After 28 years of what they now fondly call “Serious Fun,” it was all business as Frank Hoedemaker, commodore of the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, and John Leone, Managing Director of Heineken N.V sat down to finalize the sponsorship agreement for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 regattas. Both men were pleased with the results and look forward to several more years of partnership.
Commodore Hoedemaker stated, “negotiations were intense, and in the end both parties’ goals and needs for the upcoming event were met…it is a pleasure to work with Heineken once again and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.” Heineken N.V has been a long time sponsor of the regatta with 28 years of cooperation.
“We are extremely happy to continue our partnership with the St. Maarten Yacht Club,” said Leone. “We feel the St Maarten Heineken Regatta continues to grow in quality and importance to both the sailing world and the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin. We constantly get feedback that the event is really appreciated by the businesses and people on the island, and that makes all the effort worthwhile. We will always be there for the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, as the people of St Maarten/St Martin have always been there for Heineken, and we sincerely appreciate every single time they enjoy our products.
“As we like to say, ‘It takes the whole island to throw a party this big,’ and we really mean it. Only through the cooperation from the island governments, the sponsors, the volunteers, the businesses and the wonderful people of our island, can an event of this magnitude be held. This is really a world class event and we should all be very proud of what we have created together,” said Leone.
The regatta is scheduled to take place March 6 to 9 2008, with the additional day of sailing, the Budget Marine Commodores Cup, to take place on Thursday, March 6th. As in the past, there will be concerts all four nights and sailing during the days. Participants from all over the world are entering the regatta and an expected 2500 sailors will grace the sunny shores of St.Maarten to sail, party, eat, and enjoy the island’s many activities. With over 250 entries in 2007 the regatta organization is expecting about the same turnout for 2008.
With Heineken on board, participants as well as spectators can rest assured that the parties will continue long past the turn of midnight and that the beer will be ice cold. The sailing will be competitive and, in the end, all who come to St.Maarten to take part in the event, whether it be on shore or on the water, will have memories that will last them a lifetime.
Report submitted by St. Maarten Heineken Regatta
New and improved web site for St. Maarten Heineken Regatta
Prospective participants can now access the entry form and Notice of Race on a new, user-friendly site for the St. Maarten Heineken. A system directly links to the CSA website; once participants input their boat names, relevant details such as rating and boat length will be updated automatically. Look for regatta videos, history, pictures, and band info. The ghost of 28 regattas past may come back to haunt some sailors—old party photos are posted. www.heinekenregatta.com.
