Trinidad
’s Paul Solomon,
overall winner of the 2005 LaSource Grenada Sailing
Festival, has confirmed that he will be on the start line in
Enzyme to defend his title at the 2006
Festival, which will run from 27-31 January.
All early indications are for
a great Racing Class, as Enzyme will
be joined by 2005 runner up, Whistler,
with her competitive crew from Barbados looking to reverse the result, plus,
news is just in that Disco Inferno,
the Beneteau 47.7 owned by Matt and Liz Abbiss, will be making her way over from Great Britain to
compete for the third year running.
More great news
is that a crack team from the Royal Albert Yacht Club, based in
Southampton, Great Britain,
will be entering for the first time in Incisor,
a Corby 45 – and they are likely to take on some strong competition from
another first-time entry from the USA
– past Key West
winner Storm, the state of the art Reichel-Pugh 43.
The organizers
also report that they have already got committed entries for 2006 from two more
boats that could not take part in the last event due to damage sustained during
Hurricane Ivan – John Brantley’s Alliance, a Sigma 38 and Turbulence
Grenada/Spice Island Marine Service’s fast Hobie 33, Category 5, winner
of the Grenada Yacht Club’s Summer Regatta, skippered by competitive
racer Richard Szyjan.
With further
confirmed entries from Trinidad with Jerome McQuilkin
in his Beneteau Oceanis
430, Wayward, and Peter Peake with his Henderson 30, Slippery When Wet, organizers report that
this is the highest early entry ever, and with planned course changes to make
races longer, they are looking forward to the 2006 Festival having the best and
most competitive racing class since the event began in 1994.
The 2006 Festival
is based at True Blue Bay Resort and Marina and
the race schedule will again feature the ComNavNX2 Cup, sponsored by
Canada’s ComNav Marine Ltd., who joined the event for the first time
in 2005 as a new official Festival sponsor. The
Mount Gay,
Heineken and LaSource Race Series will also be run on
the Saturday, Monday and Tuesday of the event.
The ever
popular traditional Cable & Wireless Work Boat Regatta will also be a high
spot of the four day Festival, with some fiercely competitive racing off Grand Anse Beach on Saturday and Sunday 28 and 29 January –
this is the event that proves sailing can be a spectator sport.
