35th St.Maarten Heineken Regatta - Day 1
by Louay Habib 6 Mar 2015 23:43 PST
5-8 March 2015
Racing takes off!
The St.Maarten Heineken Regatta got underway today with 188 yachts entered for the three day extravaganza separated into 18 different classes. The huge fleet was a magnificent sight and very likely to be the biggest gathering of racing yachts in the Caribbean this season. Sailors from all over the world come to the St.Maarten Heineken Regatta for competitive racing, and today they were not disappointed. Strong trade winds, gusting up to 25 knots, with brilliant sunshine served up spectacular conditions. Close to 2000 sailors enjoyed a long first day of amazing racing at the St.Maarten Heineken Regatta. The vast majority of the fleet sailed a 30 mile course around St.Maarten and as an appealing change, the fleet raced anti-clockwise, starting upwind from Simpson Bay.
Phaedo3 Blasts Around St.Maarten
Lloyd Thornburg's ballistic MOD 70 trimaran, Phaedo3 set a record for the new around St.Maarten anti-clockwise course, which included Tintamarre and Blowing Rock. Blasting around St.Maarten in 2 hours 7 minutes and 24 seconds, Phaedo3 averaged 20.7 knots on the 35-mile course, hitting an incredible top speed of 36 knots. At Tintamarre Phaedo3 was smashing through the waves, leaping like a marlin - an incredible sight!
"For sure we can go quicker, fast is fun!" commented Phaedo3 navigator, Miles Seddon, taking a break from his role as performance analyst for Team SCA in the Volvo Ocean Race. "There were a lot of yachts coming to take a look at 'the beast' at the start and there was a lot of traffic to get through, especially in Simpson Bay, with the bareboat fleet all around us. Once we had come around to the windward side of St.Maarten, we were on our own, pounding into the big sea state at 20 knots. It was a big bare away at Tintamarre, we touched 30 knots and trimmer Pete Cumming, was down to leeward easing the head sail, literally underwater getting fire-hosed. Pete was in full wet weather gear but we joked that he really needed a snorkel!"
"We blew out a clew fitting after the big gybe but slick crew work had us back in the groove and the reach across to Basse Terre produced our top boat speed of 36 knots. It sounds crazy but at 30 knots of boat speed, things are calm on board, but at 36 knots, the noises coming from the boat become a little more alarming, the winches, the sails and the rig are literally screaming under the loads."
Gunboat Gunfight
The Gunboat posse composing five hi-tech catamarans, capable of speeds exceeding 20 knots, were an extraordinary sight. At the start, Gunboat 66 Coco de Mer, skippered by Angus Ball, won the pin end in some style and ventured far into Simpson Bay to get a massive lift off the hills beyond, to take the lead. After over three hours of racing, Gunboat 62 Tribe, skippered by Spike Abram with A-Cat World Champion Mischa Heemskerk on board, took line honours in an elapsed time of 3 hours 9 minutes 11 seconds. However after time correction, Coco de Mer was declared the winner by just over 5 minutes from Tribe. Michael Sonnenfeldt's Gunboat 66, Tiger Lilly was third.
Monster Project and Spirit in the Chocolates
In CSA 1, Volvo 70 Monster Project, skippered by Andy Budgen was the first monohull to finish the course. Scorching around in just under three hours to take both line honours and the win on corrected time in CSA 1. Doug Baker's SoCal team racing Kernan 47, True was second with Bajan TP52, Conviction, skippered by Clint Brooks in third.
CSA 3 was won by Swan 65, Spirit owned by British skipper Alan Edwards but the smallest boat in the class IMX 45, Team Maline, skippered by Børre Søraas Sæther performed well to take fourth against some heavy weight opposition. Gijs van Liebergen's Dutch King's Legend and Alan Edwards British entry, Spirit literally dwarf Team Maline. The Scandinavian team are here for some fun and some serious racing. "Team Maline crew is from Norway and Sweden." commented Børre Søraas Sæther. "Most of our friends are at home skiing right now but we are very happy to enjoy the sunshine in St.Maarten. Today we are super happy because, we could have done with more kilos on the rail, especially upwind against the big Swans in our class. So we are delighted to have done so well, it was a long hard race but very satisfying and we are so looking forward to a hot shower and a few cold beers tonight before getting back into racing tomorrow."
Racing at the 35th St.Maarten Heineken Regatta continues tomorrow with races scheduled to start for all classes at 955 local time (GMT-4).
St.Maarten Heineken Regatta
For 35 years, the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta has showcased the top boats and sailing-and has become equally famous for its world-class slate of parties and musical entertainment-in the Caribbean. Now recognized by sailors around the planet as one of the sailing world's best regattas, each year the event lives up to its worthy motto: Serious Fun.
For full information on the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, including results, photos, videos, party and band information, and much, much more, visit www.heinekenregatta.com.
It's a 'Coco Crush' Around St. Maarten (from Richard & Rachel, Ocean Images)
Coco De Mer Wins Big On Day One Of 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 daggerboards, 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 2-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. Check out Gunboat's Facebook Page for beautiful imagery of today's racing, as well as written and video updates from the course, and HD video highlights.