Antigua
Jolly Harbour Yacht Club’s Youth Development Project, teaching young people to sail in dinghies provided by the club, continued to gather momentum this summer. “Eight keen young people from the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme arrived, accompanied by as many willing volunteers, for a morning of dinghy sailing training in the idyllic setting of the Old Castaways on North Beach,” reports Pippa Pettingell. “The ‘ear to ear’ smiles on the young people’s faces after their training session ended were a sight to behold. Our two Sport 16 dinghies are perfect for training up to four young people at a time in superb calm water conditions with a nice offshore breeze.” Among many to be thanked, Pippa says, are Lawrie May, Rick Gormley, and Wayne Gruden as well as La Perla, Anjo Insurance and others who have made donations. A Pig Roast the same day at the Foredeck Bar raised EC$2,000 for the program.
British Virgin Islands
The Royal BVI Yacht Club issued a colourful newsletter in June full of information on recent club activities and also announced plans to celebrate the club’s 35th anniversary in November. Guy Eldridge, Captain of Sailing for the club, sent a report on the annual race to Anegada in June. Setting a new personal record in just two hours and 35 minutes, the crew of local trimaran Triple Jack sped to victory. “Captain George Lane explained jubilantly that he was filling in for the day for Richard Wooldridge, the boat’s usual helmsman, and had been teased that he would never be able to beat the boat’s former best time of two hrs 45 minutes, making victory all the sweeter. In fact, they were so fast that the Race Committee team of King Greenspon and Liz Maclean missed their finish as they were having a leisurely lunch at the Anegada Reef Hotel…” As usual, participants equally enjoyed off-the-water evening activities. "‘What happens on Anegada stays on Anegada’ will have to be invoked,” reports Eldridge. The annual race is a competition for the Lowell Wheatley Trophy, named for the Anegadian who did so much to put his island and hotel on the map and popular with sailors worldwide.
Cuba
Commodore Escrich reported that the Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba held its 58th Ernest Hemingway Billfish Tournament June 9 to 14 with19 teams competing from countries as far away as Russia. It was the tournament’s 10th anniversary as Tag and Release event.
Puerto Rico
The Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club sent results from their La Verbena Race held May 17. The event was managed by Race Director Pedro Bonnin, Coordinator Chin Cordero, and Official Handicapper Puchy Santiago, all members of the club’s Nautical Events Committee. Winner in Racing Class and Overall was El Tango, with David Fernandez at the helm. Winner in Cruising Class was Gissele.
St. Martin-St. Maarten
The St. Maarten Yacht Club held its Governor Stuyvesant series in May and June, which “proved to be yet another closely-fought battle for the few inches that sometimes forced the win,” according to club reports.
Three classes competed in the series, the largest ever run by the club. Rhone Findlay won the Optimist Class, Rogier Brans won in Lasers, with Kevin van den Burg leading the youth division. Frits Bus took the top spot in the LSR/Jeanneau 20 fleet.
The club also sent a report on the Heineken Open Laser Regatta held in early June, won by Brett Wright from Bermuda. St. Barth’s Markhu Harmala finished second overall and Frits Bus third. In Radials, David de Vries was first, Ernest Looser second, and Simon Manley third. Four junior sailors had their own division, won by Jolyon Ferron. Sixteen sailors participated in all, from St. Maarten, St. Barth, Curacao, Canada, and the Dominican Republic.
United States Virgin Islands
The St Croix Yacht Club wraps up its traditional Summer Sunfish Races on Friday nights this month. Club members begin racing at 5:30 and continue until dark, starting on the club’s beach, sailing around a mark, and back to the beach. The last race of the series will be on August 8.
