Just
another day in paradise
More
blue sky, wind north east at 15 knots, warm water,
little white fluffy clouds, stinking hangover
from the previous night's ravin' on the Waterfront
at Marigot to Onyon and Holland's Intwine: It
must be St Maarten and it must be the 23rd Heineken
Regatta.
One
great thing about St Maarten's three day regatta
format is that you can just about - if you are
little younger than your reporter - race your
ears off all day and party all night for the whole
three days, and still be able to be poured aboard
the 'plane home on Monday. What you will be like
back at work on Wednesday, however, is anybody's
guess.
But
I suggest that, if you try it next year, and you
should, you should go into serious training. Your
musculature needs honing to the normally accepted
athletic standards for sailing, as the winds are
always moderate to fresh, but most of all, the
liver needs careful nurturing to the normally
accepted standards of the trainee dipsomaniac,
as the partying is always storm to hurricane force.
Of
course the bareboat classes, the major partying
classes, are given the longest recovery time each
morning, with Bareboat 1 starting after 10 am.
Today, like every other day, Bareboat 1 came to
the line with the enthusiasm of Labrador puppies
and about the same knowledge of the racing rules.
The classic barging start - from outside the Committee
boat on a reach - is apparently the generally
accepted form of start in Bareboat 1 and I have
to offer my sincere congratulations to Mr Jaap
Koomen for the best example of the genre that
I have ever seen. He came in at speed with his
crew yelling for the other boats to get out of
the way. And they did!
At
the end of the race Douggie Brookes slotted in
another win with Island Flyer which gives him
two wins and a 2nd - and the coveted overall prize.
Our friends in Heart for Kids dropped back from
the dizzy heights of a 13th yesterday to their
regular 17th - they did that Friday too. But despite
their position, they were still happily raising
money for the local hospital and anyone who wants
to contribute can email them at heartforkids2003@hotmail.com
Pin
end starts were the order of the day as for a
change the committee had biased the line that
way, and a good example came from Coor van Aanholt
at the helm of the Melges 24 Slam in Spinnaker
5. Slam crossed the fleet and ran away into the
distance, winning by almost 12 minutes. She won
by over 11 minutes on corrected time from Jamie
Dobbs' Lost Horizon and trousered the class overall.
Another
port tack starter was Claude Thelier in the pocket
rocket in Multihull 1, the CDK28 catamaran An
Nou Ay. They crossed the fleet with masses of
room - even with PlayStation coming down the line
on starboard at speed. The Newick 36 Tryst was
overtaken to leeward by PlayStation, and for a
moment it looked as though Steve Fossett was playing
with a little red bath toy alongside his big cat.
Bharlin
Blue has been having a good regatta and today
put the icing on the cake with a charging start
and an even better win. That put her on top of
Spinnaker 2 overall too by just one point from
Alex Thomson at the helm of Formula 1 Sailing's
Spirit of Juno. Early class leader, Justin Heap's
Tazani, had to count a retirement yesterday afternoon,
which ruined her chances overall, despite a 2nd
today.
Throughout
the week the Turner 56 Entrada, sailed by John
Thompson from Canage has been attracting attention,
if only for the fact that they seem to sail with
just four crew - unless there's a crowd below
that come on deck when they are out of sight of
the press. Racing in Non-Spinnaker class 1, Entrada
has had a bit of an up and down regatta in terms
of results, but won on the first and last days,
though their poor mid day result gave them only
3rd overall.
Local
wonderboat Synergy, a Frers 49 resurrected from
a hurricane wreck by Carl Vaughan at his St Maarten
Shipyard, sneaked in another win in Spinnaker
3, giving them a 1, 2, 1, 1, series and, unsurprisingly
the overall title. Pity poor Peter von Danzig,
she recorded an OCS on the first race yesterday,
dropping them to 6th overall when they might have
recorded 2nd. The French Open 50 ketch from Martinique,
Florys, under the command of Luc Coquelin, is
not entirely suited to this round the buoys racing,
she looked as though she was always about to fall
over every time she essayed a windward leg, but
put together a reasonable series to finish 5th
overall.
Richard
Matthews must leapt out of bed with a light heart
this morning, thinking that he was only a race
away from a class win in his 50 footer Flirt.
But as is always the case in sailing, it ain't
over 'till the fat lady sings and this time the
song she sung was for Graham Smith's Vellamo 2.
Vellamo 2, a Swan 56, held out Carlo Falcone's
Caccia Alla Volpe, Jean-Marie Vidal's IMX 40 Near
Miss and Flirt today, dropping the British boat
to 2nd overall, two points behind Vellamo 2 and
two ahead of Caccia.
A
slightly more convincing win was in Spinnaker
6, where Tony Maidment's Dehler 34 Tango Mike
posted another win to add to her tally of three,
a clean sheet marred only by a 2nd on the first
day. Interestingly, Tony is a CSA measurer and
measurers always have an eye for a fast sailing
and faster rating boat; the Dehler is clearly
that. Visitor ARC-Belgium, Diederik Demesel led
Tango Mike home on the water, but slipped to 2nd
by 2 minutes, though held on to 2nd overall by
just a point from Phillipe Herve's Beneteau 30
Vanille.
Yesterday,
we reported a protest between two top boats in
Bareboat 2, Kipling and Brinks Movin' Money, a
protest that resulted in a slightly less than
happy Kipling adding a DSQ to their tally. Today,
still spitting tacks in all directions, they won
their class by three minutes on the water and
by almost six on corrected time, a result that
availed them little overall.
Mark
Duranty has been conducting the Beneteau 460 Carnival
around the course to great effect, getting a five
minute win today in Bareboat 3, a win that almost
but not quite got them the overall prize in the
Bareboat class. This prize, on cumulative corrected
time, went to Jan Soderberg in Lofoten 1 from
Bareboat 4, but interestingly, all three of the
top boats were sailed by sailors from the USA,
despite being outnumbered to a vest scale by the
Dutch.
International
relations between Antigua and St Maarten might
plunge to almost USA/Iraq levels in the near future
thanks to Hugh Bailey winning the battle of the
marina owners between himself and Bobby Velasquez.
Bobby, from St Maarten, won today in L'Esperance,
with Hugh 2nd ahead of his Antigua playmate Bernie
Evan-Wong in Huey Too, but Hugh's previous wins
gave him the overall win. Bobby shouldn't be too
upset though, his new boat seems to be going well
and his skills, and those of his crew, seem to
be getting better too. Just don't wait until the
first day of the regatta in 2003 to go sailing
for the next time Bobby.
As
just one final footnote to the regatta, Steve
Fossett agreed to have an attempt on a proper
round the island record after today's racing.
A special line was set up as a transit due south
from Pelican Rock, on the east side of Great Bay.
PlayStation wound up for the run after lunch and
shot off into the distance. Two hours, 4 minutes
and 36 seconds later she crossed the line again,
not quite breaking the two hour barrier thanks
to the dying wind down the east coast. It's there
for the taking if anyone else fancies a go.
So
to the finale of the regatta, the prize giving
and tonight's party, is all that remains before
some 2,000 and more sailors, and hundreds more
friends and family, go back to their normal lives,
left with just a glowing memory of a great regatta
sailed in a fine spirit - and an even finer beer.
Tonight's
headline band is Carlos Santana's backing band,
Puro Bandido, keenly awaited by just about the
whole Island population it seems. The venue is
the new cruise ship pier at the eastern end of
Great Bay. There are still thousands of cans of
Heineken waiting to be consumed and just as many
tall tales to be told before the curtain finally
comes down on a great regatta.
See
you next year?
You
betcha!
Free of rights pictures will be sent as soon as
they are to hand, for special requests, please
email dick@airwavestv.com
Results Sunday's racing Provisional
Multihull
1
1,
An Nou Ay, Claude Thelier GDP
2, Triple Jack, Richard Wooldridge, TOR
3, Charis +, llwellyn Westerman, SCX
Spinnaker
1
1,
Sotto Voce II, Arien van Vemde, SXM
2, Chippewa, Clay Deutsch, USA
3, Mischevous, Trey Fitzgibbons, USA
Spinnaker
2
1,
Bharlin Blue, Kees Jan Kuyt, NED
2, Tazani, Justin Heap, GBR
3, www.dutchsailingteam.com, Denise Caffari, GBR
Spinnaker
3
1,
Synergy, Carl Vaughan, SXM
2, Peter von Danzig, Joachim Muller-Deile, GER
3, Igoodia, Milt Baehr, USA
Spinnaker
4
1,
Vellamo 2, Graham Smith, USA
2, Caccia alla Volpe, Carlo Falcone, ANT
3, Near Miss, Jean-Marie Vidal, FRA
Spinnaker
5
1,
Slam, David de Vries, SXM
2, Lost Horizon II, James Dobbs, USV
3, Wild at Heart, Heiko Godel, GER
Spinnaker
6
1,
Tango Mike, Tony Maidment, ANT
2, ARC-Belgium, Diederik, BEL
3, J Doe, Cynthia Ross, USA
Non
Spinnaker 1
1,
Entrada, John Thompson, CAN
2, Island Water World Express, Ina Martin, SXM
3, Perseverance II, Tom Puett, USA
Non
Spinnaker 2
1,
L'Esperance, Bobby Velasquez, SXM
2, Hugo, Hugh Bailey, ANT
3, Huey Too, Bernie Evan-Wong, ANT
Bareboat
1
1,
Island Flyer, Douggie Brookes, SXM
2, The Arawaks, Michel Schaymaker, NED
3, Gamepoint, Frank van Kempen, NED
Bareboat
2
1,
Kipling, Walter Freyne, BEL
2, Panorama Golf, Lex van der Velde, ESP
3, Brinks Movin' Money, Joop van Werkhoven, NED
Bareboat
3
1,
Carnival, Mark Duranty, USA
2, Inn Harmony, Henrik van der Lip, USA
3, De Heeren II, D. van der Pluym, NED
Bareboat
4
1,
Lofoten 1, Jan Soderberg, USA
2, Noname, Jan Arts, NED
3, Dulon, Gerard Loos, NED
Bareboat
5
1,
Prebon Yamane 1, Patrick Clous, NED
2, Apalachicola, Douwe Remery, NED
3, Mapa, Leo Ligthart, SXM
Open
Class
1,
Tamaya, Franck Berger, STM
2, Blue Spirit, Cameron Ricks, SXM
3, Dnjepr, Jan Harkes, NED
Multihull
2
1,
Calabra, Maurice Flowers, IRL
2, Valpar, Jean Laval, GDP
3, Palm Palm, Jean-Francois Monnier, STM
Series
results
Multihull
1
1,
An Nou Ay, Claude Thelier, GDP
2, Triple Jack, Richard Wooldridge, TOR
3, Charis +, Llewllyn Westerman, SXC
Spinnaker
1
1,
Sotto Voce II, Arien van Vemde, SXM
2, Chippewa, Clay Deutsch, USA
3, Mischevous, Trey Fitzgibbons, USA
Spinnaker
2
1,
Bharlin Blue, Kees Jan Kuyt, NED
2, Spirit of Juno, Alex Thomson, GBR
3, Tazani, Justin Heap, USA
Spinnaker
3
1,
Synergy, Carl Vaughan, SXM
2, Igoodia, Milt Baehr, USA
3, L'Escape, Sigbjorn Mansaker, GBR
Spinnaker
4
1,
Vellamo 2, Graham Smith, USA
2, Flirt, Richard Matthews, GBR
3, Caccia alla Volpe, Carlo Falcone, ANT
Spinnaker
5
1,
Slam, David de Vries, SXM
2, Lost Horizon II, James Dobbs, USV
3, 2 Contact Carib 2, Frits Bus, SXM
Spinnaker
6
1,
Tango Mike, Tony Maidment, ANT
2, ARC-Belgium, Diederik Demesel, BEL
3, Vanille, Phillipe Herve, FRA
Non
Spinnaker 1
1,
Island Water World Express, Ian Martin, SXM
2, Yocahu, Jeffery Rose, USA
3, Entrada, John Thompson, CAN
Non Spinnaker 2
1,
Hugo, Hugh Bailey, ANT
2, L'Esperance, Bobby Velasquez, SXM
3, Huey Too, Bernie Evan-Wong, ANT
Bareboat
classes overall
1,
Lofoten 1, Jan Soderberg, USA
2, Carnival, Mark Duranty, USA
3, Inn Harmony, Henerik van der Lip, USA
Bareboat
1
1, Island Flyer, Douggie Brookes, SXM
2, Gamepoint, Frank van Kempen, NED
3, The Arawaks, Michel Schaymaker, NED
Bareboat
2
1,
Brinks Movin' Money, Joop Werkhoven, NED
2, Panorama Golf, Lex van der Velde, NED
3, Mill. Sail Team Roden, Bert Oosterling, NED
Bareboat
3
1,
Carnival, Mark Duranty, USA
2, Inn Harmony, Henrik van der Lip, NED
3, Novair, Eric Goedel, NED
Bareboat 4,
1,
Lofoten 1, Jan Soderberg, USA
2, Dulon, Gerard Loos, NED
3, Noname, Jan Arts, NED
Bareboat
5,
1,
Apalachicola, Douwe Remery, NED
2, Zeilen, Jan Mulder, NED
3, Mapa, Leo Ligthart, SXM
Open
1,
Tamaya, Franck Berger, STM
2, Little Wing, Luc Godefroy, STM
3, Zeebra, V J Donraadt, NED
Multihull
2
1,
Calabra, Maurice Flowers, IRL
2, Palm Palm, Jean-Francois Monnier, STM
3, Valpar, Jean Laval, GDP
Spirit
and Style Award
Heart
for Kids, Jeroen Meyerling, NED (For raising money
for St Maarten
Hospital)
Most
Worthy Performance Overall
Lofoten
1, Jan Soderberg, USA
