Bequia Easter Regatta 2008 - Caribbean Compass

Easter Regatta, what ah slam! Two days before, all
boat sailin’, tryin’ dis an’ testin’ dat but de forecast look
like it go’ dampen t’ings. Dey say look out for 14- to
17-foot swells an’ gusty winds Thursday night through
Friday. But Thursday night come an’ gone an’ ah ain’t
see nothin’ more dan a little ground swell in Lower Bay.
Well, we got 45 yacht registered, ah record number.
Friday mornin’, weather fair to fine, breeze nice.
Saturday is double-ender day, start at Friendship,
finish off Paget Farm. Good breeze an’ clear sky, 28
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BEQUIA EASTER REGATTA 2008
T’ings HOT in
Double-Enders’ Class 7!
by Orbin Ollivierre
boat registered. In de 28-foot class, we got Bluff,
Confusion, Braveheart, Cloudy Bay an’ Spank; in Class
6 is Iron Duke, Trouble an’ Limbo Dance; Class 5A is
Tornado, Nerissa J; 5B is Shamu, More Worries,
Shannalou, Dem Say an’ Divine. Class 1, 2 an’ 4 is boat
from Canouan, Mayreau an’ Bequia an’ dem name too
Lennox Taylor’s Braveheart was
helmed by his son Gladwyn and
crew included members of New
York’s Manhattan Yacht Club
much fo’ me to write.
Start 10:30, triangle off Paget Farm, two laps an’ ah
sausage. But boy, dem big boat start wid ah bang up
to Hope Rock mark an’ down. Bluff an’ Confusion
fightin’ fo’ de lead. Well, yo’ know Confusion does go
downwind like ah train, but today, dem boat got
plenty steam. Dem burnin’ ah lot ah energy, pumpin’
jib an’ main on de reach to Adams mark. Upwind dey
come, Confusion in de lead but not fo’ long. Bluff tek
over. She say yo’ had yo’ turn, my turn now. She get
in front an’ stay in front to de finish. Confusion second
an’ Cloudy Bay third.
Sunday, weather nice, breeze nice, may de best man
(or boat) win. Start Friendship, down West Cay, triangle
in Admiralty Bay an’ end off Hamilton Point. Dey
say de best man win so Bluff tek de honours, Confusion
second an’ Braveheart third. Ah forget to mention dat
Perseverance join de fleet today.
Monday reach. Wind ah bit lighter an’ de sun hot like
hell (dem preacher say down dere real hot but ah don’t
believe dem because ah don’t t’ink anybody ever go an’
come back!). Well, dem start
downwind to West Cay, Cloudy
Bay in de lead. Dey turn de cay
leave dem rest bundle up under
dey. Up de track to Semple Cay
mark, all dem boat gone leave
Bluff, like if she draggin’ fishpot.
Ah swear to God she hook
up somet’ing an’ ah say to
meself, she dead today!
But not to be. She get she act
together. Dem rest boat gone:
she tack an’ come to de shore
an’ leave dem goin’ south. When
dem come back, all boat together
— what ah race! On de road
line wid vehicle. People fo’ so.
Everybody shoutin’ an’ whistlin’.
I in de boat so ah can’t tell
who backin’ who. But ah know
ah lot ah bettin’ goin’ on: somebody
go’ cry later! Tack fo’ tack,
dem boat go round de Semple
Cay mark makin’ room fo’ each
other. T’ings hot today!
Downwind now an’ ah fight
back up to de Hamilton mark
an’ what ah fight it was. Ah
can’t explain it on paper, only
wid me mouth. But Bluff win,
beatin’ out Cloudy Bay by ah
nose! Ah could tell yo’, is one
ah de best races an’ closest
finishes ah have ever seen. An’
dat’s ah fact.
—Continued on page 41
ALL PHOTOS: WILFRED DEDERER
Main photo: Boats from Classes 1 and 2 demonstrating
the traditional sprit rig’s ability to windward
Inset left: Wayne Gooding’s pretty Confusion placed
second overall in Class 7
APRIL 2008 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 13