With less than a month to go before the kick-off of the 31st St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, which this year runs from March 3-6, the entry list continues to grow at a rapid pace, and now surpasses over a hundred yachts (the “century mark”) competing in a half-dozen different classes.
The extraordinary carbon-fiber machine USA 17 is being loaded onto the freighter M.V. Star Isfjord this week for the long delivery trip to San Francisco via the Panama Canal. The freighter carrying both USA 17 and her extraordinary 223ft wingsail is scheduled to leave Valencia on January 29 or 30 for the 7,900-nautical-mile passage to the Bay Area.
The 2013 race dates for the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup Match (Finals) were confirmed today by Regatta Director Iain Murray.
The Franco-German team, managed by Jochen Schümann, becomes “Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE”, following a new three-year agreement reached with title partner Audi. The team have confirmed the build of a new TP52 in Sydney, with which they aim to finish among the podium positions on both the Audi MedCup Circuit and at TP52 World Championship.
The new sailing yacht Container, owned by Udo Schütz from Germany, will debut in the world’s leading monohull class, the TP52 Series on the Audi MedCup in 2011. She will compete with an experienced, professional crew led by Markus Wieser, a European Champion and World Championship runner-up in the Dragon Class. Wieser is also experienced match racer and has frequently sailed in the afterguard aboard TP52s.
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club has issued the Notice of Race and Entry Form for the 17th edition of the biennial San Fernando Race, which will depart from Hong Kong on 20 April bound for the destination of San Fernando in the northern Philippines, 480nm away.
The Internationally acclaimed Grammy-award winning Wyclef Jean is slated to headline the 2011 St. Maarten Heineken Regatta! This free performance will close the 31st St. Maarten Heineken Regatta on Sunday March 6th, 2011 on Kim Sha beach.
Entry for one of the world’s most popular yacht races opened at midnight on Sunday 9 January and by midday Monday, nearly 100 entries had signed up, with an unprecedented number doing so in the early hours of the morning. The trend continued over the next couple of days when the halfway mark of 150 boats was reached for the race which has a maximum entry of 300 boats. Within a week, 250 boats had entered!
Rolex have issued a Calendar Announcement for 2011 detailing the dates and locations of the Rolex U.S. and Caribbean Sailing Events during 2011.
Sailors of all stripes, from near and far, are making plans to congregate on the blue waters of the Caribbean for the 31st edition of the largest, best, most unique sailing event in the islands: the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. The traditional kick-off to the racing season, including the Gill Commodores Cup—the one-day match racing series prior to the three-day St. Maarten Heineken Regatta—is scheduled for March 3-6.