Former Paragon gets St Maarten's blessing

60ft tri to compete in three US offshore races this summer

Larus Roc St.Maarten, the 60ft trimaran once known as Paragon, left on its delivery trip to the USA where it will participate in three offshore races promoting the Franco-Dutch Caribbean island among participants and onlookers. The first race in June will be the 645 mile long Marion to Bermuda race. Then in July the trimaran will compete in the Marblehead to Halifax race followed by the Around Long Island Race.

Larus Roc St.Maarten had been decorated with the Island logo before it set off to its first stop, Bermuda after which it will go to Marion in the USA to prepare for the first race. The Marion to Bermuda race is sailed bi-annually and has over 150 participating boats.

In every marina the trimaran visits it will promote the Island of St.Maarten as a great tourist and sailing destination. To make the tour possible the Island Government of St.Maarten have given their full support. Some private businesses like Island Water World, Budget Marine, Island 92 and Food Express have also contributed greatly. Larus Roc St.Maarten's owner, heart surgeon Lars Svensson, is footing the remainder of the bill.

Consensus amongst the charter yacht crews is that St Maarten is a popular tourist destination for New Englanders. Long and cold winters and accessible flights make this a target worth pursuing.

There are not many big multihull sailing yachts in North America so it is very feasible that Larus Roc St.Maarten could break some race records. The media coverage provided by this, plus the graphic paint job on the side of the Trimaran will bring lots of interest and attention to the Island of St Maarten.

On Sunday morning the boat, with the delivery crew of skipper Ian Martin, Nigel Brennan and Marc Acton, set off at over 22 knots and is expected to reach Bermuda some time on Wednesday. Island 92 will keep the local audience informed about the progress and results of the races. The crew in return will give several radio interviews at the official radio stations of each respective regatta.

The basic crew of Ian, Nigel, Marc and the owner Lars will be expanded for each race by other persons from St.Maarten like Ivor Azzile, that has sailed with Ian many times before and Carl Vaughan the former owner of Synergy that raced a very successful Fastnet Race in 2003 with Ian Martin skippering the boat.