SLYC Round St Lucia Non-Stop Race 21st August 2010

ANNUAL SLYC EMANCIPATION DAY TROPHY RACE 31^st July 2010

Rodney Bay to Marigot and Return Race

Despite an unsettled weather forecast, 9 boats turned out for the second annual Emancipation Day Race organised by the St Lucia Yacht Club.  The smallest Boat was a 16’ Fireball and the largest Breeze Away, a 50’sloop with a scattering of J24’s, the popular 24’ race boat.  Two of the J24’s were crewed by youth teams.

The race conditions were near perfect with a 12-14 knot breeze blowing from the north east. The race started at 10 am.  just off the St Lucia Yacht club start line at Reduit Beach.
Claudia Vogel, a J24 took the lead early on but the main fleet were very closely grouped as they headed towards a rounding mark at Pigeon Point. The fleet then headed south to Marigot Bay on a run with the wind almost behind them and then the wind moving more on the beam.  The J24’s put up spinnakers which gave them an advantage as they took the lead followed closely by the larger keel boats which prefer higher wind strength.

Just outside of Rodney Bay, near Barrel O’ Beef Rock, the 16’ Fireball with two crew capsized with the crew ending up in the water. The IGY safety rib was close by for assistance and towed the boat back to the club.

The fleet headed for the Hess mark and then the finish line outside Marigot Bay. Claudia Vogel was first to finish followed by Attitude and Jabal. The boats headed into Marigot Bay for a lunch stop and then returned to the start line at 2 pm. The start line was between the red buoy and the Marigot Marina Patrol boat.

The larger boats Breeze Away, Kaiso and Out of Sight got off to a flying start in the race going north with the wind almost on the nose. Out of Sight took a course close inshore and gained extra speed approaching Barrel O’ Beef rock.  There were close duels between the boats as they approached the mark on diverging courses, making for some exciting racing.  The fleet rounded the Pigeon point mark to starboard and then headed for the finish line with Out of Sight first over the line off Reduit beach.

The finish places on elapsed time for the race from Marigot to Rodney Bay were First, Attitude, second, Claudia Vogel and third Jabal.

Overall first three places on elapsed time based on a handicap system went to to the J24’s:

1. Claudia Vogel
2. Attitude and
3. Jabal

CONGRATULATIONS to the Claudio Vogel crew as they are our youth sailors (Luis Meixner, Marcus Sweeney, Stephanie Lovell, Jasia King, Scott Anthony) WELL DONE !!!

Thanks go to prize sponsors Heineken (free Heineken cans for all participants), Digicel (mobile phone & miscellaneous items) , Rain Forest Skyrides (voucher), St Lucia Rums (Bounty Rum) Café Ole (voucher), as well as Edwin Chavez from IGY Marina for assistance with Race support, Ted Bull & Adam Slayed (Rodney Bay start & finish line) and Bob Hathaway from Marigot Bay Marina for support at the Marigot finish line.

Special thanks to the organizers Sean Fuller (Stand-in Sailing Captain),  and Danielle (pictures) (Social Secretary) http://picasaweb.google.com/SaintLuciaYachtClub

Submitted by SF & DDR

Sailing Calendar 2010

* JULY 2010:-

* July 9, 10 & 11 - IC24 PREMIER’S CUP, TORTOLA (Junior Sailors)

* Sunday, July 11 - Summer Series continues for J24’s & Yachts.

* Sunday, July 25 - Summer Series FINAL for J24’s & Yachts.

* 25 July – 2 August Carriacou Regatta Festival

* AUGUST 2010:-

* Saturday 31st July - EMANCIPATION DAY REGATTA - To Marigot Bay & Return – (2 races).

*Saturday, 21st August 2010 – Round St Lucia Non-Stop Race

click on picture for pictures

Saturday 12^th, Sunday 13^th & Monday 14^th December 2009

Hosted by St. Lucia Yacht Club in cooperation with the Yacht Club de la Martinique

Diamond Dash sponsored by Diamonds International

On Saturday 12^th December at 09.00 a reduced entry of seven boats turned up in squally conditions for the start of the St Lucia to Martinique race series known as the Sir John Compton Memorial Race. The annual event is held in honour of the late Prime Minister of St Lucia, a keen yachtsman who served the island for over 30 years. The start was off the St Lucia Yacht Club in Rodney Bay and within the fleet included two ARC entries Akanara and Boundless and also two Martiniquan boats. The smallest entry was a J24 skippered by Edgar Roe.

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 being 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 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 cross the line after approximately 4 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.

All in all a great event was enjoyed by participants and thanks go to the sponsors: Heineken, Diamonds International, Peter & Co, St Lucia Rum Distilleries, Delirious, Spinnakers , Rain Forrest Sky Rides and to the St Lucia Yacht Club and Yacht Club de Martinique for organizing the race!

Submitted by Skipper Sean (Kaiso)

SLYC “EMANCIPATION DAY RACE 1^st August 2009”

Appropriately on this day the two sailing areas of St Lucia, Rodney Bay and Marigot Bay celebrated the occasion with a friendly sailing event joining the two sailing resort bays in competition on the water. 2 races were held starting in Rodney Bay at 10am and finishing around one and a half hours later. This race was an unusual start sequence where yachts started at pre determined times according to their own handicaps as determined by their measurement ratings, thereby giving the slower boats an earlier start with the intention of getting the boats to the finish at Marigot Bay as a more collective group.

14 yachts turned out to compete on the almost perfect sailing day conditions, 15 knots of wind from the ENE, sunshine and a gorgeous blue Caribbean sea—MAGIC!

Perfect for some but as is the fate of others, a dismasting of the yacht Doubloon from Discovery at Marigot Bay put paid to their racing for the day. Luckily there were no injuries and the mast was recovered by the experienced crew without any assistance from the race committee and returned safely back into Rodney Bay marina.

After a short break in Marigot for lunch where all the yachts rafted up, the game was on for the return battle! This, albeit a beautiful sailing breeze which had whipped the fleet down to Marigot earlier now turned into a beat into the wind or at least a fine fetch to the Pigeon Island turning mark into Rodney Bay and then to the SLYC finishing line in front of the beach. Horn blowing to greet the finishers and to record their times kept the scene of fun and sport going on for the visitors and guests and for the anxious parents awaiting the return of their sailing youngsters.

Prize giving followed their trip ashore, wet and tired but ready for the club BBQ and refreshments kindly donated by Heineken.

Click on picture to go to web album

Our Sponsors, Heineken, Diamonds International, Rodney Bay Marina, Marigot Bay Marina, Discovery Marigot, Rain Forest Sky Rides and Digicel made this, now to be the annual Emancipation day event, possible. Representatives present were duly thanked by the committee for their participation.

The new Trophy, which was kindly donated for the event by Frank Capers Senior, was duly won by his son Frank Capers junior in the club J24 Grayling and the oldest participant in the event!  71 !

The two races were individually scored but amalgamated to give the final positions as follows:

Racing class:

1^st.    J24 “Grayling”  Frank Capers and the winner of the Overall Trophy

2^nd J24 “Loose Cannon” Edgar Roe

3^rd J24  “Banana Wind” Marcus Sweeney

Cruising class:

1^st “Beneteau 50 ” Spirit of the Wind” Christian Richings

1^st “Elvira D 49”  Sun Odyssey  Ulrich Meixner

3^rd “Sovereign 40 “Kaiso” Sean.Fuller

Bosun Ted Bull

Photography and filming by our professionals Danielle and Ian from the SLYC.

St. Lucia BMW J24 Invitational Championship 6th-7th-8th November 2009

Click on picture to go to web album

St Lucia Yacht Club hosted the Third St Lucia BMW J 24 Invitational Championship over the weekend in Rodney Bay. With teams from Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and St Lucia, six teams sailed eighteen races over the weekend to decide the winner.

Hosted in the “The Landings” private Marina with teams staying in five star luxury apartments and two beautiful BMW’s on show this regatta was very much a five star event. Friday nights briefing and cocktail party was held on “The Landings” marina with the six J’s tied alongside made for a wonderful sight.

Racing started Saturday morning right outside the marina just off the beach with great viewing for those lazing on the beach or aboard the Endless Summers large cat giving great viewing on the water. Courses were short windward leeward’s with twenty minutes races giving close exciting racing. After the mornings six races it was very tight at the top with the two St Lucian teams Trinidad and Grenada split by just a few points. Short lunch break and off again for a final six afternoon races with clear blue skies ten knots of breeze you could not ask for better racing conditions. Again the sailing was extremely tight with many different teams up the front and positions changing minute to minute. After a long days racing the six teams headed back to the Marina and a few well earned beers and to check how they ended up for the day. Again it was extremely close amongst the top five with only three points separating Trinidad, Barbados, the two St Lucian teams and Grenada.

Sunday dawned with more blue skies and perfect sailing breeze and a few headaches after a night in Rodney Bay! The Trinidad team came out fast with four bullets to basically seal the regatta while some of the other crews suffering from the night before took a little time to wake up and made some bad errors with over the line problems for Edgar in St Lucia one, plus a mixture of penalties for other teams let the Trini’s slip away to an unassailable lead but second to fourth was a close fought battle right to the last race with again just a few points separating them all. The top three were Edgar Roe, St Lucia 1 in third, Robbie Yearwood from Grenada in second and Stephen Bushe with Andrew, Wesley and John from Trinidad taking the trophy.

Again many thanks go to BMW “Prestige Motors” as the main sponsor along with the “Landings”, “St Lucia Distillers” and “Peter and company” for prizes and the committee boat II Restless. All monies raised holding this event goes towards the youth sailing program held by the Yacht Club.

Michael Green (SLYC Vice Commodore)

“LET’S GET TOGETHER” PARTY 2010!  

CAROLS AFLOAT 2009 Christmas Flotilla

“It is Christmas in the Heart that puts Christmas in the air” (W.T. Ellis)

CAROLS AFLOAT 2009

What a way to some up the inaugural Carols Afloat. I don’t think any one of the people who participated would be able to argue with that.

On Tuesday the 22^nd December a total of 13 uniquely decorated boats and 2 IGY RBM boats participated in what was hopefully the 1^st of many Carols Afloat Christmas events. Certainly from this writers view point the event was a tremendous success! The boats that participated brought the joy that is Christmas spirit from their hearts and souls to many boats around the Rodney Bay Area.

On Tuesday afternoon, if you happened to be passing the IGY Rodney Bay Marina around 4.30pm a great many preparations could be seen, be it large inflatable Santa’s (palm tree included)(thanks to Hullabaloo) or as many large decorative flags as could possibly be acquired from various sources!

At precisely 5.30 (Caribbean time) all of the 15 boats participating met outside the entrance to the Rodney Bay Marina, craft participating ranged in size and shape from the lead boat “Hullabaloo” through various sizes of yachts (some of which had only just arrived on island through the ARC event last month) down to the St Lucia Yacht Clubs crew on board “Lucia” an Impulse 21 keelboat.

Come 6pm the whole graceful procession set of with our in house DJ pipeing an eclectic mix of traditional carols with a few carib vibes mixed in for good measure.

No sooner had we set off than disaster struck! One of the many Christmas torches on “Lucia” died so we had to improvise; with our extensive instructor background prepared for every event a spare mag-light was brought forth and held up the show for us. Oh and a few more unfortunate of us hit bottom near pigeon island.

After these few teething problems the rest of the tour went extremely well with most getting into the Christmas spirit by singing joyous melody’s, at least this was the case on “Lucia” as we couldn’t hear much over the noise of our outboard motor!

With a cool beer in sight the flotilla headed back from the terrors of the open seas into the “Well Lit” inlet for a fly by on the Edge restaurant and the end of the parade.

After tying up all crews converged on H20 restaurant and bar for the Prize giving and free beer courtesy of Heineken brewery.  Prizes were given to the best decorated, most improvised, best crew uniform as well as a whole host of others! All prizes were donated by local companies, amongst which featured “Fire Grill”, “Delirious”, “The Edge” , “Columbian Emeralds”, “Café Ole”, “Rain Forest Sky Rides” , “Steel Pan Band Harmonites”, “Spinnakers”, etc.

In all an extremely enjoyable evening was had by all and if you are to talk to anybody who participated I’m sure you’d receive many a tall tale of the high seas, possibly even a few about the joy brought to all through the wonder of Christmas and all who participated.

Special thanks goes to : -

IGY Rodney Bay Marina (free birth for the night for the participating boats & DJ Mickey), St Lucia Yacht Club, All sponsors and the boats – “Hullabaloo”, “Lucia”, “Catar”, “Kaiso”, “Gizmo”, “Nomad”, “One Time”, “Boldly Go”, “Reel Extreme”, “Twice Eleven”, “Guiding Light”, “Fair Encounter”, “Endless Summer” and both IGY boats that participated. I’m sure that next year the fun will continue and for many years to come.

Submitted by Callum (Sailing Instructor SLYC)

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Beach Lunch BBQ 2009

New Years Eve 31^st December 2009

“World ARC welcomes in 2010 with a Bang! (News article from World Cruising Club Website)

World ARC 2010-11 participants enjoyed a fantastic New Year’s Eve party at the St Lucia Yacht Club last night. With a complimentary barbecue and drinks, and free bubbly at midnight, the New Year was welcomed in with style.

St Lucia Yacht Club, located near the entrance to Rodney Bay on the warm sands of Redruit Beach, provided the perfect viewing platform for the spectacular fireworks display, which illuminated the bay to loud cheers from the revelling crowds beneath.

World ARC participants took no time in joining in with the local crowds in their New Year’s Celebrations, with the street parties carrying on into the small hours. Even with a week still to go before setting sail, it seems the World ARC 2010-11 has already socially become a success!

Many participants have chosen an adrenaline-packed way of getting rid of their New Year’s hangovers today – on the Tree Top Canopy Adventure Tour. Heading into the rain forest of St Lucia’s eastern coast, adventurers zip through the air on 11 different lines between the trees at up to 50ft above the forest floor – rapidly cleansing their heads of any over-indulgence from last night!”

Dear all,

The OLYMPIC DAY will take place on SUNDAY 27th JUNE 2010 organized by he Saint Lucia Olympic Committee. The St Lucia Yacht Club will be the venue for this event!

The annual OLYMPIC DAY RUN is part of the Olympic Day and will start this year from Pigeon Island at 9 am to end at the St Lucia Yacht Club.

Everybody can participate, young and not so young! Walk, jog or run, your choice !

HOW TO SIGN UP :

1. Olympic House
2. email slycsocialsecretary@gmail.com
3. call 718.5010
4. at the St Lucia Yacht Club (notice board registration form)

Free T-shirt for all participants: please give your name and T-shirt size (XXL-XL-L-M or kids sizes 16-14-12 or 10)

At arrival at the club, all kind of sport activities will be shown so stay and enjoy!

Schedule:

9:00 am – 9:45 am > Olympic Day Run > Pigeon Point – St Lucia Yacht Club

10:00 am – 10:20 am > Judo > Squash Court

10:00 am – 11:00 am > Basketball > Ramp next to Spinnakers

10:30 am – 11:00 am >Taekwondo > Squash court

11:00 am – 12:00 noon > Life-Saving > Beach

11:00 am – 12:00 noon > Table Tennis > Club Yard

12:00 noon – 1:00 pm > Football > Club Yard

1:00 pm – 1:40 pm >Swimming > Beach

1:00 pm – 1:40 pm >Tennis > Ramp

1:40 pm – 2:40 pm >Athletics > Club Yard

1:50 pm – 2:50 pm > Sailing > Open sea

1:50 pm – 2:45 pm >Netball > Ramp next to Spinnakers

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm >Squash > Squash court

3:30 pm – 4:00pm > Triathlon > Beach-Rodney Bay

Yacht Club Bar & Restaurant open as usual!

Hope to see you all!

Kind regards.

Danielle

Pictures : http://picasaweb.google.com/SaintLuciaYachtClub

IGY Marinas, St Lucia Yacht Club & Gros Islet High School working together to build a better community

Restoration project gives Rodney Bay Marina even more class!

The restoration of an International 505 Class fiber glass racing dinghy might appear a small project but it has huge potential. The project is based in Island Global Yachting’s (IGY) Rodney Bay Marina and is being undertaken by eight pupils, three from form four and five from form five, from Gros Islet’s Secondary School . . . under some professional supervision of course!

“This is the first step in giving young people an insight into sailing and the skills required to succeed in the marine industry,” said IGY’s General Manager Adam Foster. “We’re always happy to be involved in local projects, especially ones of a marine nature.” Once the 505 is restored, it should take around two to six months, the dinghy will be used as a training boat for St Lucia Yacht Club (SLYC) in their popular Junior Training Program. IGY is providing tools, supervision, timber, location and almost anything else that’s needed for the project as part of their sponsorship.

Minister for Social Transformation, Public Service, Human Resource Development and Youth and Sports, Lenard ‘Spider’ Montoute was also on board for the project. He said: “It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn both sailing and boat maintenance. We have wonderful facilities and we need to service the growing yachting service market, this is a great opportunity for all involved.” How true.

The 505, along with a Laser Dinghy, were donated to SLYC by Mrs. Nancy Marez, the wife of former Rodney Bay Marina owner Archie Marez who died in 2005. The sponsorship project was four months in the planning and SLYC’s Sailing Captain Edgar Roe, whose passion for sailing and organization is well documented, said: “SLYC has over 60 youngsters in the junior sailing program and it’s more successful than ever, anyone’s welcome and cost is dependent on enthusiasm . . . the more the merrier.”

So an extra couple of dinghys should come in handy for the Reduit Beach based SLYC and, under the watchful eye of IGY’s professionals, some budding tradesman could emerge and that has to be good news. Mrs. Delia Charles, the headmistress of Gros Islet Secondary School, certainly thought so. “I’m so pleased we’re forming ties with IGY and the yachting industry,” she said. “Our students can learn new skills both on and off the water, it’s a brand new classroom and a whole different lesson.”

“St Lucia could become self-sufficient in marine professionals,” said Adam, “we might need to tailor some training but I’m convinced we have the home-grown talent and the 505 project could be the beginning of a whole new era. After all why would I fly-in professionals from outside of St Lucia if we have them here?”

Why indeed?

Independence Day Round St Lucia Race

(2 stages)

INDEPENDENCE DAY ROUND ST LUCIA RACE 2010  (2 STAGE RACE)

On the St Lucia Independence weekend of 20/21st February, the Round St Lucia 2 stage race was held for the first time since 2003. The race, sailing clockwise around St Lucia over a distance of approximately 60 miles consisted of two almost equal distance legs with day one starting at Rodney Bay and finishing at Vieux Fort and day two back up the west coast of the island back to Rodney Bay.

11 boats lined up for the 09.30 start with winds blowing at 10 to 14 knots from east north east. First across the line was local yacht ‘Breeze Away’, a Morgan 50. Predictably the boats all bunched up in the lee of Pigeon Island then all launched onto a beat towards the northern tip of St Lucia. ‘Argentaria’, an Italian owned sleek 14m alloy yacht powered into the lead and headed well into the St Lucia/Martinique channel before finally tacking onto port. ‘Hot Chocolate’ and ‘Kaiso’ tacked close into Pointe du Cap and gained some advantage, but not enough against the powerful ‘Argentaria’ which rounded the northern tip first followed by ‘Breeze Away’. The boats eased off onto a beam reach down the east coast of St Lucia.

The swell was running at about 5-7 feet and the wind about 12 knots. In the early afternoon, the wind eased to around 8-10 knots giving advantage to the bigger, faster yachts. The first boat to cross the finish line on the west side of Moule Chique point was ‘Argentaria’ at 2.35 pm. followed by ‘Breeze Away’ and ‘Scippione’ of Marigot Bay.  The boats all anchored in the south western corner of Vieux Fort Bay.  Crews were taken ashore thanks to water taxi / fisherman Ishtar and in the evening an excellent Creole style buffet was laid on by the Old Plantation Yard restaurant in Vieux Fort.

On Sunday 21^st February, the participants woke to fine weather with clear skies and 12-14 knots of easterly breeze. The start was again at 09.30 with ‘Sequel’, a local motorboat kindly acting as outer end of starting line and all boats heading off on a downwind run towards the Pitons.  Most boats decided to head close inshore on the shortest course while a couple winged out jibs or flew spinnakers.  ‘Argentaria’, again took the lead followed closely by ‘Red Fox’, a Ranger 31.  Those yachts closest to the Pitons slowed more while those outside gained some advantage. Some boats were able to fly spinnakers up to Anse Chastanet just past Soufriere when the angle forced them to change to genoas.  The leg up the west coast of the island towards Pigeon Point was a close fetch in near perfect calm seas.

The last part of the race into Rodney Bay was a beat with the finish line between the St Lucia Yacht club and outer mark 300 yards off the beach. ‘Argentaria’ crossed the line first followed by the impressively sailed ‘Red Fox’ which won on handicap. ‘Breeze Away’ came third. ‘Scippione’ and ‘Avocet’ went the wrong way over the finish line and were disqualified from race 2.

‘Guiding Light’, a 73 year old wooden boat of 36 feet length came in a remarkable 4^th place on handicap. The owner had recently crossed the Atlantic singlehanded. The final two places went to ‘Nomad’, a ketch of 32ft also single handed across the Atlantic and ‘Sephina’, another ketch of 35ft recently arrived with the ARC 2009.

The prize giving was held at the St Lucia Yacht Club on the Independence holiday Monday with overall first prize going to ‘Argentaria’, second prize to ‘Breeze Away’ and third to ‘Red Fox’. All entrants received two magnums of Heineken beer courtesy of Windward and Leeward Brewery. Thanks also go to the other sponsors of the event …. IGY Marinas for providing berthing, Café Ole/Boardwalk, Firegrill, The Edge & Delirius all provided vouchers, Peter & Company and finally Rum Distilleries

This fun Round the Island race was much enjoyed by participants and it is hoped to repeat the event next February 2011.

Submitted by Sean Fuller, skipper Kaiso

CAROLS AFLOAT 2009

“It is Christmas in the Heart that puts Christmas in the air” (W.T. Ellis)

What a way to some up the inaugural Carols Afloat. I don’t think any one of the people who participated would be able to argue with that.

On Tuesday the 22^nd December a total of 13 uniquely decorated boats and 2 IGY RBM boats participated in what was hopefully the 1^st of many Carols Afloat Christmas events. Certainly from this writers view point the event was a tremendous success! The boats that participated brought the joy that is Christmas spirit from their hearts and souls to many boats around the Rodney Bay Area.

On Tuesday afternoon, if you happened to be passing the IGY Rodney Bay Marina around 4.30pm a great many preparations could be seen, be it large inflatable Santa’s (palm tree included)(thanks to Hullabaloo) or as many large decorative flags as could possibly be acquired from various sources!

At precisely 5.30 (Caribbean time) all of the 15 boats participating met outside the entrance to the Rodney Bay Marina, craft participating ranged in size and shape from the lead boat “Hullabaloo” through various sizes of yachts (some of which had only just arrived on island through the ARC event last month) down to the St Lucia Yacht Clubs crew on board “Lucia” an Impulse 21 keelboat.

Come 6pm the whole graceful procession set of with our in house DJ pipeing an eclectic mix of traditional carols with a few carib vibes mixed in for good measure.

No sooner had we set off than disaster struck! One of the many Christmas torches on “Lucia” died so we had to improvise; with our extensive instructor background prepared for every event a spare mag-light was brought forth and held up the show for us. Oh and a few more unfortunate of us hit bottom near pigeon island.

After these few teething problems the rest of the tour went extremely well with most getting into the Christmas spirit by singing joyous melody’s, at least this was the case on “Lucia” as we couldn’t hear much over the noise of our outboard motor!

With a cool beer in sight the flotilla headed back from the terrors of the open seas into the “Well Lit” inlet for a fly by on the Edge restaurant and the end of the parade.

After tying up all crews converged on H20 restaurant and bar for the Prize giving and free beer courtesy of Heineken brewery.  Prizes were given to the best decorated, most improvised, best crew uniform as well as a whole host of others! All prizes were donated by local companies, amongst which featured “Fire Grill”, “Delirious”, “The Edge” , “Columbian Emeralds”, “Café Ole”, “Rain Forest Sky Rides” , “Steel Pan Band Harmonites”, “Spinnakers”, etc.

In all an extremely enjoyable evening was had by all and if you are to talk to anybody who participated I’m sure you’d receive many a tall tale of the high seas, possibly even a few about the joy brought to all through the wonder of Christmas and all who participated. Click on the picture below for the web album

Special thanks goes to :

IGY Rodney Bay Marina (free berth for the night for the participating boats & DJ Mickey), St Lucia Yacht Club, All sponsors and the boats – “Hullabaloo”, “Lucia”, “Catar”, “Kaiso”, “Gizmo”, “Nomad”, “One Time”, “Boldly Go”, “Reel Extreme”, “Twice Eleven”, “Guiding Light”, “Fair Encounter”, “Endless Summer” and both IGY boats that participated. I’m sure that next year the fun will continue and for many years to come.

Submitted by Callum (Sailing Instructor SLYC)

“Journey to the World ARC Flotilla 2010″ story by Duncan Gray

“Shall we do the ARC ?”

Pete, my neighbor and dinghy race skipper for the winter series in our local sailing club at Hythe thought about my question for a few seconds and then said “I’d have to check with Lyn”” (his partner).

To set the scene, it was a cold February day in 2005, we were surfing in his Merlin Rocket at 12 knots with the spinnaker set and leading the race fleet by 100 yards. Southampton water at that time of the year is a pretty inhospitable place, wet suits are mandatory, when it rains it feels like a shower of ice crystals hitting your face, and getting knocked down or capsized (a not uncommon occurrence in a Merlin Rocket) means getting very cold in places you really don’t want to get that cold (even in a wet suit). My yacht at that time was a Hanse 301 named ‘Dancing Demon’, a very seaworthy design but a little small to live aboard in comfort, so my thoughts had already moved on to a boat with a long keel, heavy displacement, standing headroom and a good galley, in short a ‘proper blue-water cruiser’.

Three years later, I’d sold ‘Dancing Demon’, searched for and found ‘Sephina’, Pete was now the pround father of Daniel (3) and Lyn was expecting Daniel’s sibling (soon to enter the world as Jamie), Lyn had agreed that Pete could join the boat for the Atlantic crossing with the ARC, so the entry forms were filled in, the fees paid, and our ARC 2009 had begun.

‘Sephina’ is one of those boats that people in the know stand back and say “she’s a proper yacht”. Designed by Holman & Pye in the late sixties, she’s a Super Sovereign, built in 1972, 35ft on deck, nearly 9 tons displacement, 3/4 length keel, ketch rigged,  in short a ‘go anywhere yacht’. (more info ….. www.sovereign35.com)   . All I had to do was turn her from a coastal cruiser into an ocean passage maker. The next year was spent in a whirlwind of refitting the boat, offshore training courses, closing my business and preparing myself for my first ocean crossing.

The passage south from Southampton to Las Palmas to join the ARC was not without problems and I learnt some valuable lessons …..

Lesson number one …. check the things you can see before setting sail !

Crossing from St Peter Port (Guernsey) to L’Aberwrach (France), the spinnaker halyard freed itself from the deck, streamed out astern and wrapped itself around the wind generator at the top of the mizzen mast. Fortunately the refit had included fitting mast steps, so climbing the mast & recovering the halyard proved an easy ten minute job.

Lesson number two …. check the things you can’t see before setting sail !

We were running south at night from La Coruna (Spain) in 30 knot winds and 12 – 15 foot seas when I noticed a faint clonk from the steering whenever the rudder took up the weather helm. The next day, having made it to Bayona, inspection of the rudder stock provided a shock. The nut on the link rod universal joint was loose and hanging on by a couple of threads, if we’d sailed much further it would probably have let go completely.

Lesson number three …. beware the weather forecast !

Having reached Lagos (Portugal), we waited, ‘calm-bound’ for ten days. We’d motor sailed most of the way from La Rochelle (France) with little or no wind, but for the next passage to Las Palmas motoring wasn’t an option as our range of 300 miles would get us less than half way, so a good sailing wind was essential. Finally the wind forecast looked promising so we checked out and set sail. The predicted NE 15 knot wind quickly veered south, so we had the choice of sailing SE toward Gibraltar or SW toward Madeira, not a difficult decision as Madeira was only 450 miles away and would only add around 150 miles to the trip. Then the wind died, so on with the engine again hoping to find some wind further south …. would we ever start sailing !

Lesson number four …. listen to the boat, if she isn’t happy, she’ll let you know !

During that first night out from Lagos, having succumbed to a bout of seasickness, I woke for my watch feeling pretty rough, and noticed the exhaust note of the engine had changed a little. The noise slowly worsened to the point that I decided to stop the engine. We took stock …. the sky was overcast so no power from the solar panels, there wasn’t much wind so no power from the wind generator and without the engine no power from the alternator, the nearest island was Porto Santo still 350 miles away, we had plenty of food and water and the batteries were fully charged … not much choice but to make the best course and sail very slowly. Now Porto Santo is a delightful island, but the options to repair a 37 year old diesel engine are zero, but at least we could plug in to shore power and recharge the batteries. My diagnosis was a blown head gasket. Ok, not a good idea to run the engine for long but it would get us out of one harbour, and into the next. My third crew member was flying to join us in a week, so with emails & phone calls, spares were ordered and tools from home organised. At last the promised trade winds started to blow, so with fully charged batteries we left the marina and set sail for Gran Canaria. With NE winds of 15 – 20 knots it took just 58 hours to sail 300 miles, we motored into Las Palmas at midnight, with the engine popping and banging and sounding very sick indeed.

The next two weeks flew by in a whirlwind of ARC seminars & events, engine repairs, entertaining friends & family visiting from home, shopping for stores for the Atlantic crossing and making final preparations to the boat. Departure day finally arrived, the atmosphere in Las Palmas was partytime … a wonderful send-off for a big adventure. Twenty two days one hour twenty three minutes and thirty six seconds later we crossed the finish line in Rodney Bay, lowered the sails and motored into the Marina, were met with greetings from friends as we moored, and rum punch and fresh fruit waiting for us  …. wind down time at last.

Lesson number five …. Beware the innocent squash bottle (extract from our ARC log)

The Mystery of the exploding apple juice, Thursday afternoon (day 11)

There was I just before lunch, innocently typing an email when a loud ‘BANG’ came from the galley (ok it’s only three feet from the chart table), suddenly followed by a cold shower of something wet & sticky. Our cook, Robin, had saved half of the contents of a carton of apple juice (at least that’s what he told us it was) in a squash bottle and hadn’t noticed it had started to ferment (we assume). Everything in the galley, companionway and nav-station was dripping and smelling of rough cider, and I’d only just changed into a new snowy white tee-shirt !

Lesson number six ….

Fatigue can fuddle the brain (extract from our ARC log)

0330UTC Wednesday 9^th December 2009. “Skipper, there’s a ship coming up astern, very fast”.

I was off watch, sound asleep for a change when Pete shook me awake wanting to call the ship on VHF to establish it’s intentions. Now to set the scene, since the fleet separated south of Gran Canaria, we’d seen two ships within the first few days, and then two yachts (neither in the ARC) and the top of another mast at some distance (so other vessels had been a bit of a rarity). It was a clear starlit morning dark enough to see the Milky Way (no not the kind you can eat between meals without ruining your appetite).
“It looks like a cruise liner, lots of lights along the side, but I can’t make out the nav lights yet” says Pete. I climbed out of my bunk, carefully negotiating over Robin’s bunk so as to try and not wake him unnecessarily, and made my way to the companionway, thinking, ‘if it’s coming fast enough to worry Pete, then it must be the Queen Mary 2′. “If you can see all along the side, how is it coming toward us then” asked I. On closer inspection, it appeared (to my sleep fuddled brain) to be becoming airborne. Just then, the cloud bank shifted, and lo and behold, there’s a pale white crescent slowly ascending into the heavens. “Which VHF channel do you think we should use then Pete, 16 or 77 ?”

My crew were due to fly home after Christmas, which for a few days looked unlikely with the threatened British Airways strike, but that was quickly resolved and we finally relaxed and started to enjoy life in St Lucia. The first few days were filled with ARC parties, a sightseeing trip around the island, lots of rum and getting used to a world that had stopped rocking and rolling. Having read about it, on Christmas Eve we finally visited the St Lucia Yacht Club, and a warmer welcome would be difficult to find. Sadly, we’d missed the ‘Christmas Carols Afloat’ event as we’d been south to explore the coast for a few days, but would we like to join in with the Christmas Day on the beach barbecue ? I’d been told that St Lucia was a paradise island, and a paradise it’s proved to be. Within a few days I’d made some new friends, enjoyed my first New Year on the beach, joined the Yacht Club, and been talked into joining the World ARC Flotilla.

click for the story

Lesson number seven …. Sieze the Day !

For ten years I’d been dreaming of escape from the rat-race & blue water sailing, but always finding reasons to not take the plunge. Remember …. Life isn’t a rehearsal and sometimes opportunity only knocks once.

What an adventure it’s been.  Since leaving Southampton, I’d seen stunning sunsets and sunrises, glorious star filled night skies, dolphins, whales, flying fish, squalls, thunderstorms, flat calms, big waves. At times I’d felt elation, frustration, depression, boredom, trepidation but never once was I frightened. I’d learnt to trust my boat and know that if I looked after her, she’d look after me and my crew. The weather gods had been kind, and through good fortune and careful preparation my first ocean passage was now part of ARC history, our handicapped finish position was 118^th from 158 starters in our cruising class, very creditable for the 2^nd oldest yacht in the fleet (& 3^rd slowest rated). I’d started the journey as a relatively inexperienced coastal sailor, taken on old boat, refitted it myself and nursed it through all of the problems, crossed an ocean to fulfill a dream, and proved that you don’t need megabucks to sail successfully on blue water.

Submitted by Duncan Gray, skipper of ‘SEPHINA’, ARC-2009 entry number 230

Let’s Go Sailing, But

“Please Don’t Stop The Carnival”

True story by Edgar Roe

It’s 2.22am Tuesday, August 18 & I have to relate my adventure’s of the last few days before they become too distant in my rather ’short memory’ to recall !

A gentle cruise! A true story by Ian Gordon!

On Monday the 21^st July 2009 we decided to have a gentle sail from Rodney Bay to Castries to watch Carnival from the bay.

The morning was good when we set off, then came a little rain which did not dampen our spirits. The rain soon stopped and the journey south was great fun.

On board of Lucia, the Impulse 21 was Captain Mike, Danielle, Social Secretary from St. Lucia Yacht Club and myself a complete novice in the sailing world. In fact it was only the second time I had been on a yacht.

The cruise to Castries was very good; the water was a little choppy but caused us no problems apart from the slidy thing for the mainsail was jarred from its track, which we never noticed until we had tied up next to our friends on their boat, a 40 foot yacht. Another yacht, Loose Cannon, a J24 belonging to Edgar Roe also tied up to our Starboard side. Edgar lashed the slidy thing to the rail to stop it from causing further damage. (Apparently it is called a cleat and it broke free from the main sail traveler)

We had a great time watching Carnival, dancing and having the odd Piton. The weather at this point was poor with a lot of rain but little wind.

Captain Mike decided not to stay too long as the trip back to Rodney Bay was going to be a little rougher than the trip to Castries. At that point Mike decided that it may be a good idea if Danielle returned on the bigger yacht. So we left the party and headed home.

As soon as we left Castries Harbour it was obvious the weather had deteriorated considerably. We headed north against a side wind of about 30 knot’s. Captain Mike held her on course against failing light and driving rain.

Our first taste of sea water was when we where passing Windjammer resort. A strong gust of wind pulled the cart for the mainsail off the track. The next big gust snapped the front slidy thing and our jib was flapping in the wind with no chance of lowering it. The boat capsized in the gust. We scrambled up the hull to right her and carry on sailing. And I thought this was going to be a pleasure cruise. The closer we got to Rodney Bay the stronger the wind blew. By this time Edgar and Jacob De Camps had caught us up in their J24. Edgar, a very experienced sailor noticed we were in difficulty and he was trying to shout us instructions to get to port.

As we passed the headland into the harbor the wind was a lot stronger, gusting at 45 knots with driving rain coming horizontal over the water. We capsized again, this time loosing the outboard motor as she broke free from the transom, with no outboard and a jib that was useless we were in great peril. Edgar on the J24 was shouting at us, telling us to follow him to safety but we had no way to steer the vessel and lost sight of him. He maneuvered his boat like it was on rails and came back numerous times to try and help. He knew at this time we were not going to make it back and was expecting us to beach her by Landings.

Jonathan Hall and Les Hewitt joined in the hunt for us on ‘Hytime” a 46 foot yacht. They were searching the bay along with Edgar and Jacob.

Les decided to search for us by coming with the wind as the rain was so fierce he could not see more than a few feet.

We capsized yet again. This was number 5. How Captain Mike managed to right her time after time was remarkable. But I must admit we were a great team. However, this time when we righted her, Les who was at the helm of Hytime was a matter of yards away from ramming us as she could not see us being on our side. Les with the wind behind him must have been travelling at 20 knots at that point. All we could see was an anchor coming at us amidships. Les must have spotted us at the last second and threw Hytime into reverse. I could have hung my cap on the anchor as she just missed us. The weather at this point was zero visibility with the darkness and very heavy rain.

In the meantime Edgar on the J24 knew we were heading for the rocks off Pigeon Point. His boat was too small to throw us a line so he shouted to the crew of “Endless Summer” a catamaran belonging to Mike Green. The crew had just dropped its passengers off at the Landings. They also started their search for us. The Skipper Andy and his crew, Jason and Totone found us very close to the rocks and very bravely came down our port side and threw us a “life line” Luckily the throw was good and I caught the rope first time. I can tell you if we had not caught the rope that first time, there would have been no time for her to come about and throw again as we were dangerously close to the rocks. Capt. Mike lashed the rope to the mast and Endless Summer became our saviors. They towed us into the harbor with much relief from me and Mike.

It was at this point we know we had cheated death.

The funny thing was that when Endless Summer eventually tied us to the jetty my life vest finally decided to inflate. After 5 times in the water and all that rain it then did what it was designed to do and inflate. Mike and I could not stop laughing. Both with relief and the fact that I could not move in the straight jacket I was now wearing.

From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank Captain Mike Cooperthwaite for saving my life along with Edgar and Jacob on the J24. Not forgetting the crew on Endless Summer who, after they had tied us safely to the jetty, vanished as quickly as they arrived as though they did the life saving bit every day. Also a big thank you to Jonathan and Les for helping in the search.

You are ALL a great bunch of guys with tremendous sailing skills.

Ian Gordon

NATIONAL OPTIMIST & LASER SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP 12th & 13th June 2010

The National Optimist and Laser Sailing Championships were held this weekend, hosted by the St. Lucia Yacht Club. This was the 4^th annual Championship regatta and the biggest, most exciting yet!

This year’s new sailing class, Benjamin Optimist , had 8 young participants aged 6-10 who were new comers to the sport of sailing but raced well in perfect conditions on Saturday morning. The Optimist Class had 9 competitors aged 8-14 yrs who fought through variable conditions on the water on Saturday , including extreme winds of 23 knots, ( that ‘s white caps in the bay!) and heavy rain . They all showed great determination and perseverance and wonderful sailing skill which made for exciting races both on Saturday and Sunday. The laser classes had a record 10 competitors, the biggest fleet ever. Again, there was exciting competition in this class on both Saturday and Sunday.

The prize giving ceremony was attended by St. Lucia Olympic Committee President Mr. Richard Peterkin and regatta sponsors, including IGY Marina manager Adam Foster who publicly committed his support of the St. Lucia Youth Sailing programme and to providing sponsorship for 20 young people to join the SLYC sailing programme. Sponsorship will include sailing lesson fees and transportation to the sailing facility at the SLYC. Mr. Foster’s commitment to sailing was gratefully acknowledged by SLYC Commodore, Dr. Stephen King. In his address, Dr. King celebrated the sport of sailing and the opportunity this sport provides to young St. Lucians for the development of character, self esteem, self confidence, self discipline and self respect as well as respect for others including the sea. Congratulations were given to all sailors and prize winners as well as regatta organizers, especially coaches, Max Todd and Fredric Sweeney. The regatta committee and sailors thank the regatta sponsors: IGY Marina, Island Water World, Bryden & Partners, JE Bergasse & CO., Mr. Chris Renwick and Home Services Ltd.

St. Lucian sailors will be travelling over the summer months to compete at a North American and World level: Stephanie Devaux-Lovell, Luc Chevrier, Marcus Sweeney compete in the North American Optimist Championships in Kingston, Ontario, Canada at the end of this month; Jasia King will compete for her second time in the VOLVO Youth World Laser Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, in July; and Stephanie Lovell travels with the St. Lucia team to the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August. All are training intensely for these upcoming events and we wish them success.

REGATTA RESULTS:

BENJAMIN OPTIMIST CLASS

1^st – Danny Dillon

2 d – Amit Zevi

3d – Kai Wagstaff

OPTIMIST CLASS

1^ST – Stephanie Devaux-Lovell

2^nd – Marcus Sweeney

3d – Luc Chevrier

4.7 LASER CLASS

1^st – Stephanie Devaux- Lovell

2^nd- Raina Bergasse

3d – Marc Spurway

RADIAL LASER CLASS

1^st – Beth Lygoe

2^nd- Thomas Meixner

3d – Jasia King

History of the Youth Sailing Programme

The St. Lucia Yacht Club Youth Sailing Programme, now known as the “Kids’ Sailing Programme”, was started in 1995 by Dr. Michael Camps, at the suggestion and with the help of Robert Geoffroy. Over a period of ten years Dr. Camps, ably assisted by Dr. Brigitte Schuling, taught sailing to hundreds of young people in St. Lucia. In 2005, sadly, Dr. Camps had to retire through ill health.

Boats

Beginners learn the basics of sailing on the small, easy to handle, Optimists. Those with the ability and desire to do so go on to learn racing techniques.

St. Lucia has been represented at several international Optimist Championships over the years.

The older kids, with the necessary skills and strength, can progress to sailing and, thereafter, racing lasers.

The Present 2010

The St. Lucia Yacht club Junior Dinghy Sailing Programme started its new season in October.
The SLYC welcomed two instructors, one of them new to us, Callum McArdell from the U.K, fully qualified RYA instructor holding a senior instructor title at his young age of 20!

The other one a repeat offender, Benjamin Todd, well known to most of the membership, whose main job is to oversee and guide the beginners programme managed by Callum and to take our youth team to several regattas with the highlight being the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August 2010. St.Lucia has received a wild card for this event and Stephanie Lovell has been chosen to represent St.Lucia at these Games.
Alexandra Prowse is helping the two instructors with the Optimist kids training programme. She as well is a qualified instructor volunteering her time and effort.

Ben is keeping a competitive J24 Youth team on a tight leash which hopefully will compete with two boats in Bequia this April.

Our junior membership at the moment is 40 youths ranging in age from 7-18. Rodney Bay is a beautiful sight on Saturdays with all the white sails flitting across the water. The two beginner classes scheduled for Wednesday and Friday afternoons are full at the moment, but if there is demand we will offer a third beginner class on a weekday. If you are interested please contact Lily Bergasse.
Callum has a men’s training session on Wednesdays. Our sailing log book is at the bar at the Club and holds all information about what is going on with dinghy sailing. Check our bulletin board too.

We have embarked on a new sailing programme for the Gros Islet Grow Well programme which will go on for 5 weeks. These children from Gros Islet will be trained to sail on J24’s by Callum and Ben after which the Club will endeavor to provide swimming classes for other interested children from the Grow Well Programme.

I invite all who read this to come to the Club on a Saturday to see the bright faces and the action!

Thank you to all who help to make the sailing programme a success.

Lily Bergasse
Administrator,
SLYC Junior Sailing Programme

SCHOELCHER REGATTA 2010

Day 1

On the 11^th of February Sailors from the SLYC Youth Program set sail for Martinique for the 20^th Semaine Nautique de Schoelcher.

The team: Luc Chevrier, Thomas Meixner, Stephanie Lovell, Jasia King, Erik Simmons, Marc Spurway, Marcus Sweeney, Marion Bardies, Raina Bergasse.

Many in the team were embarking on a first experience. Although they may have competed in the regatta before some sailors were racing a boat they had never competed in before. Some sailors were having their first real regatta experience and one of the team was building on previous experience.

Ben and Callum, SLYC Sailing Coaches, left at the crack of dawn to get a head start on the faster boats with one opti aboard of II Restless. The sailing team set sail with Les and Judy on Maverick, a San Fran 67. Arriving in the afternoon of the same day the team helped the coaches unload all the laser dinghies as we waited the arrival of Duncan and Danielle on Sephina and Norman and Sue on Clara. These two boats delivered the remaining opti’s. In the evening the other boats arrived and all dinghies were unloaded in record time and with efficiency not seen before from a Lucian team. This was partly due to the assistance of Callum Mcardell who was an invaluable asset on this trip, and also due to some of the more experienced sailors mucking in and rallying the young ones to help.

Day 2  Approx  10-12knts

Registration and measurement was completed by all sailors by lunch and a training session was run in the afternoon. That evening the Team attended the opening ceremony in the Club Nautique de Schoelcher and yes, they appeared to be the best dressed team as you can see in the pictures.

Day 3  Approx  12-15knts

A slow start with racing starting at 1400. The team now started to adapt to the new classes of boat and their first regatta experiences with a few good starts from both the opti and lasers.

Day 4 Approx  14-17knts

An early start and 4 races for lasers and 3 for optis. Luc Chevrier moved up to 2^nd place overall in his category in his first regatta. Exceptional performance. The laser sailors were still adjusting to the intensity of laser sailing at an international level and finding their feet on the downwind legs.

Day 5 Approx  18-22knts.

Another early start and some tired faces looked out onto a windy race course. In the days racing our laser sailors seemed to excel in the windy conditions with Thomas Meixner scoring some top 5 finishes bringing him up the rankings and Stephanie Lovell fighting hard with the other females through the day. These other girls are a good foot taller and many pounds heavier than Stephi and she held on to get some good results. The optis had a mixed day with Marcus Sweeny enjoying the stronger wind also Marion Bardies making some exceptional good starts in the strong wind. Luc however had a poor day and could not finish 1 race due to time limit. This was due to a will to sail too hard almost. If he had accepted the fact that he was slow and just finished he would have had a better day. You however cannot knock his guts to keep sailing as hard and as fast as he can even if he was swimming every few minutes.

Day 6 Approx 20-26knts

With a morning briefing to just enjoy and gather experience due to the team not being in medal contention, the mood was buoyant after some disastrous racing the day before. Marion Bardies showed great determination after2 equipment failures and a big crash resulting in a huge hole in her bow and finished strong on the last day. Luc having been given a brief on how to sail in survival mode and told ‘’just finish….others will retire!’’ not only finished but showed great application by adjusting his own sail throughout the race to come in ahead of 8 other sailors from is age group….great sailing in the wind conditions. Thomas Meixner also had a good day having realised in the stronger winds that hiking hard for the whole race makes you go a lot faster!!

The team then raced to pack up the boats and again showed a good turn of application and effort to get loaded. By 1600 the boats were on and ready to go.

The team then attended the closing ceremony and prize giving with Luc getting a spot prize for surviving the conditions at only 10 years old.

Day 7 Approx 18-22knts

II Restless left at first light to get a jump on the fast boats again and then was closely followed by the Maverick. Sephina and Clara left a good bit later and unfortunately Clara was dissmasted shortly after setting sail. Our condolences go out to Norman and Sue who have supported us so well over the years. Thankfully this did not occur in the channel and the boat was rescued by the French Coast  Guard.

The other boats returned safely and all equipment, bags and kids were unloaded by 6pm.

Our thanks go out to all food and provisioning sponsors that gave us dinner, Les & Judy, Duncan & Danielle, Norman and Sue and Teresa  for all their help and to Jonathan Everett for kindly loaning us his boat II Restless.

Finally, special thanks must go to the parents who supported their children with racing sails and personal racing sailing equipment as it made a huge difference to the children’s comfort, confidence and sailing ability. Case in point……Luc finished 5^th in his under 12 age category at 10years old with no previous regatta experience. This would not have been remotely possible without a Racing opti sail.

Overall Results :

LASER 4.7

8^TH Thomas Meixner

10^th Stephanie Lovell  (3^rd Girl)

15^th Raina Bergasse (5^th Girl)

LASER RADIAL

10^TH Eric Simmons

15^th Jasia King (2^nd Girl)

Opti

5^th Luc Chevrier (under 12 and 27 competitors)

16^th Marcus Sweeny (Over 12)

35^th Marc Spurway (Over 12)

42^nd Marion Bardies (Over 12)

Submitted by Benjamin Todd SLYC Head Coach

Pictures by Danielle SLYC Social Secretary

Tortola Premier’s Cup 2009  International Youth Regatta

July 10^th – 12^th 2009

A youth team from the St. Lucia Yacht Club traveled to Tortola, the British Virgin Islands to compete in the Premiers’ Cup presented by Digicel. The competition was tough but our young team managed to fight back for the silver.

The Premiers’ Cup is an annual fund raising event held by Kids and the Sea “KATS” for young sailors of age 17 and under. It is hosted by the Nanny Cay marina in Tortola. Each year the cup is sailed in IC24 sail boats. These are modified j24’s with a more open cockpit initially designed for cruising.  The number of entries in this years’ regatta was low but teams from the United States, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands were represented.

Saturday was the first day of racing. The four boat fleet saw winds gusting above 15 knots and the race course was heavily chopped. St. Lucia’s young team helmed by Marcus Sweeney 13 had a nervous start placing 3^rd in the first two races behind the teams from Anguilla and the BVI. The next two races the team managed to sneak back to gain two silvers. At this point, the team from the BVI had already won all four races and was well ahead of the fleet. The battle was now for second between the teams from Anguilla and St. Lucia both with 10 pts. In the final race of the day team Anguilla had a magnificent start ahead of the fleet and in clear wind. At the first mark team Anguilla was well ahead of the pack with St. Lucia and BVI closely competing for second. In the end team Anguilla held off for the win and team BVI pulled away from St. Lucia.

Leading into the following day, the team from the BVI still had a comfortable lead while Anguilla had a two point advantage over St. Lucia. Tactician Stephanie Lovell 13 had an important task ahead of her if St. Lucia was to make a come back on the final day of racing. The winds now were up above 17 knots and each team was defining itself. St. Lucia had two superb starts in the first two races but could not manage to keep ahead of team BVI. BVI was simply quicker in the waves and was more adept to these sailing conditions. Anguilla finished 3^rd and 4^th putting them back a position. The next race team St. Lucia chased team Anguilla from the start after being forced over the line early by  BVI but managed to regain second on the last leg. Two seconds in the last races finished off the Anguilla team, for St. Lucia to capture the silver. Our young team performed exceptionally well compared to previous years and considering their experience level. They have shown that there is some true potential for youth keelboat sailing in St. Lucia. Thanks go out to the St. Lucia Yacht Club and all the parents who supported the team and to the owners of “Unbridled” the j24 used for training and Danielle, Social Secretary SLYC for chaperoning.

Team St. Lucia

Marcus Sweeney 13 Helmsman

Stephanie Lovell 13 Tactician

Thomas Meixner 13 MainSheet Trimmer

Aidan Cox 16 &

Matthew St. Paul 13 Jib Trimmer

Marc Spurway     13 Mast man and Advisor

Story by Fredric Sweeney Coach SLYC

The St. Lucia Yacht Club Youth Sailing Programme would like to thank KATS and the Rotary Clubs BVI for their hospitality. We had a great time in Tortola, a warm welcome from Abby O’Neal from KATS (organizer regatta), at Nanny Cay and we were presented with complimentary food & drinks (BVI Rotary Clubs)

A big Thank You to Simon, skipper of the hospitality boat, who made it possible for Fredric to watch the kids at sea and myself to be able to take pictures, close by.

Also thanks to all the sponsors, especially the BVI Rotary Clubs and Digicel.

Danielle SLYC Social Secretary

Our very own Jasia King is representing St. Lucia in Brazil. Have a look at the website

http://www.isafyouthworlds.com/28874.php

Picture sent from Brazil:

Good luck Jasia !!!!!

Sweeney Holds on to Take National Sailing Title

Saturday 13^th June, thirteen of St. Lucia’s top under 15 sailors battled it out in the St. Lucia Optimist Championships.

The young sailors took to the sea in Rodney Bay to demonstrate their racing skills, which they had been learning over the past 3 terms of training from their coaches Rob Hemming, Chris Lowe & Katie Yeo. (Youth Sailing Programme organized by the St Lucia Yacht Club)

The committee boat II Restless carried Fredric Sweeney, the young Race Officer of the Day and his geriatric crew of 70 and 80 year olds (Ted, Frank & Jonathan) and of course the never exhaustive photographer (Danielle) and lady coach (Katie)!

Looking forward to a super sailing day, 13 young sailors signed up for the Championship although the weather did not have the same sunny mood as they did!

The morning schedule was for 3 races and driving rain with variable winds made for some tough racing, wind squalls of up to 20 knots.

Their skill and maneuverability was a sight to behold as they competed in 6 races around an Olympic type course. 3 races before lunch and 3 after lunch! Fortunately the sun appeared in the afternoon along with a slightly less wind strength which provided an ideal sailing setting to complete the competition.

The young sailors fought hard, with Marcus Sweeney (13) coming out with 2 strong victories. Stephanie Lovell (13) took the other race in the morning followed closely by Thomas Meixner (13) and Marion Bardies (14).The afternoon saw weather change to sunny skies and steady winds making the racing very competitive and dominated by the girls as Marion Bardies, lead often with Raina Bergasse (14 ) also spending time at the front, while Stephanie Lovell and Marcus Sweeney traded the fourth and fifth races. Going in to the last race the overall trophy was still up for grabs with Marcus Sweeney ahead of Stephanie Lovell by just a couple points. Marcus Sweeney got off to a terrible start and had to battle back from well down the fleet. Stephanie Lovell did everything she could to take the lead from Marion Bardies on the second lap and went on to win the race. Although, it wouldn’t be enough, Marcus Sweeney showed the perseverance of a true champion and climbed all the way back to finish second and take the overall title. Stephanie Lovell still took the Girls trophy, Luc Chevrier sailed a consistent regatta to take home the 11 & under Trophy.

Over 11:    1^st Marcus Sweeney , 2^nd Stephanie Lovell,  3^rd Thomas Meixner

Under 11:  1^st Luc Chevrier, 2^nd Richard Beausoliel, 3^rd Jason Cox

(Click on the picture to go to the web album.)

The youngsters had a wonderful experience competing against each other and are now getting ready for this Saturday 20th June for the End of Term Fun Day on the beach at the Yacht Club.

Story by a combined effort of R.H. & D.D.R.  & Pictures by D.D.R

St Lucia Yacht Club END OF TERM FUN DAY & Prize giving 2nd OPTIMIST CHAMPIONSHIP

You weren’t there, oh dear, you missed the fun!

We all got together at 9am at the club to have a real fun day with all our sailing kids. 28 kids from the St. Lucia Yacht Club Junior Sailing Programme showed up to have some extra fun at sea and on the beach.

4 teams were formed: Solar Powered, Schizophrenic Pathogens, Blue Tied, Grasshoppers. Lily (our Sailing Programme Administrator) headed the organization assisted by the coaches Rob & Katie and other willing helpers.

Camera ready >>>>> go for it !

The END OF TERM FUN DAY started off with Trivia questions like “How old is the Yacht Club (yes, indeed 45 years!) and Who is the Commodore of the club (Charles Devaux). The kids then had to make a balancing “sculpture” with recycled material. Not that easy.

The “Assault Course”,  a challenging obstacle course created by Katie & Rob, the sailing instructors, which combined running, crawling, swimming and human wheel barrow with 4 buoancy aids on and other things for the young and flexible. Needing a break from the action and the heat, the sailors retreated up to the TV screen for Rob’s last lesson on mark rounding based on video footage of last week’s Opti racing while Lily & Tom prepared the BBQ. Thanks go to Franck and Mereia for providing sausages to BBQ!!

In the afternoon, the games continued, rigging boats, racing and a flag race.  All kids were very tired by 4pm and looking forward to the prize giving from the 2nd SLYC Optimist Championship and the Fun Day.

The Fun day winning team was the Schizaphrenic Pathogens and ice creams were enjoyed by all of its members.

The awards for the 2008-2009 season of the SLYC Junior Sailing Programme were as follows:

Best Intermediate Sailors – Jason Cox and Sofia Spiegelberg

Best Racer – Marcus Sweeney

Best New Laser Sailor – Aidan Cox

St. Lucia Yacht Club Best Junior Helms Person 2009 - Erik Simmons (trophy donated by Edgar Roe)

2nd Optimist Championship Trophies were given to:

Over 11: 1st: Marcus Sweeney, 2nd: Stephanie Lovell, 3rd: Thomas Meixner

Under 11: 1st: Luc Chevrier, 2nd: Richard Beausoliel, 3rd: Jason Cox

The Best Female Sailor 2009 is Stephanie Lovell and the Best Male Sailor 2009 is Marcus Sweeney. They both received a perpetual trophy.

(Click on the picture to go to the web album.)

Award for the Most “Stick-to-itiveness”, named and donated by Lily Bergasse, went to Jason Cox, the least experienced of entrants and the most determined to stick it out to the end of the regatta!

DSL Yachting, Sandra Meixner received a big hurray for the free cinema tickets she gave the participants of the Optimist Championship!

Sponsors for the Championship were:

St. Lucia Yacht Club, Jonathan Everett, Destination St. Lucia (DSL), Peppers (Monique Devaux), Ted Bull, Franck Chevrier, Lily Bergasse

A special presentation to our departing coaches Rob & Katie on completion of their contract with SLYC, was made by Lily Bergasse. She made the point that the training session this year had been outstanding, we had 40 sailing kids! She also wished them well in their next post, be it sailing or whatever their calling would be. They both received the SLYC burgee and a Thank You card from the sailing kids presented by Stephanie Lovell.

We are very proud to be able to report that Jasia King will be travelling to Brazil with Coach Rob Hemming to participate in the Youth World Championships, July 10-12. We wish her well. Another of our laser sailors, Erik Simmons will be travelling to Canada in July to race in several regattas this summer including the very competitive, CORK Regatta in Kingston, Ontario at the end of August.

The Admistrator, coaches and sailors of the SLYC Junior Sailing Programme wishes to to thank everyone who was involved in making the Championship, the Fun Day and the entire sailing season of 2008-2009 a success.

Story by D.D.R.

Since 1990 when the ARC came to St. Lucia for the first time, the St. Lucia Yacht Club has been delighted to welcome its participants.
As in previous years the Club looks forward to greeting all the ARC sailors in 2009 and hopes that they will visit us, participate in the events and perhaps join our Club as Overseas members, depending on their length of stay in St. Lucia.

The ARC is an important annual event for St. Lucia and has the full backing of the St. Lucia Tourist Board and the government, as well as IGY Rodney Bay Marina and the sponsors of the many events organized with a view to making the ARC participants’ stay in St. Lucia memorable and enjoyable.

Over the years the ARC has helped to make St. Lucia a favored destination on the international yachting scene and St. Lucia owes World Cruising Club a debt of gratitude for that.

Please feel free to contact us at slycsocialsecretary@gmail.com should you need any local knowledge. You might also find some useful information from the links listed in the Links section of this website.

ARC FLOTILLA 2009

The ARC 2009 started from Gran Canaria to Rodney Bay St. Lucia on the 22nd November . To mark the occasion we organized another ARC Flotilla, which was a huge success !

SLYC – WORLD ARC NEW YEARS EVE PARTY

Click on picture for the web album

“World ARC welcomes in 2010 with a Bang! (News article from World Cruising Club Website)

World ARC 2010-11 participants enjoyed a fantastic New Year’s Eve party at the St Lucia Yacht Club last night. With a complimentary barbecue and drinks, and free bubbly at midnight, the New Year was welcomed in with style.

St Lucia Yacht Club, located near the entrance to Rodney Bay on the warm sands of Redruit Beach, provided the perfect viewing platform for the spectacular fireworks display, which illuminated the bay to loud cheers from the revelling crowds beneath.

World ARC participants took no time in joining in with the local crowds in their New Year’s Celebrations, with the street parties carrying on into the small hours. Even with a week still to go before setting sail, it seems the World ARC 2010-11 has already socially become a success!

Many participants have chosen an adrenaline-packed way of getting rid of their New Year’s hangovers today – on the Tree Top Canopy Adventure Tour. Heading into the rain forest of St Lucia’s eastern coast, adventurers zip through the air on 11 different lines between the trees at up to 50ft above the forest floor – rapidly cleansing their heads of any over-indulgence from last night!”

“WORLD ARC FLOTILLA 2010″

It started with a chance conversation on ‘C’ dock in Rodney Bay Marina (St Lucia). I’d recently arrived with the ARC and was chatting to the crew of one of the boats going on to the World ARC. “Our partners are trying to get out on a boat to wave us off from the start” said Graham the skipper. “I was thinking of taking ‘Sephina”’ (my 35ft ketch) out to the bay, would they like to be my crew” I replied. After a couple of phone calls, arrangements were finalised and the scene was set. With a much smaller fleet, it wouldn’t be as spectacular as the start of the ARC in Las Palmas but I’d seen that as a participant, so this time as a spectator should be fun.

During the next two weeks, life in Rodney Bay changed considerably. I’d found and joined the St Lucia Yacht Club, spent Christmas and New Year on the beach, been invited to various events, made new friends, and my planned trip out to the bay had turned into joining the ‘World ARC Flotilla’ for the day. The Yacht Club flier for the flotilla offered a prize for the best dressed yacht. Sorting the flags to suit the length of the stays took three hours, and ‘Sephina’ looked a treat when all three strings were hoisted.

January 6th dawned bright and sunny, unlike my crew of ladies who cried off at the last minute having had a heavy night of partying. Fortunately, I quickly managed to find a crewmate from another ARC yacht and slipped the lines at 11.00 to join the rest of the fleet in the bay. With a mixture of power and sail, the flotilla took shape in the wake of the World ARC fleet as we set a course for Castries.

click for pictures

Now the most interesting yacht in the flotilla was ‘Guiding Light’, a Maurice Griffiths design from 1936 sailed single handed across the Atlantic by ‘Roy’, a Liverpudlian and a sailor for most of his life, with enough stories to keep us enthalled for months. As I’d used the halyards to hoist the flags, sailing wasn’t an option for ‘Sephina’ but true to his word, Roy (even wearing his captains hat) raised his sails and ‘Guiding Light’ looked a picture as she sailed on a broad reach, surrounded by the rest of the fleet.

We followed ‘Hullabaloo’ (the lead boat) into and around Castries harbour with Danielle (our photographer for the day) whizzing around on an IGY rib snapping away with the camera. After the parade of sail for the cruise ships, the power boats soon took off at speed back to Rodney Bay, leaving the four remaining yachts ‘Hot Chocolate’, ‘Grayling’, ‘Guiding Light’ and ‘Sephina’ to sail (or in my case motor) back at a more leisurely pace. As we came past ‘Barrel o’ Beef’ rock, the clouds were gathering and by the time we’d sailed into the bay the heavens had opened. Coming through the anchorage was a challenge in the poor visibility of the squall, but fortunateley as we reached the entrance to the marina, the rain had stopped and was soon followed by bright sunshine as we moored back onto ‘C’ dock.

‘Cafe Ole’ in the Marina hosted the gathering of the crews during the rest of the afternoon, their new ‘Boardwalk’ bar is proving to be a real success as it provides just the right ambiance, right on the waterfront, informal and friendly. Needless to say, a few bottles of ‘Piton’ were consumed as we waited for the results of the ‘best dressed’ competition. ‘Hullabaloo’ took the ‘powerboat’ prize and I’m pleased to report that ‘Sephina’ took the ’sailboat’ prize, to each a bottle of Bounty Rum.

Many thanks to Danielle from the St Lucia Yacht Club for all the efforts put into organising the ARC and World ARC events, and for taking the photos (browse the SLYC website’s Gallery www.stluciayachtclub.com to have a look). All in all a very enjoyable day !

Submitted by Duncan Gray, skipper of ‘SEPHINA’, ARC-2009 entry number 230

Click on the picture to go to the ARC website.

ST LUCIA SQUASH OPEN 2010

CLOSES CURTAIN

Hystory

The St Lucia Yacht Club boasts two fully air conditioned glass backed squash courts with sprung floors and viewing gallery.

The Club is open Mondays to Fridays from 3.00pm and from 11.00am Saturdays and Sundays with the last court booking at 8.00pm.

The squash courts can be pre-booked up to forty eight (48) hours in advance by calling tel. #452 8350 between 3.00-8.00pm or at the Bar when open outside these hours.

Tokens for a 45 minute game can be purchased from the Bar. The court fee is $15 for Club members or $30 for non-members.

For the squash fanatics we offer the following packages:

For Yacht Club Members

10 games @ $7.50 = $ 75.00 less 10% discount $ 67.50

25 games @ $7.50 = $187.50 less 15% discount $160

50 games @ $7.50 = $375.00 less 20% discount $300

100 games @ $7.50 = $750.00 less 25% discount $675

For Non-Members
10 Games @ $15 = $150 less 10% discount $135
Yacht Club Membership is encouraged for all squash players and forms can be obtained from the Bar, for more details on membership follow the Membership link.
The Club organizes squash leagues, ladder matches and tournaments and anyone interested in participating should check the notice board and sign up at the Bar.

Tuesday night is Club night where squash players of all standards come along from 6.00pm and mix and match until 8.00pm.

Ladies Squash night is penciled in for a Wednesday between 6.00pm & 7.30pm but is not always well attended so those interested should contact the club prior to coming along.

There are monthly leagues which as the title suggests are played monthly and are keenly contested with the top and bottom players from each league being promoted or demoted respectively.

There is a weekly junior clinic on Saturday afternoons from 2.00 pm and all interested juniors are encouraged to come along and join in. The Club is always looking for volunteers to assist in running these clinics and anyone interested in helping should contact David Piper at stluciasquash@gmail.com.

The St Lucia Yacht Club is the home of the St Lucia Squash Association which is extremely active. The Association organizes several tournaments during the year including the Independence Team Tournament and the St Lucia Squash Open which attracts top regional and international squash players. In fact, St Lucia boasts being the only island to have had six world ranked players participate in our annual tournament, the St Lucia Squash Open. In 1997, Jonathon Powers, Anthony Hill, Tony Hands and Martin Heath competed in an elite division.

Squash Club Calendar 2010 >>> see below

The St. Lucia Open Squash Tournament 2010

This annual tournament, now into its 17th year, targets top regional and international players but is also open to all senior squash players.
Dates: June 28th through July 3rd 2010
Location: The St Lucia Yacht Club, Reduit, St. Lucia
(on the beach front)
Closing Dates for entries: June 18th
Mens and Ladies – Open Divisions

Minimum Prize Money of U.S. $2,000 in total
Entry Fee: Local Players – EC $50
Visiting Players – U.S. $ 50
Accommodation: There is limited free accommodation available on a shared
basis. Priority will be given to the top male and female player of each country
For further information please e-mail :
David Piper – Tournament Director – stluciasquash@gmail.com

Squash Club Calendar 2010

Please find below a tentative calendar of events for squash this year

March

Junior team training and selection for the OECS tournament.

March 25^th to 28^th

The Vitamalt Junior Open will be held in Trinidad

April 9^th to 11^th

The Junior OECS Squash Tournament will be held in St Vincent – players from Antigua, Dominica, St Vincent, the BVI and St Lucia will compete in age categories under 13, under 15, under 17 and under 19 in both boys and girls categories. The top players will be selected to play on an OECS team at the Junior Caribbean Squash Championships

April 21^st to 25^th

The Trinidad and Tobago Squash Open

May 20^th to 23^rd

The Senior OECS Squash Championships will be held at the Yacht Club in St Lucia. The Squash Association will be organizing a play off to determine the full team

June 21^st to 26^th

The Barbados Squash Open

June 28^th to July 3^rd

The St Lucia Squash Open – this annual tournament, now into its 17^th year, targets top regional and international players but is also open to all senior squash players and any interested parties should contact David Piper at stluciasquash@gmail.com. Matches commence in the evening to allow our visiting competitors the opportunity to sightsee and enjoy our beaches during the day

July 10^th to 17^th

Junior Caribbean Squash Championships – are taking place in Grand Cayman. St Lucia participates as part of the OECS team and our top juniors hope to be selected to the OECS team at the Junior OECS tournament in St Vincent in April.

August 12^th to 23^rd

Caribbean Squash Championships – are taking place in St Vincent. As with the Juniors, St Lucia participates as part of an OECS team which will be selected at the OECS tournament in St Lucia in May

October 4^th to 14^th

The XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. The Squash Association are hope to have 2 players represent St Lucia at the Games.