SIMPSON BAY— The second annual Budget Marine Sailboat Challenge will be Sunday January 29 with a morning and an afternoon race. The start will be in Simpson Bay in the morning with a finish in Great Bay.
Competitors will lunch on board, on mother ships or ashore, after which a second start will take the fleet back to Simpson Bay .The first start anchoring area will be between the Simpson Bay Bridge and Karakter. In Great Bay it will be in the area of the Walter Plantz pier.
The first Budget Marine Challenge in St. Maarten took place in 2016, going from Simpson Bay to Anse Marcel, and though small, proved to be a good event. Due to the renovations in Anse Marcel Marina, the 2017 event will be redesigned with the goal of a return to Anse Marcel in 2018.
As with all Budget Marine Challenges, the races will start with an anchor start rather than a conventional starting line. In the pre start all crew must be below deck and only when the start gun is sounded are they able to commence with hoisting the sail and raising the anchor.
The Budget Marine Challenge concept with anchor starts has proven to be very successful in Curacao where it has become an iconic event in its ten year history. The anchor starts provide for some seamanship demands that make the racing different.
The event is open to all yacht types and courses will be adjusted to suit the entry. A Notice of Race will follow.
For enquiries and entries please mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
