The Marlow One design Championship results
The Budget Marine Antigua team led by Karl James and crewed by Ashley and Ainslie Rhodes of English Harbour decisively defeated other Caribbean teams at the Caribbean Keel Boat Championships in Sint Maarten
held over the past week end. They ended with 10 points clear of the second place.
The team started the event with some poor scores including a last place but towards the end of the regatta they found their "groove" and scored a range of first places. The gusty and variable winds called for quick tactical decisions and James, who is known for his skill in this regard, responded brilliantly. The racing was held in one design boats which were rotated for every race so that any variations in equipment were effectively eliminated.
Second place went to Frits Bus of Sint Maarten who took this same position for the fourth year in a row. Third was Bernard Sillem and Chris Marshall of the Gill Budget Marine team.
Eighteen races were sailed in the 20 foot Jeanneau boats that carried three crew. Marlow is a British Rope brand that is distributed in all our Budget Marine locations and has supplied high quality rope to the Caribbean market for the past 17 years.
The Marlow One Design Caribbean Keel Boat Championship, June 19th & 20th has once again attracted an excellent line up of Caribbean sailors which will continue to reinforce its position as the leading one design regatta for regional sailors.
With three weeks until the regatta and only 15 spots available 13 teams have so far confirmed that they will take part, confirmed are Michael Green from St.Lucia who won the very first event in 2002 but since then has not been able to regain his title. Out to stop Mr.Green from trying to regain the title will be last years winner Markku Harmala from St.Barths who has no intention of letting go of the title and Frits Bus from St.Maarten who has come so close for so many years getting second place in 2007, 2008 and 2009 he is now very hot to get the coveted win. Karl James of Antigua will also be there to do battle with his experienced crew of Ashley Rhodes and Shawn Malone, in spite of Karl's excellent placings in so many other regattas he has not yet won this event and will now take another swipe at it with the help of sponsor Budget Marine Antigua.
Also in the mix will be Benoit Meesemaecker from St.Barths who competed for the first time last year, Bernie Evan-Wong from Antigua who has yet to find his winning form in this regatta. Also coming from Antigua is Tanner Jones this will be his first time at this regatta but he has had a taste of these boats when he came and competed at a regatta in early February.
Sergey Boer will lead a team sponsored by Curacao Marine with a team of young Curacaoleneans who generally get very little opportunity to race against the sailors of the Eastern Caribbean, Curacao has enormous sailing talent and very regular one design racing in Sunfish and Ynglings. This team will also be competing in the CAC Games in Puerto Rico in J 24's at the end of July so they very much want to see how they match up to the rest of the Caribbean sailors.
The Championship is being hosted by the Sint Maarten Yacht Club and will be based at the clubs facilities on the Simpson Bay Lagoon. The event is held every year in June and is open to Caribbean based sailors from clubs who are members of the Caribbean Sailing Association. The boats being sailed are the Jeanneau SunFast 20, these one design boats owned by Lagoon Sailboat Rental are maintained in a perfect level of equal equipment.
The Championship is sponsored by Marlow Ropes, the globally recognized manufacturer of high end yachting rope based out of the UK, Marlow Ropes supply yachting cordage to yachts from small dinghies to maxi sailboats. Marlow Ropes are sold at all Budget Marine locations.
Budget Marine/Gill take BVI podium place
St. Maarten’s Budget Marine/Gill Race Team fought their way to a podium place after scoring six points in the last two races of the BVI Spring Regatta.
In what has been described as picture perfect conditions the Budget Team, led by Budget Marine General Manager Christopher Marshall, pushed their Melges 24 to the limit to claim third place overall in Spinnaker Class C. Their podium place was made all the sweeter as, going into the final day, Budget Marine/Gill and St. Maarten’s Frits Bus and his Melges Team Coors Light were tying on points.
Much is made of the rivalry between the two teams although, according to Marshall, they are all friends. In a prerace interview Marshall described how the two teams compare notes after the race. “If their boat is faster we try and work out why. We ask them what they do and how they trim. We’re both quite open about how we sail. It’s a nice rivalry although we are always looking out to see where he is,” Marshall said.
Around 109 boats divided into 16 classes took part in the three day BVI Spring regatta which came to a close on Sunday.
Christopher Marshall, General Manager for Budget Marine noted that getting the boat to the Virgin Islands was an adventure in itself as the Melges 24 is an open boat. “Three crew will sail the boat over a hundred miles to get to the two regattas. We have a very experienced crew, made up of guys from both the Dutch and French sides of the island. So we are carrying the flag for St.Maarten and St.Martin,” Marshall said.
At the end of their Virgin Island’s campaign, the Budget Marine/Gill Race Team will finish the season with regattas in and around St.Maarten.
The second annual Budget Marine Match Racing proved to be an intense one day event that displayed outstanding sailing skills by eight teams from a wide range of countries. A full round robin of ten flights preceded a petit final and a final series.
In the end the most experienced three teams dominated and Peter Holmberg showed his broad range of skills as he showed that he could dominate on strategy, wind tactics, boat handling and persistence. He did get beaten in two races and particularly in one of the races of the final he looked for a moment like finalist Gavin Brady was going to take him out. He persisted and got lucky and finally took the series and the usd 5,000 prize money.
Gavin Brady a many time World Match Racing series competitor and two times finalist was close to the win but needed a little more luck to raise his prize money above the usd 3,000 he came away with. Peter Isler won the petit final with a best of three win over young San Diegan team helmed by Chris Nesbit who showed their substantial skills but came just slightly short of the prize money of usd 2,000.
BVI sailor Colin Rathburn showed he was one of the top in the Caribbean and played hard and intelligently but luck was not on his side in the tie breaking out of the round of ten flights. Marc Fitzgerald did not show the same form as last year and the young Polish team of Jakub Pawluk battled valiantly but came short.
The Budget Marine Match racing is a pre-event to the Commodores Cup and the Heineken Regatta and organized by the Sint Maarten Yacht Club every year on the Tuesday before the Heineken Regatta. It is a grade 5 event and participation is by invitation.
With all eight entries now confirmed, this year’s Budget Marine Match Racing Cup at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is set to establish itself firmly on the ladder as one of key match racing events in the Caribbean. As well as entries received from Peter Isler, Gavin Brady, and Peter Holmberg – three of the world’s most respected match racing skippers – there’s some other interesting names in melting pot who’ll be racing for cash prizes totalling $10,000 at this ISAF-sanctioned Grade 5 event, including Colin Rathbun, Eugeniy Nikiforov, Jakub Pawluk, Chris Nesbitt and Marc Fitzgerald.
The racing, to be held on Tuesday 2 March during the run-up to St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, will be based on a round-robin format and sailed in Lagoon Sailboat Rental’s fleet of six Jeanneau SunFast 20s, without spinnakers. The one-day format of this event, and the fact that there are just six boats for eight teams, means racing will be exceptionally action-packed with crews swapping boats after every flight to ensure racing is kept as fair as possible.
With a silver medal from the 1988 Games, and a win for Alinghi at the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007, listed among his exceptional sailing achievements, it wasn’t particularly surprising to see Peter Holmberg clean up at last year’s inaugural Budget Marine Match Racing Cup. The good news is, he enjoyed it so much; he’ll be back to defend his title this year.
Holmberg who is no stranger to island life, having been brought up on the US Virgin Island, is always an avid supporter of Caribbean regattas and says as well as competing in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in New Zealand in January last year, he made sure he did most of the big events in the Caribbean. “The Heineken is the big opener to the Caribbean season so I'm looking forward to racing against all the hot boats coming this year.”
Sailing with team mates Ben Beer on jib, and Maurice Kurg on mainsheet, Holmberg says the match racing is a great lead-in to the Heineken Regatta, commenting: “Match racing puts a premium on all aspects of racing, from crew work, to speed, to rules, so it's a great way to get me and my team in racing shape just before the big regatta.”
Joining Holmberg at the event this year is the equally talented match racing pro Peter Isler. Isler who is two-time winner of the America’s Cup and has a total of five America’s Cup campaigns under his belt including the position of Oracle’s navigator in 2007 at the 32nd edition of the Cup, says he’s really looking forward to getting back on the helm as a match racing skipper. Isler was a really active and successful skipper on the pro match racing tour in the late 80s and early 90s and sees the Budget Marine match racing event as a chance to get back on the helm and have some fun. He commented: “It’s been so long since I steered any sort of regatta, my expectations are certainly tempered... but it will be a lot of fun… and that's why we are coming!”
Isler will be racing with a couple of his teammates from Titan 15 – Artie Means from San Diego, and CT Olander from Newport, Rhode Island. He says when he saw publicity about the match race, he thought it would be a fun start to Heineken Regatta. “Because it’s only one day, I can afford the time – we start practice on Titan the day after the match race.”
With Gavin Brady, another highly talented match racing helmsman, and multiple America’s Cup campaigner, joining the line up at the Budget Marine Match Racing event, there’ll be no shortage of top ranked competition on Simpson Bay Lagoon in March. Brady enthusing about the event, said: “This will be the first match race event I will sail in 2010, and with good teams and great winds I am really looking forward to the racing.”
Colin Rathbun from the BVIs is another Caribbean race week regular and although he is known more on the fleet racing circuit sailing his IC24, he won the 2009 Pete Shiels Match Race, and notched up a creditable fourth place overall at the 2009 Carlos Aguilar Match Racing Regatta in St Thomas. ‘Our claim to fame at that event,” said Rathbun, “is to have beaten US match racing pro Dave Perry. We barely slid through in front of him, but it’s not every day an amateur sailor can say that.”
Russian sailor Eugeniy Nikiforov who’s currently ranked 45th the ISAF Match Racing placings, will be back for the second year running and hoping to improve on last year’s third overall, while Marc Fitzgerald from the British yacht Sojana hopes to at least match the second place he achieved last year. Jakub Pawluk from Poland will make his debut at this event, while Chris Nesbitt and his team of Brian Janney and Isao Toyama who’ve been match racing together for a year hope to turn a few heads as they pit themselves against the professionals. Nesbitt confessed he is very much looking forward to sailing against Peter Isler. "It’s not often that we get to sail against America’s Cup veterans and it should be a great learning experience for a new team like ours."
For full information on the Budget Marine Match Racing, the Gill Commodore’s Cup, and the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, including entry lists, entry forms and news, visit www.heinekenregatta.com.
CLEARWATER CHALLENGE 3: The Journey Continues
After much anticipation Ryan De Jongh and his crew departed from Curacao on 2nd of December to head off to St. Maarten. At their arrival in St. Maarten they visit Budget Marine one of their main sponsors for an interview and photos. On Saturday the 5th of December Ryan De Jongh and his crew left from St. Maarten at 06.00 am to their first destination which was St. Eustatius. Ryan and his crew were in an enthusiastic mood and eager to experience this new challenge. The weather was nice, the sea was calm and they arrived at their first destination around 11.00 pm without any hassle.
Early in the morning on 6 December Ryan and his crew went on to their next destination, St. Kitts. On route to St. Kitts the calm sea became pretty rough and they had to deal with 3 meter high waves. The extra effort to paddle through produced some blisters on Ryan’s hands. The crew was also touched by the surly seas; most of them became seasick but soon recovered. As soon as there was calm Ryan was able to board the Monsoon and received treatment for his hands and rested a few hours.
On their way to Montserrat and Guadeloupe they moved through some heavy rains and high seas but they are doing well and right on schedule. While making their way towards Martinique they’re facing very strong currents and high winds. Once they’ve reached that point the most challenging part of this trip will be coming close to the end. The island gaps are now shortening and the winds will be behind them as they near Grenada.
For more information visit www.natureislife.org, for the latest footage visit http://www.caribbean.tv/
The Budget Marine Challege Curacao - 15 June 2009
Every year, mid-June, the annual Budget Marine Challenge takes place. The race starts in Curacao’s ‘sheltered’ Spanish water with a downwind start. Then all boats head out to sea to complete the first leg. At Lunch time they all set course to Fuikbaai , where the Budget Marine crew is serving drinks and lunch. After lunch the second part of the race takes place with an “anchor start”. All boats are at anchor with the sails down. 5 Minutes before the start all crew should be below deck.
At the start signal, all crew race all over the boat to hoist the sails and lift the anchor. It’s a very spectacular start with lots of difficulties to overcome such as: Anchor is not holding when the crew is down below or the anchor is caught behind a coral block. It’s hilarious to see these crews fighting with rope, chain and finally the anchor while the other yachts are already sailing over the starting line! The finish is again in Spanish Water and in the evening prize giving at Jan Sofat Yacht Club.
Budget Marine National Dinghy Sailing Rankings
In Trinidad this dinghy racing season, recognizing that sailing skills can only improve with many hours of competitive practice, Budget Marine Trinidad is sponsoring the Budget Marine National Dinghy Sailing Rankings that take place regularly for Laser Standard, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7, 420 and Optimist Class sailors. By supplying bottled water for those long hot hours out on the sea and after race refreshments, medals, trophies and prizes at the end of each term, the company aims to encourage young people in their efforts to compete both nationally and internationally.
On 13 December 2008 Budget Marine staff members were present at the end of term rankings to give out trophies and prizes to 1st and 2nd places in each of the 6 Classes and everyone who participated got one of a selection of Budget Marine promotional items - a lip balm, a cap strap, a sunglass strap or a pen.
Two more national rankings end of term prize-giving events will take place on 4 April and 6 June 2009 respectively. With limited grants from official sources, Budget Marine’s support for dinghy sailing, including substantial contributions towards safety boats and equipment, team t-shirts and funding for competitors traveling to regattas outside Trinidad, has been all the more appreciated.
Budget Marine Race Day in Trinidad 17th May 2009 at TTSA
Budget Marine Trinidad will be sponsoring a Race Day as part of the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association 2008/9 Racing Season. As in the past, this Budget Marine Race Day is likely to be the highlight of the TTSA racing calendar, as chandlery staff go all out to make the event special, with support craft, skippers’ packs, plenty to eat and drink at the after race party and nautical prizes selected from Budget Marine’s great range of sailing gear.