''Fantome'' was a 679-ton staysail schooner. She was completed in 1927 by the

Duke of Westminster Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

. She was purchased by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises in 1969, and became the flagship of their fleet, offering cruises in the Caribbean and the Bay of Honduras. ''Fantome'' was lost in October 1998 during

Hurricane Mitch Hurricane Mitch was an extremely deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane, which became the second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Mitch caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately ...

Early years

''Fantome'' was originally ordered for the Italian navy but was purchased before completion by the

, who finished her as a yacht (launched in 1927). Westminster used her only a few years before she changed hands twice in short order. It is often said that she was acquired by the Irishman Ernest Guinness, a senior member of the

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its achievements in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout beer Guinnes ...

, but he owned the ''Fantome II'', now named the ''Belem''. She was in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

in the late 1930s and when war broke out in Europe in 1939, she was in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

n waters. Reluctant to cruise further or return to Ireland, Guinness elected to lay her up in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

for the duration of hostilities. At the end of the war she was stranded in

Portage Bay Portage Bay is a body of water, often thought of as the eastern arm of Lake Union, that forms a part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle, Washington. To the east, Portage Bay is connected with Union Bay—a part of Lake Washington� ...

for 14 years, barred by King County from sailing pending the payment of back taxes.

Windjammer

In 1969, Windjammer owner and founder Michael Burke flew to Greece to purchase the schooner directly from

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...

. He bought her, sight unseen, in exchange for a freighter. Windjammer then set about refurbishing ''Fantome'', which became the flagship of their fleet of six vessels.

Loss

On 24 October 1998, ''Fantome'' departed the harbor of Omoa,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

for a planned six-day cruise.

, then over away in the Caribbean Sea, was expected to pose a risk to Jamaica and possibly the Yucatán Peninsula. Captain Guyan March decided to play it safe by heading for the Bay Islands and waiting for the storm to pass. By dawn on the following day, however, Mitch seemed to change course. ''Fantome'' immediately changed course for

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

, where she disembarked all of her passengers and non-essential crew members. The schooner then departed Belize City, first heading north towards the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, in order to outrun the storm. Storm predictions proved extremely difficult, as the steering currents in Hurricane Mitch were very weak. When word reached ''Fantome'' that Mitch would most likely hit the Yucatán before she could get out of harm's way, March changed course for the south. It was too early to know that he was heading directly into the storm's path. The plan was to make for the lee side of the island of Roatan. In case Mitch made landfall in the Yucatán or Belize, by being on the southern side of the island, it would provide her with enough protection to hopefully keep it from getting damaged by large swells and high winds. However Mitch, now a

Category 5 hurricane Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) *Category (Vais ...

with winds up to 180 mph (285 km/h), took a jog towards the south, directly towards Roatan. As Mitch moved in on Roatan and Honduras, ''Fantome'' made one desperate attempt to flee to safety, now heading east towards the Caribbean. Mitch's forward motion picked up, though, and ''Fantome'' was unable to outrun the storm. Around 4:30 p.m. on 27 October 1998, with Mitch having weakened but still at Category 5 intensity, ''Fantome'' reported that she was fighting winds in seas. They were just south of Mitch's eyewall. Radio contact was lost with ''Fantome'' shortly after that. On 2 November, a helicopter dispatched by the British Type 22 Frigate discovered life rafts and vests labeled "S/V Fantome" off the eastern coast of

Guanaja Guanaja is one of the Bay Islands Department, Bay Islands of Honduras and is in the Caribbean. It is about off the north coast of Honduras, and from the island of Roatan. One of the cays off Guanaja, also called Guanaja or Bonacca or Low Cay ...

. It was all that was found of ''Fantome.'' All 31 crew members aboard perished and a memorial service was held for them on December 12, 1998.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fantome Fantome Fantome Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea

Early years

Windjammer

Loss

See also

Citations

References