IMAGE: classic boat racing in Antigua
My view on Regattas – we have now watched from the sidelines 3 Caribbean regattas within the past 2 months – first was the HEINEKEN REGATTA in Dutch and French St Maarten, 2nd was THE BUCKET in the French West Indies island of St Barths and 3rd was the CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA in Antigua – all VERY different indeed as far as yachts, people participating and attending and atmosphere.
The HEINEKEN REGATTA – now in its 34th year is held in St Maarten each year in early March. This regatta had the largest fleet of all 3 regattas with several classes. Crews fly into St Maarten from all over the world (now especially many from Eastern Europe and Russian) to participate- with the catchphrase ‘Serious Fun’ being a must. The spectacle of the yachts passing in and out each day through the Dutch bridge, each trying to be seen and heard to get an award gave the event loads of fun. The local radio commentary made the event very spectator friendly and inclusive. All the marina facilities in both Dutch and French St Maarten were maxed out. The participant mix was a wide range - from full-time professional crews on professional racing boats to charter boats with enthusiastic amateur racers and some individual yachts with owners and friends as crew. The 4 party events were huge musical extravaganzas held in different locations each night around various parts of both the Dutch and French islands. The entertainment was definitely for the younger crowds. Considering the size and numbers of boats and people involved the whole event was a slick operation. Corporate sponsorship and endorsements were very obvious on nearly every yacht. From our observations the local businesses and restaurants do very well during this regatta as most of the crews eating dinner out in large groups, and lunch is a pre-prepared packed affair. Lots of liquid refreshments were required due to the physical effort involved and the hot weather conditions. None of the sponsors provided any complementary food or drinks stalls at any of the daily after-race events – probably due to the size and numbers involved. The atmosphere was all about competition, winning and having the very best time ‘Serious Fun’ at each race and party. Team dress and uniforms were very important. We watched the racing from Fort Louis, a great vantage point high up on the French side whilst listened to the live radio broadcasts. We joined a packed Yacht Club to watch the passing in and out parades from the yacht club deck. We attended one evening party event in Marigot on the French side -great live entertainment, 1000’s of sailors and locals out enjoying the regatta after-race party. The ‘drink responsibly’ water angels were impressive. We heard every evening event on the boat in the anchorage!
The ST BARTHS BUCKET – well this is where the multi, multi millionaires are ‘invited’ to come racing. The tag line is ‘spoil all owners, sponsors and participants with everything super French, sexy and high quality’. Entry into this event is by committee invitation only – and the main sponsors are the major prestigious boat builders – ie Perini Navi from Italy – Royal Huisman from Holland etc, etc. The classes had fantastic names – Grand Dames ( 9 entries); Mademoiselles (11 entries); Elegantes (10 entries); Gazelles (8 entries) St Barths is a small French island with only 1 harbour – so this event totally took over the harbour and any nearby anchorage. These super yachts are truly spectacular in size, equipment and beauty - with obviously no money spared to get-it right for this regatta. All these yachts have large professional sailing crews, chefs and cleaners to wait on the owners and crews every need. There is a lot of not seen and not heard – just make it happen going on on these boats. The owners were very understated, but expensively dressed men and women obviously enjoying their status. The crews were very well turned out in team kits – some different for each days racing and evening events. These mega yachts spend 90% of their time in marinas to run their aircon and their other many luxury living requirements. The other 10% of their time is spent moving from the Caribbean to Europe each year and a little time racing, and being seen at specific events. A few of these yachts are available for charter – but mainly are only for owners and invited guests to be deemed to step foot on them. The evening events were small and exclusive with separate areas for owners, invited dignitaries and then ‘others’. All the catering for these yachts is done on-board, with no crews eating out during the event. 90% of the provisioning is done in St Maarten before even arriving on the island due to availability and logistics – you don’t want to see the toilet paper being delivered to the boat on the dock in Gustavia Harbour for everyone to see! The local supermarket, and only one in the harbour area does not normally open on Sundays – but for this special occasion they opened from 8am to noon on the Sunday! Several private parties are held at the exclusive local Hotels and restaurants for owners and dignitaries only. There was no obvious mixing of crews or crew parties on-board any of the yachts. The sight of the yachts racing very close to the shore around the small islands off the harbour was truly amazing. Every spinnaker had a special insignia – there was no evidence of any corporate logo or sponsorship on any of the yachts – except for ‘Lush’ a British built Oyster, owned and raced with Eddie Jordon on-board had RedBull logo emblazed on the bow. The ultimate prize for the whole regatta for best aggregate score over the 3 races was won by the magnificent Marie – who’s rather eccentric owner proudly told the crowd at the prizegiving that it had taken 4 years with the same crew to get to win this ‘bucket’ – yes it was just an empty metal bucket – similar looking to an old fire bucket – which you only get to keep for a year, but the boat name is engraved on it for perpetuity – but it was not about the prize – it was all about ‘being there’. The experience for us was very much from the distance - each day we could follow the numerous boats on the AIS and see the racing off in the distance. In the evenings we could take a dingy trip into town to marvel at the mega, mega yachts pulled back to the dock, enjoy people and boat watching, and seeing the each days trophy presentations. The morning departures were most exciting, and each day we went into Gustavia harbour early to watch the boats leaving the dock – there was always quite a stiff wind blowing through the harbour, so much fun – the divers were marking anchors and trying to keep the spectator boat traffic clear so the racing boats could get out. The largest boat on the boat was the 219ft Hetairos – all the others were between 150 and 160ft. Back on the boat for the day we had a good view of the racing fleet racing and returning to anchor or enter the harbour. The racing went well in good strong winds, and there were only seconds between some of the finishing times. We watched the very elegant Mrs Milena Perini and her daughter present their shipyard award to Moonbird – a truly magnificent 122ft mega yacht, with red rigging wire!. We watched the Dutch lady representing Royal Huisman give her award to Saudade in the Gazelles class which did not even get to the start line! The overall class awards were the opportunity for the very so rich, well dressed men and designer coutured ladies to collect beautiful trophies and crews to celebrate. Then there was the ultimate ‘The Bucket’ award for the whole regatta, awarded for the lowest overall aggregate score - this went to the 180ft Hoek designed magnificent Marie. She is a dark, dark blue classic design ketch with shining varnish work and vivid red antifouling – she won each of the 3 races. Her eccentric owner proudly said it took 4 years to work with the same crew to get to this award..... and how much money!! The Bucket is one of the highlights of the sailing season here in the Caribbean and we are really pleased we have been here to see how the rich and famous play at yachting!

Our 3rd and final regatta was the CLASSIS YACHT REGATTA held each year in mid April – this year coinciding with Easter, on the Leeward Island of Antigua. Most of the action is based around in Falmouth Harbour, and at the Antigua Yacht Club. These beautiful, some old – some very new, made to look old and traditional boats come from all over the Caribbean, USA and Nova Scotia to attend this event. There was no sign of any corporate sponsorship on any of the yachts – and it was obvious that 90% were individually owned, loved and regularly sailed. There is a strong sense of camaraderie amongst many of these hardy sailors, and a great all-in party atmosphere. The various corporate sponsors held the evening party events, with complementary drinks and food available all night for everyone. Every boat on the dock was officially admired and drooled over during the Concours d’Elegance judging for their sparkling varnish work and highly polished brass. The work that does into keeping these boats looking so beautiful and traditional – everyone should get a prize. After a wander around admiring the boats we spent a bit of time again in the Panerai hospitality tent enjoying their excellent Italian coffee and a good internet signal. The participant mix was every eclectic- young and very young children, dogs, cats and a parrot, together with old and young salty sailors – most needed a good freshwater body wash, a new pair of shoes and some freshly laundered clothing! No sign of team matching clothing here. There were 4 races over 4 days for the main fleet with 6 classes - Traditional – fishing or cargo vessels, Vintage – launched before WW2, Classic- launched after WW2, Classic GRP- descendants of wooden boat designs, Spirit of Tradition – modern builds along traditional lines and Tall Ships. There was also a highly competitive single-handed race on the welcome day. The evening entertainment ranged from a wonderful Music Night/Talent Show -DIY type of event with various sailors off the yachts playing their instruments and singing shanties and folk type songs. There was a steel band, a DJ and reggae evenings too. One evening a young lady did an acrobatic airdance through the rigging of one of the boats. A Parade of Classics passing through Nelsons Dockyard is held on the Sunday each year – traditional boats in this historical setting- what could be better. There is also a traditional Cream Tea afternoon event before the final prizegiving. The regatta kicked off very well indeed with its opening party from 5pm at the Yacht Club, with free drinks (champagne) and snacks courtesy of the main sponsor - the Italian watch company Panerai. Good Friday as the first day of racing was a stormy start to the day and 25 knot winds predicted. We took a look at the proposed course and decided to head to Dieppe Bay on the eastern shore in our dingy and then climb to the top of Proctors Point for a good vantage point – great decision as we had the spot all to ourselves for the few hours racing AND had a great view of everything – the start, the 2nd turning mark and then the boats tacking into a stiff 25 knots back to the 3rd Mark, and eventually the finish line. The racing for some of the older gaff rigged boats was really tough on the tacking leg. We had a picnic lunch in a great shady spot out of the wind, and great viewing. We had the VHF on the race control station so we could hear and watch the various class starts and could again hear and see the yachts calling in as they were coming up to the finish line – great to know what was exactly going on and follow the whole race. Good racing, exciting to watch – these traditional yachts look beautiful on the water. Our neighbouring motor boat hosted a late afternoon/ early evening dingy raft-up from the back of his trawler and the top deck became a musical event stage – all good and not too loud or annoying. There seemed to be a good turnout and everyone enjoying the fun. On Easter Sunday, after our cooked breakfast – no Easter eggs or hot cross buns as we couldn’t purchase either here –so we headed to Church instead. We met some other yachties at the bus stop – we were all heading to the Roman Catholic Church – the big pink building. The bishop was at the front door to meet and greet and the church as full to overflowing, with everyone dressed in their Sunday finest – hats for the ladies and suits for the men, pretty dresses for the girls and dress trousers and waistcoats for the young boys. The whole Mass was sung – so 2 hours later we had had our Easter blessing and were on our way back to the boat. After a quick change and headed out over to English Harbour to Nelsons Dockyard to find a shady sport to sit and watch the Parade of Sail – after today’s race was finished all the participating yachts were to sail into the harbour – well some of them motored in with some sails up – but it was nice to see them again on the water. Sundays happy hour was sponsored by various Maine yachting services – so we had lobster chowder and rum punch – all very tasty and enjoyable indeed. The musical entertainment was a male local singer and band.... no woman no cry again....,
Easter Monday was the final day of racing and also our last day at anchor in Falmouth Harbour. We headed up to our lookout spot up on Proctors Point to watch the final race – some of the classes were very tight on the cumulative results – so again it was excellent racing. We had a great view of all the tacking on the windward leg. We could clearly see the 2nd turning mark and the finish line – a great sight.