ENJOY A FRONT ROW SEAT and secondhand adrenaline rush by celebrating with the teams as they finish the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) Transatlantic Race this month at the Camper and Nicholsons’ Port Louis Marina in St. Georges, Grenada. Originally slated to finish at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in the B.V.I. but rerouted due to hurricane damage in the northern Caribbean, the RORC Transatlantic Race is now the longest in the Club’s offshore calendar.
Crews, veteran professionals and also first-time Corinthians depart on November 25th from Marina Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and are expected to arrive in Grenada starting around December 9th. The 20-plus yacht fleet spans from big yachts like the Finot 100 Nomad IV; Volvo 70 Monster Projects; and Whitbread 60 Challenger, to the Sun Fast 3600 Redshift Reloaded. In Grenada, the 170-slip Port Louis will be the dockage headquarters for the teams as well as the site of the regatta’s awards ceremony.
Whether you’re there to meet and greet the race teams or simply cruising the southern Caribbean, be sure to check out the Parang Festival on Grenada’s sister island of Carriacou, which starts on December 16th. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy the run-up to the holidays with music, parades, and feasting. Carriacou, 30 nautical miles north of Grenada, is a great launching-off point to the northern Caribbean, where many of the RORC Transatlantic sailors will also travel to race in the region’s spring regattas.
By Carol Bareuther Southern Boating, December 2017
Photos: Hank George and Claueren Morel