March 2, 2026 – Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten — After a decidedly light wind affair back in January for Keelboat Race 2, the breeze was switched on for the Heineken Warm Up (Race Day 3) on Sunday, March 1. That’s right, the calendar has flipped to March and the Sint Maarten Heineken Regatta is here! The warm up was the last chance for racers to hone their skills and get their boats right before the big party kicks off on Thursday, March 5.
As the Heineken Regatta’s slogan goes, “Serious Fun!”, and Sunday’s racing on the beautiful waters of Simpson Bay certainly proved it true once again. Part of the Keelboat Season Championship sponsored by Grant Thornton, competitors came out in two fleets — CSA 1 and Sun Fast 20 — and the competition was tight in near perfect conditions.
Race Officer (RO) Joris Zweers got the first start of the day off in a shifty easterly breeze that ranged from the low teens with gusts into the 20s. For the Melges 24 Team Islands Water World, Melges 24 FKG, and J/105 More Zessin, the race was on down the Sint Maarten shoreline to the cablemarker just outside of Great Bay. While those boats battled it out there and back, the six-boat Sun Fast 20 fleet did a shorter windward-leeward course in Simpson Bay and there was plenty of wind to get them around the track quickly.
For the final three contests of the day, the RO kept both fleets in the bay for windward-leeward racing that put a premium on keeping the boat flat upwind and executing clean spinnaker sets and douses, and good gybes downwind. For the Sun Fast 20s, the downwind legs were a bit raucous at times, with the skipper and person on the foredeck needing to be on the top of their game to keep the sails filled and the boats from rounding up.
When all was said and done, the three CSA 1 teams were all within a point of one another with More Zessin coming in third place, Island Water World grabbing second, and FKG taking the top of the podium. Nicely sailed by all, it was a blast watching the spinnakers fly!
In the always fun Sun Fast 20 Class, six boats gave it their all with the Sint Maarten Yacht Club coming in sixth place, Miss TyKnight in fifth place, Island Water World in fourth place, Miss Lily snagging third place, Team Spellbound taking second place, and IGY Marina Racing Team hoisting the first place trophy — a bottle of rum. Well deserved!
What an incredibly great day it was to be on Simpson Bay for some sailboat racing. Serious fun, indeed!
Next up on the Keelboat Championship Series calendar is the Anguilla Regatta on Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24, followed by Race Day 4 on Sunday, June 7.
The Sint Maarten Yacht Club would like to thank Grant Thornton for sponsoring this exciting keelboat season.
For results visit www.smyc.com.
