Dear fellow Flynn fans,
I raise my grail and wish you and your loved ones a Happy Easter holiday with a sip of rhum, which must have been conceived by a thirsty Flynnthusiast somewhere in Holland.
The label is named after Errol’s original hideaway in Jamaica and even depicts his beloved Zaca. Its scent and taste is ripe with plumes, almonds and coffee beans. You can mix it with Coke, inject it in oranges and it’s said to cure everything from scurvy to a clear head.
Cheers mates,
— shangheinz
Hello David,
— David DeWitt
Received a nice email from “Schooner4” (award winning artist Dan Gilmore) about his painting of the Zaca with some fisherman nearby available right now for bids on eBay. Wow! It is beautiful work …
Thanks, Dan!
— David DeWitt
Kingston, Jamaica
“FILM FANS MOB ERROL FLYNN AT MYRTLE BANK”
Errol Flynn came ashore from his yacht at the Myrtle Bank Hotel at noon yesterday – and nearly created a riot. As the handsome, dashing screen star entered the lobby., a waiting army of female hotel fans, who had impatiently been waiting his coming ashore, mobbed him in traditional style.
Since news of his arrival spread through Kingston and St. Andrew yesterday, local cinemaddicts have been concentrating on the Myrtle Bank in an effort to secure autographs, snapshots, or just look at the daring he-man lover of the screen in the flesh.
Gathering yesterday morning a battery of woman fans filled the lobby and verandahs of the hotel. “Bobby-soxers” were in the majority, but there were lots of grownups, too. Impatiently they looked out across the hotel lawn to the pier, and beyond it, where the Zaca rode at anchor on the quiet Caribbean.
Came 12 o’clock and still no sign of the tall hero of Captain Blood, Elizabeth and Essex and other screen successes which have thrilled local audiences. The now-retired movie actor, who arrived here on Wednesday, stayed aboard his yacht this afternoon, along with members of his party.
THE WORD GOES UP
Suddenly there was a sensation. The word went up that he was coming. Large as life, and as handsome as he appears on screen, Errol Flynn walked into the lobby. Something like a cross between a scream and a sigh issued from a hundred lips. The actor smiled at the demonstration.
When they crowded around him, however, he decide it was too much of a good thing. Quickly getting into a waiting motorcar, he left the hotel and did not return until during the evening. The fans, torn between partial satisfaction and partial disappointment, went away.
Presence of the popular actor, whose exploits, on and off the screen, have won him wide mention, has made Myrtle Bank the focus of local attention. Busiest switchboard in town is the PBX at Myrtle Bank, where the telephone operator spent half a day yesterday saying, “Yes, he is here. No, he hasn’t come ashore yet.”
CLERKS KEEP BUSY
No less busy has been the desk, where the clerks have been equally engaged in answering queries as to the whereabouts of Mr. Flynn. Autograph books and baby cameras have been greatly in evidence, while the staff have been kept on their toes coping with the extra demand on their time as a result of the increased number of visitors to the hotel.
— Tim
Inspired by the keen observations of timerider – and with his kindly “Carry on, Old Boy” blessing – I hereby start a post for all to post your all time favorite images of Errol at his sartorial best, most fun, interesting, unique, and/or ahead of his time. I expect all of us will have multiple, even numerous favorites.
As timerider would say, “Carry On”! … In that spirit and fashion, I post my first:
— Tim
The Mail Bag brings another Question!
I am trying to find out information about the compass/binnacle that was originally installed on the Zaca.
My friend has one that he believes came from it. I have researched the compass and it was purchased from ES Ritchie & Sons in 1930.
I do not know if you would have more information about the binnacle from the Zaca like the serial number or what happened to it?
Thanks!
Crystal
— David DeWitt
A Series Look at the History of Errol’s Landfall On and Falling In Love with Jamaica:
— Tim
“THE MAJESTIC ZACA” AT THE YACHT CLUB ITALIANO IN GENOA
www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/genova/2017/09/15/ASV2PeRJ-yacht_banchina_genova.shtml…
— Tim
Legend has it Errol was “blown off course” by a hurricane in 1946, causing him to dock The Zaca in Jamaica, leading him to discover and soon move to Port Antonio. If this is true, which hurricane was it? Officially, per the charts below, there were seven Atlantic Ocean hurricanes in ’46. By my calculations, it appears No. 7 would have been most likely. Earlier that year, during all the other official hurricanes that could have forced Errol into Jamaica (except possibly “extratropical” No. 6), it appears to me that Zaca was exclusively in the Pacific – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mexican islands & waters (filming Cruise of The Zaca), Acapulco (filming Lady from Shanghai), et al. Anyone out there know for sure? If any of this is not accurate, please let us all know!
Here’s a Jamaican-written history:
“1946: Actor Errol Flynn’s schooner Zaca docks in Kingston for repairs, Flynn discovers Port Antonio and then sails there, beginning his lifelong love affair with the area and reviving Porty as a secluded destination for the rich and famous.
Christopher Columbus arrived in Jamaica in 1494 and claimed it for Spain. He liked the island so much he returned four times. In 1655 the British took control, turning it into a colony. It was Errol Flynn, however, who really turned the international spotlight toward Port Antonio. The swashbuckling actor was a social swashbuckler in real life, and to this day the people of Porty love to tell tales about Flynn – many of them taller than the Blue Mountains.
No doubt, the hard-living, high-sporting Flynn enjoyed women, drinking, gambling, sailing, fishing and being a prankster. He was dead serious, however, about his love of Port Antonio and its prospects. Flynn’s very presence in Port Antonio in the 1950s helped attract celebrities and international attention.”
— Tim
