Breeze-A-Way was a sailboat at the Mango Bowl Regatta over the weekend. While the name of the yacht implies smooth, easy sailing, it was anything but that. There was little wind beneath the sails of entries in this year’s event, held on the waters of picturesque Reduit Beach. During the closing ceremony on Sunday afternoon at the St Lucia Yacht Club, Regatta Director Lily Bergasse felt the weekend was a success, despite the light winds. “I am very happy that so many of you are here,” she said. “It has been a good weekend; very little wind but a beautiful weekend.”
The eight edition of the Mango Bowl Regatta attracted 22 entries from Martinique, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Barbados and the host country. Saint Lucia fared well but, once again, their neighbour Martinique, who year after year come out in large numbers, dominated. Saint Lucia placed first and third in the Cruising Class. In the J24 Class, with Fredric Sweeney at the helm, SaInt Lucia placed third, having won the event last year.
Following two days of competition, the top three finishers in the various events were:
Cruising Class: (1) Ting (St Lucia), skipper Simon Handley; (2) Cricket (Antigua and Barbuda), skipper Sandy Mair; (3) Papagayo (St Lucia), skipper Ben Thompson.
J24 Class: (1) Die Hard (Grenada), skipper Robbie Yearwood; (2) Jabal (St Lucia), skipper Nick Forsberg; (3) Attitude renamed Scotty Boy (St Lucia), skipper Fredric Sweeney.
Racing Class: (1) Maison Satec (Martinique), skipper Jean Michel Figueres; (2) Open the Barre (Martinique), skipper Lionel Baud; (3) Valentin Lindor (Martinique), skipper Marc Dubourg.
Surprise class results: (1) Aquanet Oiscines (Martinique), skipper Stanley Dormoy; (2) Helium (Martinique), skipper Franck Pennors; (3) Digilife (Martinique), skipper Vianney Saintenoy.
In memory of the late Jonathan Everett, who was a member of the St Lucia Yacht Club and always assisting with various regattas, a special award was presented to honour him. It was presented to Sandy Meir from Antigua.
