The crew of Fujin celebrate at Sint Maarten Yacht Club with Mount Gay promo girls and Oris Watches representatives after winning Most Worthy Performance at the inaugural Caribbean Multihull Challenge. (Photo Robert Luckock)
SIMPSON BAY—The blisteringly fast Bieker 53 catamaran Fujin entered by Greg Slyngstad won Most Worthy Performance Overall at the close of the inaugural Caribbean Multihull Challenger at a boisterous awards ceremony in Sint Maarten Yacht Club last night. The award added to their wins in Class A on Saturday and Sunday and a third-place on Friday. Fujin goes on to race in the Caribbean 600 just prior to the Heineken Regatta.
R-Six was second in this class with one bullet and two seconds. Shooting Star was third with a second and two fourth places.
The Mount Gay Rum/ Oris Watches-sponsored regatta attracted a modest 15 entries for this first edition but given the enthusiasm and feedback received this regatta is destined to go from strength to strength.
Heineken Regatta Director and Yacht Club General Manager Michele Korteweg in her introduction showed appreciation to Mirian Ebbers and Jan Roosens noting “this is not the first Multihull Regatta organised in St. Maarten but it is the first of its kind,” she said. The new concept has been developed by Robbie Ferron, Petro Jonker and Steve Burzon.
Class B saw the big Jobert-Nivalt 52 catamaran Arawak rack up three bullets to win the class ahead of the veteran Dick Newick trimaran Tryst in second place with three second places. Le Tri was third with a fourth and two third places.
“For Tryst the first day was the best weather-wise,” reported skipper Bernard “Appie” Stoutenbeek. “The second day was really exciting but today was a little too harsh. Going around the far end of the island in that chop we broke two winches from the deck and one pad eye popped out.
“We popped the kite from Pointe Blanche down doing 19 knots on one winch. We just went all out to get four or five minutes behind Le Tri but we still got second place on corrected time. Tryst is a little too light and small for the conditions today. It was damage control.”
In Class C the Leopard 45 Kidz at Sea skipperd by Ian Martin got the upper hand in the rivalry with Petro Jonker’s Leopard 47 Seaduction scoring a second and two firsts. Primula, a Fontaine Pajot Beliz 43, took third.
50-year-old Tryst won the Spirit and Style Award while the prize for the crew who travelled the furthest distance went to Ineffable from Hong Kong. The Caribbean-built Fujin won the Innovation Award.
“The competition has been great in all the classes,” commented Chairman of the Steering Committee Petro Jonker whose Leopard 47 Seaduction lost out to Kidz at Sea on corrected time. “The Fujin crew really got that boat humming, they were doing over 26 knots today.”
The awards ceremony was emceed by Chairman of the Race Committee Robbie Ferron with Steve Burzon. Race Officer Andrew Rapley set some long and testing courses for the fleet over the three days. Judge David de Vries had just one protest between Ineffable and R-Six but it was judged invalid. Apart from a rain squall on Saturday morning Easterly wind conditions were fairly constant over the three days between 10-15 knots with occasional gusts.
