45th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta kicks off with over 100 boats registered

by St. Maarten Heineken Regatta 6 Mar 13:11 NZDT March 6-9, 2025

Over 100 boats have registered for the special 45th anniversary of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta! The Regatta Village at Port de Plaisance welcomed sailors from all around the world for registration day to get their goodies and Serious Fun vibes started for the 4-day weekend ahead.

Within the fleet are boats from 28 nations from around the world with strong presences from countries like Poland, Canada, Great Britain, USA, Netherlands, and homegrown St Maarten talent. There's also teams representing distinctive countries like Czechia, Ireland, Switzerland, and Australia.

The world-class race committee has formed 15 strong classes with some incredibly close match-ups and we're expecting thrilling and high-competition across the fleets. The 45th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta will be a year of friendly rivalries!

Among the highly anticipated match-ups are Sisi and Sailing Poland, two Volvo 65s going head to head in CSA1. Also in this class is a Volvo 70 Ocean Breeze and a lone V62 Leaps and Bounds 2. One of the Italian crew members Luca Lanzillo commented, "We've raced against Volvo's many times. If it's windy then they're going to win. In light wind, we are much faster than them. The forecast is good for us right now." The Regatta may experience some light winds over the course of the 4 days, forcing teams to adjust their strategies and will make for some interesting results.

CSA2 will see overall close competition, especially between CNB 76 Beautiful Day and Swan 76 LA LOEVIE. There will be a Class 40 showdown in CSA3 between the ocean racers, meanwhile highly-competitive Pata Negra will take on Antiguan boat Warthog, a Caribbean war horse out on the water. CSA4 will be a battle of the J-Boats as J121 Apollo, J121 Whistler, and J133 Bella J go head to head.

Many rivalries are amongst the teams including the ongoing friendly competition between Panacea X and Quintessence III. David Crum, skipper of Quintessence III shares, "We pick at each other all season long, on the water and online. We're tied up with AVANTI and Sassafras too and are already teasing each other." CSA5 will be filled with serious racing and plenty of "Serious Fun!" onshore.

A class of Melges 24 have earned themselves their own fleet and it will be a fierce battle between the veteran St. Maarten teams and newcomer Exodus from Puerto Rico. A dedicated fleet of St. Maarten Sunfast 20s will battle each other for island honors, and the Diam 24 fleet is filled with hyper-competition sailors from the Frenchside, Dutchside, St Barth, BVI, USA, and France. The competition at this year's Regatta will be nothing short of exciting!

Along with 4 days of world-class racing will be 4 nights of legendary "Serious Fun!" The Regatta Village at Port de Plaisance is FREE and open to the public every day starting at 2 PM. Sailors can relax in the Sailors Lounge after a big day of racing before nightly entertainment starts at 4 PM. Daily prize-giving will kick off at 6 PM before the party continues all night long.

Refreshments will be plenty available at a number of bars around the village for your drink of choice from options like Heineken and Veuve Clicquot. New for this year will be a water bottle refilling station by Exofor. The food court will be filled with local eateries including: Captain's Rib Shack, LUMA MEMENTO, C Delicacies Plus, Elden Cook, Sunbox, Mousse BBQ, Claquettes Chaussettes, Jamtillean On Wheels, Arena Base Cafe, and Domino's Pizza.

Local vendors and pop-up shops will be in abundance including Shipwreck Shops with commemorative Regatta memorabilia and Budget Marine with the Regatta's official technical gear by Gill. Also in the Village will be the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, SEIKO - the official Regatta timekeeper, WIB, Real Auto, St. Maarten Tourism, St. Martin Tourism, Vie L'Ven, FLOW, Das Cigar Lounge, and Island 92 Radio.

Tickets for the official GREEN ZONE after-parties can be purchased on the Regatta Experience Booking Site at: booking.heinekenregatta.com

The full schedule for racing, Regatta Village hours and entertainment, and after-parties can be found at: heinekenregatta.com/schedule

The 45th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is shaping up to be an anniversary to remember. We have lots in store for sailors, tourists, and locals including headliner The Wailers on Sunday night to make this a Regatta to remember. It all kicks off tomorrow - get ready for some #SeriousFun!

More information at www.heinekenregatta.com