OPENING ACT

ST MAARTEN HEINEKEN REGATTA KICKS OFF THE CARIBBEAN INSHORE SEASON. DAVID HARDING MET TEAMS WHO'D MADE REMARKABLE VOYAGES TO TAKE PART

- DAVID HARDING

The Caribbean regatta season is something of a pilgrimage to the sun, drawing competitors from across North America as well as across the Atlantic. Those coming from northern Europe or the Mediterranean often cross in the ARC rally or RORC Transatlantic Race. Then, after competing in your chosen events, and perhaps enjoying some cruising downtime in the islands, you have a choice of sailing or shipping the boat back for the European summer.

The St Maarten Heineken Regatta (SMHR) is the first big inshore regatta of the Caribbean season, after the offshore RORC Caribbean 600, and was the first time many new arrivals to the Caribbean this year had lined up against one another. Adopting the slogan 'serious fun, the event lays on competitive racing over four days, each ending with a seriously loud party.

FROM TWO TO FOUR 

Given the timing and the geography, it's no surprise to find a fair few boats completing the RORC's Transatlantic Race before heading north to Antigua for the RORC Caribbean 600 and then enjoying a fast fetch across to St Maarten, 90-odd miles to the north-west, a week later.

One boat to compete in all three events in 2023 was Kate Cope's Jeanneau Sun Fast 3200, Purple Mist. Kate and her co-skipper, Claire Dresser, made headlines this year as the first two-handed female crew to complete the RORC Transatlantic. The boat is well known in racing circles in the UK, Cope being heavily involved in the double-handed offshore series. She started sailing relatively late in life, and moved from a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 36i to the 3200 in time for the AZAB in 2019.