600, and the Round the Island Race that kicks off Antigua Sailing Week. Grenada Sailing Week will
continue with its bi-island experience, says Carol Corvette, regatta manager and commodore of the Petite Calivigny Yacht Club. ‘We had a reduced format this year due to Covid with racing to and around Carriacou, Grenada’s sister island, before sailing south to Grenada. For 2023, we will return to our week- long format and after the positive response to Carriacou we will start there with a round-the-island race.’ On the heels of the Caribbean
Multihull Challenge’s (CMC) inaugural 60 Mile Multihull Sprint past St Maarten/St Martin, St Barths, and Anguilla this year, organisers will launch the Around Saba Dash in 2023, says Stephen Burzon, director of marketing. ‘This is a 52-mile power reach in both directions for CSA 1 boats.’
New classes and opportunities
Island configurations create course opportunities galore that invite all types of classes. Korteweg, who is working to grow classes like the Class 40s, TP52s and Diam 24s, describes it best using St Maarten as an example: ‘The variety of the courses around the island is a big plus for racers as we can offer long- distance racing for the big racing boats, windward-leewards for the sport boats and of course everything in between to accommodate the multihulls, bareboats and island time class.’ One-design classes like the IC24s
at the St Thomas International Regatta, an event that has also hosted Melges 24s, C&C 30s, and VX One, are growing. This opportunity has sparked the interest of other classes such as the Cape 31s. The St Barths Bucket successfully
debuted its “90-foot class”, for those who didn’t meet the 100-foot LOA eligibility criteria. Entries included the 2020-built Swan 98, Drifter Cube, which finished second to class winner, the Swan 90 Freya. Antigua Sailing Week launched
its Sport Boat Class for lightweight race boats under 30 feet with lots of sail area like Melges 24s, J/70s, and Mini 650s. Barbados Sailing Week is working to promote a Club Class for those who live on their yachts while racing.
Women on board The St Maarten Heineken Regatta introduced a new trophy to recognise women in sailing, while Antigua Sailing Week established its Women’s Race Day to inspire more women to participate. These two moves come on the heels of the CSA
Above: Columbia leads Ashanti in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. Right: Peter Corr’s Summit 40 Blitz won the Lord Nelson Trophy for the most outstanding performance from a CSA monohull. Bottom left: the Antigua to Bermuda Race inMay 2023 provides a competitive end to the season for boats heading back to New England and Europe
promoting World Sailing’s Steering the Course women’s global sailing festival for the last two years. The British Virgin Islands, St Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, St. Vincent, and Grenada all hosted events.
Green theme Many major Caribbean regattas are members of Newport, RI, USA-based non-profit Sailors for the Sea Clean Regattas initiative. The BVI Spring Regatta, having attained Gold Level, has banned the use of plastic straws, distributed oil spill pads to participants and formed a “Green Ranger” team of young volunteers to pick up trash during the event. This year, recycling stations and the use of repurposed wood were integral to the St Maarten Heineken Regatta.
Shoreside parties return Caribbean regatta organisers, like many globally during the pandemic, concentrated on offshore sailing rather than onshore parties. More rum and reggae parties are planned for next season. ‘This year’s onshore events were kept at a smaller scale. More
specifically, they focused on the sailors with daily prizegiving, live music, a food court and bar stations around the docks of Port de Plaisance. Easily accessible and with the boats in the background, it was the perfect atmosphere for that post-sailing get-together. This was so well received by the sailors that we will look at expanding on that concept,’ says Korteweg. CMC organisers will debut the
new CMC Rally in 2023, held concurrently with the CMC. Cruising class multihulls will depart from Simpson Bay, St Maarten with overnight stops at Anse Marcel in St Martin and Road Bay, Anguilla. Afternoon beach games, fine dining and late-night revelry are planned in each location, with prizegiving back in St Maarten. As Burzon aptly describes, this multihull-only event is now two-dimensional with a red-hot regatta presented simultaneously alongside a cool and sophisticated cruising rally. ‘Celebrations on and off the water
season’, says Judy Petz, the event’s � SEAHORSE 79
are planned for the BVI Spring Regatta’s 50th
anniversary next
DEAN BARNES
LUCY TULLOCH
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