keepitjiggy.com

The great, swashbuckling, Australian-American actor, Errol Flynn (1909-1959), had a magical connection to Portland, Jamaica, particularly to Port Antonio. Flynn's legendary reputation for being a womanizer, drinker and all-around "party animal" makes for fascinating Jamaican stories, some true and others pure legend! I imagine some of these tales sprang from the many parties Flynn had in Port Antonio to entertain his famous Hollywood movie friends. Memories can get a bit "twisted" after too many nights of Jamaican rum drinking!

Flynn first set eyes on Port Antonio in the late 1940s, when he arrived aboard his yacht "Zaca" on the North Coast of Jamaica. He declared the surroundings more beautiful than any woman he'd ever seen and, after marrying his 3rd wife, stage & screen actress Patrice Wymore, in 1950, bought a cattle ranch and coconut plantation in the Boston Bay area, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains (including 3 miles of beautiful oceanfront property). He brought Patrice to Jamaica and they lived in Port Antonio throughout the 1950s.

Flynn is credited for helping stimulate tourism in the area, and for a while owned Navy Island and the Titchfield Hotel. One legend I have heard countless times is that Flynn won Navy Island while gambling or playing cards. There's no truth to this one, and the author of The Errol Flynn Blog will debunk it for you and tell you the island's real and fascinating history. I've given you an excerpt below, but please read the entire blog article and take a look at the author's wonderful photos of Navy Island.

By the way, after her husband's death, Patrice Wymore Flynn went back to Hollywood to revive her career but returned to Portland in the late 1960s to live permanently at Errol Flynn Estates where she breeds cattle on their ranch. She has a reputation as a skilled cattle breeder and continues to live there today.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Errol's "Navy Island"

by john on Sun 27 Dec 2009

Hello Fellow Errol Fans,

Although most of you are familiar with Navy Island and the "Errol Connection", there are some facts that are not widely known. (At least I was not aware of them until recently). Navy Island has a rich and varied history that goes back to the 1600s. Originally, at that time it was named "Lynches Island" after being given to Sir Thomas Lynch (the then overseer of that portion of Jamaica) for "Services to the British Crown". In the 1700s, the Royal Navy constructed a small cannon battery to provide crossfire to Fort George, (which is just across the inlet some 200 yrds. or so) The remains of this battery still exist on the barren N.E. portion of the island. Also constructed were several rough buildings for Naval Stores and a small barracks, and the island took on the name "Navy Island".

It is worth noting that Captain Bligh himself spent 6 months docked at Navy Island on his ship, "Pandora" after returning from Tahiti. This time was spent careening his ship in the shallows, making urgent repairs, offloading some of his breadfruit specimens to replant in the rich soil, and even exploring for new species of plants. He even collected samples of Ackee fruit and introduced it to the Royal Society of Britain, who gave it it's current name: "Blighia Sapida" in honor of Bligh.

How ironic it is that an island that was once commanded by Capt. Bligh of "Mutiny on the Bounty" fame should end up being owned by one Errol Leslie Flynn, a descendant (by way of his mother) of Midshipman Edward Young who served aboard the HMS Bounty with Fletcher Christian and Capt. Bligh! No doubt it is a small world indeed.

In the early 1800's, the Royal Navy abandoned the island and it passed through several hands, both Govt. and private until Errol sailed into the harbor on that fateful day and fell in love with both the island and the N. coast of Jamaica. Although rumor has it that Errol won the island in either a poker game or a roll of the dice,(Both being very "Errolish") the truth of the matter is that he contacted a local attorney by the name of Vincent Grossett and arranged the sale of the 64 acre property for the sum of approx. $80,000 in the winter of 1946... (continue reading at The Errol Flynn Blog :: Errol's 'Navy Island'.

You may also like:

2 Responses to “Errol Flynn’s “Navy Island” in Port Antonio | The Errol Flynn Blog”