This Saturday the 26th of February for the 2nd time the Around St.Maarten Multihull race will take place. Already 17 boats have confirmed their presence and expectations are to surpass 20 at registration on Friday evening at La Bamba on Kim Sha Beach. Last year at the inaugural event 15 boats showed up at the start line.
“This will be a fantastic turn out for this special group of boats. Only boats with more than 1 hull are allowed to enter in this 1 day sailing race. Multihull participants from our island as well as Canada, the USA and Belgium have entered with their catamaran or trimaran. We also hope to see 10 beach cats on the water competing for the fastest time around St.Maarten – Saint Martin in their class.” says Race Coordinator Mirian Ebbers.
The beach cats, colorful catamaran of 16 to 20 ft. are typically crewed by 2 persons, they have a trapeze and the sailing is usually very spectacular. Everybody is welcome on Kim Sha Beach on the morning of the race to see the crew prepare these cats for the race of that day.
The start and finish will be in Simpson Bay close to the coast so the general public can enjoy some excitement as well. For the second edition very welcome support from local companies has been received to make the race possible. Aqua World and Sun Evasion have offered their charter motor boats for safety, following the sailors along the course. Budget Marine and La Bamba will provide the prizes for the winners. Passaat is providing the committee boat and Flamboyant Broadcasting will provide live footage of the event on the website and at the prize giving party Saturday afternoon.
The race is 1 day and it has THE race: going sailing around our beautiful island. The idea started to get shape with another great race in mind: the around Texel in Holland that yearly attracts more than 700 beach cats from all over the world. Of course the organizers are not aiming for those numbers but the concept of 1 day racing around an island, no difficult courses is a great one that we hope to continue for many years to come.
Multihulls are gaining popularity world-wide for cruising as they are very comfortable but also for racing, proven by the America’s Cup which will be fought for in Multihulls the next edition in 2013.
For more information, please contact Mirian at race@multihullregatta.com or +599-580-8111.
