Who will win the 41st Bonaire
International Sailing Regatta?

The tension is mounting: who is going to win the 41st Bonaire International Sailing Regatta? The various captains of the yachts in the different categories are calculating their positions, deducting or adding ratings, as we speak. The results of this morning’s race will be crucial for some, while others are just racing for the fun of it.

Low wind speeds, varying between 7 and 11 knots, surrounded the last start of the Regatta early on Friday morning. No comparison to Thursday’s start, which was filled with adrenalin and excitement, as a crash took place on the starting line between the Taima and the Chimichurri. The protest from the Taima was awarded: the Chimichurri had made the mistake.

Thursday also saw a minor casualty: the rope of a loose spinnaker cut a crew member’s lip. He had to be taken off his yacht and needed stitches.

Fun Boat Parade
for everyone

The Boat Parade, a friendly, fun happening on the water in front of Kralendijk and surrounding shores, was enjoyed by those aboard the various vessels and crafts, but also by those who were waving on shore. Balloons, little lights and happy faces lit up the parade of boats, which floated in a long row from Den Laman to Plaza Resort and Back.

Joining in the fun was the Aqua Space of captain Harry and his first mate Marcel. This was the maiden voyage of the unusual vessel, which is a semi-submarine; it is now back in Bonaire after two years in Curacao. After extensive renovations, the Aqua Space will now be ready for business in about two weeks’ time. Having been used for research on coral formations, dolphins and other sealife, the 1985 aluminum boat is something else. Passengers can sit inside a glass encased middle part of the boat and watch the beauty of the underwater world in comfort and leisure. It’s a kind of scuba diving without getting wet.

Protest won by Taima
against Chimichurri

The protest, lodged by Taima’s captain Thomas Pollehne, against the Chimichurri  was awarded to Taima after extensive deliberations by the head judge Hernan Salcedo and his team. It appeared that the Chimichurri had been heading towards the starting line, but had miscalculated the distance. So, to avoid crossing the line early, the yacht changed course and banged into the onrushing Taima, hereby damaging the front of the yacht quite a bit.

Chimichurri’s protest against the D-Trip proved to be unrealistic and was thrown out.

Catamarans Kees van Asselt/Herman Lentjes (Cur) have left Geerlof and Anita v.d. Wal (Bon) behind them: the two cats are fighting a battle on the water, and things look quite even. Results tonight will show how the winner is in this category.

Fishing boat Arantsa
leaves Unico behind

 The fishing boat Unico of Karel `Papichi’ Soliano has finished all races in second place, leaving Arantsa’s Jopie Soliano in first position after four races. Jopie cannot lose  anymore…

Crash between the Taima
and the Chimichurri

A crash on the starting line between the Venezuelan yacht Taima and the Chimichurri from Curacao had both crews cursing and yelling. Viktor Wijnand on starting platform said: ``The crash could not be seen from his point of view, as the two boats got tangled up, but the cursing was impressive!’’ A tactical error was the cause of the crash.

Freestyle competitors don’t
get any better conditions than this

The freestyle competitors who saw the windless conditions change into superb wind and waves, had the time of their lives. Their course was laid out so that their jumps and antics could be watched almost at the spectators’ feet. The surfers’ rippling muscles, wonderful moves and incredible athleticism received oohs and aahs.

Among the competitors were Choco and Tati Frans and Kiri Thode, who just got back from Germany (Sylt), where he participated in a PWA (Professional Windsurfing Association) event in freestyle. Kiri got a super third place. Tonky was happy with his fourth place; he sailed in stormy, cold weather conditions in the Wave and Freestyle competition to a fourth place. The young Bonairean sailors are doing spectacularly well in a field of world-class athletes. The event in Sylt was the last PWA event of the year.

The results of Wednesday’s freestyle competition are: 1. Taty Frans 2. Choco Frans 3. Jaeger St. Jago in the King division, Bjorn Saragoza (1) Hendrick Balentien (2) and Archuendro Finies (3) in the Prince division and Amado Vrieswijk (1), Youp Schmit (2) and Jurgen Saragoza (3) in the Freestyle Kids division.

Yacht Papyro gets back to shore
on engine

The racing committee on the tower of the Kas di Regatta got a bit worried when the yacht Papyro was not scored and all the yachts that went round the island had finished. It appeared, however, that the Papyro wend back to the harbor with torn sails, but had neglected to report that fact. Race official Ivo van Dooren, who was on the verge of starting a search and rescue for the yacht, was not amused and Papyro’s captain received a stern warning about his failing to report to the starting tower that he was `back in town’.

First protest gets
redress from judges

Head judge Hernan Salcedo and his team received its first protest of the Regatta: the Tranquilo spotted the fact that the Christina of Daniel Serfaty, a Venezuelan yacht racing in the Lac Bay Race (Cruising I) had not rounded a buoy. It appeared however that the buoy in question had drifted towards the reef and the Christina crew decided that rounding the buoy could be hazardous for the boat.

The protest got redress as the Racing Committee acknowledged that the position of the buoy was too close for safely rounding it. The Christina’s captain and crew cheered, jumped and sang with `alevio’ when the protest got thrown out.

Scary squall wakes up sailors

Round Bonaire Race starts with
light winds and a heavy swell

Sailors woke up on Wednesday morning around 1.30 am when a downpour, strong gusts of wind coming from the South and thunder and lightning had their boats rocking and rolling in the water. Several captains who had moored their boats near Karel’s Bar’s pier, had to untie their yachts to prevent them from being thrown against the pier. For the brand new catamaran of team Kees van Asselt/Herman Lentjes the waves proved too much. The Curacao cat sustained a bit of fiber damage when it was set free by the strong pull of wind and waves. A strong swell was the squall’s  aftermath, and the newly built boulevard got sprinkled with droplets from high, crashing waves throughout the day.

For the Venus Calipyge and the Ninfa di Awa things got really scary when the yachts were thrown against the pier at the Kas di Regatta in the morning, causing quite some damage; the captain of the fishing boat Unico that had sailed the Around Klein Bonaire race had a lot of trouble getting his boat ashore. The Arantsa of `Ameribonairean’ Etienne Soleano had to be towed back to shore before the race even started.

 Easy sailing for yachts
during Tuesday’s first start

Yachts glided across the starting line on Tuesday morning, sailing the H-course in good spirits. Even though wind conditions did not look overly good at first, the wind picked up and, as dark clouds darkened the sky, windsurfers started planing and spinnakers filled out nicely. Starting official/Assistant Race Director Viktor Wijnand and his crew hoisted flag after flag and no protests were heard, although there were several tense moments during the Racing Class start, where risks are taken and radical moves are made.

In the afternoon the same H-course was sailed and once again the start in the Racing Class was riveting. Three yachts came straight up to the starting boat, giving each other hardly any room to maneuver, avoiding collisions by a hair’s breath. The starting boat crew heaved a sigh of relief…

First in: Marvin, Alert, Ella Rosa
and Worldwide Traveler on Monday

Monday’s low wind conditions did not deter any participant of the Bonaire Regatta at all: Tuesday’s course was sailed by everyone. First across the finish line in the Cruising Class I was Mitchell Amasia’s Marvin from Curacao in four hours, while Phil Warneke from the Netherlands sailed his gorgeous Alert across the line after almost six hours. Phil must be the most envied man of Bonaire at this time, as he is sailing with a crew of fifteen young and beautiful women. He has practiced a lot with his new crew during the past two months and the Alert is doing fantastically well.

The Yachts Open Class saw the Ella Rosa of Edward Leask from Bonaire sail across the finish line in first place, while Lee Adamson’s Worldwide Traveler from the US was first in the Multihulls. Geerlof and Anita van der Wal from Bonaire surprised friend and foe by coming in first two times in a row with their Catamaran leaving Van Anelt/Hermon Lentjes from Curacao behind them.

Record number of
Microboat participants

A record number of 111 microboat captains has registered for this year’s event. A steady rise in this category shows that the first races drew 62 participants in 1994. Then there was a slight drop the following year (54), but things looked up from 1996 on (78). A very low number from 2000 – 2003 surprised everyone (42, 46, 59, 42), but from 2004 on the category drew 90-plus aficionados. Last year’s participation was already record-breaking (107), but 2008 is even more impressive. The microboats see their first start on Tuesday afternoon.

A new category in microboats:
the lovely, sleek catamarans!

A new category in microboating has emerged: the catamarans. Two lovely beauties are participating this year: one from Bonaire and one from Aruba. Flown to Bonaire and carried in hand luggage, owner Mario Lampe is incredibly proud of his Durex boat with which he hopes to win. He is pictured here with his friends Bruce Ponson and Lee de Windt, long-time competitor in the microboat category. Bonaire’s catamaran owner is Arantsa captain Etienne Soliano.

Round Bonaire Race and
Lac Bay Race `ta bai door’!

Good news: the Round Bonaire Race and the Lac Bay Race will be held on Wednesday, the traditional lay-day of the Regatta. Having been postponed due to the low wind conditions earlier this week, the Wind Guru’s predictions are favorable for a great race. Both the Cruising Class and the Racing Class will have an early, 7 am start; the rest of the field is off. In downtown Kralendijk spectators can look forward to the Freestyle competition of the windsurfers (the famous Bonaire Kids in action) and the microboat races.

`Benedishon di Regatta’

Thunder, lightning and a bit
of rain during the first start

The first start of the 41st International Bonaire Sailing Regatta saw thunder, lightning and a sprinkling of rain at 9 am on Monday morning. Lightning came from the north as well as from the south and the skies were pitch dark left and right, but in front of the Kas di Regatta the sky was overcast but dry and the starts of the different categories went  well.

Contrary to a long-standing tradition, the Round Bonaire Race was scheduled for Tuesday instead of Monday due to low wind conditions, and Tuesday’s races were raced on Monday. The projection for tomorrow: another windless day…

As announcer Evert Bongers said during the Skippers’ Meeting last Sunday: ``There is a financial crisis in the world, but Bonaire suffers from a wind crisis.’’ Positive thinking, praying to the wind god and the possibility of a bail-out will surely help.

D-Trip and Melody win the
`aanbrengrace’ from Curacao

The so-called `aanbrengrace’, a race for participants of the Bonaire Regatta from Curacao, is always a competitive affair. This year was no exception, although wind conditions made this year’s race rather interesting, as yachts experienced two to five squalls, depending on their position on the water. The planned tactics fell by the wayside, as four out of the ten yachts had to drop out of the race and use their engines to keep moving.

One of the yachts in the Cruising Class, the Melody, did not have an engine, however, and 13 hours and 12 minutes after her 6.45 am start, the Melody arrived on Bonaire, illuminated by flashlights from the shore. But, as she was the only one having sailed all the way, she was the winner!

In the Racing Class the D-Trip won the race, followed by Team Ibis and Chimmichurri. Sponsor Gijs Sybrandi of Budget Marine Curacao handed out the prizes for the winners during Sunday’s Skippers’ Meeting.

The 41st Regatta is dedicated
to Edgar `Kachan’ Soliano

Elvis Martinus, long-time organizer of the Regatta, honored Edgar `Kachan’ Soliano by dedicating the 41st edition of the sailing event to him. Having been born to a family of fishermen, he loves the sea, and during the 1969 Regatta he was `matroos’ on Juan Margarita’s sailing boat `Felicity’ for the first time. Since then he has participated in many regattas, until his boat sank north of Klein Bonaire. Kachan and Juan needed to be rescued after having swum to shore. Kachan sailed on many other boats, until he discovered the Sunfish. Now, at 63 years of age, Kachan is still sailing the stars from the sky and the regatta would not be the same without him. The 41st Regatta wishes to honor this man for his competitiveness and sportsmanship. `Un Boneiriano hombu di laman di pura sepa, Kachan’, says the regatta booklet. Masha pabien.

Captain Don and Ivo Domacasse, initiators of the Bonaire Regatta, handed a trophy to Kachan during Sunday’s Skippers’ Meeting.

Wind Guru predicts better
Wind conditions on lay-day

The Wind Guru website’s forecast for the Regatta week is dire: hardly any wind, lots of rain and no good sailing conditions for anyone. The only light in the dark seems to be Wednesday, the traditional lay-day, when the forecast predicts better winds. The organizing committee is therefore postponing Monday’s Round Bonaire Race and is aiming to hold a shortened race for Tuesday’s morning hours and the afternoon’s course is to be modified a la minute according to wind conditions.

The committee sincerely hopes that the Round Bonaire Race, always a favorite in the Racing Class and often a decisive factor in the calculations who is the Overall Winner, can be sailed this week.