The Bonaire Sailing Regatta is a weeklong event, including a week off from school for the kids. On Friday, many companies close for the afternoon and set up tents along the waterfront to enjoy the activities of the regatta. Unfortunately, by then, most races have been sailed and there is not a lot happening.
This year, Kite surfing and solar boats were added to the event on Wednesday, a lay day for most sailors. and Budget Marine added a Budget Marine Wahoo Tournament on Friday. Informal Stand up paddle board races were also open to all who wanted to try out the boards
Four solar boat kits were donated to the high school by the Dutch Government. Various sectors of the school took on the competition to build and race these boats. The kids had to work on all aspects of the boat from fiberglassing to electrical and steering, then figure out how to drive them. This is quite popular in the Netherlands already. The boats used Torqeedo engines and 2 solar panels and were able to move at about 25km per hour. The last day was a bit choppy challenging, as these boats were designed for the calm waters of the canals of the Netherlands.
The Budget Marine Wahoo event had two categories: 1. small boats (under 17′) and 2. large boats (17′ and over) The week before the tournament the fishermen were saying that there was no wahoo in sight, so we were very happy with the results with many boats returning with a nice catch. There was a total of over 170kg of Wahoo brought in by 6 of the boats with the largest single fish tipping the scales at 24kg. This tournament was a great way to have a first Budget Marine branded tournament on Bonaire and we hope that next year it will be much bigger.
Princes Thaise winning 1st place
