2015 St Maarten Heineken Regatta - Gunboat war
by Rachel Jaspersen on 7 Mar 2015
2015 St Maarten Heineken Regatta - Day 1 Richard & Rachel / Ocean Images
2015 St. Maarten Heineken Regatta - While extensive new modifications have transformed 15-year old Gunboat 62 Tribe into a modern rocket ship, her ultra-tall rotating mast and massive sails weren’t quite enough to overcome a near-perfect race from team Coco De Mer on the first day of the Heineken Regatta. The longer, heavier Coco crossed the finish line a few short minutes behind Tribe, winning on handicap rating by over 9 minutes.
Tactician Bob Gleason said the first beat was some of the most exciting racing of the day. 'Tribe was over the line early, but we gave a lot of that lead back with a tactical call,' he said. The two Gunboats traded leads for the first hour of the race, with the lighter Tribe overtaking Coco on the long reach around the top of the island. Coco would pounce just minutes after the turning mark at Tinte Marre. 'We noticed a spinnaker issues aboard Tribe and we saw our chance, sailing over them with our biggest kite,' said Gleason. Tribe would eventually get their massive sail under control after sacrificing all of their lead to the charging Coco. 'We thought we might have them after we crossed the line, but you never know until you get to the dock,' said Gleason. 'The crew was certainly psyched to put a bullet on the results sheet today, and we’re very excited to get it going tomorrow.'
Tribe may have come in second, but bowman and boat captain Spike Abram said the entire crew is overwhelmed by how fast their ‘new’ boat is. 'We were lit up like a Christmas tree today, just flying along and massively impressed with the new rig,' said Abram. Despite picking up two big lobster pots on their dagger boards, Tribe would hold their on-water lead to the finish, thought they fell short on handicap time. 'We easily left 15 or 20 minutes on the course today, but we’re happy with a second place,' said Abram. 'The boat is performing just awesomely, and we can’t wait to go and push ourselves and the fleet tomorrow.'
The more cruising oriented Tiger Lily focused on staying out of trouble while enjoying the sporty conditions, especially on the backside of the Island. 'The day delivered the breeziest conditions ever at a Heineken Gunboat Regatta,' said navigator Alden Sonnenfeldt. Crewmate and boat captain Neil Rock agreed wholeheartedly. 'We pushed it to the limit and Tiger Lily delivered the best natural high you could ever have,' he said.
2014 St. Maarten champ Elvis and sparkling new Gunboat 55 Toccata both battled with gear issues in the big air, with Elvis overcoming a torn mainsail and spinnaker during the two-and-a-half hour course. 'We were all tuned up and ready to go, but a hairy gybe in the pre-start led to a shredded main – not a great start to the day,' explained trimmer Sam Rogers, who said that was just the beginning. 'We lost our big kite on the downwind and went to the code zero sail, and at some point we lost a backstay and broke a batten as well,' he said. Rogers says the crew is hoping they ‘got all of our nightmares out of the way’, and they expect a much better showing on Saturday. 'Despite our breakdowns, it was just a beautiful day to be on the water' he said.
The bigger Gunboat 62 battled off a charging Toccata, whose crew worked non-stop to manhandle the exciting new boat to her first-ever race finish. 'It was a fantastic feeling to finally, after three weeks of getting here, race the boat as it was intended,' said co-owner Chris Groobey. 'We took it easy on the boat today, treating her gently – it seemed like the right thing to do.'
Tomorrow’s racing promises all-hands-on-deck short course action for the 5-boat Gunboat fleet, with more strong conditions forecast for Saturday’s two-race schedule.
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/132218