Ready to rock

Ideal sailing conditions await record fleet for the 28th St Maarten Heineken Regatta

The race committee, event organizers and islanders - as well as the dozens and dozens of volunteers who help pull it all together - are ready. The party venues are set, the tents have been erected, and the musicians are tuning up. The icy green bottles of Heineken are waiting in the coolers, and folks are getting thirsty. There’s only one thing left to do.

Go sailing.

The 28th edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is about to commence, with a record-setting fleet of 281 boats registered to compete. The wind gods, it appears, are smiling on the racers, with ideal Caribbean sailing conditions - ENE tradewinds hovering in the mid-20-knot range - forecast for the opening days of the event.

“It’s great to have a record number, it shows we’re doing something right,” said Robbie Ferron, the Chairman of the regatta’s Steering Committee. “But our emphasis has never been about getting bigger, only better. And I like to think we’re doing that as well.”

For the second straight year, the action will commence on Thursday as seven classes of flat-out, spinnaker-flying race boats gather on the racecourse for the Budget Marine Commodore’s Cup. 58 yachts have registered for the Commodore’s Cup, a three-race series that is scored separately than the main event. The three-day St. Maarten Heineken Regatta then begins on Friday, March 7.

Today, a number of boats took advantage of the clear skies, bright sunshine and brisk breeze to hoist sail and continue preparations. A pair of boats in the spinnaker racing classes - the Swan 70 Blue Pearl and the Ker 11.3 Minnie the Moocher - sailed several long tacks to windward before hoisting kites and practicing jibes. One of the five Gunboats set to race in their own separate division - the 62 footer Looking for Elvis - spent much of the afternoon working on upwind technique. Meanwhile, the crew of the CM 60 Venomous bent on a new carbon-fiber mainsail.

But, perhaps fittingly, the team on one of the 128 bareboat charter yachts in the fleet - a Beneteau Cyclades 43 Premier Grand Cru - took a decidedly different tack. With her crew soaking up the sun, downing a few cold beers, and tending to the fishing line off the stern, the boat reached lazily back and forth off Simpson Bay.

“It’s pretty incredible, but we have three classes of bareboats that will be sailing one-design,” said Ferron, referring to the Moorings 515 (Bareboat 2), Oceanis 473 (Bareboat 3) and Cyclades 43 (Bareboat 4) classes. “We’ve always had to add boats to solve the ratings puzzle, but this year the puzzle fits.”

On the Grand Prix level, the fleet boasts two canting-keel rockets that should relish the fresh conditions. The Cookson 50 Privateer is one of the boats to watch in the Spinnaker 1 class. In Spinnaker 2, so is the other canting-keel entrant, the Baltic 78, Rusalka. “There are sailors who feel the CSA Rule (the rating rule under which the Heineken Regatta is contested) has handled the canting-keel boats better than IRC,” said Ferron. “It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”

The big boats aren’t the only ones that sail fast and well in steady pressure. Ferron reckons the Anteros 36, Easy, in Spinnaker 3; the Open 7.50 Panic Attack also in Spinnaker 3; and the 6-Metre Biwi Magic, in Spinnaker 7, all have a chance to shine if the breeze holds. And Spinnaker 4 is shaping up to be an exceptionally tight division, with seven Beneteau 40.7s and three A 40s vying for top honors. But they’ll have to hold off the charge of a trio of J/Boats, the J/122 Lost Horizon from Antigua; and a pair of J/120s, El Ocaso and Paulista.

“And don’t forget the multihulls,” said Ferron, pointing out one of the fastest-growing Heineken classes. In addition to the Gunboats, there are three multihull classes, with 12 entrants in the Racing class, another 10 in the cruising class, and five more beach cats.

“Especially on the racing side, there are some really different boats,” Ferron said. “On one hand you have the all-carbon SeaCart 30 True Look and on the other you have the Dick Newick trimaran Tryst which may be the oldest boat in the fleet to race continuously, for so many years, at such a high level.” Ferron smiled at the comparison: “So right there you an example of the latest in high-tech materials alongside a vintage example of Caribbean plywood technology.”

While the trophies and silverware go to the winners, not everyone, of course, takes home a top prize. “I would say that’s the essence of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta,” laughed Ferron. “The competition at the top end is fantastic, as good as it gets. But as it turns out, even losing is always an enjoyable experience!”

And those experiences, from the triumphant to the laughable, are about to begin.