Carriacou Regatta Festival 2007 - Caribbean Compass

SEPTEMBER 2007 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 16
‘Benign’ Race
Weekend for
Yachts
by Jerry Stewart
One thing you can count on when holding a
Caribbean regatta in August is the uncertainty of the
weather. That, coupled with the ability to track tropical
waves while still over the African continent, caused a
mass exodus of visiting yachts from Carriacou when a
low pressure system formed in a wave several thousand
miles to the east of the island. The low filled in, but at
this year’s annual Carriacou Regatta yacht races, held
August 3rd through 6th, Tyrrel Bay didn’t quite see the
numbers of competitors as previous years.
Nonetheless, 20 yachts were on the start line for
Friday’s Doyle Offshore Sails-sponsored two-handed
Round Carriacou Race, ranging from Phil and Fay
Atkinson’s Tramontana at 52 feet to the Laser sailed
by Michael Weber and crew Ryan.
With conditions of 12 to 16 knots of wind and a flat
sea, once again the day’s “cruise” went very well, with
almost everyone finishing in time for the afternoon’s
fundraising auction. (See story on page 17.)
Taking just over three hours, the Australian
Tramontana was fastest ’round the island, dropping
to third place on corrected time, with Phil Renfro’s
Hughes 38 Otra Mundo showing us how they win
races in Texas. Carriacou-based regatta regular Andy
Smelt aboard his Spencer 44, Yellowbird, corrected
to second.
The CSA Fun Rule worked very well in this regatta,
with such disparate yachts as Dominique Weber’s
Sanctus, a Jeanneau Sun Kiss 47, correcting just 18
seconds in front of Uwe Gerstmann’s Joshua Salai for
fourth and fifth places.
This regatta has always attracted unusual yachts.
This year, “Speedy” John Everton’s 50-foot, Manuel
Campos-designed ketch Gaucho, at 60 years old,
added a classic touch to the fleet.
CARRIACOU REGATTA FESTIVAL 2007
In CSA Class, Tim Sudell’s Grenada-based S&S 44
Saga won line honours but on corrected time
Carriacou-based yachts dominated: Roy Hopper’s
Beneteau First 38 Windborne recorded a convincing victory,
with my Hughes 38 Bloody Mary placing second.
Three multihulls joined us this year. Featured as
“the battle of the cruising multis”, all at about 12
meters long, they sailed boat for boat. Surprising
Looks like fun! Yellowbird placed second overall
in the Fun Class
some, but not Irish owner Paul O’Regan, the Wharram
cat Stillus finished over 30 minutes in front of
Dutchman Bram Van Dijk’s trimaran Bad Dog, with
British Petra Kopp’s Joubert Nivelt cat Kayen two
minutes behind in third place.
The evening’s celebration at the Lazy Turtle pizzeria
featured free Mount Gay rum punch, courtesy of
regatta sponsor Mount Gay who also provided a bottle
of extra old rum for all competitors.
Saturday’s Island Water World-sponsored race started
punctually, as do all races controlled by race officer
James Benoit, who kindly came up from the Grenada
Yacht Club once again to run the yacht regatta. This
year, the strong south coast currents did not feature
and the lighter winds gave crews the opportunity to
appreciate the colours and surroundings offered by
the south coast of Carriacou as nine boats raced
between the scattered offshore islets.
In CSA Class, once again Windborne sailed to a comfortable
win over Bloody Mary and Saga, whose long
lead gained by the enthusiastic young crew was
destroyed by the handicap system.
Tramontana beat Yellowbird into second and
Sanctus into third.
This evening’s party was
CAROL EBERHART
held between Twilight restaurant
and the newly reconstructed
Old Rum Shop, with
entertainment from the
Harvey Vale Drummers.
As in previous years,
Sunday was for watching the
decked sloops race in the
local boat regatta that the
Carriacou Regatta Committee
also run over this weekend.
The light winds which were a
feature of this day, were to
continue through Monday.
In Monday’s race, sponsored
by Budget Marine,
again starting in
Hillsborough, ten boats commenced
in less than ten knots
of wind. The occasional five-
minute hole to contend with made the day a little frustrating.
Nonetheless, the pattern of results established
over the previous two races remained — CSA Class:
Windborne, Bloody Mary and Saga; and Fun Class:
Tramontana, Yellowbird and Sanctus.
The Carriacou Yacht Club provided the venue for
prizegiving on Monday evening. Overall, it was no surprise
that Windborne won CSA Class and Tramontana
Fun Class — in what proved to be a typically benign
August weekend.
This low-key regatta receives prizes from Mount Gay
Rum, Doyle Offshore Sails, Budget Marine, Island
Water World, The Round House Restaurant, Lumba
Dive, Lazy Turtle Restaurant, Fidel Productions (Tshirts)
and After Hours Supermarket. Logistical support
was provided by Tyrrel Bay Yacht Haulout. Race
officer James Benoit was assisted by Barbara
Greenwood and Gus Pierre on the committee boat. The
organizers give thanks to all.