Lay- and J-day at Barbados Sailing Week

Bridgetown, Barbados (January 20, 2018) – While final preparations are underway for the Mount Gay Round Barbados Race tomorrow, the J/24 fleet crowned its winner in the closely contested final showdown in the J/24 Coastal Racing Series at Barbados Sailing Week.

J/24 racing in Barbados never fails to attract a quality fleet so it was no surprise that competition at the two-day J/24 series. Today, overnight leader Robbie Yearwood from Grenada and his team on Die Hard continued their form with wins in the two opening races.

However, a shredded jib halyard and spinnaker halyard in race three, while leading, almost cost them the series but they still managed fourth place in that race. Thankfully, they had done enough to secure the series with a race to spare, leaving Cyril Lecrenay and Bunga Bunga in second place just two points adrift.

“It was a tough day having to contend with gear problems but we gathered ourselves together and got it sorted,” said Yearwood. “It was a bit of a disaster not being able to take down the jib because we couldn’t have re-hoisted it, so we had to sail with it all the time plus we had to use jam cleats on the spinnaker halyard and tie it.

“There was so much tension that when we went to take the spinnaker down it at the end of the run when we were leading, it jammed and we sailed right past the mark. Funnily enough we didn’t actually have to sail the final race but we weren’t sure about our maths so we did it anyway, and really enjoyed it.”

Yearwood is now preparing the boat for the 134nm sail back to Grenada tomorrow. “Going home is easy because it’s all downwind but it will still take 24hour to get there.”

Elsewhere some competitors treated themselves to an afternoon of colonial indulgence at the specially laid on Regatta Surf & Turf Polo Match at Holders Polo Field, while others used the lay day to prepare for Barbados Sailing Week’s headline event – the Mount Gay Round Barbados Race.

This 60nm sprint around the Island of Barbados, which traditionally takes place on a public holiday to celebrate Errol Barrow Day (the birthday of the first Prime Minister of Barbados, and ‘father of independence), has sparked a lot of interest with many teams keen to have a serious attempt at breaking one of the 20 records and a chance to win their skipper’s weight in rum.

Its unique format has, over the last few years, attracted serious race teams using the event as a ‘warm up’ to the Caribbean race season. Leading the charge this year at the professional/performance end of the international entry list is CSQ, the 100ft multi-winged supermaxi from Australia skippered by Ludde Ingvall a former round the world yachtsman, world champion and record holder, who arrived in town yesterday.

Other high-powered speedsters ready for business tomorrow include Conviction, the Botin Carkeek-designed TP52 sailed by David Staples and team from the Barbados Offshore Sailing Syndicate (BOSS), also Bryn Palmer on his RC30 catamaran Silver Bullet, and the Windrider Rave Foiling Tri sailed by local entry Sebastian O’Hara.

Charles Trevor Hunte, the current holder of the Windsurfer record with a time of 5hrs, 34mins, 55secs, on a Starboard Phantom Batwing 377 raceboard has some competition this year with Frenchmen Fabrice Cornic on a Fanatic, and Frederic Vernhes on a Starboard Phantom hoping to break Hunte’s record domination.

With foiling all the rage it is not surprising that, for the first time ever in the history of this race, four foiling kitesurfers are taking part, which means there’ll be plenty of action around the coast for spectators.

Andreas Berg who sailed from Germany last year and broke the Singlehanded Monohull record is back to defend his title on his Dufour 44 Luna, and Mat Barker’s stunning Alfred Mylne 65 The Blue Peter will attempt to break the 6hr, 11min, 19secs Classic record.

The schooner and brigs contingent also sailing in the Classic category may be the slowest in the fleet, but the three imposing tall ships, for which this race was traditionally known, will grace the waters and provide a highlight for the thousands of spectators expected to gather at vantage points around the island.

Ruth, the locally built 33m schooner is a regular supporter of the race as is Tres Hombres, the 33m working brigantine that will be racing with a total of 20 barrels of rum on board. Fabian Klenner – captain of Tres Hombres – said he and his 14-strong crew are really looking forward to the race with an aim to finish.

“We have just loaded six barrels of rum from Barbados so we do have a bit more weight to carry,” said Klenner. “En-route here, we collected 14 barrels of rum from the Canary Islands and now we have six from Barbados. After this race we’ll be heading back to Den Helder in The Netherlands to deliver the goods.

“We have actually made it round the island once, the first year we were here about nine years ago but it does depend totally on the wind and current. Ideally we are looking for about Force 5 with relatively flat water so we can tack easily.”

Event organisers – Barbados Cruising Club in association with Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc – are also delighted to welcome STS Fryderyk Chopin from Poland, which at 54m, is the largest operating brigantine in the world and has a crew of over 50.

Making up the majority of the fleet, however, are the cruising and race boats including three J/24s, a Russian Mini Transat 6.50 and Whistler, the J/105 that won CSA Racing Coastal Series.

Racing begins at 0700 with staggered starts just off Barbados Cruising Club. The slowest boats (schooner and brigs) will start first, and fastest boat CQS will be last to start at 1130. From there on, the fleet will make its way around the Island clockwise and return across the finish line from the east in the afternoon.

An online tracker follow the race… click here.

Event website – Results – Facebook

About Barbados Sailing Week
The first recorded race round Barbados was in 1936 when five trading schooners (Sea Fox, Mona Marie, Marion B Wolfe, Lucille Smith and Rhode Island) took up the challenge. Sea Fox (Captain Lou Kenedy) was the overall winner with a time of 10 hours 20 minutes.

The original race was based upon bragging rights for the fastest Trading Schooner. In an era where prices for cargo arriving ahead of rival ships commanded a massive premium, this was a lucrative race for captains.

The consolation prize of a barrel of Mount Gay Rum for the slowest yacht was discontinued several years later following the discovery that some competitors purposely stalled and remained out at sea for days to ensure they won the prize.

In 2012 The Mount Gay Round Barbados Race expanded to incorporate the Two Restaurants Race, which meant racing took place over two days. The idea proved such a success, it was decided to expand the event further in 2014, in line with most other Caribbean regattas, and run a series of coastal, round-the-buoy races including the Two Restaurants Race, and The Mount Gay Round Barbados Race.

The 60nm Mount Gay Round Barbados Race traditionally takes place on Errol Barrow Day (a public holiday to celebrate the birthday of the first Prime Minister of Barbados, and ‘father of independence). There are currently 20 records to contest.

The 265-mile Ocean Race from Barbados to Antigua at the end of the regatta was specifically designed to tie in with the start of the Superyacht Challenge in Antigua.

Source: Sue Pelling