From caribbeanracing.com
As the yachts headed off round Pigeon Point, they were soon into the teeth of a strong north easterly blowing at between 25 and 30 knots. Akarana, a Swan 46 which had only recently finished the ARC Atlantic race, took the lead as the boats headed off to Fort de France , a distance of some 25 miles. The fleet soon encountered big rollers accompanied by some heavy rain squalls with gusts up to 35 knots. Some boats had two reefs in their mainsails as they headed on a close fetch. This was the first occurrence of the race for two years. Last year's race was cancelled due to the general strike in Martinique. The race was hosted by the Yacht Club de la Martinique for the first time as previous races ran to Le Marin on the south west coat. The first boat to cross the finish line was Akarana followed by Vaguely Noble, a Martiniquan boat which won on handicap. The winds were gusty and testing right to the finish off Fort de France. Some boats encountered damage along the way. Kaiso suffered a torn genoa leech more than 10 feet long but the crew managed to stitch a repair overnight. The boats berthed at the docks provided courtesy of the Yacht Club de Martinique. Later in the evening, the Club hosted a dinner for all the participants which was attended by the St Lucian Consul General Keats Compton. There was entertainment in the form of a traditional costume and dance troupe which was enhanced further by an impromptu performance by one of the male crew from Kaiso dressed in drag. The following day entailed a leisurely sail down to Grand Anse D'Arlet, a bay on the south east side of Martinique. All participants met up for a classic gallic lunch with plenty of wine. As there was no public holiday in France on Monday, it was left for the fleet to arrange an ad hoc start. The time and the start using a rusty boat as ODM and a mark on one side was arranged by Edgar Roe on Loose Cannon living up to the name by firing the starting gun. Needless to say he wasn’t over the line. The return leg from Anse d'Arlet includes a provision to round Diamond Rock to starboard. All boats record their time when they reach Diamond Rock on a bearing of 270 degrees. The weather for the start of the return leg started off squally with winds up to 22 knots. Akarana was first to Diamond Rock after putting in two tacks. They were followed by Loose Cannon. The weather cleared by mid morning to leave clear skies as the boats again head on a close fetch back to Rodney Bay on account of the strong west flowing current. Akarana, the Swan 46 was the first to finish after approximately four hours sailing. Kaiso, a Sovereign 400 manage to squeeze in front of Loose Cannon and came in a few minutes ahead. Loose Cannon was followed by HyTime which was limping along slowly after suffering sail damage during a tack. Later in the afternoon, prize giving was held at the St Lucia Yacht Club with prizes awarded by Lady Janice Compton. Akarana won first overall and Diamonds International awarded first prize to Loose Cannon for 'The Diamond Dash', sponsored by Diamonds International, being the fastest time between Grande Anse D'Arlet and Diamond Rock. Prizes were also awarded with the skipper and crews each averaging several bottles of Bounty Rum and Chilean wine to take home thanks to St Lucia Distillers & Peter & Co. Heineken beer was provided courtesy of Windward and Leeward Brewery. Lady Janice Compton donated a picture to the Yacht Club featuring Sir John Compton at the helm. Pictures web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/SaintLuciaYachtClub © Copyright 2001/2002/2003/2004/2005 caribbeanracing.com |
