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St.Maarten Heineken Regatta Practice and Racing

Posted 8 months, 29 days ago

St.Maarten Heineken Regatta Practice and Racing
Things are good down here in St. Maarten. The weather is warm, the sun is out, and the wind is howling. The crew of the Cookson 50 Turbo Privateer has had two solid days of sailing, and the regatta hasn't even begun. On Wednesday, we had a good practice day, sailing in a breeze that ranged from 18 to 28 knots. On our downwind legs, with boat captain Ian Henderson on the helm, we saw a sustained speed of 19 to 20 knots. Sailing a Cookson 50 downwind in breeze is some of the most exhilarating sailing I've ever done. When we get cranked up and start sailing fast, the boat starts planing, and as many of the crew as possible head for the stern and bunch together on the high side. Steering a light, canting-keel boat downwind in big breeze is a challenge for everyone. The helmsman has to be very good, as does the spinnaker trimmer. When sailed well, everything is great when you're planing. If someone misses a beat, it's all over, and the boat broaches, the asymmetric spinnaker flogs, and everyone hangs on for dear life. When every thing is going well, it's pure bliss; the boat unloads, it's easy to steer, and the speeds stay in double digits. It was a good practice day that helped make us all feel comfortable for our first races, the Budget Marine Commodore's Cup, a series of windward-leeward races held the next day. When we got to the dock at 7:00 this morning, the windspeed was even higher, and our anemometer clocked 34 knots as we sat on the dock in the confines of Simpson Bay. Privateer's owner, Ron O'Hanley had flown in the previous afternoon, and was anxious to see how his boat would perform in breeze, which he hadn't seen a lot of since he took delivery of the boat last year. One of the quirks of the Heineken Regatta is the drawbridge that sits at the entrance to the lagoon in which the marinas are located. It only opens a few times a day, and a mass of boats wait to get out each morning. Everything from grand-prix boats to bareboats to 160-foot motor yachts mill about, waiting for the opening and trying to avoid running into one another. When the bridge opens, there's a bit of chaos as everyone jockeys for position, forming a more or less orderly line in order to get through the narrow channel. Just before the bridge is the St. Maarten YC and a bar, where a crowd of those who aren't racing stand and watch the procession, cheering the crews with the best uniforms, and waving at each boat as it passes. Even at 9:30 in the morning, more than a few of the folks in the crowd are already clutching cold bottles of Heineken. The Budget Marine Commodore's Cup, in its second year, drew about 60 boats that wanted to get some good solid practice in battle conditions before the Heineken Regatta began. Unlike the Heineken, which features three distance races and two windward/leeward races, the Commodore's Cup strictly a windward/leeward event. Because of our rating, we were in a class with an 80-foot IMS maxi, the 68-foot ULDB Equation, a first-generation TP52, and a modified Swan 601. We started first, sailing two-mile legs twice around. We nailed the first start and had a good race, despite a couple of spectacular wipeouts downwind. The second race didn't start as well, as the tactician (me) screwed up and crossed the line about 25 seconds after the starting horn sounded. But we quickly made up ground, sailing in clear air for most of the first weather leg. One of the strange things about sailing a canter is that, even when we're hitting our target speeds at around nine knots upwind, it feels glacially slow. Once we round the weather mark, however, the fun factor triples as we sail down the two-mile leg in 17 minutes. Things happen fast; laylines, boats heading upwind with rights, and the leeward mark. Luckily, we have a great team onboard, and we manage the mechanics of leeward mark roundings well. I'm not sure how we ended in today's two races, but I do know one thing; it was a great way to get the crew in synch for the Heineken. We worked a lot of things out, started gelling as a team, and built confidence in our ability to get this high-speed machine around the racecourse. Tomorrow is the round-the island race, a 34-miler that should feature some spectacular sailing as we reach, run, and beat our way around this half-Dutch, half-French Island. The wind will still be blowing hard, and we start at around 9:00 a.m., so we should be able to make the three o'clock bridge opening, hit the dock, and consume a few ice-cold Heinekens ourselves. Full Story »

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