[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Mango Bowl Regatta for 2017 Organizing Committee, is well under way with finalizing this fantastic event.
In its sixth year and hosted by the St Lucia Yacht Club, sailing takes place on November 25 -26 with the Skippers’ briefing on November 24.
The course will be set out in the picturesque Rodney Bay and around Pigeon Island to Cariblue Beach, with expectations set to receive 25-30 boats from neighboring islands: Martinique, Barbados, St Vincent, Grenada, and others.
Among the various classes, J24/ Surprise, Racing and Cruising, the total number of sailors can reach well over 150.
One of the new initiatives for 2017 according to Regatta Director, Lily Bergasse, takes on environmental cause aimed at keeping the oceans clean.
Bergasse said: “This year we have partnered with Sailors for the Sea, a world leading conservation organization and its Clean Regatta Program. The program aims to engage, educate and provide assistance to organizers of events which take place on our waters, to help with its campaign of healing the oceans and seas.”
From online paperless registration to partnering with local businesses and sponsors providing reusable items such as water bottles, bags/totes, plus recycling efforts at both St Lucia Yacht Club as well as IGY Marina, this will be the commencement for a Clean Regatta for future events.
With many local and regional companies concentrating support on relief efforts to other islands in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the St Lucia Yacht Club is grateful to both longstanding sponsors and newcomers to this annual event.
The BodyHoliday has increased their stakes in the upcoming event. Dive St Lucia, another main sponsor that often partners with St Lucia Yacht Club, as always provides necessary support both on and off the water. IGY Rodney Bay Marina, another group working year round with St Lucia Yacht Club, has offered support by land and by sea.
