Getting into Sequence at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta | SOUALIGA NEWSDAY

SINT MAARTEN (SIMPSON BAY) - The fleet are already jumping the gun and getting their race on during an intense training day for the 42nd St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, which officially starts Thursday, March 3, 2022. Teams eager to get out on the water descended into Port de Plaisance in the early hours to tend to registration, and not to miss any critical moments to prepare their sailors for the intense competition.

The playful banter and friendly competitive chatter could already be heard at registration, where teams sized up their rivals and made predictions for how the week of racing would play out. “Fujimo looks mean,” says Shahid Hamid, skipper of Swan 58 OMII, on fellow CSA 3 competitor. “They will be our toughest competition. We are looking for first place, so we spent the last 4-5 days training hard. Last time we did Heineken Regatta we didn’t train enough, this time we are here to compete.” Shahin has even sweetened the deal, incentivizing his team with a ski trip to ensure they bring on the heat!!

Other teams have not had the luxury of a week of training. Team Arabella’s Cape 31 sport boat splashed for the first time today, having just arrived in a container straight from Cape Town. “Last time we sailed as a group was March 2020 in Cape Town with the Cape 31 class series. We were so impressed by the Cape 31 fleet that we ordered our own!” They will line up against a serious sport boat fleet with all of the Caribbean’s Melges 24 & 32 teams, plus highly competitive RP 37, Taz, in CSA 5.

Another equally matched CSA 7 fleet has plenty of boats vying for the podium, but only one can win the class overall. Meanwhile, the team of Jaguar (J120) acknowledged the intensity of their class and aren’t putting too much pressure on themselves. “This is a stacked class with a lot of good boats. Our mission is just to have fun!” said Skipper Lee Eikle. With that attitude, they are sure to live by the Regatta motto and have some “Serious Fun!”

Leave it to the Pros that make up the CSA1 class to already get into racing sequences out on the water. All teams brought their A-game for training today, and surely they were looking to psyche out the competition with some clean tacks, hoists, and gybes as they strutted their stuff out on the water. There’s a lot on the line for this fleet, with not only St. Maarten Heineken Regatta prizes, but IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge points up for grabs, as well as bragging rights amongst the Volvo fleets — of course.

The CSA fleets certainly have a lot of unique competitions within them, but don’t discount the Island Time class. While this class is designed to be more easy-going, that doesn’t mean that teams don’t come with a strong competitive spirit. Local youth sailor, Feline Oosterhof (age 11), will be racing with her family on their Sprinto 6.6, Team Sprinto/Elena. Feline shared, “One of my biggest dreams is to come first!” You go girl!!

After an intense day getting ready to race, all competitors have made their way back to the intimate regatta village at Yacht Club Port de Plaisance to chill out with some cold Heinekens. This year’s race village is dock-side, allowing teams to casually make their way from their boats to the beers, making it a nice and easy transition back to shore. The music is pumping, the lights glowing, the drinks flowing, and good vibes are abound for this year’s St. Maarten Heineken Regatta!!