 05-06: Barbados all day. 07: Barbados dep. 23.59. 08-10: no information.

11: Barbados eta 06.00. 12-13: Barbados all day. 14: Barbados dep. 23.59. 15-17: no information.

18: Barbados eta 06.00. 19-20: Barbados all day. 21: Barbados dep. 23.59. 22-24: no information.

25: Barbados eta 06.00  26-27: Barbados all day. 28: Barbados dep. 23.59. 29-31: no information.

February 2006
01: Barbados eta 06.00. 02-03: Barbados all day. 04: Barbados dep. 23.59.

05 Feb to 19 Feb: no information.

20 Feb: St Kitts (Saturday). Freewinds at Port Zante with 540 passengers.

21 Feb to 14 March: no information

March 2006
15: Barbados eta.06.00. 16-17: Barbados all day. 18: Barbados dep. 23.59. 19-21: no information

22: Barbados eta 06.00. 23-24: Barbados all day. 25: Barbados dep. 23.59. 26-28: no information.

29: Barbados eta 06.00. 30-31: Barbados all day. 01 April: Barbados dep. 23.59. 02-04: no information.

April 2006
05: Barbados eta 06.00. 06-07: Barbados all day. 08: Barbados dep. 23.59. 09-11: no information.

12: Barbados eta 06.00. 13-14: Barbados all day. 15: Barbados dep. 23.59. 16-18: no information.

19: Barbados eta 06.00. 20-21: Barbados all day. 22: Barbados dep. 23.59. 23-25: no information.

26: Barbados eta 06.00. 27-28: Barbados all day. 29: Barbados dep. 23.59. 30-02 May: no information.

May 2006
03: Barbados eta 06.00. 04-05: Barbados all day. 06: Barbados dep. 23.59. 07-09: no information.

10: Barbados eta 06.00. 11-12: Barbados all day. 13: Barbados dep. 23.59. 14-16: no information.

17: Barbados eta 06.00. 18-19: Barbados all day. 20: Barbados dep. 23.59. 21-23: no information.

24: Barbados eta 06.00. 25-26: Barbados all day. 27: Barbados dep. 23.59.

June 2006
In seven months, 8,000 Barbadians came on board for concerts, etc.

18: Barbados for her 18th Maiden Voyage event.

24: Barbados: Freewinds donated books and shoes to a YWCA fundraiser; they were to be sold, said the YWCA. [probably 2006]

25: Barbados: Free concert.

July 2006
She celebrated the 18th FMVAE this month.

October 2006
01: Bonaire

2007
The Curacao schedule for 2007 shows Freewinds regularly arriving on a Tuesday and departing on the following Thursday. These scheduled visits have not been confirmed.

January 2007
03-05: Curacao, eta 05.45, dep. 16.30. 06-08: no information.

09-11: Curacao, eta 19.15, dep. 16.30; repeated 16-18, 23-25, 30-01 Feb.

February 2007
Curacao: as in January, repeated 06-08, 13-15, 20-22, 27-01 March, eta. 1915, dep. 16.30.

March 2007
06-08: Curacao eta now 17.15, dep. 17.00. 08-14: no information.

14-15: Curacao eta 06.00, dep. 17.00. 16-19: no information.

20-22: Curacao eta 17.15, dep. 17.00. 23-26: no information.

27-29: Curacao eta 17.15, dep. 17.00.  No further appearances in the Curacao schedule until July.

May 2007
Bonaire: pollution by Freewinds. Sean Paton's first video. His first published letter was in 2003.

June 2007
The Freewinds Maiden Voyage Anniversary Event, aka the OT summit, is held on board every year in June, and lasts one week. It is chaired by David Miscavige in person. Places were much sought after and 250 attended, according to one regular at this event. This figure is probably correct and can be compared with other claimed passenger numbers of 360, 400 or even 500.

Pooks (WWP, 18 June 2008, 'Maiden Voyage Anniversary Event kicks off') said, 'Last year (2007) the week-long event was held at Flag, not on the Freewinds'.

July 2007
Posted on the St Kitts Nevis news site sknvibes on 12 July 2007: on 10 July Freewinds hosted a Weekend Benefit Concert for the natives which featured the Dominican vocalist Michele Henderson and the Freewinds Band.

10: St Kitts (Basseterre).

10-12: Curacao eta 15.15, dep.17.30. This conflicts with the concert reported from St Kitts.

17-19: Curacao perhaps.

24-26: Curacao perhaps.

31-02 August: Curacao perhaps.

August 2007
Curacao: as above. 4 scheduled visits: 07-09, 14-16, 21-23, 30-02 September.

September 2007
Curacao: as above. 4 scheduled visits: 04-06, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27.

October 2007
Curacao: as above. 5 scheduled visits: 02-04, 09-11, 16-18, 23-25, 30-01 November. This clashes with an Aruba booking:

23: Aruba eta 22.00. 24: Aruba all day. 25: Aruba dep. 23.00 Source: S.E.L Maduro & Sons (Aruba) Inc.

November 2007
Curacao: 4 scheduled visits: 06-08, 13-15, 20-22, 27-29. None of these can be reconciled with other events.

From 12 to 22 November: a great publicity scoop for the Church of Scientology. The Failboat hosted five seminars on behalf of IMO and UNEP, on the MARPOL Annex V agreement (on maritime pollution), on five islands in the eastern Caribbean: St Lucia, Dominica, St Kitts, Barbados and Antigua. (She also hosted a later seminar in Curacao in October 2008.)

http://www.sknvibes.com/Business/Newsdetails.cfm/3961 for 21 November 2007: Basseterre, St. Kitts: "The efforts to ensure that the local and regional marine environment remains in the best possible condition, with minimal incidents of pollution, remains an issue of top priority among regional administrative circles. This was evident during a two day conference onboard the Freewinds cruise ship, while it berthed at Port Zante, on November 19th and 20th."

These seminars conflict with scheduled visits to Curacao on 06-08, 13-15, 20-22 and 27-29 November.

03: St Lucia eta 06.00, dep. 23.45 (400 passengers). 04: no information.

05: Dominica eta 07.00, dep. 24.00 (300 passengers).

06: St Lucia eta, dep. 21.00 (400 passengers). 07: no information. [Curacao: 06-08]

09-10: Dominica eta 07.00, dep. 24.00.

11: St Lucia eta ?. 12: St Lucia all day. 13: St Lucia dep. 21.00. The first MARPOL seminar.

14-15: Barbados, for the second MARPOL seminar (Wednesday/Thursday).

16-17: Dominica, dep. 23.00. Third  MARPOL seminar. 18: no information.

19-20: St Kitts for the fourth MARPOL seminar (Monday/Tuesday). http://www.sknvibes.com/Business/Newsdetails.cfm/3961

21-22: Antigua: fifth and last MARPOL seminar (Wednesday/Thursday). 22-25: no information.

26: Dominica eta 07.00, dep. 24.00 (Monday)

27: St Lucia eta, dep. 21.00 (400). 28-30: no information.

December 2007
Four scheduled visits to Curacao: 04-06, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27.

Freewinds was involved in a training exercise for seamen in St Kitts. It was completed in December 2007 but Captain Mike Napier said she will return to St Kitts in June for the commencement of the second phase of the training.

http://www.sknvibes.com/News/NewsDetails.cfm/4968 [link broken?]

02-04: St Lucia dep. 21.00 (400 passengers). 04-06: perhaps in Curacao. 07-08: no information.

09-11: St Lucia dep. 21.00. 11-13: perhaps in Curacao. 13-15: no information.

16-18: St Lucia dep. 21.00. 18-20: perhaps in Curacao. 21: no information.

22-23: St Lucia dep. 21.00. 24: no information. 25-27: perhaps in Curacao.

27: Dominica eta 07.00, dep. 24.00 (300 passengers). 28-31: no information.

2008
In the first few weeks of 2008 Freewinds continued with her established pattern of weekly cruises but it seems that only the first seven cruises took place, four in January and three in February (from Aruba sources). I am guessing that the last was cancelled when routine inspection discovered the eroded hull structure, leading to immediate extensive repairs in the dry dock at Curacao. Nordica, who were involved in this contract, are maritime engineers, not outfitters. It was during this work that blue asbestos was found in the ventilation system. The program of courses was disrupted and it is possible that as many as 40 cruises were cancelled or moved to Flag. Information is incomplete but the appearance of normal cruising, at a lower frequency and a much lower level of occupancy, is not found until November-December.

January 2008
Aruba port schedule reported 4 calls with a total of 610 passengers, average 152; dates not given but probably Tuesday to Thursday.

From the Bonaire Blog, Freewinds was normally in Curacao from Tuesday to Thursday every week (as we saw in 2007), in Bonaire over Friday and Saturday nights, sailed to Aruba on Sunday and on Tuesday went back to Curaçao. It appears that her first tour of 2008 took in St Lucia and Barbados.

01: Curaçao eta 17.15 (Tues). 02: Curaçao all day or Dominica. 03: Curaçao dep 17.00 (Thurs). This conflicts with:

02: Dominica eta 07.00, dep. 23.45 (300 passengers). Last reported visit to Dominica in 2008-2009.

03: St Lucia eta 06.00, dep. same day 23.45 (Thurs).

04: Barbados eta 06.00 05: Barbados dep. 20.00. This appears to have been her only visit to Barbados in 2008 and up to June 2009.

06-07: no information - ?Aruba.

08: Curaçao eta 17.15. 09: Curaçao all day. 10: Curaçao dep. 17.00

11-14: probably to Bonaire 11, 12 and to Aruba 13, 14.

15: Curaçao eta 17.15. 16: Curaçao all day. 17: Curaçao dep. 17.00

18-21: probably to Bonaire 18, 19, and to Aruba 20, 21.

22: Curaçao eta 17.15. 23: Curaçao all day. 24: Curaçao dep. 17.00.

25-28: probably to Bonaire 25,26 and to Aruba 27, 28.

29: Curaçao eta 17.15 30: Curaçao all day. 31: Curaçao dep. 17.00.

February 2008
Aruba port authorities report 3 calls (a total of 482 passengers, av.161) out of four booked.

01 - 04: probably to Bonaire 01, 02, and to Aruba 03, 04.

05: Curaçao eta 17.15. 06: Curaçao all day. 07: Curaçao dep. 17.00.

08-11: probably to Bonaire 08, 09, and to Aruba 10, 11.

12: Curaçao eta 17.15. 13: Curaçao all day. 14: Curaçao dep. 17.00

15-18: probably to Bonaire 15, 16, and to Aruba 17, 18.

19: Curaçao eta 17.15. 20: Curaçao all day.

21?-31: Curaçao, in dry-dock for hull repairs. This appears to have been an urgent matter as one of the four cruises planned for February was cancelled. The structural repairs were undertaken by Nordica Engineering, a Polish company established in Miami, Florida, who imported 240 Polish workers from Gdansk. They worked and slept on board for ten weeks, until the end of April, unaware of the presence of blue asbestos. When it was detected Nordica removed its workforce. According to rumor the company is owed $3.5 million.

March 2008
In the CDM dry-dock in Curaçao for hull repairs and interior refurbishment.

April 2008
26: During the course of this routine work blue asbestos was found in the ship's ventilation system. On 26 April the ship was sealed by Curaçao Port authorities (Daily Herald, 28 April 2008) and appears to have remained tied up at a wharf at Otrabando for several weeks. The progress of work on the asbestos after that is unclear, surprisingly so.

26: DNV, re Freewinds, 26 April 2008: (The date points to an official inspection of the ship in dry dock.)


 * Class Conditions Status Condition Issued Due Postponed Until
 * Overdue CC 188 2008-04-26, SOLAS & Flag State Services 2008-05-05
 * Further to CC 187. Pitting holes observed in the ship side of Fresh water storage double bottom tank 3P(121-135), aft part. To be repaired before leaving dry dock.

SOLAS: International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (1974).

May 2008
Advertised events:
 * International CCHR Convention, 08-15 May 2008, "aboard the newly renovated Freewinds". Postponed to 17-24 July.
 * Artists Convention, 8 nights, 22-30 May, visiting Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

During the whole of May the ship remained in quarantine in Curaçao in the CDM dry dock. Local observers report that asbestos was taken to the dump on Curacao on 6 May (Dr Lilly v. Marcab, 13 May 2008, from Curacao press sources.)  From a posting by Astra Woodcraft seven tons of asbestos - a large container-full - was removed (some say by Sea Org members) and trucked off to be dumped in the Malpais land-fill site operated by Selikor, a Curacao waste-management company. The rest may have been sprayed with some consolidating product but Astra says there is 'apparently still loose asbestos on board'.

June 2008
The Freewinds Maiden Voyage Anniversary Event, FMVAE or 'OT Summit' is held every year in June for one week, to hear what DM has to say. According to Pooks posting on WWP in 2008 it was 28 June to 05 July. SeenTheLight (18 June 2008) posting in 'Maiden Voyage Anniversary Event kicks off 12 July' said: 'The live OT Summit will be held on the Freewinds from June 28th through the 5th of July'.

Captain Mike Napier said of a training exercise in St Kitts Nevis (December 2007, pre-asbestos) that the ship 'will return to St Kitts in June for the second phase of the training'. This may have coincided with the OT Summit which generally visits St Kitts. But 2008 was not a normal year.

07: Still locked down after 6 weeks (forum.antilles.com).

25-26: Left dock in Curaçao for a short test cruise after two months in dock. (Source: Djokison, Curacao, on WWP "Freewinds Refit News June 20 2008".) The purpose of this was presumably to renew out-of-date certificates.

27: 'Miami' certificate issued. This does not imply a visit by Freewinds to Miami. See also October 2008.

28-05 July: OT Summit (see July). Included: a probable visit to St Kitts.

29: Bonaire,docked pm; dumped sewage (local blog).

30: Bonaire, left early am (local blog).

July 2008
Four visits to Curaçao were scheduled to take place on 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31 July.

She made a single call in Aruba with 41 passengers.

Advertised events:


 * 28 June-05 July: FMVAE (OT Summit), see June 2008.
 * 10-17 July: Ethics and Finance Convention.
 * 17-24 July: Int. CCHR Convention.
 * 24-31 July: Italy Summer Summit.
 * 31-07 August: WISE Executive Summit.

Apart from the FMVAE it is unlikely that any of these events took place on board. The confirmed events probably relate to the 20th FMVAE.

01: Bonaire. A group of 'normal tourists' was seen ashore during a visit made by Freewinds to Bonaire (from a Bonaire blog). 'Ordinarily the passengers do not leave the ship.'

02: Bonaire. Two divers seen working on hull. Were they in fact inspecting it for its Bottom Passenger Vessel Annual certificate?

August 2008
Four planned visits to Curaçao on 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, 26-28. No visits to Aruba.

Advertised events:
 * 07-14: Int. Artists Convention; Ethics and Finance
 * 14-21: Affluence and ??
 * 21-28: ?SMI Int.Convention
 * 28-4 September: Tech of Human Evolution Convention

For most of this time it is probable that she was tied up somewhere in Aruba. She was certainly there on 27 August waiting for the Curacao Dry Dock to become available. Meanwhile the internal refit may have continued.

September 2008
Still 'docked' in Aruba (from website retrospective report).

Freewinds publicity (leaked on OCMB) states that "In the months of October, November & December [2008] the Freewinds is scheduled to sail from Curaçao to Aruba and Bonaire, two other islands in the Dutch (Netherlands) Antilles." Five visits to Curaçao were scheduled for 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 and 30-02 October.

Advertised Events 'on the newly-renovated Freewinds':


 * 04-11: Narconon Convention; Tech of Establishment and Expansion Convention; Salesmanship and Closing Convention
 * 11-18: Int. Fundraising; Expansion and Havingness Convention
 * 18-25: OT Abilities Convention
 * 25-02 October: Tech of Human Evolution Convention

All these arrangements are fictitious. They serve the purpose of maintaining prestige while collecting advance payments for courses.

October 2008
Four scheduled visits to Curaçao on 7-9, 14-16, 21-23, 28-30, eta 15.15, dep. 17.30. But she had no Passenger Ship Safety Certificate until 21 October.

Advertised event: 2-0: Power of Postulates Convention.

09: Curacao dep. 17.30 (apparently not seen by eye or webcam).

14: Curacao eta (from OCMB but not confirmed).

17: DVN still shows an expired PSSC.

21: 'Miami' certificate miraculously appears to make her legal for the seminar next day?

22-23: Curacao: Freewinds hosted a MARPOL Annex 1 and V seminar on board in Curaçao on behalf of IMO and UNEP.

24: Curacao dep. Observed on webcam.

28: Curacao eta (from OCMB and the published schedule).

November 2008
Four visits to Curaçao were planned for 4-6, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 November: no further information.

One visit was reported in an article published on 18 November by David Clark Scott, a journalist who met the Freewinds local agent in the lobby of his hotel and was subjected to interrogation. Freewinds arrived the following day.

According to 'contacts' in Curacao she was due back in dry-dock in November 2008 to complete the renovation work. (Bins, WWP 'Where is the Freewinds?', 17 October 2008.

No calls were reported in Aruba, Bonaire or Barbados.

December 2008
Aruba reports 2 calls with a total of 154 passengers, an average per trip of 77. Fact.

Curacao: visits were planned for 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 and 30-01 January (all eta 15.15, dep. 17.30) but it is not known if they took place.

2009
The Freewind Log repeatedly claims that 'more public are arriving than at any other point in our history'.


 * Aruba reported one call in May with 77 passengers; one in July with 89, one in August with 73.
 * Barbados was visited in January (twice), in June (twice) and in July (twice).
 * Bonaire: no bookings between 11 March 2009 and 8 December 2010 but Freewinds was as a matter of fact still calling in to dump waste water (Sean Paton's third video, July 2009).
 * Cartagena: according to the Freewinds Log 29 (28 May 2009) she was at Cartagena for the first three months of 2009 but no visits to Cartagena are noted on the tablero de buques during that period. In March she was undergoing a $4 million refit in Cartagena.
 * Curacao: two possible visits in May; otherwise nothing found for 2009 or into 2010.
 * Dominica: nothing found for 2009.
 * Santa Marta: visited in July, several times in August.
 * St Kitts: one call in June with 64 passengers for the FMVAE.
 * St Maarten: nothing from May 2009 to April 2010.
 * St Lucia: nothing listed between April and September 2009.
 * Virgin Islands: negative from August 2009 up to September 2010.

What we know of events in 2009 corresponds only approximately to the statement in Freewinds Log 29 (May 2009) that 'after three months in our most recent port of Cartagena, Colombia, the Freewinds has returned home to the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.' A publicity photograph shows her in Curaçao. However the photographs used in Scientology publicity can never be taken at face value.

January 2009
A visit to Cartagena is recorded from 11 January to 01 February. It conflicts with a scheduled visit to Barbados covering 14-17 January and also with the report in the Barbados newspaper, Nation News, dated 11 January, which notes that she was expected to dock there on 16 January (Friday) with 500 passengers (Ann O'nymous, WWP, 12 January 2009). Aruba: negative.

Advertised events in Cartagena, costing $2000 for 7 days and $2100 (a bargain) for 10 days.


 * Ethics & Finance 15-22 January
 * Competence & Leadership 15-29 January
 * OT Leadership Convention 22-29 January
 * Expansion & Havingness 5-12 February
 * Competence & Leadership 29 January-12 February

CoS advertised a plan to hand out 2 million copies of TWTY at the Baranquilla Carnival on 23 January.

01-06: no information.

07: Barbados eta 06.00 (Wed) 08-09: Barbados all day (Thurs-Fri). 10: Barbados dep. 23.00 (Sat) (500 passengers!) 11: Cartagena, eta 07.16 from Curacao. A reliable fact.

12-31: Cartagena.

February 2009
Said to be in Cartagena (Freewinds Log 29, 28 May 2009). Advertised event: Expansion & Havingness Convention, 5-12 February.

01: Cartagena dep. 06.00 for Curacao. Voyage ref 01/N.

01 to 18 Feb: in Curacao?

17: 'Miami' certificate issued.

18: Cartagena eta 08.36 from Curacao. Eventual departure (no date) for Curacao. Voyage ref 02/N. Rest of February: no information. Not recorded in Colombia before August 2009.

March 2009
In Cartagena (Freewinds Log 29, 28 May 2009).

Aruba: negative.

On 31 March she was reported to be nearing the completion of a comprehensive refit costing $4 million done in Cartagena, Colombia, under the supervision of the architect and hotel designer, Carlos Hernando Reyes.

This may have occupied a month or more. IRL and in Hamburg, Germany, a complete internal refit can be done in less than two weeks. The Fred Olsen Cruise Lines' luxury liner Black Watch is of similar age (1973) but is twice the size at 21,000 tons and can accommodate twice as many passengers (539). She went into dry-dock in Hamburg on 2 December 2009 for an extensive program of refurbishment and resumed service on 14th December.

Six months later, on 29 September 2009, Mr Reyes was still claiming that this work did not involve any areas contaminated with blue asbestos and that the ship did not pose any health risk to the 500 men who had worked on her. Others such as Lawrence Woodcraft did not agree with him.

We might wonder why Freewinds needed yet another very expensive refit in March 2009 when, according to COB she had been completely renovated, stem to stern, in the second half of 2008.

April 2009
Advertised event: a 5-week course (shared accommodation, $6720) in Cartagena.

Aruba: no calls.

St Lucia: no calls from April to September 2009.

Freewinds publicity claimed that "After three months in our most recent port of Cartagena, Colombia, the Freewinds has returned home to the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao - the latter actually being our Home Port" (Freewinds Log 29). There is no sign of this return home.

May 2009
Aruba: 1 call with 77 passengers.

Sponge (WWP) found two trips in May between Curaçao and Aruba.

Advertised events in the Freewinds Log.
 * Six Weekly Conventions, $1200 per week, based on shared accommodation (4 in an inside cabin), 30 April to 7 May, 7 May to 14 May, 14 May to 21 May, 21 May to 28 May, 28 May to 04 June, 04 June to 11 June.
 * Competence and Leadership Convention from 6 May to 20 May.
 * Competence and Leadership Convention from 20 May to 03 June.
 * An undated 5-week Basics Package in Cartagena for $6720 (Freewinds Log 30).
 * A Freewinds Experience package at $1200 to include 7 nights. Customers can fly direct from the US or Amsterdam.

Did any of this happen?

According to Freewinds Log 29, 28 May 2009: "Freewinds is back in the ABC islands", ie, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. The Log states that Curaçao is her Home Port but the official Curaçao site does not mention any visits.

Later publicity mentions possible visits to 'our ports' of Aruba, Bonaire, Barbados, Santa Marta, Cartagena, St Kitts, and St Lucia but - not Curaçao.

16?: from or to Curaçao (tbc) (WWP, ).

21?: from or to Curaçao (tbc) (WWP, ).

June 2009
Aruba: negative.

Barbados: 2 visits.

St Kitts: one visit with 64 passengers. Was this the FMVAE - traditionally located in St Kitts in June for one week? Normally there is great competition for places and it attracts 250 OTs. The Freewinds website advertised it as taking place 20-24 June. A local paper in St Kitts on 19 June referred to the twentieth anniversary of this event having taken place a few days earlier. http://sknvibes.com/Business/NewsDetails.cfm/10177 More weekly conventions as in May, including 03 June: End of the Competence and Leadership Convention (2 weeks) and 04-11: Tech of Human Evaluation.

01-08: no information.

09: Barbados eta 08.00 (Tues). 10: Barbados dep. 23.00 (Wed).

11-18: no information but by 19 June she was in St Kitts for the 20th Freewinds Maiden Voyage Anniversary Event.

20-24: St Kitts, FMVAE, emcee'ed by Mr David Miscavige (from the Freewinds web-site).

25: Steaming gently from St Kitts to Barbados?

26: Barbados eta 06.00 (Fri). 27-28: Barbados all day (Sat-Sun). 29: Barbados dep. 23.00 (Mon).

July 2009
Aruba reports 1 call with 89 passengers.

Barbados reports 2 calls (see below), but has no more scheduled for the rest of 2009 and up to April 2010.

Bonaire: she made at least 1 call to discharge strongly alkaline waste water, as reported on WWP 21 July and shown on YouTube - 'Freewinds attacks Bonaire again' (Sean Paton).

Advertised
 * Freewinds Convention 1-15 July
 * several Weekly Conventions as in April and May
 * several ten-day courses which start Wednesday and end Sunday with a day off Thursday.
 * 27 July-12 August: 'Competence and Leadership' Convention.

Did any of this happen?

01-06: no independent information.

07: Barbados eta 05.00 (Tues) 08-10: Barbados all day (Wed-Fri). 11: Barbados dep. 23.00. 12-13: no information.

14: Barbados eta 06.00 (Tues). 15-17: Barbados all day. 18: Barbados dep. 23.00.

19-25: Aruba with 89 passengers.

26: Aruba, eta unknown, dep.for Santa Marta.

27: Santa Marta eta 06.20 from Aruba. 28-01 August: Santa Marta all day. Voyage 03/N.

August 2009
According to the Cartagena Tablero for August 2009 she had 360 passengers and 280 crew (a legal maximum, not a certified fact). Aruba reported 1 call with 73 passengers. Freewinds publicity claimed that "More public are arriving than at any other point in our history."

Courses advertised:


 * 23 July-12 Aug(?): 20-day Leadership Convention.
 * 27 July-12 Aug: Tech of Competence and Leadership Convention (said to be a 10-day course).
 * 05-16: TWTH convention on board, 10 days, including 'weekend event' 08-09 August.
 * 08-09: London Conference on Nuclear Radiation. Part of the Congress and Convention package.
 * 13 August: Excursion.
 * 13-20: TWTH event at Santa Marta. 7 nights on board.

Santa Marta reports Freewinds in port 27 July to 02 August, 07-10 August and 29-30 August. The Cartagena tablero of 23 September shows Freewinds paying a single visit to Cartagena 11-27 August, which may be a simplification. Earlier schedules showed a more complex timetable, also shown below. From the schedules it appears that the promised 10-day or 7-day TWTH event in Santa Marta, 13-20 August, was reduced to the weekend of 8-9 August, with the ship returning to Cartagena on 10 August. The only arrival from Aruba in the timeframe is on 27 July.

01: Santa Marta all day. 02: Santa Marta dep. 21.45 for Cartagena. Voyage ref. 03/N

03: Cartagena eta 07.45 from Santa Marta (Ref 04/N). 04-05: Cartagena all day. 06: Cartagena dep. 23.00 for Santa Marta.

07: Santa Marta eta 07.24 from Cartagena (Ref 03/N). 08-09: Santa Marta all day. 10: Santa Marta dep. 20.45 for Cartagena (04/N).

11: Cartagena eta 06.00 from Santa Marta (Ref 06/N). 12: Cartagena all day. 13: Cartagena dep. (? to Aruba).

14-16: ?Aruba

17: Santa Marta dep. (but no arrival from Aruba is noted)

18: Cartagena eta 06.00 (Ref 08/N) from Santa Marta. 19: ?Cartagena all day. 20: ?Cartagena dep. for Santa Marta.

21-23: ?Santa Marta. 24: ?Santa Marta to Cartagena.

25: Cartagena eta 06.00 from Santa Marta (Ref 10/N). 26: Cartagena all day. 27: Cartagena dep. 23.50 for Santa Marta.

28: ?Santa Marta.

29: Santa Marta eta 06.00 from Cartagena. 30: Santa Marta dep. 21.00 for Cartagena (Ref 07/N).

September 2009
This month shows a return to normal cruising but with reduced numbers.

Advertised events: 'Experience' package 4-11 September, and a 14 day OT Debug course ($5630). Did either of these take place?

Cartagena: no visits. Santa Marta: no visits. Bonaire: no visits. Barbados: no visits.

Information given below about visits to Bonaire and Curacao comes from Freewinds Magazine 74 (September 2009) and is as reliable as anything published by Scientology.

FACT: She made three calls in Aruba bringing a total of 266 passengers - an average of 89 per cruise. Four were planned: details below.

01-05: Aruba eta 17.00 (Tues). 02-04: Aruba all day. 05: Aruba dep. 23.00 (Sat).

06-08: Bonaire.

09-10: Curacao.

11-12: Aruba (eta 10th at 21.30, Thurs). 11: Aruba all day. 12: Aruba dep. 23.00 (Sat).

13-15: Bonaire.

16-17: Curacao.

18-19: Aruba (eta 21.30 17th, Thurs). 19: Aruba dep. 23.00 (Sat).

20-22: Bonaire.

23-24: Curacao.

25-26: Aruba (eta 2130 on the 24th, Thurs). 26: Aruba dep. 23.00 (Sat).

27-29: Bonaire.

30: Curacao. Probably dep. 01 October.

October 2009
Advertised Detroit Convention 22-29 October. Not confirmed.

Cartagena/Santa Marta: no visits reported.

Curacao: no visits reported in official sources. The calls to Curacao and Bonaire listed below are taken from the schedule of courses published in Freewinds magazine 74 (September 2009). Changeover is usually Thursday (in Curacao). So if this programme was adhered to, she spent Wed/Thurs in Curacao, Fri/Sat in Aruba and Sun/Tues in Bonaire. But at some point in October? she appears to have fallen out with the Curacao authorities and her advertised schedule for November no longer goes to Curacao.

Aruba: scheduled 5 calls (150 passengers each). The retrospective summary for October (published 30 November) shows only 3 calls and a total of 217 passengers (in place of the projected 750).

01-03: Aruba eta 11.00, 02: dep. 23.00 (Sat).

04-06: Bonaire.

07-08: Curacao.

09-10: Aruba eta 21.009 10: Aruba dep. 13.00.

11-13: Bonaire.

14-15: Curacao.

16-17: Aruba eta 21.00 [21.30]. 17: Aruba dep. 23.20.

18-20: Bonaire.

21-22: Curacao.

23-24: Aruba eta 18.30, 24: dep.22.45.

25-27: Bonaire.

28-29: Curacao but port schedule says Aruba eta 00.05 on 28 or 29; dep. same day 17.00. Visible confusion.

30-31: Aruba dep. 15.10 [previously 23.00.]

November 2009
Aruba supplies some rare facts. The official schedule showed 3 planned calls (150 each) on 16-17, 19-21 and 26-28. They had gone from the official schedule by the end of October but Freewinds actually did make 3 calls but with only 233 passengers in total half those anticipated and about 20 per cent of capacity. She probably also visited Bonaire three times but Curacao, despite being her 'home port', drops out of the schedules about this time, reason not yet known.

Reported by MARPOL that 'Colombia agreed to have its [waste-management] seminar hosted on board M/V Freewinds during its port visit in Cartagena'. Does Colombia realise (a) that Freewinds made a special visit to Colombia to be able to do this, to improve the cult's PR, b) that the ship's own waste-management has been the cause of serious pollution in Bonaire since at least 2003, and c) that she had no valid PSSC at that time?

http://cep.unep.org/racrempeitc/activities/activites_2008-2009/final-report-marpol-seminar-cartagena-colombia/view

Advertised events 5-12 November: International Public Relations seminar in Colombia, with TWTH Convention and Salesmanship; 5-19: Competence & Leadership; 12-19: Power of Postulates, Havingness & Expansion; 19-26: OT Abilities, Salesmanship; 19-03 December: Competence & Leadership; 26-03 December: Mexico Week; SMI Expansion, Summit for Hungary, Salesmanship; Power of Postulates.

5-12 November): The Mighty Miami Newsletter for November 2009 reports that Freewinds visited Miami for a weekend in October: "Over 110 attendees had an uplifting, high-toned and theta weekend when the Freewinds came to Miami! And now, who's going to Freewinds? WE ARE! Twenty-five Tone 40 public decided to go onboard and many will arrive for the Rehabilitation of Havingness Convention, Creating an Ideal Org in Miami, November 5-12." This was a dry-land affair attended by Freewinds crew but there appears to have been an actual convention on the ship. 03-04: MARPOL seminar in Cartagena.  The failboat apparently used Mighty Miami (which has Hispanic members) for PR work.

Class-hopping: The failboat's Passenger Ship Safety Certificate (PSSC; see DNV Exchange) expired 31 October. On 11 November she left DNV, a classic example of class-hopping. It is not yet known who is currently responsible for her certificates.

01-13: Cartagena, from Aruba, eta 14.04. Apparently tied up in port but not listed in the Cartagena records.

14-15: no information. Visit 15-16 to Curacao; eta 06.30, dep. 17.30 (360 passengers) was apparently cancelled.

16-17: Aruba eta 22.35 [previously 17.30] (Mon), dep. 24.00 (Tues).

18-24: no information.

19-21: Aruba eta 21.30 (Thurs), dep. 23.00 (Sat).

22-24: Bonaire (220 passengers) Confirmed by Sea-Web (WWP anonymous post).

24-26: Visit to Curacao eta 15.00, dep. 17.00 did not take place.

24-28: Aruba (Oranjestad) according to Sea-Web (WWP anonymous post). 28-29: Bonaire (SeaWeb).

30-05: Aruba, various places. Visit 30th to Curacao, eta 06.15, dep. 02 December 17/00 did not take place.

December 2009
Advertised weekly conventions as in November; 3-17 and 17-31: two-week Competence and Leadership convention.

Notable addition: Future OT Convention - a brainwashing experience for your teenagers (aged 10-22) and a Sea Org recruitment ploy, only $3,750. Change of plans: two events: 9-23 December and 16 to 30 December, still only $3,750 but now parents can also come for 2 weeks, $6,252.50, and get a special A-Deck Double for two!! Originally 18 Dec to 02 January; then 09-23 December and 16-30 December.

Also the usual conventions: Salesmanship, Marketing, Postulates, Havingness & Expansion, Competence & Leadership, Music, OT Abilities. New courses start every Thursday. Source: Freewinds Magazine issue 75 (December 2009).

Her schedule is restricted to Aruba and Bonaire. There have been many changes to the published schedules, probably a response to the continued low level in bookings. Curacao is no longer in the schedule. Freewinds now spends Sunday to Tuesday in Bonaire and Wednesday to Saturday in Aruba, changeover as before on Thursday.

30-05: Aruba, eta 21.30 (Tues). 02-04: Aruba various locations. 05: Aruba dep. 23.00 (Sat).

06-08: Bonaire (220 passengers). 09-12: Aruba eta 22.00 (new schedule). [Cancelled: 08-10: Curacao eta 15.00, dep. 17.00.]

13-15: Bonaire (220). 16-19: Aruba eta 06.30 (new schedule). [Previously 17-19: Aruba eta 21.30, dep. 23.00 (Sat).]

20-22: Bonaire (220). 23-26: Aruba eta 22.00 (new schedule). [Previously 23-26: Aruba, eta 21.30 (Wed), dep. 23.00 (Sat).]

27-29: Bonaire (220). 29-02: Aruba eta 22.00 (new schedule). [Cancelled: 29-30: Curacao eta 15.00, dep. 17.00.]

2010
The only calls published so far for 2010 are in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

January 2010
Published passenger numbers vary from 150 t0 220 (Bonaire) and 360 (Curacao).

According to schedules published in November 2009 she was to visit Curacao 05-07 January 2010, leaving 17.00 on the 7th but I watched on 7 January at 07.00 local time and saw the Westerdam (Holland America Line) docking at the Mathey Wharf, Freewind's favorite place. She still appears in some old schedules but her own published programme no longer includes Curacao.

Advertised events: weekly conventions as in November and December 2009: Postulates, Havingness and Expansion, Salesmanship, Marketing, OT Abilities. Italy Week: 21-28 January. Music Convention 21-28 Jan. Vulture Ministry Convention on board 28 Jan to 4 Feb, 2010. 7-21 amd 21-04 Feb: Competence and Leadership.

01-02: Aruba. 02: Aruba dep. 23.00 (Sat). 03-05: Bonaire.

05-09: Aruba eta 21.30, dep. 23.00 [Replacing 05-07: Curacao eta 06.15, dep. 17.00.] 10-12: Bonaire.

13-16: Aruba eta 21.30, dep. 23.00. [Replacing 11-13: Curacao eta 06.15, dep. 17.00.] 17-19: Bonaire.

19-23: Aruba eta 21.30 dep. 23.00. [Previously 21-23: Aruba.] 24-25: Bonaire.

26-30: Aruba eta 21.30. dep. 23.00. [Replacing 25-27: Curacao] 31: Bonaire.

February 2010 (to be confirmed)
Courses advertised for the whole month e.g. 11-18: International WISE Convention. 25 Feb -04 March International I Help Convention. Competence and Leadership 3-17 Feb., 17-03 March.

31 Jan-02: Bonaire

07-09: Bonaire

14-16: Bonaire

21-23: Bonaire

March 2010
Courses (conventions) advertised on usual weekly basis through the month but no scheduled bookings or advertised locations have shown up yet (07 January). Future OT Convention, aka Get Rid of the Kids for Easter, 31 March - 14 April.

April 2010
As March.

Rest of 2010
Nothing so far.

Cruise Schedules
General: http://www.cruiseclues.com/portschedules.htm


 * Antigua: Freewinds does not appear to have visited Antigua between October 2008 and December 2009, which is as far as published information goes (November 2009).

http://www.brysonsantigua.com/march09.html


 * Aruba: she fulfilled 3 of 4 visits planned for September 2009 (total pax 266), 3 of the 5 calls planned for October 2009 (total pax 217), and all 3 of the visits planned for November (233 pax). Total pax for 3 months: 716, average 80 per cruise, or 22% capacity.

http://www.arubabycruise.com/stats/index.html info@arubabycruise.com

http://www.selmaduro.com/cruise-ship-arrival-schedule.html


 * Barbados: In 2004 Captain Mike Napier said that Freewinds had visited Barbados for 7 months every year for 16 years. The failboat has not visited Barbados since July 2009.

http://www.barbadosport.com/2008/Cruise_2010/Cruise_index.htm

http://www.barbadosport.com/2008/Cruise_2009/Cruise_index.htm

http://www.barbadosport.com/2008/Cruise_2008/Cruise_index.htm


 * Bonaire: no visits between March and 22 November 2009. Then weekly bookings up to February 2010.

http://infobonaire.com/cruises.html


 * Cartagena: Freewinds is listed in Cartagena 4 times between 03 August 2009 and the end of June 2010: 03-06 August, 11-13 August, 18-20 August, and 25-27 August. For the rest of 2009 and up to June 2010 she is not listed.  A later schedule shows her in Colombia for a single visit, 11-27 August, coming from and going to Santa Marta.  There is no mention of Freewinds in any later schedules for Cartagena or Santa Marta.  And yet she was there in November 2009.

http://www.altamaragency.com/Altamar_ing/tablaCartagena.jsp (updated 05 October 2009).

http://www.altamaragency.com/Altamar_esp/index_esp.htm

http://albatros.puertocartagena.com/opadmco.nsf/vstRefLinkDoc/7777491FE8463A91052573C5004CD507

Also Cartagena Colombia in Webcam.


 * Curacao: Google Archive version has schedules for 2008 and 2009 which show regular weekly arrivals through January-February and July-December 2008 but none for 2009. Bookings made for November-December 2009 were apparently cancelled.

http://curports.com/files/cruise_arrivals_2009.pdf

http://www.madurosons.com/page.asp?pag_id=1389&lan_id=3&Cruise+Ships maduroship@madurosons.com

http://www.liveincuracao.com/index.php?p=37 As of 3 January 2010 she had three calls booked for December (not made) and three calls for January 2010. Then nothing more up to December 2010. This site has the web-cam covering Freewind's normal docking place in Curacao (Mathey Wharf?). http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/islands/cr/curacao-cruise-ship-schedule.shtml For Curacao 2007.


 * Dominica: The schedules cover 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. Freewinds made 8 calls in the 2008-2009 season, claiming 300 passengers each time. (She was at the same time calling in at Santa Lucia and claiming 400 passengers each time.)  Otherwise there is no sign of her up to September 2009.

http://www.dominica.dm/site/cruise.efm [Link broken]


 * St Kitts (St Christopher & Nevis): Freewinds not found among ships calling in 2008 or 2009 up to October.

http://www/stkittstourism.kn/DiscoverStKitts/cruise_itinerary.asp [link does not work]

http://www.portzante.com/cruise-schedule.asp No sign of Freewinds in Jan-Feb 2010; not listed as a visiting cruise ship.


 * Santa Lucia: Published by SLAPSA for 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, the last updated 28 September 2009. The gap in the SLAPSA schedules from October 2008 to March 2009 is covered by other lists which show no visits.  Freewinds made eight scheduled visits between November 2007 and January 2008, claiming 400 passengers.  Oddly enough they alternate with Dominica where she claimed only 300.  Both figures are liable to be exaggerated.

http://www.slaspa.com/s_schedules.php


 * Santa Marta: A search for ''Freewinds' shows her visiting Santa Marta three times: 27 July-02 August (from Aruba, to Cartagena);07-10 August (from and to Cartagena); 29-30 August (from and to Cartagena). There is an apparent gap on 28 August but this may be clerical error. Commercial ports are not accustomed to ships owned by criminal cults that move around in a random fashion.

http://www.altamaragency.com/Altamar_esp/index_esp.htm


 * Sint Maarten: Freewinds is not listed between June 2009 and April 2010, the only records so far found.

http://201.220.14.17/sxmonline/VesselScheduleCruis.aspx


 * Virgin Islands (St John): No sign of any visits as far as this record goes, from June 2007 to December 2009.

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/cruiseship/ship_schedule.php

.

Further Sources

 * Advertised events: Freewinds publicity emails leaked by Pooks on ESMB and WWP.
 * Freewinds Magazines 74 (September 2009), 75 (December? 2009) leaked by Pooks on ESMB and WWP.
 * Bonaire pollution issues: http://www.forumantilles.com/latestnews.html, also reported on WWP 21 July 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLFLdip3-ds
 * DNV ship classification: http://exchange.dnv.com/exchange/ma...vesselid=13706
 * http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/4384-scientology-at-sea-cult-cruise-ship-waste-endangers-tropical-isle.html
 * http://seaarrrgh.com/c/freewinds/
 * http://newsblaze.com/story/20080501044835tsop.nb/topstory.html

Revised and updated 24 November 2009.

Thanks to all who post on this topic on WWP, ESMB, OCMB and elsewhere.