(Montego Bay, Jamaica)- Following a relatively mellow light-air start,
Glenn Gault's team on the J/120 REBECCA from League City, TX eventually
enjoyed double-digit reaching conditions to become first in PHRF
division in the 31st biennial Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race Presented
by Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum.The annual ocean race of 811 nautical miles started on Friday, February 8 at Florida’s Port Everglades, sending the 'MoBay' fleet of ten boats--sailing in IRC and PHRF divisions--on a challenging all-points-of-sail course to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Shockwave crossed the finish line on Sunday, February 10 with an elapsed time of two days, 11 hours, 23 minutes and two seconds, just short of the current race record that was set in 2005 by Titan 12. Due to the favorable conditions, all of the boats had crossed the finish line by Tuesday evening, February 12, two days earlier than expected.
One of the navigators on the race said there were two different theories regarding the expected weather for the race. "One was that it would be light at the start but very solid the rest of the way to Jamaica; the other forecast was for a light and variable breeze to carry on for the first 12 hours of the race, and that proved to be the case."
Immediately after the start, racers cross the Gulf Stream for the Northwest Providence Channel. The middle of the race offers a fetch down the eastern side of the Bahamas Island Chain toward the tip of Cuba. The final stretch is a sailor’s dream: a 240-mile downwind sleigh ride from Cuba’s eastern tip, known as the Windward Passage, to the finish at Montego Bay. After this year’s finish, sailors were treated to a week of fun with cocktail parties every night, steel bands, limbo dancing and other memorable displays and competitions, ending with a dinner, dance and prize giving ceremony on Friday, February 15.
Glenn Gault’s REBECCA finished at 21:08:59 on February 13th, just in time to join the tail end of the "Early Bird Cocktail Party" at the Montego Bay Yacht Club. The complimentary case of Red Stripe tasted great and was a good prelude for a good night’s sleep. The crews are all cleaning up and catching up to be ready for the rest of the weeks festivities and the Friday night event to see who takes home the coveted Pineapple Cup! There was even more to celebrate for Glenn's REBECCA team for beating two of the world's fastest Class 40s and a Santa Cruz 52 for overall PHRF honors! Sailing Photo Credits- Marco Oguendo! For more Pineapple Cup/ Montego Bay Race Sailing information
