Heineken St Maarten- Sailing Competition HOT’ing Up!

World famous “Shaggy” Doing Benefit Concert 
(Simpson Bay, St Maarten)- With less than 50 days before the start of the 38th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta (March 1-4), the entry list continues to grow, 45 teams representing 13 countries are signed up to compete. The regatta has been a key event on the Caribbean race schedule since its inception in 1980, attracting world-class sailors– racing monohulls, maxis and multihulls – to the island of Saint Martin for four days of serious fun, both on and off the water.

“Our registration numbers are tracking close to last year at this time, which is great news,” said Regatta Race Director Paul Miller, adding that despite Hurricane Irma hitting Saint Martin this past September, the island is recovering in short order. “We have another great year of racing ahead and are seeing a lot of enthusiasm from local and international sailors alike.”

Coming from the United Kingdom is Chris Body and his team on the 40-foot J/122 EL OCASO. The boat won its class last year with a Michigan-based team onboard.

“The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta puts on some really good racing, and it’s easy for a team to come in from Europe or the U.S. and charter a boat to compete,” said EL OCASO Captain Bob Hillier, a regatta veteran who will be returning as the team’s tactician this year. “This will be my tenth St. Maarten Heineken Regatta with EL OCASO. The J/122 class is the premier racing boat class in the Caribbean and typically the largest class at the regatta. The CSA ratings are so close that you are finishing within seconds of each other.”

A longtime goal for organizers has been reached this year with the addition of a “Regatta Village” located at Princess Port de Plaisance Resort and Casino and the Yacht Club at Port de Plaisance (across from race host St. Maarten Yacht Club). The venue, on the Dutch side of the island of Saint Martin in Cole Bay, will bring all the regatta essentials together: housing registration, shore-side entertainment, regatta offices, docking, food stands and beer tents. In addition, The Yacht Club Port de Plaisance will be offering free dockage in their South Basin for competitors as their way of saying thanks for supporting the regatta this year.

Shaggy To Headline the "Legendary Night" Concert
There are promises of a “Legendary Night” to close off the final evening on Sunday. Organizers are proud to announce the return of “Mr. Boombastic” – international recording superstar: Shaggy – who will be the headline act for the evening of March 4th at Port de Plaisance. Shaggy is a multi-Grammy Award winning artist from Jamaica, and is the only "Certified Diamond-selling Dance hall Reggae Artist."

Since exploding on the music scene, Shaggy's several gold and multi-platinum selling albums have won him a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Reggae Album, 5 Grammy nominations, and topped an impressive chart list that included the Top 40 Rhythmic charts, Hot 100, Billboard 200, among others. Shaggy’s illustrious career has seen the international superstar perform alongside some of the biggest names in all genres of music, notably he recently collaborated with his longtime friend and producer Costi, as Shaggy joined Afro Pop artist Mohombi and Australian singer Faydee on the recently released vibrant and catchy single, "I Need Your Love.”

John Leone of International Liquor & Tobacco Trading Ltd. states “We are extremely excited to bring Shaggy back to the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. Shaggy has been a great supporter of the island and has offered to perform to support fundraising efforts for hurricane relief. We are extremely excited about having him back on stage again for this truly unique edition of the Regatta. It’s time for some Serious Fun!”

Entrance to the performance on Sunday night will have a $25.00 USD admission fee for the general public, with $5.00 USD of each ticket going to the Charity Fund.

Regatta Format
The four-day event kicks off on Thursday, March 1, 2018 with the Gill Commodore’s Cup. The optional event is separately scored and followed by an evening prize giving where winners are awarded Gill gear. On Friday, the fleet embarks on the event’s 26 nautical mile Around the Island Race before taking on a series of windward-leeward races on Saturday and a single coastal race on Sunday. Each day of racing is rounded out with serious shore-side entertainment, including concerts and parties (see above!). 

In addition to the British team sailing the J/122 EL OCASO, a number of J/sailors across the spectrum have also registered for the regatta, such as Pamala Baldwin’s J/122 LIQUID from Antigua, Tanner & Shari’s J/30 CARIBBEAN ALLIANCE from Antigua, Jordan Mindich’s J/105 SOLSTICE from New York, Sam Talbot’s J/111 SPIKE from British Virgin Islands, and Remco van Dortmondt’s J/105 JENK from The Netherlands.  For more Heineken St Maarten Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.