J/120 EL OCASO and J/125 AUNT JESSIE Dominate(St Maarten, Netherlands Antilles)- Which comes first, the party report or the sailing report? My guess is many love "The Heineken" because the social events trump the sailing only because the sailing is usually so fantastic and OTT (over the top) that you must celebrate the occasion with family and friends at the soonest possible opportunity-- sunset is perhaps the preferred time to commence festivities. After all, the regatta's mantra is "Serious Fun"!
Rising to the top of the pack was Rick Wesslund's J/120 EL OCASO. They, in fact, won the regatta's top prize— the St. Maarten Cup— for the regatta’s "Most Worthy Performance Overall", emblematic of the winner of the event’s most competitive class, CSA 4. “This is our sixth year racing at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta,” said Wesslund. “We’ve won our division twice but never this prize. I ultimately want to thank my great team for all their hard work over the years. We’ll be back!”
Just behind them in CSA 4 class was the J/125 AUNT JESSIE, sailed by Jordan Mindich and some good J/105 sailors from America. Fourth was Sergio Sagramoso on the J/122 LAZY DOG from Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club- Puerto Rico, losing a tie-breaker. And, fifth was Jim Dobbs on the J/122 LOST HORIZON from Antigua YC.
Tanner Jones and Shari Potts on the famous J/30 BLUE PETER sailed a terrific regatta to secure second overall in CSA 6 class. The J/35 SUNBELT REALTY skippered by Remco van Dortmondt sailed a strong series, even winning race #2, to grab the third spot on the podium! And, sailing one of their best regattas yet was Heineken Regatta enthusiast Tom Mullen from New Hampshire on his J/95 SHAMROCK VII, grabbing fifth in this highly competitive class with a twin-ruddered, centerboard shoal-draft boat-- quite a remarkable performance!
The
regatta was blessed with plenty of breeze over the three days of the
event. The first day was moderate to fresh with some great racing to
get the fleet going. By the time the fleet was ready-to-roll on the
second day, many sailors (and boats) may have gotten a bit more than
they had bargained for. On the one hand, the solid air pressure
provided sporty, challenging, and ideal sailing conditions for the
traditional Day 2 race to Marigot, on the island’s French side, for most
of the competitors in the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta fleet. That was
the plus side. However, the steady breezes also extracted a heavy toll,
forcing the race committee to abandon a race that was well underway
after one of the course marks drifted away. For CSA 3-6, the plan was
to sail two races on Saturday, the first a windward-leeward affair along
the island’s southern shores, and afterwards, a point-to-point race
from Simpson Bay. The four starts for the windward-leeward race again
began faultlessly. However, on the second and final lap around the
buoys, Campbell-James hailed the fleet via VHF radio to inform them that
the race was abandoned.“Unfortunately, the leeward mark decided it wanted to visit Anguilla,” said Campbell-James. “I think the wind got up a bit and unfortunately the chain was short. I’d rather lose the race than have a set of Mickey Mouse results. So we abandoned the race and started those four classes on to Marigot.”
When
racing resumed for CSA 3-6, the action on the race to Marigot was fast
and furious. After a short windward leg, the racers turned downwind and
set spinnakers for a run to the island’s western point before tacking to
a set of marks in the Anguilla Channel. Not every boat managed the
maneuver successfully. “As on Friday,” said Campbell-James, “the
sailing conditions were absolutely fantastic.” The day's winner in CSA 4
was Jordan Mindich’s J/125, AUNT JESSIE. However, with a third today,
to go along with a first yesterday, Richard Wesslund’s J/120, EL OCASO,
retained a comfortable lead atop the standings."A Sensational Sunday Surf Session Concludes The Heineken In Stunning Style."
On the first day the breeze was sharp and steady. On the second day of the annual Caribbean sailing festival, it blew harder still. But, on the third and final day of competition, the wind gods truly unleashed their power. And the result was one of the more stirring, sensational days of racing in the grand and storied legacy of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. To put it another way, if you didn’t like sailing today, on a racecourse lashed with staunch 25-knot winds and roiling, turquoise seas flecked with whitecaps, well, you’ll never like sailing.
Nearly
200 boats in 16 separate classes set sail today on two race circles off
Marigot, on the French side of St. Maarten. On the A circle, race
officers designated a pair of courses that included a long weather leg
to the northern end of the island before a downwind stretch before the
steady easterly tradewinds to the distinctive landmark off the island of
Anguilla called Blowing Rock.Coincidentally, the race committee on the B circle also designated a course that would take most of its fleet across the Anguilla Channel to, yes, Blowing Rock. As it happened, at midday today the entire fleet—the B boats reaching up from the south, and the A divisions running downwind under spinnaker from the east—rendezvoused at the low-lying outcropping known as Blowing Rock. And, mon', it was blowing at Blowing Rock.
The
wild scene at the windswept rock, with spray flying and boats
converging from divergent directions, was the signature moment of this
latest edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. The top boats all
surfing to the mark before 4-6 foot seas and registering double-digit
boat speeds, along with dozens of other competitors—handled the
conditions with confident ease and skillful aplomb.Not every crew could say the same, and there were countless close calls as competitors closed on Blowing Rock, jibed, and set a new course for the finish line off Simpson Bay. Through a happy combination of luck and skill, however, everyone made it around cleanly. And when the racers crossed the finish for the third and final race of the 2012 running, a new roster of St. Maarten Heineken Regatta champions was crowned.
The 16-boat CSA 4 class was easily the most competitive divisions, with many boats—- including the professionally crewed Grand Soleil 46 ANTILOPE (skippered by Bouwe Bekking), Sergio Sagramoso’s J/122 LAZY DOG and James Dobbs’ J/122 LOST HORIZON (both 122s sailed by strictly family and friends)—- all considered pre-regatta favorites. But when all was said and done, the best, most consistent effort belonged to the crew of Richard Wesslund’s J/120, EL OCASO, which closed out the regatta in style today by winning the final race to top the leader-board. Sailing Photo credits- Tim Wright- Photoaction.com. For more Heineken St Maarten Regatta sailing information
