Regatta Sailing Holidays

Heineken Regatta Sailing

Mention the word 'regatta' and you probably think of colourful spinnakers, matching T shirts & baseball caps, lots of shouting and an elite group of sailors battling it out on the water for line honours & trophies.  In reality, whilst these aspects are certainly part of it, the regatta scene in the Caribbean (and elsewhere) also offers a serious party atmosphere shoreside and a chance to spice up a day's sailing with a competitive element for those of us who don't take our racing quite so seriously!

When to Go

The spring season is chock a block with yacht racing up and down the island chain, with a regatta practically every weekend from January through to April.  Caribbean Compass, our local magazine has a round up of this year's list.  Whilst there are regattas throughout the year here, hurricane season (June to October) is generally quiet, and a time when many of the serious race boats head over the Atlantic to do the Med circuit.

On the Rail

Racing Classes
Most regattas operate a range of classes designed to make each day's racing competitive and interesting.  Specifically designed racing boats have a class or two to themselves, generally split by boat length, multi-hulls (catamarans & trimarans) also have their own class, and cruising boats are divided into those who fly a spinnaker and those that don't.  Often, due to the numbers of boats competing, there are one or more Bareboat classes to separate this group from the owner-sailed boats.

Each boat carries a handicap similar to that in a game of golf.....the idea being that the time taken to sail around the course is adjusted by a number of seconds or milliseconds so that, were all things equal, each boat would take the same length of time to sail around.  Handicaps are determined by the race organisers and/or other racing authorities that might be allied to a particular racing class.  Depending on who wins each race, they are undoubtedly some of the biggest bones of contention amongst racing skippers & owners!

Beneteau 40.7, Lancelot in the Heineken Regatta

The Sailing
Caribbean Regattas normally last 3 or 4 days and, depending on the venue & organisers, include a mixture of coastal passages and "round the cans" racing.  Caribbean weather, whilst not totally infallible, can be expected to give blue skies and 20 to 30 knots of Easterly winds throughout the season.  Waves are generally around 2.5m in height.  Coastal scenery is beautiful and sailing conditions border on perfect throughout the winter months.

Winning

...may not be everything, but you wouldn't think so to hear some of the post race analytics!  Often it's the boat that makes the least mistakes that sails away with the trophies.

Winding Down After Racing

Regatta organisers are invariably looking to make this year's event bigger and better than last year's.  This manifests in top name bands playing at the evening barbeques, great venues and superb hospitality.  Bring on the balmy Caribbean temperatures, reggae music, starry skies and stunning beaches, and you have a recipe for some serious chilled out partying on the sand.  Crews take the opportunity to mingle and jibe each other about the day's results...generally in a good natured way!  Many of the crews race against each other throughout each season and it's a chance to catch up with friends and make new ones.

How You Can Get Involved

OK, so we're not all up to the grand prix racing standard of the serious racing boats, and we might be a bit rusty around the edges, but you can still get on board and sail in the regattas as part of a sailing holiday or beach retreat.

The "free" but a bit risky option is to fly in for your chosen regatta in time to put your name down on a "Crew Available" list or post an advert on the Regatta Notice Board.  Of course you'll still need to pay for your accommodation and meals and there's no guarantee that you'll get picked over all the other potential crew out there.

Rounding the Mark

If there's only one or two of you, there are a number of boats offering paid berths in return for participation in the racing.  More serious racers include On Deck Sailing with their fleet of Farr designed boats, whilst more relaxed racing can be found aboard Yacht Ibis who is participating in the Heineken Regatta at the beginning of March 2011 and Antigua Sailing Week at the end of April, or Skyelark who offer week long holidays in similar events.

For those with a bigger group, you can charter a whole boat for your group and skipper your own race.  Sunsail, Moorings and Race Charters offer this option.  And if you have a business linked to the yachting industry, you can consider sponsoring a private boat and do some tax deductible marketing in exchange for some crew spaces.  Sponsorship can be anything from a logo sticker on the hull, to crew shirts and even a new spinnaker decked out with your logo or business message.

For the 2011 Heineken Regatta the race winning Limanja is available for a whole boat charter.  Suitable for day sailing only - NOT a liveaboard - you can race with 4 people in the non-spinnaker class or up to 8 in the spinnaker class.  She is already measured for the regatta and has a Caribbean Sailing Association handicap.

Yacht Ibis offers adventure sailing holidays with relaxed tuition for singles, couples or groups & families of up to 5 people.  Ibis will be participating in the St Maarten Heineken Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week 2011.