Another Successful Edition of the Budget Marine Challenge
Held off the coast of Curaçao in June, the 13th edition of the Budget Marine Challenge was lucky for some.
The challenging downwind start at Spanish Water saw Venus Callipyge, sailing in cruising class, streak across the line ahead of her competitors. However, it was the yacht Melody, sailing an almost perfect course that took line honors crossing the finish at Fuikbaai, leaving Venus Callipyge in second place.
In racing class, despite reaching speeds in excess of 20 knots, Remco van Dordtmondt, sailing the J105 Vuja De could only manage third place behind the J24s Budget Marine – Merlin, the eventual winner, and Chamba II.
Following an elaborate lunch, courtesy of Budget Marine, the second race got underway with its notorious anchor start. All crew below decks until the gun goes off and only then can they appear, hoist sail and pull anchor.
Some boats had problems, however, in racing class Chamba II got away ahead of Vuja De and Budget Marine – Merlin. Tallying the points for the two races, Chamba II scored the overall win ahead of Budget Marine – Merlin and Vuja De.
With afternoon winds gusting up to 30 knots, the sailing was exhilarating. In cruising class, Melody pushed through to take the trophy ahead of Venus Callipyge and Ninfa d’Awa, which finished second and third, respectively.
Gary Brown has written for ALL AT SEA since 2008.
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