Saturday, March 3, 2012

J Sailors Lovin' Sailing Heineken St Maarten Regatta

J/120 offshore sailboat- sailing St Maarten Heineken Caribbean Regatta (St Maarten, Netherlands Antilles)- It all began in 1980 with a modest 12 entries and has steadily climbed to over 200 boats and in the last year has drawn web traffic from over 160 individual countries!  "The Heineken Regatta" is a unique blend of International sailing, with boats from as far away as Russia and Brazil, and musical talent the likes of the Black Eyed Peas, the Marley Brothers, Maxi Priest and Wyclef Jean to name a few.  Nowhere else in the world will you find such an event, each day brings new finish locations, new and unique party atmospheres and bands from around the world.

J/122 Lost Horizon- sailed by Jim Dobbs from Antigua- St Maarten Heineken RegattaThe 2012 St Maarten Heineken Regatta will kick off on March 1st with the pre-event GILL Commodore's Cup and will end on Kim Sha Beach Sunday March 4th.  Four days of world-class racing and four nights of fun-filled Heineken parties will take place and offers something for everyone.  Participants and guests enjoy great food, ice cold beers and international music performers each night. Regional music acts headline the stages from Thursday through Saturday giving everyone a taste of the Caribbean life.  With the official slogan being “Serious Fun” it is no wonder people come from over 25 countries to attend this one-of-a-kind regatta.

J/95 shoal-draft performance sailboat sailing CaribbeanOn the sailing side of things, many of the 141 current entrants are familiar St. Maarten Heineken Regatta veterans, who are drawn to the mix of great competition and sensational parties year after year. Among these sailors are Rick Wesslund's team on the J/120 EL OCASO from Miami's Coral Reef YC; Sergio Sagramoso on the J/122 LAZY DOG from Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club- Puerto Rico; Jim Dobbs on the J/122 LOST HORIZON from Antigua YC; Tanner Jones and Shari Potts on the famous J/30 BLUE PETER; and recent enthusiast Tom Mullen from New Hampshire on his J/95 SHAMROCK VII.  In addition to this veteran crew are Ben Jelic on the J/120 ISLAND WATER WORLD JAGUAR, the J/125 AUNT JESSIE sailed by Jordan Mindich and the J/35 SUNBELT REALTY skippered by Remco van Dortmondt.

J/30 offshore sailboat- sailing Caribbean regattaThe GILL Commodore's Cup on March 1st will once again give the participants of the St Maarten Heineken Regatta a great day of warm-up races for those flying spinnakers. This pre-event, which is sponsored by GILL, has become a staple of the regatta weekend and makes for a great practice race. Participants that enter this event won’t be disappointed, as windward-leeward courses give them lots of great racing and a chance to size up the competition for the coming weekend of racing.  Sailing in this "warm-up" regatta are the J/125 AUNT JESSIE, the J/120 EL OCASO, the J/122 LAZY DOG, the J/95 SHAMROCK VII and the J/35 SUNBELT REALTY.  Sailing Photo credits- Tim Wright- Photoaction.com.  For more Heineken St Maarten Regatta sailing information