TP 52 Panthera, SeaCart 30 True Look, and a Pair of J/Boats Among Big Winners at 28th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

St. Maarten, N.A. (February 9) – The 28th edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta wrapped up today, in similar fashion to the way it began: With clear skies and a steady breeze offering ideal conditions for a record-setting fleet of competitors. And after the series’ final race, a point-to-point contest from Marigot, on the island’s French side, to Philipsburg on the Dutch side, an impressive array of winners emerged.

In the animal kingdom, the term “Panthera” is synonymous with a mighty species of “cats that roar.” It proved to be a fitting title in the big-boat Spinnaker 1 division as well, where the UK-based TP 52, owner Benny Kelly’s Panthera, capped a strong effort by conquering an impressive fleet of competitors, particularly the canting-keel, turbo-charged Cookson 50, Privateer. Panthera went undefeated in the five-race series for the spinnaker classes, with Privateer wracking up five straight seconds.

“I think the swing-keelers like Privateer are a little more complicated to sail,” said Panthera helmsman Andy Beadsworth. “They certainly had moments when they demonstrated their strength but overall we were a little tighter, a little smoother, and a little more polished.

“We were a little lucky a couple of times, which always helps,” continued Beadsworth, a veteran of both Olympic competition and the America’s Cup. “But we started very well and our tactics were fairly good. Upwind, in certain conditions, they were quicker than us, but downwind we were very strong.”

Beadsworth said the highlight of the regatta, for Panthera, was the final run on one of Saturday’s windward/leeward contests. “We rounded the mark and were boat for boat, jibe for jibe, neck and neck,” he said. “At times we were right together, maybe five feet apart. It was like one-design racing, just fantastic.”

Fantastic is also a fitting word to describe the Caribbean debut of the SeaCart 30, True Look, an innovative trimaran designed by noted French naval architect Marc Lombard. Built by the Swedish builder of Tornado-class cats, Marstroms, and marketed by Oceanlake Marine, the SeaCart is a carbon rocketship that can be shipped in a 40-foot container and which is capable of speeds hovering near 30-knots. True Look lived up to its advance billing, as skipper Calle Hennix put together a strong series to win the Multihull 1 class over a strong field.  

Yet another big story in this lively edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta was the strong showing by the U.S. builder J/Boats, particularly in three of the flat-out racing classes. In Spinnaker 4, James Dobbs’s J/122, Lost Horizon, held off a strong challenge from Arnaud de Meillac’s Archambault 40, Sailing Styl’ Caraibes, to register the victory. Though the class standings ended in a tie between both boats, Lost Horizon was awarded the win based on more first-place finishes.

Fresh from winning the 50-boat U.S. PHRF championships in Key West, Florida, in January, the J/100 Bad Girl, campaigned by a St. Croix crew led by owner Robert Armstrong, was the other major J/Boat winner, taking the Spinnaker 5 class in impressive style, with four firsts and today’s fifth. Bad Girl is a souped-up version of the J/100, having been fully tricked out and customized by the team at Hall Spars.  

In Spinnaker 7, it was almost a trifecta for J/Boats, as the J/109, Pocket Rocket, was leading the division coming into the final day of racing. But a fifth today for Pocket Rocket opened the door for Ian Hope-Ross’s First 36.7, Kick ‘em Jenny, to come from behind and sneak ahead by a single point to win the class. It’s the second year in a row that Hope-Ross has registered a division victory in the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

The 8-boat Spinnaker 2 class also provided some fantastic yacht racing, but with a second today, Peter Harrison’s wondrous blue 115-footer, Sojana, held its lead over Anders Johnson’s Swan 70, Blue Pearl, the winner of last year’s inaugural Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Last year’s class winner—Clay Deutsch’s Swan 68, Chippewa—was behind the eight-ball from the outset, finishing a distant seventh in Race 1 to fall well behind the leaders. Chippewa rallied, winning a pair of races on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Sojana or Blue Pearl. Chippewa finished third.  

 In Spinnaker 3, Richard Matthews’ brand-new GP 42, Oystercatcher XXXVI, enjoyed a fine Caribbean coming-out party, holding on to beat another well-sailed UK entry, Bob Swann’s Marten 49, Yani. Spinnaker 6 was won by Clive Llewellyn’s Grand Soleil 50, Mad IV, an extremely successful competitor on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Caribbean islands of Barbados and Antigua were very well represented in the Non-spinnaker divisions. In Non-spinnaker 1, Ralph Johnson of the famous Bajan sailing family earned a relatively easy victory aboard Rapajam, a Beneteau 53f5. And in Non-spinnaker 2, noted Antiguan sailor Hugh Bailey bested the 13-boat class on his First 456, Hugo B.

 With a nifty 2-1-2 scorecard in the Gunboat division, Tim Slade and his crew on the 62-footer, Safari, earned top honors in the class of slick, ocean-going catamarans. Polo, a 13-meter catamaran, was the winner in Multihulls 2. Hopetown Morgan’s 12-Meter, Windward Roads, and Guillaume Dabreteau’s Hobie Cat Tiger, Dell Snickers 972, finished Sunday where they started it: in the front of the Exhibition and Beachcat classes, respectively.

There were some wild and wooly moments in the Bareboat classes today, with more than a few collisions and close calls. When the spray had settled, there were also provisional winners: Bob Storck’s Moorings 494, Team Pied Piper, in Bareboat 1; the Cylades 50, BVI Yacht Charters, in Bareboat 2; Jeffrey Sochrin’s Team Goldendog, an Oceanis 473, in Bareboat 3; Rob De Keukeleire’s Cyclades 43, Wiesman 1, in Bareboat 4; Jan Soderberg’s Oceanis 440, Chess, in Bareboat 5; and Insel Air II in Bareboat 6.

We’ll leave the last word to one of the regatta’s top winners, Andy Beadsworth. When asked to sum up this year’s event, he said, “It’s my second St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, and I didn’t need much persuasion to come back. It’s one of the best events around. The conditions were perfect, 18-23 knots throughout. It was just superb.”

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

Herb McCormick