With the distribution of these attractive, eco-friendly, re-usable shopping bags in its three Antigua stores, Budget Marine has taken a small, but important step towards protecting the marine environment.
Antigua’s bold lead in banning the importation and use of all plastic bags, except for those used for garbage collection and disposal, provided the impetus for designing and distributing these bags, not only in Antigua, but also to Budget Marine’s 13 stores located on islands throughout the Caribbean, including Aruba, which recently followed Antigua’s commendable environmental action.
The powerful sailing image, shot by photographer Jean Jarreau, on the front and back of the bags is of Team Comanche that, as reported by Christian Winthrop of www.thenewportbuzz.com, smashed the 2003 Mari Cha IV 2003 Monohull West to East Transatlantic Sailing Record on 28 July 2016 by more than a day. The 100 foot supermaxi completed the 2280 mile crossing from New York to The Lizard in Cornwall, England in 5 days, 14 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds, with only 17 crew and all manually powered winches and hydraulics.
There is another Antigua connection to these bags, as Antigua’s very own, Shannon Falcone, two time America’s Cup winner and Volvo Ocean Race sailor, helped crew the boat for the record breaking run, making those in Antigua very proud!
Picture: Louisa Norris, General Manager, and Albert Thomas of Budget Marine Antigua