Heineken Regatta Day One

Well....it started out at 5:15 when we all got up and made it to the boat for a 7:30 bridge to get out of Simpson Harbor......100 boats all trying to get out at the same time.....We proceded down toward Philipsburg for the start at 9:35.......as the wind
built we had a hard time deciding whether to put up the 1 or 3 ....good judgement from the afterguard put up the 3.......weather 5' swells out of the North to start...as we get ready to sail around the island...30 miles......We have some very fast small boats...we had a great start upwind in 20 knots ...realize we owe time to a j35 that took off....meanwhile winds build and we start to do the famous Nyanza hobby hourse......these little boys take off and we decide to put up the #1.....wrong......top of the island round sorta close to our class.....then!!!!
Shrimper....Got the three up only to see the Number 1 fall overboard ...took ten minutes to get it on board...oh, forgot to mention swells at 10' and flooding the deck constantly.....
made it to the turn....squall comes thru ...had the #3 and full main up down wind going 10...no spinnaker....could not see our fleet.......finished......
Nyanza did it...8 out of 10 but we finished......
Comments from the crew.....

David McBrier...

The around the island race began at 9:45 with a start 20% of the way down the line with 100% of the competition to windward of us. We wanted to be the Leeward boat so we could Nyanza point and foot to the left. Strategically we wanted to trend left. Everything was going very smoothly. Our speed and pointing were solid. We shot around the first mark and headed to the west. As the winds lightened the crew made the call to shift gears from the number three to the number one. This helped us power up as we headed toward open water. As we trended west the wind started to lighten up, but that was only temporary. The further we moved west the wind began steadily building. 12 knots turned into 14 knots, which then turned in 16, 18, 20, 22. Time to get the number 3 moving forward onto the bow. And the wind continued to build. We experience 25 to 30 knots for the remainder of the race. It was a good test of the equipment and crew. As we moved around the island, we wanted to get the chute up, but with the rocking and rolling downwind we decided it was best to hold off. We were trending dead down wind at 9 to 10 knots.... Would the kite give us an extra knot of boat speed? We did not want to find out? That was not in the cards for the classic Hinckley. Overall a great day of sailing. The results might not show our success, but our experience was filled with drama, excitement, chills and thrills. Now we move on to the Heineken Regatta Party. Cheers.

John Zurn...

What a fantastic day to be on St. Maarten! We headed out early this morning for a round-the-island race. Wind was light (~15 knots) and shifty during the starting sequence and first leg, so we decided to switch headsails to the number one - big mistake! As soon as we put up the number one, the wind steadily strengthened to the mid 20's and we were stuck with way too much sail area. We ended up reefing the main and shifting back to the number three, but not before punching a hole in the one. After the sail was down it caught a little of the ocean and turned into a huge bucket - not ideal for racing! Despite these setbacks, we had a blast and got in some intense racing. Now it's off to the Heineken party and back to bed early tonight so we're ready for more of the same tomorrow!


Tim Mehl - When down in the islands = stick with the number 3 = full time.