Budget Marine celebrated their fifteenth year in the Bonaire community with a fun day at the waterfront! Rather than just having a party, we celebrate with the community that supports us. This entire program was a fund raiser for Jong Bonaire, an after school program for teens, Athletics Federation, training and competing in track and field events, Stichting Hart Voor Bonaire (Heart foundation), the Bonaire Barracuda Aquatics Club, offering both competitive swimming and water polo, and the Bonaire Sailing Association which provides many sailing experiences for kids and adults. Each club assisted in the organization of the event and had an opportunity to raise much needed funds.
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As the day opened there was stormy weather during the registration, but it cleared up for a perfect day! The day opened with both the long and short triathlon (750m swim, 22k bike, 5k run and the short was half) The early rain made for a generally cool, but muddy track.
The swimmers inaugurated the new floating pier in front of Kant’i Awa snack that will be used for dinghies to get to shore and for everyone that wants to get into the water and swim. We thank Stinapa for their assistance in making this happen. The dock is so far a single section of EZ-Dock, but with the support of the community, we are looking to extend it further. We thank the sponsors of Curoil, FXDC Communications, Jan Okhuijsen Architects and Stone Crusher who are the first to commit to make this goal a reality.
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As the runners were arriving, the sailors were heading for the water. There were over 30 micro boats in the water for some exciting racing. Genaro Anthony w/Mi won the new Roy Winklaar Cup. After a faltering participation in micro boats we were very proud to see this turn out and that connections were made. Likely in the near future, lessons to build and race micro boats will be held at Jong Bonaire.
The Optimists and Sun fish had some great competition on the water. Sailors that had just begun their lessons to seasoned world cup competitors each found a class to compete in and have fun. Bonaire will host the Sunfish World Championships in 2019. Viktor Wijnand and the BSSA organized the sailing. The yacht category was enthusiastic, though several were unable to attend at the last minute due to charters and mechanical difficulties. Next time we are sure to see more out there! The Lion’s club, the Rotary Club and Akkermans were all instrumental in supporting this day.
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Teal helped make it all happen with music, permits and logistics. Johnny Kleinmodig and his band arrived from Curacao on time with Divi to tantalize us with some great Latin music and some amazing piano playing. Yes, there was dancing in the streets!
RPM Live kept the crowd dancing with Reggae tunes into the evening. Each band sponsored the music along with some assistance from the Music school. Each club added to the festivities with many games, activities and food so there was something to keep everyone busy, from climbing a greased pole over the water to throwing bean bags to knock down all of the cans, banana boat rides, face painting, sail trips and more.
Each club struggles with fundraising as operating on an island makes everything expensive. To attend competitions, we cannot step on a bus, we need to fly so this makes every opportunity for the clubs to raise funds a golden opportunity. We thank those of you who donated prizes for them to give their lucky winners and those who participated to make it a success! Each club has activities for both kids and adults, so swim, sail or run there is a club for you. We look forward to repeating this event earlier in the year next year, so stay tuned for more information on that!
