Heineken Regatta set to begin!

The palm trees are hunched and the sea obscured by the furious wind and rain. Thankfully I’d declined to race Commodore’s Cup, and while my sympathies are with those sailors today, I hope the storm gives its’ all and doesn’t hold back – and has nothing left for the next three days!

The Heineken Regatta boasts it is “serious fun” – the place to be whether you are a hard core racer, non-spin cruiser, party boat, or anything in between. So I’ve decided to test the waters and experience all three, in my three days of racing here. And my lineup is incredible!

Friday I’ll race aboard FAT CAT, an 80-foot Morelli/Miller designed luxury catamaran, on the long (32-mile) race around the island. FAT CAT is owned by a very smiley man named John (Winter?), with the legendary T. Randy West as sailing master, and they warmly invited me aboard without any hesitation at last night’s Heineken Regatta ‘Welcome Sailors Party’ at St. Martin YC. Well that’s a welcome indeed!

Earlier in the week, as I was staring at the bulletin board trying to make sense of the teensy print of the scratch sheets (my reading glasses were still in my luggage) a lovely lady offered to help find what I was looking for. But I didn’t know what I was looking for, I explained, and once she grasped my challenge she – Lea deHaas – invited me to sail aboard SYNERGY.

Lea’s Frers 49 SYNERGY is a well-know boat down here: racing with an all-women crew (TEAM WAVE: Women Against Violence Everywhere) they have won their class in the Newport-Bermuda Race and are frequently found on the podium, collecting their share of silver ‘jewelry’ in races throughout the Caribbean. I am thrilled to be sailing with Lea and the gals (including Val Doan on the helm and Denise Holmberg as tactician) on Saturday’s (26-mile) race from Simpson Bay to Marigot (with a few offshore zigzags in between)!

Sunday, my new friends from TEAM LYNCH MOB say, I’m, ‘Saving the best for last ...’ In truth, I’m afraid these party pros from The Lynch Mob might destroy me: so indeed I saved NADARA - a cruising class 50’ Beneteau helmed by Eric Lynch – for the final day of racing; just in case I cannot get out of bed the following morning ...

Eric and crew found me at the YC last night and I received a raucous welcome. These kids were just warming up, I fear, but I’m looking forward to the short (16-mile) boomerang course from Marigot to Simpson Bay – where Wyclef Jean will be performing(!) at the party afterwards.

Check back for updates (if I’m conscious) and be sure to visit the Heineken Regatta website daily for news and results, images, and video

For now, I'm holed up in my enclave at the Blue Pelican (a lovely villa which is upscale, serene and walking distance to St Martin Yacht Club and Simpson Bay) watching for a break in the rain, so I can venture out to Hilma's Windsor Castle for some johnnycakes ...

-- Betsy Crowfoot, for SAILING magazine

Getting spanked at the pre-Heineken Regatta: and loving it

WHERE ELSE can you watch world class match racing (champions like Peter Holmberg and Gavin Brady!) while leaning on a patio bar at a yacht club, sipping a cold Heinie, beneath a balmy bluebird sky ... ?

Today’s Budget Marine Match Racing Regatta took place just off the St Martin Yacht Club, in ridiculously tetchy waters mined with mooring cans, kayakers, jet skies, and mega yachts queuing for the drawbridge that opens every other hour. Conditions made for great entertainment - and a few lessons, for spectators and participants alike!

For me, the thrill was watching the action up-close-and-personal on the press boat, with the infamous Bobbie G, Herb McCormick, Rob the video guy and Mario, ace driver. We zoomed around the ever-changing course (the wind shifty and temperamental) sometimes adding to the fray of obstacles – oops – admiring the strategy and skills of the sailors.

Racing teeny three-man Jeanneau SunFast 20s (they look like stubby toy boats, and organizers warned more than once “they sink very easily”!) they took deft handling and tactics to make the racing dynamic and fast-paced! Eight competitors from around the world did a single round robin, then went directly into the finals, with Colin Rathburn (BVI) and Simon Shaw (UK) duking it out for third and fourth (respectively).

No surprise: it was Peter Holmberg and Gavin Brady vying for top honors. Peter has won this regatta in each of its first two years; nearly succumbing to Gavin’s challenge last year. This year Gavin prevailed (read Herb’s play-by-play here) meaning BOTH of these pro sailors are sure to return next year, to grapple it out again.

But the star of the show for me was Erik van Poelgeest – aka Young Grasshopper. Just 23 years old, match racing for only two years, he put in a respectable performance, finishing sixth out of eight. His enthusiasm, even when he got hammered, was delightful, and I cheered loudly when he won his last race. It takes some cajones to come out and get spanked by the big boys, but Erik recognized the regatta as an unparalleled learning experience ... which was welcomed by Peter, Gavin, and the like. “It’s a great, casual event: I love it!” said a not-sounding-so-defeated Peter ... ‘Just more “serious fun” from the people at Heineken and St. Martin. Read more about it in my upcoming SAILING article.

Heading to the beach & signing off ~ Betsy Crowfoot, for SAILING magazine

PHOTOS: match racing right off the yacht club patio; the Rev Bobbie G at work; fustercluck at the ww mark