REGATTA NEWS Hot Pursuit! New Year’s Eve Race, Antigua On New Year's Eve, December 31st, out of English Harbour, Antigua, there will be a fun pursuit race to suit every vessel; yachts from 23 to 130 feet have par- ticipated in this annual event. This annual race com- memorates Lord Nelson’s heroic pursuit of the French across the Atlantic in 1805. No paperwork is involved! For more information see ad on page 17. World ARC to Start in St. Lucia Yachts are “gearing up” to carry their crews on a world circumnavigation in the World ARC 2010/11, organized and run by World Cruising Club. World ARC is open to monohulls with a minimum length of 40 feet (12.19 metres), and multihulls between 40 and 60 feet (12.19 ad 18.29 metres. The east-to-west circumnavigation will begin in St. Lucia on January 6th, 2010, and visit Panama, Ecuador, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Fiji, Australia, Bali, Mauritius, Reunion Island and South Africa. In 2011, the rally crosses the South Atlantic via St. Helena to Brazil, then visits Grenada before arriving back in St. Lucia in March 2011, 15 months after the journey begins. In this second edition of World ARC, there are yachts representing 19 nations and a greater number of nationalities within the crews of the 40 boats already registered. The largest contingent is from Germany with eight yachts entered, then the UK with seven. Yachts from other European nations, the USA, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia are also taking part. Some are crewed by couples who will take on extra crew for some passages, while others will be crewed by a larger number of family and friends. Some skippers are seeking crew to join them for par- ticular legs of the voyage. Around one third of the yachts sailing in World ARC will arrive in St. Lucia with ARC 2009. As with all World Cruising Club events, the programme for the World ARC start will include safety equipment checks, par- ties, activities and briefings. Armchair adventurers can follow the World ARC fleet progress and the crews’ experiences along the way via the boat logs and image galleries on the event website. For more information visit www.worldcruising.com/worldarce2010. Early Interest in St.Maarten-St.Martin Classic 2010 West Indies Events and the St.Maarten-St.Martin Classic Yacht Regatta Organization have announced that early registrations for the January 21st through 24th event are coming in at full speed. Lone Fox, winner of 2008 and 2009 events, will battle Richard West's Anguillian yacht Charm Ii (which has The lovely classic Grote Meid will once again compete also won the regatta twice) for the perpetual trophy. Grote Meid, owned by Paul Van Koelen, has under- gone a complete refit in Curacao and will sail back to St. Maarten together with the classic yacht Aler? to participate in the regatta. Several “new” classics, vintage and other yachts will appear during the event for the first time. Among these are Philip Walwyn’s (owner of the well-known 12 Metre Kate) classic Philip Rhodes-designed yacht and the authentic 1910 Cornwall Crabber Magnolia. For the first time the regatta will see a class for work- boats, including the traditional wooden sloops from the Grenadines, built mainly in Carriacou. Laurie Gumbs from Anguilla, who helped out at all the previ- ous regattas as mark layer, has acquired Tradition (see story on page 34) and will race her this year. The local Grand Case and Anguilla traditional boats have been absent for a few years, but organizers hope to see them again this January. A “Spirit of Classic” class will give yacht owners a chance to participate with boats that are not qualli- fied in Classic, Vintage, Spirit of Tradition or other exist- ing classes. Owners of those look-alike classics are invited to contact the technical committee in order to submit their yacht for inspection and approval. A “Star Regatta” charity fundraiser will be held on January 23rd with racing in Great Bay aboard the 12 Metre Challenge America’s Cup boats. Local and international VIPs will join the public in this “regatta within a regatta” to support the Nature Foundation and the Sint Maarten Diabetes Foundation. Tickets start at US$100. Places aboard spectator vessels will also be available. Holland House Beach Hotel in Philipsburg is the new headquarters for the regatta. Fort Louis Marina in Marigot will be the first race-day venue and arrival place on Friday, again offering complementary dock space for the classic yachts (subject to availability). For more information visit www. ClassicRegaita.com. Entries Strong for 2010 Grenada Sailing Festival Some top racing and racing/cruising yachts are already booked for the 2010 Grenada Sailing Festival, presented by Port Louis and Camper & Nicholsons Marinas. The annual event, run in association with the Grenada Board of Tourism, will run from January 29th to February 2nd, 2010, and organisers report that they expect one of the most competitive fleets since the event began in 1994. In the Racing Class, 2009 Festival winner James Dobbs with his Antigua-based J/122 Lost Horizon will challenge such prominent names in Caribbean sailing as Peter Peake with Storm, and Paul Solomon skipper- ing Enzyme, both from Trinidad, plus well-known Festival competitors the Lewis brothers from Barbados in Whistler. Grenada’s home-grown talent will also be in contention with Richard Szyjan in Category 5, David Cullen in Pocket Rocket and Justin and Peter “Champie” Evans in Tanga Langa 3. The event will also welcome back British skipper Hugh Pringle and his crack Cowes Week crew in Lancelot, and will say bonjour for the first time to visitors from Martinique in Sonadio. The Cruising Class is looking just as strong, with early notice from Jaguar, Wayward, Bloody Mary and Boxxer that they will be competing. The J/24 fleet looks hot, too, with local boats Die Hard, Blew by You and Tempest taking on Steve Bushe’s Ambushe from Trinidad, and Barbados J/24s Paddington and Hawkeye, skippered by Peter Hoad and Robert Povey. The Charter Class, sponsored by long-term regatta supporters Boval, the Dutch insurance group, will include 49 sailors from The Netherlands who are char- tering seven boats to take part. —Continued on next page Grenada Sailing vai Festi rch Eb oe OEP CER MCT ee - RENAL nd. Digicel The Bagge Deter hetecrt § Scotiabank Dk] BovalY | tT a s BT anwar Sisto)