On a weekend when sailing conditions could not have been better 18 boats from St. Maarten, St. Bart’s and Anguilla took part in the 10th Annual Anguilla Regatta sponsored by the Anguilla Tourist Board and for the first time, Amcon Limited. Team Island Water World, a Melges 24 skippered by Frits Bus came away with the top honors yet again but it was not easy and with a strengthened Racing Class they were made to work for their champagne this year.
If there’s one thing the Anguilla Regatta is famous for, its perfect sailing conditions and this year’s regatta was no exception. With clear skies and winds ranging from 10 to17 kts for all three days of the regatta, the racing was spectacular for all boats entered in the spinnaker, non-spinnaker and multi-hull classes.
In a change of format the Friday race started in Simpson Bay in St. Maarten making a beautiful three hour race down the St. Maarten coast, up into the Marigot harbor, down the channel, up the Anguilla coast and a finish in Road Bay for the racing class. After a very slow start the crew of Kick em Jenny 2, a Melges 32, managed to make up time on the always consistent Island Water World down the channel as they alternated between blazing speeds and spectacular broaches. But although they crossed the line first it was not enough and in the end the smaller, lower rated Melges’ and the well sailed J109 Albacor IV took the top honors.
Saturday’s windward/leeward courses were held between the mouth of Road Bay Harbour and Sandy Island. With four races completed for the Spinnaker Class that day, spectators and competitors both enjoyed some terrific sailing. The first race saw a rare port start by Island Water World which resulted in a number of close calls with Kick em Jenny and Wild Devil and perhaps led to their worst result of the day, a third place finish. But the speedy Melges was not to be denied for the rest of the races and took bullets for the next three races with AMCON, the other Melges 24 and Kick em Jenny alternating between seconds and thirds. Wild Devil had four local lads from the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club on board but even the local knowledge could not help and they could manage no better than fourth in the third race with Albacore ending with three 4th place finishes and a 5th.
The Sunday race saw all the boats go up to Crocus Bay, out to a mark off of Prickly Pear, down to Meads Bay and finish back in Road Harbour. They were all bunched close together when the lulls caught them as they made their way up the coast from Road bay to Crocus but by the time they rounded the mark Kick em Jenny was leading the pack by a considerable margin followed by Albacor and the two Melges. In the end Kick em Jenny again crossed the line first, a full six minutes ahead of the closest competitor but again it was not enough and on corrected time Albacor took the honors followed by Island water World and Amcon.
There were nine boats in the Non-spinnaker class and Bobby Velasquez’s Beneteau 45 L’Esperance took the overall honors for the weekend. However they were pushed hard by Garth Steyn on the St. Maarten Sailing School, a Beneteau 36. In fact the first race of the Saturday racing saw a very unusual tie between the two boats and they had to split the first place honors. The 60 foot yacht Nix also managed two first place finishes but with two 6th places finishes to go along with them they ended up in third spot on the podium. Colin Percy’s Nonsuch, Antares finished fourth in the class which was a very good result for a boat with only one sail. In an unusual turn of events Gary Brown, the popular radio and print personality, was actually in the race in his boat G-String rather than covering the event. He remarked that this was his best regatta ever and vowed to come back as a competitor next year again. The local favorite Charm III with seven Anguillian youth sailors on board took the sixth spot despite not racing in the first race and the Sunday race even saw the entry of Tradition, the newly restored cariacou Sloop owned by Laurie Gumbs.
In the Multi-hull Class, Erick Clement’s Dauphin Telecom proved to be both the fastest boat around the courses and the winner of the class. Petro Jonker’s Quality Time was a worthy competitor and had four second place finishes. Carib Cat and Guimamalou rounded out the class and despite a few course interpretation problems had a wonderful time as well.
Final Results:
Spinnaker
1) Team Island Water World, Fritz Bus, Melges 24
2) AMCON Express, John Gifford, Melges 24
3) Kick ‘em Jenny 2, Ian Hope- Ross, Melges 32
4) Albacore IV, Sophie Olivaud, J/109
5) Wild Devil, Ben jelic, Kiwi 35
Non-Spinnaker:
1) L’Esperance , Sir Robert Velasquez, Benneteau
2) SXM Sailing School, Garth Steyn, Catalina
3) Nix, Nico Corlever, X-612
4) Antares, Colin Percy, Nonsuch
5) Spirit, Alan Edwards, Swan 65
6) Charm III, Richard West, Alden Schooner
7) Painkiller, Steve Ellsworth, Oceanis 381
8) G-String, Gary Brown, Dix Caribbea 30
9) Tradition, Laurie Gumbs, Cariacou sloop
Multi-Hull
1) Dauphin Telecom, Erick Clement, Multi Oceanique
2) Quality Time, Petro Jonker, Du Toit 51
3) Carib Cat, Michaux-corro, Mycat 26
4) Billboard Media Guimamalou, Jean Michel Ricour, Erick Lerouge
Donald Curtis, President of the ASA, was very pleased by the spirit of camaraderie and fun that surrounded the event and thanked all the competitors and the Tourist Board for making the event possible. He also noted that the proceeds from the Regatta helped the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club financially and the experience of the Regatta helped the athletes from the club experience what is possible if they follow their dreams.
– Contributed
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
