ARC Arrives - Caribbean Compass

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West Indies Events, anticipate the participation of up
to 30 vintage yachts, schooners, wooden boats, “spirit
of tradition” and other classics in this first edition.
On the Friday, the start will be out of St. George’s,
sailing along the Grand Anse Beach coastline and finishing
back in St. George’s. A lunch buffet and drinks
will be offered to all captains, crew, press and VIPs
compliments of Port Louis Grenada. An evening party
with a live band will be open to the public.
The Saturday will also see the start out of St.
George’s. The yachts will sail along the southern coast
to finish in St. David’s Harbour. A buffet will be offered
to participants, press and invited guests at the Water’s
Edge Restaurant, compliments of Bel Air Plantation. A
beach party for all, starting around 7:00PM with a live
band, is also scheduled.
On the Sunday the yachts will leave St. David’s
Harbour and sail back to St. George’s. An awards ceremony
and cocktail party will be held in the late afternoon
followed by the closing party at Port Louis Marina.
West Indies Events is pleased to announce that several
sponsors have confirmed their participation. Port
Louis Grenada and Bel Air Plantation have signed on
as Silver Sponsors. Additional sponsors include
Shipwrights Ltd. and the Maritime School of the West
Indies. Fred Thomas, well known in the Caribbean for
creating several regattas over the years, is the owner
of Shipwrights Ltd. and has partnered with West Indies
Events in the development and operation of the
Grenada Classic Regatta.
For more information visit www.ClassicRegatta.com.
28th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta
The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta 2008 takes place
from March 6th through 9th. This is the largest regatta
in the Caribbean.
The first race was in 1980 and 12 boats took part.
The rise of the bareboat altered the Caribbean racing
scene forever and the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta
led the charge — but it wasn’t without a fight. For the
first few years, the cruising and racing classes looked
down at the bareboats as a bit of a joke, until they
began to realize that not only were the latest bareboats
fast and highly competitive, they were sailed by
top class sailors who, aboard their own boats and in
their own countries, competed in some of the most
prestigious and arduous races around. Record numbers
of bareboats have entered the 2008 St. Maarten
Heineken Regatta, with one travel agency in Holland
sending more than 500 sailors to the event.
Last year, 165 boats forming 21 classes crossed the
start line. In 2007, the regatta added an extra day of
racing for spinnaker-class boats. Called the Budget
Marine Cup, it now makes the St. Marten Heineken
Regatta a four-day event. As many as six Gunboat
catamarans will inject a shot of adrenaline into the
multihull division of the 2008 Heineken Regatta.
For more information visit
www.heinekenregatta.com.
Puerto Rico’s Culebra Regattas
Carol Bareuther reports: Hot racing. cool parties,
and boatloads of island-style hospitality are what
sailors will enjoy at the 3rd Annual Culebra Heineken
International Regatta (CHIR) and Culebra
International Dinghy Regatta (CIDR). New this year,
West Marine has signed on as series sponsor.
The CHIR marks the second leg of the Caribbean
Ocean Racing Triangle, or CORT Series, which
begins in February with the St. Croix International
Regatta and concludes in April with the BVI Spring
Regatta in Tortola.
Last year, 74 boats with homeports ranging from the
Puerto Rican mainland and elsewhere in the
Caribbean to as far away as New England and
Germany competed, with 39 junior sailors racing in
the dinghy event.
Set for March 14th to 16th, the 2008 edition will once
again base out of the Costa Bonita Resort, where onshore
lodgings plus a regatta village with food booths
staffed by local restaurateurs await. “Courses will be a
mix of round-the-buoys and round-the-islands,” says
regatta director, Angel Ayala.
Classes of entry to the CHIR will include CSA Spinnaker
Racing, CSA Spinnaker Racer-Cruiser, CSA J/24, IC24,
CSA Performance Cruiser, CSA Jib & Main, Beach Cat
and native-built Chalanas. “We would be happy to
dual score IRC-rated yachts that request it, but they
must also have a CSA rating,” Ayala says.
Seven miles long by two miles wide — and located
17 miles east of the Puerto Rican mainland and 15
miles west of St. Thomas — Culebra is a sailor’s dream.
Only 2,000 people inhabit the island. There are no marinas,
nor is there overnight anchoring allowed in several
bays due to their protected wildlife refuge status. There
also aren’t any big chandleries, boatyards, or supermarkets.
Yet, it is the unspoiled beauty, easy access via
a short voyage from either Puerto Rico or the US Virgin
Islands, and just enough creature comforts to keep
boaters happy that makes Culebra an ideal cruising
destination both before and after the regatta.
For more information visit
www.culebrainternationalregatta.com.
Grenada’s Round the Island Easter Race
This year will see the relaunching of the Grenada
Round the Island Easter Race, with a new start and
finish at Le Phare Bleu Marina and Resort, Petit
Calivigny Bay, on the island’s south coast.
The Round The Island Race has a long history, with
the first race taking place in 1969. Over the years,
interest grew, but the organization ran out of steam in
1991. In 2003, The Grenada South Coast Yacht Club
was formed to breathe new life into the event, which
it has done with huge success for the last four years.
Now it’s time for a change again, with new organisers,
a new location and an impressive venue for the
associated festivities.
The organizers of the 2008 Round The Island Race will
be Swiss couple Jana Caniga and Dieter Burkhalter,
who are the owners and managers of Le Phare Bleu
Marina and, of course, enthusiastic sailors. The intention
with this year’s event is to go back to basics, concentrating
on the Round the Island Race itself. The
whole event will be a relaxed occasion, hopefully with
just the right amount of competitive spirit to make the
race attractive to sailors and spectators!
The event will be held over three days, commencing
on Good Friday, March 21st with registration, a
skippers’ briefing and a Welcome Party. Saturday will
see the main event, the Round The Island Easter
Race, with activities for children taking place closer to
shore while the serious sailors are racing. The race will
be followed by the prizegiving, a barbecue and live
music. Sunday will be the “wind-down” with a familyfriendly
Easter Brunch.
For more information visit
www.aroundgrenada.com.
Bequia Easter Regatta — Great in 2008!
The Bequia Sailing Club, organizers of Bequia’s everpopular
Easter Regatta, are looking forward to a
bumper turnout for three days of racing, from March
20th to 24th, with the prospect of very strong J/24 and
Racing Classes, great fun racing for cruisers and liveaboards
in Cruising II Class, and thrilling action from
the 30-plus local double-ender fleet.
For more information visit
www.begos.com/easterregatta.
—Continued on next page
DEAN BARNES
Competitive start at
the 2007 Culebra
Heineken
International Regatta
JANUARY 2008 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 43