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Editor’s note: The World Golf Championships-Barbados World Cup is being played this
week at Sandy Lane Resort. While she is there covering the tournament,
PGATOUR.com’s Helen Ross will be writing a daily blog.
By Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
ST. JAMES, Barbados -- Believe it or not, George Washington actually
slept here. So did Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, but they traveled in
the era of Air Force One and those plush, first-class seats on
trans-Atlantic planes. Think about it. The year was 1751 and a teenager
who would become the first United States president spent six long weeks
on a ship, sailing from Potomac, Md., to Barbados, which is located in
the western Atlantic Ocean about 270 miles northeast of Venezuela.
Washington, who was 19 at the time, was joined on the trip by his
half-brother Lawrence, who was also his legal guardian. Lawrence was 14
years older than George, and he was suffering from an advanced case of
tuberculosis. Doctors felt the sub-tropical climate might do Lawrence
some good, but he would die the following summer. The two stayed in
Barbados for six weeks, and according to historians, it was George’s
first trip out of Virginia – and his only trip abroad, ever. Barbados
was one of Great Britain’s most populated colonies and it had an active
and vibrant cultural community. Washington reportedly saw his first play
while he was in Barbados. He also became ill with smallpox, but that
turned out to be fortuitous since he would avoid the scourge of the
disease later when he was commander of the Continental Army during the
Revolutionary War.
The home where Washington and his brother stayed was on Bush Hill in the
capital city of Bridgetown. According to his diary, which is preserved
in the Library of Congress and excerpted on www.barabados.org,
Washington rented the house for the equivalent of $75 a month, which was
“exclusive of liquors and washing which we are to provide.” The house,
which is now being restored by the Barbados National Trust, was about a
mile from the coast and afforded sweeping views of the ocean and the
island. “In the cool of the evening we rode in the country and were
perfectly enraptured with the beautiful scenery which every side
presented our view. The fields of cane, corn, fruit trees in a
delightful green,” Washington wrote.
Bridgetown has grown considerably since Washington’s visit. Housing is
considerably more expensive – particularly since it takes roughly two
Barbadian dollars to equal one of its U.S. counterparts. Ships still
arrive weekly, only now they are massive cruise ships, small cities of
their own, which pull into port so the passengers can take advantage of
the ample duty free shopping downtown. The Queen Mary 2 was one of two
docked here Tuesday, and more are on the way.
The players and caddies competing in the World Golf
Championships-Barbados World Cup are being treated like a visiting
president, too. Buses run from their hotel to Sandy Lane every half hour
from 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and a police escort assures that each one
gets through the bottleneck of traffic in Bridgetown with ease. The
motorcycle cop rides ahead and clears the way at intersections whenever
a red light looms in the distance. He also motions cars over to the side
of the road with a quick point of his index finger -- almost like
someone telling a dog to sit – and the drivers politely comply. Our
buses have clear sailing on nearly every street, and I don’t think I’ve
heard a horn yet. This morning one of my traveling companions on the bus
asked whether we did this at all our tournaments. Not hardly, but it’s
fun to dream.
Click here for a chance to win a trip for two to Barbados.
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