Prince Charles sacrifices jet travel — for yacht

updated 6:34 p.m. ET March 4, 2008

CHAGUARAMAS, Trinidad - Sometimes the fight against global warming can be downright pleasant.

Britain's Prince Charles, eschewing pollution-spewing jets, is touring the Caribbean on a 246-foot megayacht, complete with hot tub, gym and 24-member crew.

Charles and wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived Tuesday on the first leg of a five-island Caribbean tour that the prince's office swears will be friendly to the budget and the environment.

According to Clarence House, the couple's plans to sail rather than fly between islands will reduce the trip's carbon footprint. It will also be cheaper, though the prince's office declined to give a price tag for the royal jaunt to Trinidad, Tobago, St. Lucia, Jamaica and the volcanic island of Montserrat.

In a statement announcing the trip, Clarence House said the tour aboard the Leander, a yacht rented from British businessman Donald Gosling, would "advance key British government priorities in the promotion of sustainable development, environmental protection and youth opportunity."

It was not immediately clear how large of a carbon footprint would be left by the yacht as opposed to a charter flight.

The eco-conscious prince — whose Jaguar and Land Rover have been converted to run on biofuels — landed at a coast guard port in Chaguaramas in the former British colony, where the couple inspected an honor guard, according to Edmund Dillon, the Caribbean nation's defense chief.

Later Tuesday, the royal couple visited a nature preserve in Trinidad's northeastern rain forest of Blanchisseuse.

The couple flew to Trinidad and Tobago on a commercial flight, rather than charter a private jet.

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