Competitors prepare for final showdown at St.Maarten Heineken Regatta

March 6, 2010, Simpson Bay, St. Maarten – on the penultimate day of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, competitors were treated to superb conditions for the Marigot Bay race. A lively southerly breeze topping 20kts this afternoon made for some exciting, classic Caribbean racing which led to more than a few thrills and spills within the 240-boat fleet.

While the fast racing boats enjoyed a couple of early morning, short, sharp windward/leeward races a couple of miles offshore, off Philipsburg, and then an afternoon sprint round the coast, the cruising classes and bareboat fleets raced on a course taking them to Simpson Bay in the north, where they were able to go ashore and enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the sun.

One of the first to suffer misfortune today was Irvine Laidlaw’s Wally 82 Highland Fling. Peter Holmberg and team had just crossed the line in the first race when the genoa halyard failed. A swift recovery from the super-efficient team it may have been, but it wasn’t enough to make up ground on yesterday’s Spinnaker 1 winner Titan 15. This 75ft custom Reichel/Pugh design owned by Tom and Dotty Hill and helmed by another racing legend, Peter Isler, controlled the first race of the day with their outstanding downwind performance and led George David’s Reichel/Pugh 90 Rambler on a lively sleigh ride to the finish and took line honours with a delta of 49 seconds, and finished first overall on corrected time.

There was also fun and games a bit further down the fleet, in the second race, when Clay Deutsch’s chartered canting keel, Farr/Cookson 50 Privateer got a bit too close for comfort by misjudging a situation at the first windward mark and managed to clip the pushpit of Vela Veloce with her bow sprit. Thankfully Richard Oland’s Southern Cross 52 suffered minor damage to the pushpit and Privateer escaped unscathed. Clearly unfazed, Vela Veloce went on to take second overall on corrected time with Titan claiming the top spot once again in the second race of the day. Chatting about the incident, Jack Slattery – tactician aboard Privateer – commented: “We took the close racing we’ve been having with Vela Veloce a bit too far today. Thankfully there was no major damage.”

Team Privateer who normally race aboard Deutsch’s Swan 68 Chippawa admitted they’d had mistake-packed day in the lively conditions but put it down to a fairly steep learning curve. Slattery added: “It was awesome racing and although the big guys were in front of us and going fast, we were able to hold on to them particularly in the windier last race where we finished third on corrected time. Privateer is so fast compared to Chippawa. On her we used to romp around in high speeds of 10kts but on Privateer everything happens so quickly. It takes a bit of getting used to.”

In Spinnaker 3, Paul Solomon’s Henderson 35 Blackberry Enzyme from Trinidad has, after today’s three races, managed to split two of the closest boats in the fleet – the Reichel/Pugh 44 Peake Yacht Services Storm sailed by Peter Peake and team, and Richard Matthews’ Oystercatcher XXVI. Peake Yacht Services Storm and Oystercatcher XXVI continued their battle on the racecourse throughout the day and, although Oystercatcher XXVI notched up a final race win over her closest rival, a scoreline of two wins in the windward/leewards for Blackberry Enzyme in both morning races puts her in second overall. But there’s only one point between all three boats which means there’ll be plenty of action in tomorrow’s final race. Tim Kimpton from Trinidad, and sail trimmer aboard Blackberry Enzyme this week said: “We had a great day with two firsts but had to settle for fourth on corrected time in the last race when we thumped the finish mark and had to do a 360.”

Elsewhere on the racecourse in Spinnaker 6 Guy Eldridge’s Beneteau First 10R Luxury Girl posted another couple of first places on corrected time today which puts her in a strong position atop the fleet, with Ian Hope Ross’s Beneteau First 36.7 Kick ‘em Jenny five points adrift. Currently in third place overall going into the last race tomorrow is David Cullen’s J/109 Pocket Rocket. Representing seven different nations including Israel, Grenada, Ireland, England, France, Italy and the Netherlands, this truly international team is giving the top two boats a fair run for their money and looks set for a final showdown tomorrow. In the stronger breeze today, the J/109 excelled and won the last race of the day on corrected time. Paul Heyes of Key Yachting in the UK, and trimmer/tactician this week said: “The conditions were just perfect for our boat. A little more breeze and a mixture of reaching and running legs really suit the J/109 so we had a great afternoon. This is my first time here at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta and I think the sailing and the courses are the best I’ve ever been to, certainly the best in the Caribbean, and I’m definitely coming back.”

The Bareboat charter fleets, which, with 99 boats on the water, represent the largest number of yachts here at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, are also enjoying close racing. Jan Soderberg from Sweden and regular visitor to Caribbean regattas is sailing Team Aspen, a Beneteau Cyclades 43 in Bareboat 5 – Cyclades 43. Although he is also a fairly regular winner, and is currently leading the 11-strong fleet, there’s no room for error in the last race with just two points between the top two boats.

The wind forecast for tomorrow’s final race indicates another moderate day, although there’s a chance it could freshen later in the afternoon. Interestingly the wind is due to shift round to the north overnight, which like the southerly that’s been prevailing for most of week, is fairly unusual. The prevailing wind for 90 per cent of the time in St. Maarten is generally from the east.

Report by Sue Pelling

March 5, 2010, Simpson Bay, St. Maarten – After an extremely close, tactical, race on the opening day of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, Tom and Dotty Hill’s custom Reichel/Pugh 75 – Titan 15, managed to hold off George David’s Reichel/Pugh 90 Rambler and Irvine Laidlaw’s Wally 82 Highland Fling to take top spot in the St Maarten Round the Island Race.

Peter Isler and team aboard this stunning new, ultra lightweight racing machine enjoyed an extremely testing 32nm race round the island of St Maarten in unusually light, southerly winds which only reached 12kts at best. They engaged in an early bow-to-bow battle with Rambler and Highland Fling from the start and, although Rambler soon powered off in the building gusts on the first spinnaker leg to the western most point of the island, Titan and Highland Fling were always snapping at her heels.

The tactical part of the race for all classes really began in Marigot Bay where choice of headsails was critical. Isler chatting about the race said: “We went with the jib top which is a bit smaller, tighter angle combination and the other two went with spinnakers and a Code Zeros. For a while our combination was better but behind the lee of the island it got quite light. We were headed on starboard tack reach first then when we got to the middle of the bay it started lifting and the Code Zero started to pay which allowed us to overtake Highland Fling.”

Once round the north-east tip of the island at Tintamarre (mark 4) it was a beat back down to the finish at Philpsburg in an ever-decreasing breeze. Titan however, now with about a minute on Rambler and in striking distance of Highland Fling had done enough to secure the first Spinnaker Class 1 race of the regatta.

An impressive race from George David and Kenny Read and team on Rambler, but not quite enough to knock Titan off her perch in these light airs. Reed – vice president of North Sails, North America, and skipper of Puma, which took second overall in the in the 2008-09 VOR, says today’s race was essentially a microcosm of the VOR. “It’s navigation of an island but I have to say, more fun than the VOR. It’s nice to be able to sleep in a bed at night, have good food, and have a beer at the end of the day. It’s those little things in life you take for granted until you do a VOR, and it’s only then you start to really appreciate it.”

Rounding the island is always a challenge for the navigator and Reed says they did get a bit too close for comfort at one point during the race today. “There’s a million little pot holes out there you have to avoid, and whoever does that best, simply wins the race. We got a little close a couple of times, that’s for sure and even had a little scuff but thankfully nothing too dramatic.”

Peter Holmberg, on the other hand, on the helm of Highland Fling said he was playing it safe today. “There are certainly some spots to be careful of in this race, but today there were no real benefits by getting too close, and I’m not going to be the one make the call that risks putting an 82ft Wally on the rocks, that’s for sure.”

The Reichel/Pugh 44 Peake Yacht Services sailed by Peter Peake and team managed to hold off Richard Matthews and team from the UK aboard Oystercatcher XXVI – the fast, and well sailed Tom Humphries design, to take their first win of the regatta in Spinnaker 3, despite a spinnaker wrap round the third mark. These two have been engaged in race long battles in the Caribbean for several years, and this week the battle looks set to continue. Neil Mackley, trimmer aboard Oystercatcher, and St. Maarten Heineken Regatta regular, commented: “These two boats are very similar in speed and the last four years we’ve had a lot of great racing. They’ve won today, but tomorrow’s another day!”

Italian Andrea Scarabelli sailing the Melges 24 Budget Marine is another one to watch out for this week. This racy-looking team managed to beat the other Melges 24s in Spinnaker 7 fleet and finished second in class by just four minutes on corrected time to Dave West and team in the Melges 32 Jurakan. “It was a long race in the light winds for us,” said Scarabelli, “but we sailed well and had good boat speed so we hope to continue to improve throughout the weekend.”

Calvin Reed and his Gill Commodore’s Cup-winning team from yesterday put up another good performance today and won the highly competitive Spinnaker 5 fleet once again. Elandra – one of six Beneteau 40.7s competing in this class – comes from Antigua and Geoff Linton tactician said they hope for more light winds: “Light winds and windward/leewards and we’ll be happy. We have new sails and a good crew who sail together 90 per cent of the time so we feel definitely have what it takes.”

The forecast for the second day of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta looks set to continue with similar light to moderate southerly winds. The 20nm course will take the fleets round the north-west tip of the island up into the Anguilla Channel with a finish in Marigot Bay.

Report by Sue Pelling

March 4, 2010, Simpson Bay, St. Maarten – Calvin Reed’s Elandra, a production Beneteau First 40.7, has won the Gill Commodore’s Cup.

Reed and team, sailing in the highly competitive Racing B class at this opening event of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, managed to hold off not only similar designs such as a J/120 and a couple of A40s, but also five other First 40.7s. At a special prizegiving ceremony at Port De Plaisance, Nick Gill – company chairman – presented the delighted team with a selection of Gill products including a Gill Regatta Master starting watch and kit bag.

Now in its sixth year, and held as a run up to the three-day Heineken Regatta which starts tomorrow, the Gill-sponsored event attracted a bumper entry with a total of 47 boats on the startline. According to Robbie Ferron – event chairman – the boat of the day is calculated by the deltas. “When we’ve measured the deltas, in other words the differences in corrected time, the boat that wins the most decisively in the most competitive class is the overall boat of the day. There are some subjective factors here but it allows us to have different courses for the faster and slower boats.”

The two windward/leeward, two-mile courses were set in Simpson Bay, and the fleets was treated to a day of light to moderate, tactical, patchy conditions on a relatively large rolling sea which made for an interesting warm-up to the regatta.

The glamorous head-turners such as Irvine Laidlaw’s Wally 82 Highland Fling, Tom and Dotty Hill’s custom Reichel/Pugh 75 – Titan 15, and Bill Alcott’s Andrews 68 – Equation, were also out in force today giving a fair indication of what’s in store for the rest of the week. With America’s Cup super-stars – Peter Holmberg on the helm of Highland Fling, and Peter Isler driving Titan – it wasn’t particularly surprising to see these two neck and neck throughout the day. Titan suffered a torn spinnaker in race two but her impressive speed against the powerful, Wally 82 Highland Fling which has a 35m rig, was still enough to secure two first places. Highland Fling took second, while the 10-year-old, stunning looking Equation took a well-deserved third in class.

Holmberg commenting on the day’s racing said it was a day where pressure was clearly the dominating factor: “Pretty light airs for the Caribbean. It was a top day to spot the pressure but it was an excellent warm up and we really felt we improved as the day progressed on the short windward/leeward course. Really looking forward to the start of the regatta tomorrow and I think we’ll have some good racing with the likes of Titan and Rambler.”

Titan 15, Highland Fling and Rambler are highly comparable new boats incorporating the latest trends in high technology, and also have some smart people among their crew which will make it all the more interesting.

Further down the fleet, in Racing C, local sailor Ian Hope-Ross aboard his Beneteau First 36.7 Kick ‘Em Jenny hoped to better his runner up class position from last year but was unable hold off the Beneteau First 10R, Luxury Girl, and once again had to settle for second overall in class.

In Racing D, Peter Peake’s smart looking Reichel Pugh 44 Peake Yacht Services Storm, gave Dave West’s Melges 32 Jurakan a good run for her money but was unable to break her impressive 1,1 scoreline and had to settle for second in fleet. Paul Solomon and his team from Trinidad making their racing debut at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta on a Henderson 35 – Blackberry Enzyme – also had a good day, finishing just behind third-placed Melges 24 – Budget Marine. Solomon says he hopes to notch up a good result with at least a third place overall at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

After the welcoming party and Gill Commodore’s Cup prizegiving, competitors and visitors to the island were treated to a special performance of ‘Voices of Classic Rock’ – the first of many legendary acts planned for this special 30th anniversary event.

The first race of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta kicks off tomorrow (Friday 5, March) with the 32nm Round the Island Race scheduled for most classes. However, light winds are forecast once again, which could affect the outcome of the course.

Report by Sue Pelling