The Sint Maarten Yacht Club hosted the Grant Thornton Multiclass Regatta over the past two days: January 18th and 19th. With a diverse fleet of 37 boats, four Caribbean sailing clubs were represented: Club de Voile de Friar’s Bay and MDA from French Saint Martin, Saint Barths Yacht Club, and the Sint Maarten Yacht Club.
The regatta featured five fleets: ILCA, Sunfast 20, RS Quest, Optimist, and Optimist Green. Over two days, sailors faced heavy weather conditions, with gusts of up to 25 knots from unpredictable angles. While the challenging winds tested everyone’s skills, it was particularly tough for the younger sailors in the Optimist and Optimist Green fleets. Despite this, they delivered remarkable performances, showing incredible resilience and determination.
The Optimist Class, the largest fleet this year with 17 entries, showcased incredible talent. After the first day of racing, St. Barth Yacht Club sailors dominated the top three places: Thomas Magras led, followed by Lourenço Rolo Couto Jorge in second and Tao Carmona Bouvrais in third. On the second race day, the top three sailors remained the top 3, with Lourenço and Tao swapping places, while Thomas Magras stayed in the lead. Among the 17 Optimist sailors, several were competing in this regular Optimist fleet for the first time, having previously only sailed in the Green Fleet. Congratulations to all these sailors for their perseverance and dedication!
The Optimist Green Fleet saw six young sailors competing. On Saturday, they raced three races instead of the five sailed by the Optimist fleet. On Sunday, they sailed three races, just like the other classes. Xam Hartgers from SMYC secured third place. Benjamin Dekker Aardema came in second, also from SMYC, consistently chasing Ethan Blanchet from SBYC, who led in almost every race. “It was inspiring to see the young, unexperienced sailors powering through the gusts and waves, not giving up. On this last day of racing, all Green Fleet competitors finished today’s races, nobody retired,” said Elja van der Horst, Race Officer of the regatta.
This year back: the RS Quest class! Three boats competed on Saturday, but only two raced on Sunday as Joris van den Eynde couldn’t compete due to a sick crew. After two days of exciting racing, it was a very close call. Merlin Guier and Pascal Belle secured second place, while Dax Henriquez and Veronica Destin emerged as the winners of the class.
In the ILCA fleet, competition was fierce. The fleet included seven ILCA sailors, although only six boats were on the water each day. On Sunday, Joris Vanden Eynde joined the fleet after being unable to participate in the RS Quest class. Skylar competed on Saturday but was unable to participate on Sunday. Clément Le Normand from SMVT claimed first place, closely followed by Massimo Lapierre from SMYC in second. Emilien Le Normand, from SMVT, secured third place, rounding out the podium.
Last, but not least, the Sunfast Fleet showcased an exciting competition. This class featured four teams, with three teams completing four races on Saturday and three boats competing in the races on Sunday. Team Lagoon Marine only raced on Sunday, finishing in fourth place. The battle for second and third was tight, but Pink Panter secured third, just behind Team Budget Marine in second, eventhough they did not race on Sunday. Green Mambo claimed first place.
All top three winners received an environmentally friendly trophy, made from recycled materials, and the first places received a voucher from Scuba Shop, Trisports or Dinghy Dock.
The success of the Grant Thornton Multiclass Regatta would not have been possible without the support of Grant Thornton, a dedicated sponsor for both this regatta and the Sint Maarten Yacht Club’s Dinghy and Keelboat Series.
A big thank you to Domino’s Pizza and Zee Best Bakery for their contributions towards snacks, breakfast, and lunch. Special thanks to the volunteers on the Race Committee, mark layers, and onshore support for their dedication and hard work. And Thank you goes out to Robbie for letting us use Jukkels Stukkels.
For more information, photos, and detailed results from the Grant Thornton Multiclass Regatta, please visit the SMYC website.