I am sitting in the Panerai hospitality kiosk drinking my espresso and enjoying a fresh croissant. Panerai is an Italian company that makes time pieces and sponsors classic yacht regattas. They kindly provide complimentary espresso and croissants in the morning and tapas, wine, beer, and champagne in the evening. This is very welcome for a busy reporter.

Once again Hunter will be crewing on the sailboat, Genesis, and I will be reporting for the Caribbean Compass and writing a piece for the 2013 Regatta program.

There are about 60 classic sailboats in the regatta. The strong east winds and lumpy seas made it difficult for some of the boats to get here, so the exact count will be made when the race starts. The smallest boat is 24 feet and the largest is 109 feet. Yesterday the Concours de Elegance (a beauty contest for old boats) judges visited the participating boats and brass and varnish was gleaming.