Tight Racing Across Board Sets Up Grand Finale for 28th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

Marigot, St. Maarten (February 8) – With two great days of racing down, and one huge Sunday still to go, the cream is rising to the top in one of the windiest, wildest St. Maarten Heineken Regattas to date. After Saturday’s racing, in some classes, a clear front-runner has been established. In others, the final outcome is far from certain.

The seven divisions of high-level, spinnaker flying race boats had a busy day Saturday, with three races contested in winds that started out in the mid-twenty-knot range, but gradually eased into the teens as the day progressed. The first two races were windward/leeward, around-the-buoys contests of Simpson Bay. After lunch, the Magnificent Seven reconvened for a point-to-point, 20-mile distance race to Marigot on the French side of St. Maarten. The other classes—including three Multihull fleets, the six bareboat divisions, and the Open and Exhibition classes—each enjoyed a single race to the lively French town.

In Spinnaker 1, Benny Kelly’s TP 52, Panthera, continued its dominating performance with three more victories, thus remaining perfect for the regatta. Ian Henderson’s Cookson 50, Privateer, is close—they’ve registered four straight seconds in the event—but barring something catastrophic, it’s Panthera’s division to lose.

Anders Johnson’s Swan 70, Blue Pearl, is also putting together a strong series in Spinnaker 2. Today, the handsome blue sloop scored two seconds and a first, to go with a second on Friday. Blue Pearl is three points ahead of Peter Harrison’s Farr 115, Sojana, but has left the door open. And coming on strong in Spinnaker 2 is Clay Deutsch’s Swan 68, Chippewa, which rebounded after a sixth in the Friday’s race with two firsts and a third today, to trail Sojana by a single point.

Spinnaker 3, however, is set for a showdown on Sunday as Bob Swann’s Marten 49, Yani, and Richard Matthews’s GP 42, Oystercatcher XXXVi are tied with identical scores of 7 points after a 1-1-2 and a 2-2-1, respectively, today. With a single race scheduled for Sunday, Spinnaker 3 looks essentially like a match-race for the title in the 16-boat class.

In Spinnaker 4, James Dobbs’s J/122, Lost Horizon, came into today’s action in third place, but took the class lead on the strength of two firsts and a third. Arnaud de Meillac’s A40, Sailing Styl’ Caraibes remained in second, but Rick Wesslund’s J/120, El Ocaso—with a fourth and a fifth in races two and three—was the big loser in the division, losing the lead they held coming into Saturday and falling to third overall.  

But the Heineken Regatta is still turning into a party for the builders of J/Boats, as Robert Armstrong’s J/100, Bad Girl, maintained its command of Spinnaker 5 with two firsts and a third. Bad Girl is looking good, with a seven-point lead over its nearest competitor with a single race left to sail.

Clive Llewellyn’s Grand Soleil 50, MAD IV, is in almost as good shape in the Spinnaker 6 division. MAD IV is four points ahead of Martin Jacobson’s Swan 44, Crescendo, coming into the last race. Things are much, much more up in the air in Spinnaker 7, where David Cullen’s J/109, Pocket Rocket, is but a single point ahead of Ian Hope-Ross’s First 36.7, Kick ‘em Jenny.  

In Non-spinnaker 1, which sailed a single race today—as did all the remaining classes—Ralph Johnson’s Beneteau 53f5, Rapajam, is in good shape, with a 3-point lead over Harry Weber’s Beneteau 477, Crescendo. However, in Non-spinnaker 2, Hugh Bailey’s First 456, Hugo B, is in even better shape; with its second consecutive victory Bailey’s steed holds a two-point lead over Hans Lammers’ Rhodes Bounty, Sunshine, which has notched a pair of seconds.

The Bareboat 1 lead remains the domain of Bob Storck’s Moorings 494, Team Pied Piper, which earned a second today to go with Friday’s bullet. In the Bareboat 2 class, it’s two wins in a row for the Cylades 50, BVI Yacht Charters, which will try and wrap up a perfect regatta on Sunday. Jeffrey Sochrin’s Team Goldendog, an Oceanis 473, leapt to the top of the Bareboat 3 class with a win on Saturday. But things are deadlocked in Bareboat 4, with today’s winner, Rob De Keukeleire’s Cyclades 43, Wiesman 1, tied with Friday’s winner, V. Bras’s Esquire, at four points apiece. The Bareboat 5 winner remains Jan Soderberg’s Oceanis 440, Chess, after its second straight victory. In Bareboat 6, another of Saturday’s winners, Delory Francis’s Dufour 383, Thoxa VI, is atop the leader board.

Calle Hennix’s SeaCart 30, True Look, is continuing its impressive Caribbean debut; it won for the second straight day on Saturday to lead all 11 boats in Multihull 1. In Multihull 2, the 13-meter catamaran, POLO, has matched True Look’s undefeated record to lead the cruising multis.

The Open class is led by Hans Mulder’s Hanse 411, Windshear, today’s winner. One of three 12-Meters, Hopetown Morgan’s Windward Roads, leads the Exhibiton class. There’s a new leader in Beachcats, the Hobie Cat Tiger called Dell Snickers 972, skippered by Guillaume Dabreteau. The same goes for the Gunboat division, where Tim Slade’s Gunboat 62, Safari, took over the top spot after a victory on Saturday.

For full information, class results, photos, video and more, visit the official event website at www.heinekenregatta.com.

 Herb McCormick