Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine April 2017

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They arrived at the Hemingway International Yacht Club in Havana, Cuba on
March 2nd, with a time of 1:17:00:32 for FOMO and 1:20:21:04 for Conviction.
Eighty boats entered the race, but only 22 remained in contention throughout.
Winds remained scarce from the start in Tampa Bay until the very finish, with many
of the boats forfeiting their sails and motoring into Havana.
FOMO’s navigator, Simon Fisher, says, “After what turned out to be a much more complicated
race than we had anticipated, we were very happy to snatch line honors in
the final mile. Having set up upwind of the opposition in a dying breeze as we
approached the Cuban coast, we were able to pass Conviction as we reached in
under Code Zero with a better angle to the finish line, overhauling them to take the win.”
Although the weather made the competition challenging, the sailors enthusiastically
took part in the celebratory atmosphere that awaited them in Havana.
Although a regatta from the Hemingway International Marina to the Morro Castle
was scheduled as part of the events, it was canceled owing to high winds and
choppy seas. By departure time, weather posed another challenge. A front moved
in, producing strong winds that prevented boats from leaving port and heading
home. Many sailors flew back to the US and will return to Cuba to sail their boats
back to Florida once weather and schedules permit.
Visit www.spyc.org, Habana Race tab, for full results.
start of racing. Then, with 20 knots of solid tradewinds, and bullets of pressure firing
up the wind speed, it was an exciting day of racing for a record fleet of 89 yachts.
The feisty weather soon improved, to provide sunshine and a brisk 15 to 20 knots.
In the Maxi Class there was a win apiece for Tony McBride’s British Farr 65 Spirit of
Juno and Michael Teuteberg’s American CnB 76 Sapphire. However, St. Barth’s Jean
Overall winner of the Commodore’s Cup, the J/122
Liquid from Antigua & Barbuda
Intense Competition at Gill Commodore’s Cup
With two classes decided by countback and a third won by half a point, intense
competitive racing was the order of the day for the Gill Commodore’s Cup, raced
in St. Maarten on March 2nd. Pewter skies and a vicious rainsquall preceded the
APRIL 2017 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 14
The appropriately named Gill Race Team won the Melges 24 Class
at the Gill Commodore’s Cup
Paul Laval, racing his Bordeaux 60 Zampano, put in a consistent performance of two
podium results to take the class.
Lionel Pean’s French Volvo 70, SFS II, took line honors and corrected out to win the
first race by a big margin before using the second race for crew training. The
Lithuanian Volvo 60, Ambersail, skippered by Przemyslaw Tarnacki, won the class
with a bullet in the final race; Chris Stanmore Major’s Whitbread 60, Challenger, was
runner-up. The Ocean Racing Class enjoyed a full taste of the big conditions, with
the race course taking the fleet to the windward side of the island.
In the Offshore Multihull Class, Greg Slyngstad’s Bieker 53, Fujin, revelled in the big
conditions winning both races, as did Morticia, skippered by Shaun Carroll, which
won both races in Multihull 1.
In CSA 1, Ross Applebey’s British Oyster 48, Scarlet Oyster, scored a perfect three
wins. Bruno Cardile’s Italian Soto 50, Fortunata, was second in all three races. In CSA
2, Bernie Evan-Wong’s Antiguan RP37, Taz, used its upwind speed to great effect,
getting into clear air to take the gun for the first two races. Sergio Sagramoso’s…
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