Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - May/June 2022

— Continued from previous page
A World Cruising Club team will be in St. Maarten, Bermuda, the Azores and Portugal,
helping participants make the most of their time there with parties and tours, advice
and support. Some 30 boats are entered as this issue of Compass goes to press.
Visit www.worldcruising.com for more information.
Attention Distance Race Competitors!
Steven Kern reports: For those who enjoyed the 2021 Windward 500, we welcome
you and others to the 2022 Windward 500 scheduled to start on May 16th.
The organizing authority, the Caribbean Ocean Racing Club (CORC), is
encouraged by the number of regattas that have run so far this season, despite the
lingering challenges of the pandemic. The Mango Bowl in St. Lucia kicked off the
racing season in November 2021, and in St. Maarten recently we were pleased to
see Mango Bowl T-shirts on competitors from Martinique. The Mount Gay Round
Barbados Sail Week in January saw an inclusive mix of dinghy and kite classes,
coastal keelboat racing, and the Round the Island Race. Grenada hosted a special
during the challenging times of the pandemic. The all-virtual race committee, jury,
skippers’ briefing, and prizegiving worked well for the race format. Racing through
waypoint gates and Yellowbrick’s capture of finishes through geofences with autofeed
to YachtScoring.com was unique. The windward beat from Martinique to
Barbados is challenging. The sleigh ride that follows — from Barbados down to
Grenada — and the picturesque reach up the Windwards to Diamond Rock,
Martinique, are exhilarating and rewarding.
But what’s next from the Caribbean Ocean Racing Club?
CORC intends to host the 2022 Windward 500 Series, and we have variants that we
want to put effort behind this year as well. We see the Windward 500 Series, which
includes two shorter-distance races designed as qualifying event opportunities for
those that want to take on the RORC Caribbean 600 or Storm TriSail’s 800-nauticalmile
Pineapple Cup. Many Caribbean regattas host round the island races, but
these are often 45 to 65 nautical mile races in daylight. Our Caribbean racers need
more than overnight passage delivery experience. They need races designed to
develop navigational, tactical, and boat handling skills and the stamina required in
distance racing.
This year, we will focus on the Windward-Zero and Windward-Sprint courses. The
Zero offers young double-handed and fully crewed racers a safe sailing ground to
develop their distance racing skills. It is an approximate 360-nautical-mile loop
between Point Saline, Grenada, in the south, Bequia, Fort Rodney, St. Lucia, and
Diamond Rock, Martinique, in the north and back. Like the Windward 500,
Windward-Zero racers can pick their start/finish island from the four listed. By safely
and competitively completing the course, racers will build sailing resumes to meet
the entry requirements for longer races.
The Windward-Sprint Course is a 300-nautical-mile race encompassing Barbados, Sail
Rock in the Grenadines, and Bequia. For cruisers and racers in the Grenadines looking
to stretch their sea legs, this race offers a big Windward-Leeward Race with up to two
nights of racing. CORC is willing to run the race in two separate legs for those starting
in Barbados. The race’s first leg would deliver cruisers and races from Barbados,
around Sail Rock, and into Bequia. They can then join the Windward-Zero and later
race the second half of their Windward-Sprint from Bequia back to Barbados.
For the experienced racer, the Windward-500 still presents the best run, reach and
beat in the Windward Islands. We continue to work closely with the Caribbean
Sailing Association to develop these unique qualifying distance races, so feel free to
offer us your input.
Contact us or register to race at CaribbeanORC@Gmail.com.
MAY/JUNE 2022 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 14
round the island race. Then it was off to the big leagues, the 2022 RORC Caribbean
600 and the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, and at each event, the organizers of
the Windward 500 Series conversed with race officers, competitors, event organizers,
class associations, yacht club and sail training officers, and members of the sailing
development committee and board of the Caribbean Sailing Association.
The input was consistent: It was great to see the Windward 500 come to life in 2021
2023 Superyacht Challenge Antigua
The Notice of Race for the 2023 Superyacht Challenge Antigua (SYCA) has been
issued and SYCA 2023 is scheduled to take place March 6th through 12th. The
Superyacht Challenge Antigua has one clear objective: to provide all the facilities
to stage an ideal event for an exclusive selection of superyachts, where fair racing
and good companionship are valued above all else.
The regatta includes an optional race around the island of Antigua, the record for
which was set at last year’s SYCA by the 218-foot ketch Hetairos at 3 hours 46
minutes and 8 seconds. A yacht that breaks the record will be awarded the
skipper’s weight in rum!
The 2023 Notice of Race and entry forms can be downloaded
at http://superyachtchallengeantigua.com/2023-race-documents.