Antigua’s Jolly Harbour Yacht Club
Pippa Pettingell, Youth Sailing Program Director 2010, sent us details on the third Caribbean Classic Rum Cruise to be hosted by the club in May, a “Cruise in Company” staged every year that visits Guadeloupe, Iles des Saintes, Marie Galante, Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia. The main aim is to provide an insight into the development of rum distillation, with visits to historic and modern distilleries (and plenty of samples.) The fleet sets sail from Jolly Harbour, English Harbour or Falmouth Harbour in Antigua on Monday, May 3 for the anchorage of Deshaies, Guadeloupe. The cruise ends May 17 at Marigot Bay, St. Lucia. The cruise is led by Miramar Sailing Ltd. under the leadership of proprietors Brian Turton and Pippa. email: [email protected].
Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba
Commodore Escrich, a representative of the International Game Fish Association, invites anglers to participate in the 60th “Ernest Hemingway” Billfish Fishing Tournament May 24 to 29 in waters surrounding Havana. Thursday, May 27 will be a lay day. IGFA rules govern the tournament with tag and release. The Jury from the Cuban Sport Fishing Federation will take irrevocable decisions regarding the validation of captures.
Participants can use their own boats or rent them at Marina Hemingway. Registration will be 450 CUC ($563 American dollars) per team from one to three anglers, and 100 CUC per additional angler ($125 American dollars). Those who arrive in their own boats will have free mooring in Marina Hemingway, invitation for the welcoming cocktail, awards ceremony and closing dinner for all the team members. If you rent a boat, you will also have highly qualified crew, fishing tackle, bait, fuel and snacks. Those interested on accommodation can book in at Acuario hotel located in Marina Hemingway, or at other hotels in Havana.
In other news, the Sarasota (Florida) Yacht Club had hoped to organize a 100-boat international regatta to take place May 16, seeking to revive an annual competition that began in the 1930s. The club, however, did not receive permission from the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control in time to make preparations and the regatta has been postponed until 2011.
St. Maarten Yacht Club
The club’s very readable newsletter, The Spinnaker, reported that SMYC member and well-known sailor Dr. Frits Bus went on an eight-day medical assistance trip to Haiti in January. He was stationed in the village of Jacmel where 90% of the population has been living in tents. “Frits arrived in Haiti with a large quantity of medical supplies donated by several St. Maarten pharmacies. Insel Air carried the extra luggage at no extra cost. At the Club, Ian Hope Ross donated 50 – then a further 30 – buckets which were filled by the Red Cross with medical supplies and flown into Haiti. It is with a warm heart that we can report that the SMYC membership gave a huge amount for the Haitian people,” the newsletter advised.
(U.S.) Virgin Islands Gamefishing Club
“Show Your Love to Haiti” raised $15,000 for the USVI Haitian Relief Fund on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14. The event was hosted by the Northside Sportfishing Club, St. Thomas Fishermen’s Association and Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club, and donated to the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands’ (CFVI) USVI Haitian Relief Fund.
Planes for the USVI Haitian Relief project depart regularly from St. Thomas to deliver volunteers and medical supplies in Haiti. Many community businesses donated food and drinks, and volunteers from the St. Thomas Fishermen’s Association ran the bar.
Six children – Joshua LaPlace, Tyler Berry, Brianna Berry, Edwin Bryan and Adam Berry – manned the non-alcoholic Island Oasis machine for seven straight hours and made nearly $800. Two other children, Brittany Petersen and Marie Jackson, sold 50 – 50 raffle tickets and made additional money. For more information about USVI Haitian Relief: www.usvihaitianrelief.org.
Virgin Islands Sailing Association
Bill Canfield decided to step down as VISA’s President after serving in the position on two occasions for about 17 years, and finished up after the Carlos Aguilar Race in November. VISA held its annual meeting via telephone conference on Jan 30. Phillip Shannon was elected President, Kim Jones Vice President, Karen Stanton, Secretary, Lyn Reid, Treasurer, and Peter Holmberg, Olympic VP. Class Reps are Tim Coyle 420 and I420, Laura Brego Opti, and Kim Jones Laser. “I think I have left VISA in a strong position and I also believe our recent sailing results speak for themselves as to how far we have traveled over the years,” Bill said in February. “We have done many things that no other small country has come close to accomplishing in world sailing.”
To contribute news from your local yacht club or sailing association, please write to [email protected]. Deadlines are six weeks prior to the publication date.
