Tag: regattas

Caribbean Regattas

Caribbean Regattas

 If you’ve never tried it, participating in a Caribbean sailing regatta is a thrilling experience and one that we highly recommend.

No matter how much you love your powerboat, there’s no denying the beauty and draw of sailboats, especially when they’re racing on a clear day, their colorful sails filled with the wind.

Sailing schools can be found in nearly any coastal city in the U.S. as well as in the Caribbean, and course programs are offered to accommodate all levels of interest. If you’re not ready to fully jump in the deep water but simply want to dip your toe in the shallow end of sailing, a great option is to join one of the many Caribbean regattas in which you pay to play. Based on Antigua, Ondeck Sailing lets guests reserve a spot (for a fee) on one of the yachts in the regattas. (Prices range depending on the event, yacht, and other factors.)

Foilers, dinghy sailors, superyacht owners and crew, sport boat enthusiasts, racer-cruisers and race charterers will all find something to love in the Caribbean this month. The fun starts off with Martinique International Sailing Week March 1-5. Hosted by the Nautical Center of Schoelcher, located near the French island’s capital of Fort-de-France, this event features large European participation with a focus on small boats, such as Optimist, Laser, and Sunfish. New this year is the addition of windfoils.

The next weekend, March 8-10, the St. Croix International Regatta takes place in the Buck Island Channel off the northeast shore of this U.S. Virgin Island. There’s a highly competitive Rhodes 19 fleet plus classes for racers and cruisers. The winning skipper earns his or her weight in island-made rum.

Over 60 Optimist dinghies will sail in the shadow of cruise ships on San Juan Bay in Puerto Rico for the Pan Pepin International Regatta March 17-18. This highly competitive event offers a Laser class too.

Yachts at the opposite end of the size spectrum are the focal point of the St. Barths Bucket Regatta March 21-24. Entries include the 220-foot Baltic Yachts-built, Dykstra/Reichel/Pugh-designed Hetairos, the 154-foot Perini Navi Aquarius and the 111-foot Royal Huisman-constructed, Frers-planned, Spiip. The prize-giving Bucket Bash is at the Hotel Collectivité.

Racers, cruisers and beach cats cast off in the St. Thomas International Regatta March 22-24. The one-day warm-up Round the Rocks Race, a circumnavigation around the
neighboring U.S. Virgin Island of St. John, takes place March 21st. Nearly a dozen race charter companies based in Europe and the U.S. are offering yachts for both events.

Finally, March Madness Caribbean regattas wrap up with the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival March 25-31 at Nanny Cay Resort & Marina. The Round Tortola Race on March
26th and Scrub Island Invitational on March 27th preface the traditional three-day regatta. Over a dozen bareboat charters from companies such as The Moorings and Sunsail are expected to race in a class of their own. While March is likely to be the busiest month, Caribbean regattas take place every month of the year.

caribbean-sailing.com

By Carol Bareuther, Southern Boating February 2019

Caribbean regattas galore

The competitive sailing season peaks in the winter and spring, when the weather is still too cold for comfortable yachting in northern climes. Each regatta boasts a special charm all its own. Serious racers mark their calendars for the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta and St. Thomas International Regatta, both in March, as well as the B.V.I. Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival and Les Voiles de St. Bart’s in April, and also Antigua Sailing Week, which finishes up the first week in May. Aficionados of classic yachts race in the B.V.I.’s Sweethearts of the Caribbean Regatta in February, the West Indies Regatta in St. Barts and Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta in April.

Beginners who want to try their hand at crewing aboard or racing against local island boats can do so at the Grenada Sailing Festival in January, Bequia Easter Regatta in April and Anguilla Regatta in May. Many islands host informal dinghy regattas throughout the year. However, the two big kids-oriented events are the Schoelcher International Sailing Week in February in Martinique, where classes include Optimists, Lasers, Open Bic, Sunfish, and Beach Cats, and the International Optimist Regatta in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. in June, where more than 100 young sailors ages 8-15 compete from more than a dozen countries. There are several great Caribbean regattas in the summer and fall, too, including the Aruba International Regatta and Around Grenada Regattas in August. Puerto Rico’s Discover the Caribbean, the St. Croix International Regatta and St. Lucia’s Mango Bowl are all in November. These last five are smaller events that welcome classes for cruisers. The Caribbean Sailing Association’s website includes dates for every regatta in the region. caribbean-sailing.com

The bite is on year-round!
Deep undersea drop-offs and large schools of bait fish make the Caribbean one of the best billfishing spots in the world. Blue marlin reigns as king of catch-and-release, yet tournaments focused on this species also usually include points for white marlin, sailfish and spearfish. There’s no single fishing season since the marlin migrate north and south throughout the year. In fact, it’s possible to find a billfish tournament in which to compete nearly each month of the year. In addition, many of these tournaments are qualifying events for the Offshore World Championship, the largest offshore fishing tournament series in the world, which takes place each spring in Costa Rica. Caribbean qualifiers include the Budget Marine Spice Island Billfish Tournament (January, Grenada), Casa de Campo International Blue Marlin Classic (March, Dominican Republic), Barbados International Billfish Tournament (March, Barbados), the Marlin Madness Game Fishing Tournament (April, Trinidad), Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament (May, Tobago), Saint Martin Billfish Tournament (June, Saint Martin), Caicos Classic (July, Turks & Caicos), Montego Bay International Marlin Tournament (September, Jamaica), and in October, the St. Lucia International Billfish Tournament, Presidential Aruba Caribbean Cup and Martinique Billfish Tournament. Bring your own boat or reserve a local charter boat for any of these events.

There are some excellent gamefish tournaments, too. These are especially great for visitors, including families and budget-conscious fishermen as it’s possible to rent a center console with or without captain for the day. Some of the most fun—and with awesome prizes—are the Bastille Day Kingfish Tournament in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. in July, the Tarpon Thunder Tournament in August in Trinidad, and the St. Maarten Wahoo Tournament in November

By Carol Bareuther, Southern Boating Magazine January 2017

Regattas for all seasons

Wind, warmth and wondrous line-of-sight navigation make the Caribbean one of the most spectacular places in the world to sail. As a result, nearly every island hosts a regatta. Each is held at a different time of year and boasts a different flavor and ways for competitors and spectators alike to have fun. For all those who “gotta regatta,” there’re plenty of Caribbean events to keep you busy all year long! Here’s a sampling of sailing events for 2016.

Trade the snow for sun and sea

January through April are the busiest months with 18 major regattas planned on more than a dozen islands. The Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) has worked with organizers to create a calendar through 2019 so that the dates don’t overlap in order to allow international teams to plan ahead. caribbean-sailing.com

“We’ve added three new events and very much want to invite all boats to take part,” says Alison Sly-Adams, CSA vice president from Antigua. The Antigua 360 is a one-day, round-the-island race on February 20th that helps crews train for the RORC Caribbean 600, which starts two days later. The Round the Island Race takes place on March 24th, the day before the St. Thomas International Regatta. Then the St. Barths to Antigua Race following Les Voiles de St. Barths departs on either April 18th or 19th and arrives in time for Antigua Sailing Week.

Summer fun

The pace of regattas slows down in the summer and takes on a more laid-back, family-oriented atmosphere. For example, there are two big youth events. First is the International Optimist Regatta in St. Thomas set for June 17-19. It welcomes nearly 100 youth sailors from the Caribbean, U.S. and Europe for keen competition and camaraderie preceded by a three-day clinic and one-day team race. Then, the Premiers Cup International Youth Regatta takes place in the British Virgin Islands July 16-17 and hosts nearly a dozen teams from throughout the region who camp out at Nanny Cay Marina and compete in modified one-design J/24s called IC24s. The Caribbean vibe is especially strong at the Carriacou Regatta scheduled for July 24th to August 1st. Sailors in modern boats as well as wooden workboats race. Shoreside festivities include greasy pole, egg and spoon, tug of war, and donkey races.

Fall for the sea

Late autumn regattas start up as hurricane season comes to an end. The Discover the Caribbean Regatta organized at the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club in Puerto Rico October 28-30 offers classes for everyone from dinghy to larger keelboat sailors along with nightly fiestas. The St. Croix International Regatta November 11-13 in the U.S.V.I. bills itself as a great way to tune up for the upcoming winter/spring racing season. The Mango Bowl Regatta held at the St. Lucia Yacht Club November 25-27 features a strong contingent of J/24 sailors as well as a pig roast on the beach.

 

By Carol Bareuther, Southern Boating Magazine January 2016

The Last Lightship

There has been a run of deadly accidents and weather events during regattas on all of the United States’ coasts and on the Great Lakes in the last few years, including Alabama’s tragic Dauphin Island Race this April 25th in which five sailors drowned. While these events tend to draw more coverage nationally, they are but larger scale examples of the daily occurrence of boating incidents documented by the U.S. Coast Guard. On the Gulf Coast the weather can be explosive as powerful squall lines erupt along cool fronts, and while these deadly “adventure” stories are interesting reads, they also serve as tools to remind all boaters of the potential hazards on the water.

In 1983, a squall line exploded over a fleet of racing sailboats and their experiences became another cautionary tale. Out of the 38 boats that started the 180nm New Orleans Lightship Race off the Mississippi coast with heavily overcast and threatening skies, only 6 would finish. Conditions worsened quickly throughout the race as the cold front approached from the north, and several boats had serious issues in the first few miles and didn’t make it past the mark at Ship Island Pass let alone into the open waters of the Gulf.

These were still the days of Gulf Coast sailing legends like Tommy Dreyfus and Buddy Friedrichs and where LORAN and dead reckoning were king. But even on many of these heavy displacement boats with winds reported from nearby offshore oil rigs approaching sustained 40 knots with gusts as high as 65 and seas over 15 feet, it was too much.

Topper Thompson was on board Slot Machine, a Lindenberg 30. He explains their grim experience and eventual forced removal from the regatta. “On top of the 12-foot seas, occasional monsters would come through and break on top. One wave broke and flipped us stern over bow. In the same motion, the rudder was broken off. The boat came up, rig intact, but no steerage. A sea anchor was deployed, but it did not bring the bow into the wind, said Thompson. “Slot Machine had no control and was broadside to the breaking waves. The crew got below deck, wedged themselves into place with sails, and tried to stow all potential projectiles. A Mayday was put out and the Coast Guard was contacted. In the middle of communication with the Coast Guard, the boat rolled again and this time the mast hit the bottom and communication with the Coast Guard ceased.”

Thompson and his crew eventually beached on Petit Bois Island and all were rescued, but not every boat was as fortunate with many sunk or dismasted. A 19-year-old Tulane student, Nelson Roltsch, was lost off a J/29 due to a rogue wave. He was never recovered.

The love of all forms and methods of boating is a very real passion, but so is the necessity of proper safety. Be safe out there, folks.

By Troy Gilbert, Southern Boating, November 2015

Exit mobile version