Powerade Multi-Class Regatta

 With 43 teams from 5 countries, the annual Powerade Multi-Class Regatta has established itself as the 3rd biggest mixed fleet regatta held on St.Maarten. Competitors from St Maarten/StMartin, Anguilla, St Barths and Sweden challenged each other in the sometimes fickle breezes on the St Maarten lagoon during the 2013 edition.

The racing included fleets of LSR’s, Lasers, RS Visions and 3 fleets of Optimists. In the LSR Class, the 7th and final race determined the winner by a tie-break with Robbie Ferron's first placed team besting Carlos Beckman and family who took second and leaving Ian Paxton and crew in third. Petto, one of BM St Maarten’s warehouse staff members was part of this winning crew.

Excellent Conditions for Impressive Junior Sailing Action

Grenada’s junior sailors enjoyed near perfect sailing conditions on Saturday 23 March when they took to the water in Grand Anse Bay for the Budget Marine Junior Sailing Championship. In past events, the youngsters have had to contend with challenging winds and choppy water, but on Saturday the elements combined to provide great sailing conditions, and allowed the keen young sailors – as young as six – to show their talent and competitive racing skills.

 The event was sponsored by Budget Marine and supported by the Grenada Sailing Festival, Grenada Sailing Association, Grenada Yacht Club and Gouyave Sailing School.  Nineteen young sailors took part, ranging in age from 6 to 18 years and racing in three different classes: Optimists, Mosquitos and Lasers, making up an impressive fleet of some 14 dinghies, and showing the depth of sailing skills Grenada’s youth has to offer.

Competition was tight across all three classes in a busy day of seven races, thanks to the disciplined race organisiation of instructors Kevin Banfield and Michael McQueen, and there was still uncertainty about final places right up until the last race was ran.

This was the second Junior Sailing event for the year, and part of a growing calendar of race days and regattas being organised to provide important competitive experience for Grenada’s young sailors. Organisers would especially like to thank Budget Marine for their title sponsorship of this event. The company has been a long term supporter of Junior Sailing and its continued involvement and encouragement is extremely valued. Thanks goes particularly to Nicholas George, out on the water all day providing safety boat services, and to Lucille Pierre and Lera Griffith, who worked hard providing much appreciated drinks and refreshments in the HQ tent.

Thanks also goes to Kevin Banfield, Gouyave Sailing School; Michael McQueen, Grenada Yacht Club; and Jacqui Pascall, Grenada Sailing Association, for their help and support, and to Oscar, Wayne and Andre in Oscar’s Water Taxi, in charge of mark laying & courses. Rene Froehlich, Sailing School Grenada, provided the unique hand-made trophies, and essential refreshments were provided by The Victory Bar & Restaurant, Bryden & Minors with Orchard Juice, Glenelg  Natural  Spring Water, Grenada Bottling Ltd and Juicy Cool.

Plans are now starting for an even bigger event in 2014. For more pictures and information, follow Grenada Sailing Festival’s official Facebook page.

Budget Marine supports Olympian Sailor in historic Tobago to Trinidad Sail

On 7 Dec 2012 Budget Marine Trinidad presented T &T’s Olympian Sailor, Andrew Lewis, with a Laser Upper-Mast and Std Sail with battens for his Wind Energy Challenge, a 50 mile sail in a 14’ Laser from Pigeon Point, Tobago to Maracas bay, Trinidad. This had never been attempted before, being the smallest single handed boat to complete the journey between the two islands.

Dogged by lack of wind and strong current, after sailing for a long, hot 11 hours and 52 minutes, Andrew completed his crossing on 16 Dec 2012 at around 9pm, once again showing the self discipline that took him to 37th place in London and made him recipient of the 2012 Spirit of Sport Community Coach of the Year Award.

Welcomed in the dark by supporters, he commented: “What a day I chose! I was determined to repay the faith of my family, friends and sponsors.” He was accompanied by a T&T Coastguard vessel the whole way. With this historic sail Andrew intends to raise the profile of sailing in Trinidad and Tobago and Budget Marine Trinidad was proud to play a part in this venture.

International Yachting Seminar

Budget Marine's and St Maarten Marine Trades Association board member, Robbie Ferron, represented the SMMTA and St. Maarten,  this weekend in Martinique attending an International yachting seminar sponsored by the 'Euro Institut Caribéen' (EIC) of the FWI University (UAG), and co-organized by the International Affairs Desk of French Customs Caribbean Headquarteres in Martinique, FWI.

Tourism is a major component of the sustainable development strategy of most of the Eastern Caribbean Islands.

Several studies have stressed the potential growth of the tourism segment revolving around yachting in the unique environment offered by the Caribbean Sea.

Beyond the individual efforts of each island to promote their respective destination, a common environment and cultural heritage might provide the ground for a joint approach based on shared values to promote collectively the Eastern Caribbean destination to the yachting community.

The event is expected to bring together national representatives of the private (Yachting Community) and public sector (National agencies in charge of tourism and border controls like Customs in particular) but also regional organizations with projects and/ or ongoing programs related to the yachting in the Eastern Caribbean such as the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC).

The St. Maarten Marine Trade Association is pleased to have this opportunity to liaise with our regional counter parts.

Mr. Ferron will be sharing his knowledge of the Marine Industry by presenting a paper on "Economic Drivers of Marine Tourism in the Caribbean".

Ferron is a founding father of the marine industry on St. Maarten and a strong advocate for sailing in the lagoon. His vast experience comes through his business – Budget Marine – which has 10 outlets Caribbean wide, his work developing the St. Maarten Yacht Club as past Chairman of the Heineken Regatta Steering Committee and as past president of the Caribbean Sailing Association.

Budget Marine staff were presented with their Customer Care and Communication Skills Certificates 

Earlier this year, the entire staff of Budget Marine followed an interactive and motivational Customer Care and Communication Skills workshop. While other commitments prevented all from being present to receive their certificates last week , the picture shows, from left to right Tito Zabala, Justin Rosen, Natasha Constant, trainer David McGregor and Renata Richardson. “Although most of the participants had covered these topics before, the manner in which the information was presented allowed for us to see it from a different approach,” participant Charissa Martis says. “The sessions were very interactive, we were split into groups for group discussions which helped us to get a feel for each person’s way of thinking and how each would handle particular situations. The discussions also made room for positive feedback. All in all the training was a huge success and everyone enjoyed it very much.”

Lucky Winner Reels in an AB Dinghy
at Budget Marine!

Mr. Richard Hough is the lucky winner of a campaign organized by Fun Miles and Budget Marine to celebrate their partnership. Mr. Richard Hough has won a super deluxe dinghy by participating in an in-store fishing contest and entering a raffle for Fun Miles cardholders at Budget Marine. The two companies offer the lucky winner their congratulations and wish him lots of maritime fun with his new vessel.

Fun at Budget Marine

Budget Marine is the store with the largest selection of marine products of any Caribbean chandlery. Located on Simpson Bay Lagoon, the store is easily accessible by land and sea, thanks to the spacious dinghy dock and parking lot. To further enhance its customer experience, Budget Marine now allows its clients to save and redeem Fun Miles (1 Fun Mile for every ANG 2,50 spend).

 A Prize Catch

As a fun introductory stunt, cardholders who swiped their Fun Miles card at Budget Marine in February 2012 got to do some in-store fishing to catch extra Fun Miles! On top of that, they entered a raffle to win a dinghy. Mr. Richard Houghreeled in the prize catch and can now call the handsome little boat his own.

Press Source: Fun Miles

Budget Marine donates a Tohatsu 40hp outboard engine to
86 years old, An-Tiki Captain, Anthony Smith.

Budget Marine made Anthony Smith 86^th birthday extra special by presenting him with a Tohatsu 40hp 2-stroke engine. The very appreciative Anthony Smith, described Budget Marine as “The World’s Best” for giving him a new engine, value of $3760.00. Smith and his crew members’ original decision was to travel from the Canariesto Eleuthera, Bahamas on a raft: An-Tiki. Their intention is to remind the public that the (Merchant Navy suffered dreadful losses in WW2 across the Bahamas and yet are somewhat forgotten) should not be left out in our remembrance of the sacrifices they made. Smith writes that he wanted "to show that older persons are capable of undertaking what are considered dangerous - wrongly in our opinion - and adventurous projects that are normally left to younger persons to fulfill." He says he is using the exploit to raise money for WaterAid (www.wateraid.org/uk) a non-profit organization that is developing clean water supplies in 26 countries.

Nonetheless, that trip is upwind and the raft was designed for downwind sailing, as the lows forced them to change their destination from the Bahamas to St. Martin, which lies farther south and east.

Smith planned to tweak An-Tiki's rig to improve sailing performance before undertaking a second voyage. "With a few improvements, we can do much better," he says.

The voyager was intrigued by this engine and thought that it would be ideal and will certainly help to complete this adventurous journey to Eleuthera, Bahamas.

Pride, Budget Marine St. Maarten join to clean Lagoon- Student volunteers

Volunteers filled and removed more than 50 trash bags of garbage and loose debris from the Simpson Bay Lagoon

shoreline in Sunday’s clean up exercise organized by St. Maarten Pride Foundation in collaboration with Budget Marine. Among the items removed from the lagoon’s shoreline bordering Bellevue were a kitchen sink and an old boat anchor. More than 100 volunteers from several groups assisted in the clean-up exercise. They included The Seventh Day Adventist Pathfinders, the Voice of our Children Foundation, the Interact Clubs from the St. Dominic School and Learning Unlimited and other school volunteers and youth groups.

St. Maarten Pride Foundation commended Budget Marine’s Marketing Department representatives Justin Rosen and Charissa Martis for encouraging their staff to get involved in this community activity. “This event displayed [theed.] true strong character of Budget Marine employees and management volunteering as part of their corporate responsibility. Pride urges other companies to follow in their footsteps,” Pride President

Jadira Veen said. Following the cleanup exercise several prizes were raffled, among them Domino’s Pizza and Dominos game sets donated by Domino’s Pizza St. Maarten. Veen also thanked the Fleming family for allowing volunteers to access their land in Bellevue.

Miracles Do Happen!

Aruba citizens have made a very big difference in the lives of a cruising couple, aboard S/V Gabrielle from St. Thomas USVI , who live full time aboard their boat and frequently visit  the southern Caribbean.  In mid-September, the sailing yacht was towing its RIB dinghy between Los Roques and Las Aves Venezuela when hardware on both of its safety lines failed without anyone’s knowledge, and the dinghy went adrift.  

Nearing Las Aves the crew discovered that the dinghy was missing and conducted an extensive search, but it was not found. A further search was made in Las Aves , and when Gabrielle  arrived in Bonaire,  reports were made to the Bonaire and Curacao officials, as well as the Coast Guard with hope that the dinghy might be found.  Two very sad sailors began the process of ordering and purchasing a replacement dinghy from Pam Werdath at Budget Marine Bonaire, where they had bought the missing dinghy less than a year before. For cruising sailors the dinghy is very important, they use it to get ashore from the anchorage.

The Marine Police (l to r) Ulrich Bertrand, Ryan Anthony, Kim White (holding the cap) and
Igmar Benschop - missing is Alex Henriquez.

About 2 weeks later, during a camping visit on the beach at Rancho Amistad at Swat Mangel, a group of Aruba citizens from Centro Colorado Nobo discovered the dinghy washed ashore, and it was in good condition. What a valuable find this was ! Although temptation to keep it was great, the group decided to notify the Maritime Police. This kind and caring act is the keystone of this story. The police then collected the dinghy, which had traveled about 200 miles. There were no names or other markings on the dinghy that identified who it might belong to, but it did have a manufacturers serial number.

An old cap inside the dinghy was from Bonaire, and offered the only real clue, so the detective work for the Aruba Maritime police began. They contacted Tony Waldron at the Budget Marine store here in Aruba, which sells this brand of dinghy to inquire if they had a serial number registry. No, they did not, but they offered to contact the Budget Marine headquarters in St. Martin to see if they did, but again, no they did not. When the Bonaire cap was mentioned, contact was then made with Budget Marine in Bonaire. When Pam Werdath, the manager of Budget Marine in Bonaire got the call, she said she knew exactly who the dinghy belonged to, and that she had the bill of sale with the serial numbers on it to prove it. She emailed this information to the maritime police and the case was solved!

Pam then notified the owners, who understandably were in shock but overjoyed at the good news. Captain/owner Kim White said “this is really not just one miracle of a dinghy lost at sea being found – it was several because the dinghy was found by caring citizens who chose to do the right thing, and then the old Bonaire cap clue helped the conscientious Aruba Maritime police to locate us, working with the Budget Marine organization, Caribbean wide.
 The team of Maritime police - Ulrich Bertrand, Alex Henriquez, Igmar Benschop and Ryan Anthony all had a hand in this successful conclusion. First  retrieving the dinghy, contacting Budget Marine, caring for the dinghy and assisting with the necessary customs processes and then delivering the recovered dinghy to us at Nautical Club. Captain Sally Schroeder, of S/V Zahe, a friend and cruiser who is a frequent visitor to Aruba  assisted us in getting a temporary berth at Nautical. The staff and members were welcoming and helpful. So it is a long series of miracles from start to finish, with much good work and many good deeds done here in Aruba.

This is an extremely happy occasion for us to make our first visit to Aruba; we hope to return in the future. Most importantly, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved.”

Budget Marine St. Maarten swims with Spirit 

The Carib Swim Team (CST) held its 1^st Annual CST Inter-Company Swim Challenge on Sunday Sept 25^th, with much success.

A total of 7 teams participated in this corporate but mostly social event, of which two teams were represented by Budget Marine St. Maarten & Group, along with teams from Learning Unlimited, CIA, TriSport, the French Sea Rescue, and finally one by the mums, dads, volunteers and employees of the Carib Swim Team themselves.

The day started off with a team effort in the Mixed Relay Race, followed by several individual heats, covering all 4 strokes.

Ten Budget Marine staff members joined up to show that we not only enjoy being ON the water, but also IN the water.

Prizes went to TriSport in third place, CIA in second, and a well-deserved 1^st to the teachers of Learning Unlimited.  Budget Marine may not have placed in the top three, but did receive the much appreciated ‘Spirit Prize’.

A BIG thank you goes out to all participating teams, supporters, and of course the Carib Swim Team for such an enjoyable event.

Budget Marine well-represented by team St. Maarten at 2011 Caribbean Dinghy Championships

August 2011 – Antigua – For the first time ever, St. Maarten placed in the top three at the Caribbean Dinghy Championships. Overall, Antigua won first place, Trinidad came second, and St. Maarten placed third.

Five territory teams competed in the event hosted by the Antigua Yacht Club and sanctioned by the Caribbean Yachting Association. Trinidad, Barbados, Antigua, Sint Maarten and British Virgin Islands were all represented. Sailors competed in the Optimist, Zoom 8, Laser Standard, Laser Radial and Sport 16 classes. All the boats are one person sailing dinghies except for the Sport 16 which carries a two man crew. The age limit in the Optimist class was 11 years old.

Antigua placed first in only one class, but their combined points were the lowest, giving them the overall best score. St. Maarten, who was sponsored by the Sint Maarten Yacht Club and was given sailing gear from Budget Marine, clinched first place in two classes: Alec Scarabelli beat the fleet in the Optimist class, and Stephane and Robbie Ferron won first in the Sport 16 class. Harry Antrobus, Bodine Beentjes, and Jolyon Ferron each placed fourth in their classes, contributing to the overall success of the St.Maarten team.
 

Outstanding sailor in the competition was Andrew Lewis, of Trinidad, who won all Laser standard races. Lewis is on track to qualify for the Olympics and recently took 32nd place in that very competitive class in the pre-Olympics, in Weymouth Portland in the UK, where the next sailing Olympics will take place.

Alec Scarabelli of Sint Maarten won the Optimist class over Antigua’s Rocco Falcone. Jason Tindale, Barbados, just edged past Antigua’s Omari Schot in the Laser Radial class. Hosea Williams of Antigua held off Kelly Arrindell of Trinidad in the Zoom class, and Stephane Ferron scraped home in the Sport 16 class ahead of Andy Morrell of the BVI.

The threat of an advancing tropical depression did not dampen the enthusiasm at the 2011 CDC. “Because of the approaching tropical storm, we had to sail 2 races on Friday afternoon and squeeze more races in on Saturday when the wind was already picking up,” explained team coach, Andrea Scarabelli. “Our sailors demonstrated very good boat handling and skill in heavy winds, and that gave us the opportunity to beat clubs like Barbados and BVI.”
 

Team Interlux clinches Marlow Regatta win

Simpson Bay Lagoon – Team Interlux, an impressive team of young St. Maarten athletes, won the 10th annual Marlow Regatta.  Jolyon Ferron (16), Stephen Looser (16), Rhone Findlay (15), and Saskia Looser (14) pooled their talents and beat the fleet.
 
The thing that makes this youth team stand out is their ability to work together.  Individually talented, they come together like pieces in a puzzle, each equally aware of, and contributing to, the big picture.  Well-trained, disciplined, co-operative and keen, they are an unbeatable combination!

In second place came Frits Bus and his team, Rein Korteknie and Roel ten Hopen, of St. Maarten.  Eric Baray, of Martinique, sailing with his son, Medhi, and Andrew Dove, of Antigua, took third place as Team North Sails.

Other notable competitors were the recent winner of the Heineken Light Caribbean Laser Championship, Benoit Meesemaeker, of St.Barth’s;  Francois de Corlieu, of St. Barth’s; Team Tropical Sailloft which stepped up to the plate after a last minute cancellation;  and, the eight young people from the SMYC Youth Sailing Programme who took part in the Regatta.

Sailing in a fleet of one-design Jeanneau 20 sailboats, in strong and shifty winds, ten teams completed nineteen races during the two-day event.  Boats were rotated throughout the regatta to keep the playing field level.  The racing was tight, with only 6 points between first and third place in the final results.  The fleet was always together, demonstrating how evenly-matched the teams were.  In one race, there were only 38 seconds between first and last place!  This consistency among the teams made the race fulfilling for the participants and exciting for the spectators on the committee boat.

The Marlow Regatta was sponsored by Marlow Rope of the UK.  Marlow Rope has been manufacturing high-quality yacht rope for over 200 years, and has been represented in the Caribbean for 25 years by Budget Marine.

Local Sailors Hot to Compete in
10th Annual Marlow Regatta

Simpson Bay Lagoon – This weekend, June 18-19, the St. Maarten Yacht Club hosts the 10th annual Caribbean Championships for One-Design Keelboats sponsored by Marlow Rope.  The line-up includes Martinique’s Eric Baray, teaming up with Andrew Dove, and Phillip Bernard from St. Vincent.

Sanctioned by the Caribbean Sailing Association, the regatta takes place in the Simpson Bay Lagoon in Lagoon Sailboat Rental’s fleet of Jeanneau 20 one-design sailboats.  The boats are rotated between races to ensure complete equality and to “up” the level of competition.  The courses are short and the competition stiff, often characterized with one point finish margins.
 
Two local teams to watch are Frits Bus and Jolyon Ferron.  Veteran Bus and his crew have placed second in this regatta each year since 2007.  Sixteen-year-old Ferron, along with his teammates Stephen Looser (16), Rhone Findlay (15), and Saskia Looser (13), placed 5th in last year’s Marlow, and won the similar Interlux regatta in January 2011.
 
The event is sponsored by Marlow Rope, one of the world’s leading yacht rope manufacturers.  Located in Hailsham, East Sussex, U.K., Marlow Rope has been manufacturing high-quality yacht rope for over 200 years.  It is represented in the Caribbean by Budget Marine.
 
The skippers’ briefing will be held at the St. Maarten Yacht Club on Friday June 17 at 6:00pm.  Racing commences at 9:00am on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.  On Sunday, June 19, lunch at the St. Maarten Yacht Club will be followed by the Prize Giving, to which all are welcome.
 
For more information, and the Notice of Race, go to www.smyc.com, or contact Cary Byerley at director@bigboatseries.com.

Captian Oliver's Regatta 2011

The crew of Bobby Velsaquez's "L'Esperance" won Most Worthy Performance at the close of the 7th Annual Captain Oliver's Regatta, after stamping their authority in the Cruising Monohull Class on both days.

Despite the light air, it was another dominating performance that has seen "L'Esperance" rack up a string of successes in the major Caribbean regattas. They will have their name inscribed on the beautiful Captain Oliver Memorial Trophy, along with other previous, worthy winners.

It was fitting that Bobby, one of the late Oliver's closest friends, was presented with the trophy by the Captain's first mate and lifetime partner Maggi.

"I can't see the captain, but I know he can see us here today," said Bobby. "Thank you for making sure his dream continues. He was a wonderful friend. He created this regatta and he will always be here with us."

Velasquez paid tribute to L'Esperance, a rebuilt boat he described as "magical."

"It is flabbergasting to me how well she does," he said. "She manoeuvres so well, no matter what the wind shifts do. We are the same bunch of old guys racing her, but we sail well and understand her."

He said he was particularly happy to have soundly beaten great rival "Nix" in the Anguilla Regatta.

St. Barths' Raphael Magras on "Maelia" was second in Cruising Monohulls and Garth Steyn's "Moondance," last year's Most Worthy winner, finished third.

"Budget Marine Gill" emerged the victor of Racing Monohulls in another Melges meltdown with Frits Bus's "Coors Light." Budget drew first blood in Saturday's around-the-island race and then took advantage of a choice-of-course error by Coors Light in Sunday's race to Table Rock.

"We tacked away, because we thought left was favoured," explained Frits. "The wind continued lifting and we couldn't tack back. We thought the wind must shift back, but it never did. In the end it shifted more than 70-80 degrees to the right. It was a pity, because we had very good boat speed."

The third Melges Didier Rouault's "French Connection" finished third overall.

St. Barths' Jeff Ledee and crew won the Beach Cat Class on their Nacra F18 "Nikki Beach." They also received a prize for fastest boat around the island on Saturday. French St. Martin's Olivier Bernaz on "Image Real Estate" was second and Thierry Linares came in third on Cirrus 31.

Cruising Multihulls was won by Petro Jonker's "Quality Time," second to Jean-Michel Ricour's "Billboard Media" and third to Petri Ottavainen's "Tight Five."

Eric Clement's "Dauphin Telecom" trimaran (ex-Karibuni) made a splash, winning on both days ahead of Michaux Corroy's "Carib Cat" and third placed Christophe Morel on "Callisto."

The Corporate Challenge was won by the Sun Odyssey 44 "Turtle Island." "Vwel-o-Ven" was second and a team from the "Louis-Constant Fleming Hospital" third.

Saturday's counter-clockwise, around-the-island race began in rainy and very light conditions, until the breeze strengthened at Lowlands and the airport. Sunday produced an 8-10 knot breeze and flat seas in the St. Barths channel for the shortened course to Table Rock and back to Oyster Pond.

In other prizes awarded, two ladies on "Mr. Walker" won a Best Costume prize for dressing up as pirates.

And three young Dutch St. Maarteners from the secondary vocational school marine programme on "Lil Poe" skippered by Rien Korteknie were awarded a basic keelboat certification course from St. Maarten Sailing School.

Some 27 boats — seven came from St. Barths – contested the regatta. Great sailing, parties, entertainment, buffets, Platinum girls and fabulous prizes made this regatta a hit once again with sailors.

Team “YES AYE” representing Grenada at the Barbados International Game Fishing Tournament with the assistance of Budget Marine Grenada - March 18TH - 22ND 2011

Team Yes Aye (Capt. Gary Clifford, Andrew Welham and Ben Villalobos), represented Grenada in the Barbados Game Fishing Association annual International Tournament held at Port St Charles Barbados March 18 - 22nd 2011.

Yes Aye, a 31’ Innovator sportfish, left Grenada before dawn on the 17th prepared for a long, potentially rough passage direct to Barbados (150 nm). Fortunately conditions were reasonable and we averaged 15knots to reach Port St Charles by 3pm. Tournament representatives greeted us with a very welcome cold Banks beer on arrival and welcomed us “to Paradise”!.

Registration day on the 18th was spent re-spooling reels and rigging new lures - a 2.5 hour fishing excursion in the afternoon raised 2 billfish but neither was hooked up - this was considered a good omen since none of the crew had ever fished in Barbados before. Registration itself showed a surprisingly low turnout of 22 boats with only six having travelled from other islands - a sign of the financial times perhaps...

The Bimini start next day was somewhat tense for Yes Aye as we seemed to be directly in front of some bigger, faster boats so when the “go” command was issued we gunned the throttles and leapt up to 24 knots to clear the pack long enough to turn to the west. The boat made an impressive sight especially with 2 large Budget Marine flags streaming from the outriggers! (the rest of the tournament was spent fielding questions about “what engines do you have in that boat!?!”). The first days fishing that followed was in calm conditions and hook ups were called in less than 20 minutes after the start - Billfisher III Barbados had a good day releasing a white and a blue plus losing a few others. Reel Extreme St Lucia had a red letter day indeed with their first ever Grand Slam (2 whites, a sail and a spearfish). Yes Aye had about 3 billfish strikes including  what looked like a white hooked up for Andrew but it came off very quickly and only a consolation Dorado was boated for Gary.

Day 2 saw Challenge II Barbados (last year’s champion) release 2 blues to make a run for defending their title. Astonishingly Big Deal Barbados came in with 165 wahoo and Dorado !! - they eventually won the boat pool with over 2000lbs of fish bought to the scale...Day 2 was Yes Aye’s best action day with 3 blue marlin hook ups and several other billfish and wahoo strikes. First up was Ben who worked hard to get a hook up on a finicky blue around 100lb or so - the fish screamed off 150 yds before ejecting the hook. Fishing around a FAD produced a wahoo for Gary then a similar strike in the same area resulted in Gary releasing a small blue about 50lb - we were on the scoreboard! The area went dead after that so we headed south. An hour before lines up a large fish slashed at the left corner and was briefly hooked and off - same fish then hit the left rigger (lure with flyingfish) and ran back past the shotgun before coming off again! Not phased the marlin returned once more to the same bait and Andrew gave a short drop back which resulted in a solid hook up. Four hundred yards of line blurred off the 80 reel and the fish made an enormous crash on the surface - then the line was slack - broken somewhere near the Bimini knot. Somewhat dejected but still excited by the great fishing we returned to the dock. Spirits were raised shortly afterwards by an eye catching display of swimsuits demonstrated by five very attractive young Bajan ladies! Afterwards Andrew and Ben demonstrated their powers of persuasion by enticing the girls to come and pose by Yes Aye and also by the Budget Marine flag!

Lay day on the 21st was a quiet, relaxed affair with good food and good company (all the team were very impressed by how welcoming and helpful everyone was to us) in the comfortable location of Port St Charles.

Day 3 was choppy and rainy conditions to start but was to be excellent fishing for some of the fleet - Legacy Barbados had the events second Grand Slam with 2 blues a white and a sail - this was enough points to take them in to 2nd place ahead of Challenge II who also released a sail that day. Screaming Eagle Barbados released 2 blues and a white which when added to their earlier sailfish and yellowfin tuna won them the event. Yes Aye had a quieter day but a late hook up with a billfish for Ben kept hopes alive until it spat the hook a few minutes later. We finished 9th boat (from 22) and Gary was 9th angler (from 148).

Prize giving and awards dinner followed and despite a problem with the microphone the evening and indeed the whole event was considered a great success. The return trip to Grenada on the 23rd was smooth and comfortable coming down the seas and all the crew agreed we can’t wait to do it all again next year!.

Thanks to Budget Marine for helping us achieve this dream.

Australia’s Cookson 50 Jazz Earns Class I Honors
in 2011 GILL Commodore’s Cup

On a day that began with rain and drizzle and gave way to blue skies and fresh breeze—in other words, a perfect day for yacht racing—39 boats in six classes gathered off Simpson Bay today to compete in the GILL Commodore’s Cup, the traditional kick-off to the annual St. Maarten Heineken Regatta sponsored by the popular brand of foul-weather gear and sailing apparel.

 Though the weather was gray and drizzly all morning, as the fleet assembled for the high-noon start of the event, patches of blue appeared above. Soon after, in a 12-14 knot southeasterly breeze, racing commenced in a lumpy, leftover sea. But by mid-afternoon both the “sou’easter” and the seaway had moderated and the racecourse was bathed in sunshine and winds hovering around ten knots. For many of the serious racers who came out for an extra day of competition and to shake off the cobwebs in advance of this weekend’s three-day St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, which begins on Friday, the conditions were simply ideal.

 There were plenty of highlights and colorful images in all six divisions. One of the more memorable moments came during a leeward mark-rounding in the second contest of the three-race series, when a pair of Class 2 boats—the Melges 24, Budget Marine/GILL, and the Open 750, Panic Attack, with its distinctive square-topped main—finished their first windward leg just as the fleet’s largest boat, the Dubois 90, Genuine Risk, completed their second. The juxtaposition of the three wildly divergent boats, with Genuine Risk’s five-spreader rig towering over the action, was emblematic of the range and variety of the assembled racers.

 The big winner today, however, was the canting-keel Cookson 50, Jazz, which made her impressive Caribbean debut with three straight victories to top Class 1 in striking fashion. Jazz (formerly known as Evolution Racing) has traveled halfway around the world, mostly via freighter, since winning the IRC-0 class in the recent Sydney-Hobart Race. And with her victory in the GILL Commodore’s Cup, she has served notice that she’ll be a force to contend with in the upcoming St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

 “She sails quite well in windy conditions,” said Jazz navigator Mike Broughton, one of several Aussies on the crew. “So today was encouraging. We had light conditions and we did quite well.”

 In Class 2, Mark Plaxton’s Melges 32,Team INTAC, also recorded three bullets to easily win the division. Plaxton, who was a key crewman in Gavin Brady’s victory in the Budget Marine Match Racing Cup earlier in the week, today had U.S.V.I. legend Peter Holmberg onboard. Ironically, Brady and Plaxton beat Holmberg’s team in the finals of the match-racing event.

 “That’s what I like about Peter,” said Plaxton. “He knew we were racing the Commodore’s Cup and the Heineken Regatta together and he was like, ‘You’re going to be with Brady in the match race?’ But that’s just part of the fun.”

 Other winners today included Stephan Lehnert’s 56-foot Passion 4 C in Class 4; William Wester’s Grand Soleil, Antilope, in Class 5; and Kick ‘em Jenny, Ian Hope-Ross’s Beneteau First 36.7, in Class 6.

 “The GILL Commodore’s Cup is one of three components of the race week,” said Robbie Ferron, chairman of the event’s steering committee. “It really works well. The GILL Commodore’s Cup is a one-day event that lets crews get back together on the racecourse, especially the ones coming out of the cold who haven’t raced together recently.”

 Now, with the 2011 editions of the Budget Marine Match Racing Cup and the GILL Commodore’s Cup in the books, it’s time for the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta—and the Serious Fun—to begin.

 For full information on the GILL Commodore’s Cup and the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, as well as entry lists, past results, photos, videos, party and band information, the Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions and much, much more, visit www.heinekenregatta.com.

2nd Annual Around St.Maarten/St.Martin
Multihull Regatta entries look promising,
Budget Marine on board.

The St.Maarten St.Martin Multihull Regatta will take place on 26 February, for all boats with more than one hull. It will be the 2nd edition. With a course around the island it will have record braking potential.

The organization of the Multihull Regatta is happy to announce that Budget Marine has become involved with the event for its 2nd edition. Budget Marine will support the race with trophies for the winners in each class and technical equipment for the race committee. “With the regatta in its second year the event is building and does not have a huge financial backing yet.  So we are grateful for every contribution we receive” Mirian Ebbers, the Coordinator comments.

Last year 15 multihulls participated in 4 classes, from beach cats to the impressive trimarans like Karibuni from  Pinel Island. Participants came from St.Maarten, SaintMartin, St.Barths & Canada.  “The target for this year is 20 boats and participants from all surrounding islands including the BVI’s.  Already 11 boats have committed to racing, 8 beach cats and 3 other multihulls so we are right on track here.”

 The start and finish will be in Simpson Bay and can be viewed from the beach at Kim Sha and further down at Mary’s Boon & Karakter. More information can be found on the new and great looking www.multihullregatta.com or call +599-580 8111. Don’t forget to block your calendar  for 26 February 2011.

Kudos to Budget Marine Grenada!

In the August Caribbean Compass, Budget Marine Grenada was listed in the “Pandora Awards 2009-2010”. The yacht Pandora has been cruising the Caribbean for the past 2 seasons and crew Nicola Cornwell and Mike Wilkie listed their favourite anchorages, boat improvements, restaurants, regatta, etc and this is what they said about their favourite chandlery - Budget Marine Grenada:

“It may be a part of a chain and not the biggest store in the Caribbean, but it’s a sure winner purely because of its staff. Led superbly by Manager Nicholas George, for whom nothing is too much trouble, and typified by the always-smiling lady at the checkout who only needs to meet you once to know your boat name for the rest of the season.”

Good Luck and Success to the Sailors in Canada!

Budget Marine Curacao said goodbye to brother and sister Jarink and Milou Bijlsterbosch at the Asiento Harbour. Together with eight other children from the Netherlands Antilles they left for Kingston, Canada, to participate in the Optinam 2010, which is held from June 26 to July 3.

 

The OPTINAM stands for North American Optimist Championship. In 110 countries there are 150,000 children up to the age of 15 are sailing in this popular small one-man sailing boats. Many Olympic sailing champions started in the Optimist. Jarink and Milou have been supplied with the latest life vests from Gill and have received a financial contribution to purchase new sails on the spot.

During the competition an average of 3 to 4 races are sailed each day. A full program for Jarink, Milou and the other Antillean participants.

Budget Marine/Gill end successful season with podium place in Barbados 

A happy if slightly bemused Budget Marine/Gill sailing team returned to St. Maarten earlier this week having wrapped up a successful season with yet another podium place, this time in the Mount Gay Rum Boatyard Regatta in Barbados.

Sailing a Melges 24 chartered for them by the Government of Barbados, the team, Christopher Marshall, Andrea Scarabelli (skipper), Derek Little and Rene Edwards came within a halyards breadth of  winning the regatta, however, a mix-up on the final day meant they had to make do with second place overall.

“Unfortunately things fell apart a little after we were protested for hitting a mark, which we didn’t hit,” said Marshall. “In the ensuing confusion we decided to do a 360 to be safe which was a disaster. We still came in second overall but I guess the pressure of being so far ahead go to us.”

The boat sailed by the team had not been used in over a year. “It was a big achievement to arrive in Barbados, put the boat together, then learn to sail with four crew members instead of our usual five, and still beat some of the best guys in the Caribbean. One thing we now know for sure is that we can beat them all,” Marshall said.

The Mount Gay Rum Boatyard Regatta brought down the curtain on a successful 2009/2010 season for the Budget Marine/Gill Team. As a crew they took part in ten major events, winning five and scoring three podium places.

FUN MILES and BUDGET MARINE CURACAO

Budget Marine Curacao and Fun Miles have joined forces this past month. You may have heard the radio ads or  seen the advertisment in the Curacao local paper. Customers who purchase at the Curacao Budget Marine Location get one Fun Mile for free with every ANG 2.50 spent. This location has the exclusivity of being the only one in the Chandlery Market.

Customers will privately gain from this union by getting the Fun Miles on their own personal account. As this is the introduction you can get double the Fun Miles until May 15 and also enter for a chance to win a Kayak. Call or visit the Budget Marine location for more details.

New Budget Marine Perpetual Trophy for Female Sailors at
Grenada Sailing Festival 2010

Budget Marine Grenada, a long standing sponsor of the Grenada Sailing Festival, will be extending its involvement in the annual event by initiating and presenting a new Perpetual Trophy at the next Festival, to be staged from Friday 29 January to Tuesday 2 February 2010.

 The Budget Marine Trophy will be awarded to the most outstanding female sailor participating in the Grenada Sailing Festival Port Louis Racing Series, four days of international yacht racing based out of the Festival’s Home Port – Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina. Nicholas George, Manager of Budget Marine Grenada, explained: “The Company has long been a great supporter of the promotion and recognition of talented female sailors, and we are very pleased to bring this to the Grenada Sailing Festival. The aim of the Budget Marine Perpetual Trophy is to acknowledge and encourage sailing talent, spirit and ambition in our many female sailors, and will not necessarily go to the one over the Finish Line first.”

 The Trophy is a beautifully crafted wall-mounted Chronometer, which will be displayed permanently in the Budget Marine Grenada Store in True Blue. Each year the winner’s name will be added to an engraved plaque under the Chronometer, and a picture of the presentation featured in a Grenada Sailing Festival Photo Gallery also in the Store.

For the first time the 2010 Grenada Sailing Festival will offer not one, but two week-ends of great sailing action. The organisers plan to take the ever popular event to a new level, and expand and grow both elements that make the Festival such a success – the international yacht racing and the traditional work boat regatta. By staging the sailing over two week-ends , the Festival will provide more interesting and challenging racing for all participating sailors; more chances to share and exchange different sailing experiences and more fun and entertainment for supporters and visitors.

For more details on the Grenada Sailing Festival, visit  www.grenadasailingfestival.com

Budget Marine Challenge 2009

On Sunday June 15th the yearly Budget Marine Challenge took place in Curacao. Budget Marine Curacao invested in long sleeve shirts for all crewmembers and that was a great success. The shirts were very much appreciated and even now weeks after the race the shirts are often used for the weekend sailing. The weather was absolutely beautiful. A calm sea, winds around 15 to 18 knots. The perfect sailing weather for Curacao. Normally around this time of the year the sea can be pretty rough. 

  

We had 50% more yachts in the race than last year. I remember last year’s race was a tough one with very high waves and lots of wind. A great and successful day also thanks all the staff who helped to make this day into a success.

Budget Marine Group hosts Boatyard Seminar – June 8 & 9, 2009

The Budget Marine Group will be hosting a Boatyard Seminar in June at which all major boatyard managers have been invited. The seminar takes place at the Group Offices in Sint Maarten. The seminar will hear presenters from major boatyard product suppliers and will report on latest developments in their area. West System will be represented as will the Prop Speed, Epifanes, 3M and Nidacore product lines. The seminar will also provide an opportunity for boatyard managers to network and share views on operating boatyards in the Caribbean.

Budget Marine believes that the economic recession is going to create great opportunities in the refit business as older boats are kept "alive" for longer. Budget Marine believes that the passion for boating is far from disappearing and the result of this the potential for boatyards will grow. This means that better training for product use and greater productivity is an ideal subject to focus on at this time.

Budget Marine Race Day in Trinidad - May 3, 2009

This Budget Marine Race Day at the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association was hailed as “the best race day of the season” and Budget Marine Trinidad Manager, Risa Hall Lequay, with strong support from her staff team, went all out to make it so. 
 
The day started like a wet squib, but ended with a bang. Soaking rain and minimal visibility delayed the race for 25 minutes and a number of boats were late at the start, as they lost sight of the committee boat flag signals. But the sky steadily cleared as boats close hauled up to the windward mark and wind strengthened to provide ideal racing conditions.

In the Racing Class, comprising four Melges with the same design and handicap, winner was Drunken Monkeys (skipper Paul Amon), who, after some close dueling, beat 2nd placed Mojo by 43 seconds on corrected time, with Wasabi taking 3rd place. In Cruising Class I after a late start, Nirvana managed to catch up and take 2nd place, beating Sea Wyf into 3rd place. Winner was Jahaji Bhai (skipper James Arrindell). Sailing conditions suited this J24 well and with a new set of sails and competent crew work they were able to stay ahead of a number of bigger boats. In Cruising Class II BMobile Enzyme (skipper Paul Solomon) was 1st across the line by a good margin and also 1st on handicap. 2nd placed Wajang had good boat speed around the course and 3rd was Jaguar, largest boat in the fleet, whose foredeck crew were particularly pleased with their new carbon boom.
 
At prize-giving, skipper's packs with Budget Marine caps, t-shirts and koozies to keep one’s drink cold were presented to every participating boat and quality chandlery products were given to the top 3 in each class. Music and plentiful refreshments, including Trini's favourite snack, “doubles”, warmed the wet sailors up, providing a satisfying the end to this successful day's racing.

Prizes Awarded Across Fleet As Racing Concludes In 2009 Antigua Sailing Week

On the seventh day, they rested. A wild, windy and memorable week of racing is over. The Dufour 385, KH+P Sun King, chartered to Hans-Robert Nitsche, topped the 12-boat Bareboat Gold fleet to earn the honor as best overall bareboat charter boat in the 2009 edition of Antigua Sailing Week. The Dufour 40, Fantasque, chartered to Rolf Jacob, and another Dufour 385, KH+P Clarabella—an all-women team skippered by Mareike Guhr—finished second and third, respectively, to round out the podium finishers.

Among those winners were the Club Swan 42, Interlodge, and the Swan 53, Dragon Fly Plus, as the Best Swans in Division A and B. The Best Caribbean Yachts were the Grand Soleil 43, Curacao Marine, and the First 456, Hugo B, which was also named Best Antigua Yacht in Division B. The Division A honor as top Antiguan yacht went to the Mumm 36, Café Americano.

The recipient of the Fletcher Trophy as Best British Yacht went to the TP 52, Rio, which was also the overall winner of Antigua Sailing Week in 2009. The Best American Yacht was the Beneteau First 40.7, Elandra, while the Best German Yacht was a charter boat, the Dufour 455, KH+P Sea You Later, which also earned the Holtmann Cup given to the Best Yacht Sailed by Women. The Mollihawk Trophy given to the Best Classic Yacht went to the S&S-designed Swan 43, Pavlova II.

For complete information, news, photographs, video, entry lists and much more, visit the Antigua Sailing Week website at www.sailingweek.com.

International Rolex Regatta: Fans Play a Part, Too

St. Thomas, USVI (March 23, 2009) -- With less than a week to go, St. Thomas Yacht Club is applying finishing touches before the kickoff of the 36th annual International Rolex Regatta on Friday, March 27.

The three-day regatta includes professionally run racing in a spectacular Caribbean setting along with memorable regatta parties for local and visiting teams from the U.S. and Europe. The event also has plenty of fan-friendly offerings. For starters, the public is encouraged to participate in a special regatta celebration at Yacht Haven Grande on Saturday night from 7-11 p.m. Carnival flair is expected when The Spectrum Band, one of St. Thomas's most popular reggae bands, performs three shows at center stage in the mega yacht marina complex.

Racers and race fans can check out the website at www.rolexcupregatta.com to view a full schedule of events. Live results by yachtscoring.com will be posted nightly with race reports and photos. Daily video coverage will be available for free on-demand viewing at www.t2p.tv or by clicking on the TV icon on the regatta web site.
 

Carriacou Regatta Festival July 26 – August 6

The Carriacou Regatta began in 1965 as a local boat race using the traditional fishing workboats, to continue the indigenous art of Boat Building handed down by Irish and Scottish Ancestors. Since that time, it has evolved into a major Caribbean event, held over the Emancipation holiday weekend, with keen competition among sailors from many of the neighbouring islands - Grenada, Tobago, Martinique, Antigua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Visitors and locals alike admire the skill and captaincy of some of the region's boatmen, as they jostle for supremacy in the different classes of boats, ranging from 14 to 35 feet in length. In 2009, the Carriacou Regatta Festival celebrates its 44th Anniversary from July 26 to August 3 to 6, with festival highlights including numerous cultural and sporting events. The Carriacou Regata Festival invites you to experience a true Caribbean traditional festival. Visit the Official Regatta website, www.cariacouregatta.com, for more information about the events and activities.

Budget Marine Valentine’s Regatta

February 2009 Jolly Harbour, Antigua - The Budget Marine Valentine’s Regatta, organized by the Jolly Harbor Yacht Club, consisted of two days of sailing in the Five Islands Harbor adjacent to Jolly Harbor with a fifteen-boat fleet, was a truly outstanding event where passionate sailors enjoyed bracing conditions on the water and great parties ashore. Winds were always stiff and above twelve knots but never got exceptionally strong.

The racing class was dominated by Jamie Dobb’s “Lost Horizons” (J122) sailed by a top-notch crew that made few mistakes. An indomitable Bernie Evans Wong followed him around the course at a fairly consistent distance to take second. The crew of Likkle Hugo went home when they decided they could not win the event like they had last year. The third place went to Paul Hoj Jensen and Sven Harder in the Dragon “Compass Point”.

The most competitive class was the Racer Cruiser class where Jerry Bardoe (Contention 33, Encore) managed to squeeze ahead of Tanner Jones’s (J30) Blue Peter by one point. A tough battle between BIWI Magic and Augustine ended with equal point with the tie of 18 points each going in favor of Biwi Magic (Geoffrey Pidduck).

The spirit of this regatta was best captured by the Cruising Class, in which a mixed group of passionate sailors drive a variety of boats around the course with great spirit and old sails. Coming out on top was Colin Jones sailing a Columbia 34 with great skill. David Milner sailed his Van der Stadt 30 into second place and Charles Kenlock took third place with the British Folkboat “May”. Winners of the Racer Cruiser and Cruising classes both received $1,000 in Micron 66 sponsored by Interlux.

Participants were pleased to welcome Jean Michel Marizou from Guadeloupe and a large crew who were pleased to escape the strike conditions on that island. The rest of the participants were Antigua residents in some form. The race officer Stephen Parry flew in from the UK to once again officiate this event. Additional prizes were Osculati binoculars, Leatherman Skeletools and Xantrex inverters, all available at Budget Marine.

The 16th edition of this event (the first was in 1993) continued a tradition of great regattas held in the flat waters and a great spirit of sportsmanship. The event is sponsored by Budget Marine whose oldest “branch” is in Jolly Harbour Antigua where they have served the growing yachting population since Jolly Harbour first opened up. Budget Marine is the Caribbean’s leading chandlery and has been operating in the Caribbean since 1982, and has 9 locations throughout the Caribbean, Antigua, Bonaire, Curacao, Grenada, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Thomas & Trinidad.

2009 BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival is a "Must Do" Regatta March 30 -April 5

Every year, well before registration closes for the BVI Spring Regatta, people ask, "How many boats are registered?" and every year, organizers reply something to the effect that the final registration numbers are hard to predict. This year is no different, but with the economy being in the toilet and the event looming only seven weeks away, the question seems more relevant than ever.

Robert Armstong, a seasoned racer and a long time participant of the BVI Spring Regatta, is once again coming from St. Croix with his J/100. Fresh from winning the PHRF division at Key West Acura Race Week for the second year in a row, when asked why BVI Spring Regatta was on his dance card he wrote, "I'd just tell you that when I was working on my '09 budget racing in the BVI Spring Regatta went into the column headed 'necessities'.

Rumor has it that a number of Gun Boats will also be gracing the BVI for the regatta. This class is billed as high performance racing catamarans with all the creature comforts of home. Utilizing high tech materials and techniques such as honeycombed Nomex and core cell cores, carbon and Kevlar skins, and all post cured SP Epoxies, Gunboats are engineered to be as light and as strong as possible.

With the event beginning March 30, organizers are making all the final preparations. Regardless of economic conditions, due to the great hospitality of the BVI, wonderful Caribbean conditions, excellent race management and two incredible venues, the Bitter End Yacht Club and the Nanny Cay Resort and Marina, the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival is on the "must do" list for many sailors world wide. www.bvispringregatta.org
 

First Grenada Sailing Festival Dinghy Championship Takes to the Water

January 26, 2009 - The combination of excellent wind conditions and a very good attendance made the first Grenada Sailing Festival Dinghy Championship a great success. Visitors and Grenadians on Grand Anse Beach last Saturday were treated to an added bonus, as they watched the 17 keen young sailors enjoy an afternoon of competitive racing.

There were some thrills and spills, but the supervision from the safety boat, provided to the Youth Sailing Program by the Four Seasons Hotel Group, and the Committee Boat, from Budget Marine, Grenada, plus technical assistance on shore from James Benoit of the Grenada Yacht Club, ensured that the day ran smoothly and all the young sailors attending had some great racing.

The youngsters are all members of the Youth Sailing Program run by the Grenada Yacht Club, supported by the Grenada Sailing Association, and with the long-term support of Budget Marine, Grenada, also a Festival sponsor. There were classes for both Optimist and Mosquito dinghies for the younger sailors, with the youngest competitor only 9 years old. The faster Laser dinghies were also out on the water, being raced by the older, more experienced sailors, and showing the youngsters what they have to look forward to in sailing as they get older.

Crew T-shirts and much sought after sailing gloves were generously contributed by Budget Marine, Grenada, and at the end of the event, after enjoying a well-deserved supper, each competitor was presented with a Championship Certificate from the Grenada Sailing Festival. The event was organised as a run-up to the annual Grenada Sailing Festival and all participating sailors have been invited to come to the final afternoon prize presentation of the Digicel Work Boat Regatta on Sunday 1 February, on Grand Anse Beach, when the winners of each class: Nicholas Cherman in the Mosquitos; Kenzo Szyjan in the Optimists and Kevin Banfield in the Lasers, will be presented with Trophies.

By starting this new Dinghy Sailing Championship, Festival organisers aim to increase the calendar of sailing events for young sailors. It is planned that all events and Regattas in which they take part will contribute to finding a Junior Dinghy Sailing Champion for 2009, to be announced at the end of the year. This will also be a useful aid to the sailing coaches when picking teams to participate in Regional regattas, and hopefully, in the future, International events. The next date has already been set for the young sailors to compete again in a Dinghy Race Day on 1st March, as part of the South Grenada Regatta to be held at Le Phare Bleu Marina in Petite Calivigny Bay.

The organisers would like to thank again Nicholas George and Budget Marine Grenada; Richard Szyjan of Turbulence Grenada; Mark Stout and Jacqui Pascal from the Grenada Sailing Association for dedicating their time and support, and to Digicel for providing the event’s base tent on the beach.

The 2009 Grenada Sailing Festival is presented by Port Louis and Camper & Nicholsons, in association with the Grenada Board of Tourism, and will be run from Friday 30 January to Tuesday 3 February. The Festival, based for the first time this year in its new Home Port at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, will be four days of International yacht racing, together with the traditional two-day fete of sailing, music and fun at the Digicel Work Boat Regatta off Grand Anse Beach. The organisers would also like to thank sponsors True Blue Bay, plus Captains’ Club Members for 2009: British Airways; Colombian Emeralds; Mount Gay Rum; Heineken; North South Wines; ScotiaBank and United Insurance; and Crew Club Members: Budget Marine; Boval; Island Dreams Yacht Services; TSL Grenada Ltd.; 809 Design and COT Media group. Thanks also go to new 2009 Party Venues Le Phare Bleu and The Aquarium, plus long term supporters Coca Cola; Glenelg Spring Water; Horizon Yacht Charters and Deyna’s.

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