Next month, the third Golden Rock Regatta will depart Great Bay, St. Maarten heading for St. Barths. Again we expect to double the previous years numbers and we are pleased to report an increased interest from sailors on St. Maarten from where a substantial percentage of our growth is expected to come from.
We have changed this year’s regatta route. On the first day the fleet leaves Great Bay, St. Maarten with a short race to St. Barths (13 nm). The next day on to Statia (33 nm), with the third race to St. Kitts along the leeward side (40 nm). On day four the fleet returns to Statia via the windward side of St. Kitts (34 nm). Finally on the 5th day, the reverse feeder race takes the fleet back to Oyster Pond, St. Martin (38 nm).
For all the armchair sailors, we have contracted Star Tracking to equip all participating yachts with a tracker which will transmit each yacht’s position every 30 minutes, enabling sponsors, friends, and relatives to follow events as they unfold on the Golden Rock Regatta website! We believe this to be a first in the Caribbean! With three of the races being Pursuit Races, it will be interesting to see the boats start bunching as they approach the finish
The fleet of seven Sun Fast 37’s of the Guadeloupe Sailing Team is being moved to St. Martin for charter in the Regatta. So far, three US teams have signed up. This time Jan van den Eijnde will not be the only entry with a spinnaker! For single persons wanting to take part in the regatta, Windward Adventures has chartered the twin mast gaff rigged schooner Passaat. This will give Klaas van Duuren’s team on the Kate, the newly built twelve-metre on a 1906 design, a boat to race against!
This August, Juul Hermsen, chairman of the Golden Rock Regatta, promoted the regatta among the 20 teams sailing in the Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge hosted by the Manhattan Sailing Club, sailed on the Hudson River. At the final Prizegiving the winning team was invited to take part on a sponsored yacht in November’s Golden Rock Regatta. Should they not be able to attend, lots will be drawn among the remaining teams.
Submitted by the Golden Rock Regatta. Information: www.goldenrockregatta.com
