May 2009 - Caribbean Compass

— Continued from previous page
However, choppy seas and a sudden gust nearly
capsized his boat, requiring him to stop and bail,
allowing eight boats to overtake him. Undaunted,
Rhône proceeded to overtake boats one at a time,
placing fourth at the finish. This performance took
immense determination, and his success spurred
Rhône on to perform better in each successive race,
improving his overall placing.
The serious contenders were a young Lucian, Marcus
Sweeney, a member of the Red Fleet (13- to 15-yearolds),
and considered the local champion, and top
female junior, Stephanie Lovell, another Red Fleet
member. Marcus had two bullets and Stephanie one
bullet on the first afternoon. They were closely followed
by Thomas Meixner and Marc Spurway (both Red
Fleet), also tough competition for Rhône, who is still racing
as a Blue Feet competitor (11- and 12-year-olds).
The Sunday dawned with a strong-wind forecast.
Undaunted, Rhône was the first to be rigged and out
on the water to practice in the chop. At the starting
horn for the first race, Rhône flew across the line and
clearly stamped his name on the lead position. First to
the windward mark, first to the second mark, with the
distance increasing on each leg of the race between
Rhône and the flock of sails behind him, he won with
a lead of one minute 55 seconds.
However, the next three races had spectators on
the edges of their seats, as Rhône and Marcus fought
for position at every tack, with Marcus showing his
experience by winning each of the next two races. In
the fourth and final race at the final rounding of the
leeward buoy, Marcus was in the lead by half a boat
length but Rhône came up on the inside and powered
into and over every wave as he increased his
boat speed. Slowly his lead increased and the victory
was his. Two firsts, three seconds and two third places
sent Rhône to the podium only three points behind
Marcus, and nine points ahead of Stephanie’s
deserved third place.
Rob Hemming, the senior coach, videoed many
aspects of the races, and organized a final debriefing,
ensuring that every child benefited to the
maximum from their experience. The organizers then
distributed awards, prizes and keepsakes, promising
that the Mango Bowl 2010 will be a definite on next
year’s Caribbean Youth Racing programme. Roll on
2010, as we from Sint Maarten will be back — and
thank you again!
Captain Oliver’s Regatta, St. Martin’s Joy
The Joy of Living: That’s the theme for the 2009
Captain Oliver’s Regatta, with racing scheduled for
May 16th and 17th, on the island of St. Martin. Olivier
Lange opted for this theme to celebrate the fifth edition
of the regatta he initiated: “We all need some
joy, especially in these difficult economic times; and
the joy of living is a sentiment we can share with
friends!” he declared with gusto at a luncheon held
at his restaurant at Captain Oliver’s Resort in Oyster
Pond, where he launched this year’s regatta with
members of his organizational team. And since
there’s no point in replacing a winning team: Hervé
Harel, president of Captain Oliver’s Yacht Club,
remains as president of the regatta, and Stuart
Knaggs as race organizer.
Since 2005, the number of boats has increased
every year for Captain Oliver’s Regatta, and last year
40 sailboats competed.
Berths at the dock are free, three evening parties
are on the schedule beginning on Friday, May 15th,
and participants receive great prize packages.
The boats are divided into six categories: Monohulls,
Racing Monohulls, Multihulls, Beach Cats, Cool Class
and Corporate Challenge.
On May 16th, the boats will sail around St. Martin
counter-clockwise, starting from Captain Oliver’s
Marina. On the 17th, the competitors will battle on the
waters between Oyster Pond and Ile Fourche.
For more information visit www.coyc-sxm.com.
Florida-to-Cuba Race Hoped for in June
As Toni Whitt reported in the March 24th edition of
the Herald Tribune, now that President Barack Obama
has taken office in the USA, a group of sailing enthusiasts
is hoping to reopen routes from Florida to Cuba
through competitive sailing events. Jay Meyer, a
member of Sarasota Yacht Club’s sailing team, has
applied to the federal government for permission to
compete in a sailing regatta
off Cuba’s coast — something
he last did 15 years ago,
before the United States prohibited
virtually all travel to the
island nation. While travel to
Cuba is still heavily regulated,
Meyer, who is hoping the new
administration will allow him to
take as many as 100 boats
and their crews to Cuba for a
15-mile race this June, said he
sees an opportunity to bring
back “spirited competitions”.
The Obama administration
recently relaxed some travel
restrictions, allowing US-based
relatives to visit their family
members in Cuba once a
year, and expanding the definition
of family members to
include cousins, aunts and
uncles. Because the sailors
would not be visiting relatives,
they must apply for a specific
license from the Department
of Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control, which permits
travel for competitive events under strict guidelines.
Cuba’s sailing team and its Hemingway International
Yacht Club of Cuba prompted the request by inviting
the Sarasota Yacht Club to participate in an offshore
race near Havana, which would restore a 70-year-old
international sailing tradition.
Don Payzant, the fleet captain at SYC, said sailors
from Cuba and the west coast of Florida raced regularly
until Fidel Castro’s coup in 1959, with occasional
races in the ensuing years. Cindy Clifton, regatta
organizer for the SYC, said her husband has been to
Cuba for racing events a dozen times, making friends
there whom he has now not seen in years.
The Sarasota Sailing Squadron organized an 84-boat
race to Cuba in 1994. Clifton said the group organized
another regatta during President George W. Bush’s
first term in office, but their permits were rescinded
days before the race. “Nobody I know has sailed to
Cuba since 2002,” Clifton said.
Sailors formerly had little trouble going to Cuba so
long as they brought along their own provisions and
did not spend money in Cuba. But in February 2004,
as part of his Homeland Security initiatives, President
Bush signed a presidential proclamation declaring
that US boats could be boarded and seized if federal
agents believed the operators were going to Cuba,
citing the “terrorist threat” posed by that country.
“Clearly any [US citizen] at this point who wants to
travel to Cuba for any reason, wants to make sure
they get the appropriate permits to travel,” said
Lawrence Friedman, a partner in the Chicago-based
global trade law firm Barnes, Richardson & Colburn.
Friedman said it could be easier for the Sarasota sailors
to get permits to travel to Cuba under the current
administration given the changes already approved.
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“It’s not a slam dunk for them, but given the facts that
they are going through the process, it’s an organized
sporting event and they are being careful to avoid
contributing to the Cuban economy, there is a
chance,” Friedman said. “There is a history of making
exceptions for actual competitions and opening
trade through sports.”
Heineken Regatta Curaçao is Here to Stay
Bram Reukers reports: The Heineken Regatta
Curaçao — with the slogan “Real Different” — is here
to stay!
After a successful first edition of the Heineken
The city of Willemstad provides a remarkable venue
for the multi-faceted annual Heineken Curaçao
Regatta, including a unique urban starting line and
waterfront Regatta Village
Regatta Curaçao in November 2008, the contract
between the Curaçao Sailing Festival and Heineken
Curaçao has been extended for another ten years.
The regatta is a unique experience for both sailors
and the people of Curaçao. The former were challenged
with exciting starts and finishes in the
Annabaai (located in the heart of the city of
Willemstad) and raced on exciting courses all around
the island. The spectators can enjoy the event from
the UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Handelskade,
also where the Heineken Regatta Village is built.
The Heineken Curaçao regatta is real different in
another way. Almost anything that floats races in different
classes, including Sunfishes, fishing boats, microboats,
kitesurfers and waterskiers, with an amazing
lighted boat parade on the Saturday night. The
Heineken Regatta Village becomes a premium concert
area at night. Last year the people were entertained
with performances of Green Synergy winner DJ
Tico, Basic One and, as the main act on Sunday, the
“Queen of Soca” Alison Hinds, who made sure that
this great weekend ended in style.
We are already preparing for the second Heineken
Regatta Curaçao on November 6th, 7th and 8th,
2009. Curaçao Sailing Festival and Heineken would
love to welcome everyone to the beautiful island of
Curaçao to experience this spectacular weekend.
(We already contracted the international artist who
will perform on Sunday, November 8th!)
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MAY 2009 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 19