a.k.a. Captain David

Vance Theophilus James, known as "Captain David," was born June 20, 1918 in the fishing village of Dieppe Bay, St. Ketts.

After having worked as a cane cutter and fisherman, he first started sailing on the Lady Kate, and later on the inter island sloop the Cassaloma. He went on to become captain of the Calina, and then became known as "Captain David." The vessels he captained carried both cargo and passengers. Sailing from the island of St. Kitts, his ports of call were St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, and St Croix U.S. Virgin Islands. Always important, but especially so during the Second World War, the trips from St. Kitts to St. Maarten kept the island supplied with the necessary provisions, as St. Kitts was the sole supply source of food and goods to St. Maarten.

Captain David was often called to make quick trips before the weather changed, or because something was in short supply. His love of life on the seas spanned a period of some 21 years, He retired from the sea in 1962 and started his own beverage import business.

A disciplinarian molded by the sea where quick decisions had to be made, he believed in hard work, honesty, integrity and service to others above self. On his final journey in 1994, he was saluted, praised and remembered fondly by a large cross section of the St. Maarten community.

Life's Motto:

Honesty, Integrity, and Service to Others Above Self

Marker is on Cruise Ship Terminal (The Harbor Point Village) 0.8 kilometers west of Juancho Yrausquin Blvd.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources: