“My first time out with him, we won the Rolex Regatta in St. Thomas,” Steyn recalls. On a recent morning at the marina, Steyn sits with his wife, Debby Lind-Steyn, at a marina-side table, looking out over Simpson Bay. Debby, a friendly blonde, and Garth, far more laconic than his effusive wife, sport matching “St. Maarten Sailing School: Crew Wanted” shirts. Although slow to begin talking about his exploits, once the conversation turns to sailing, Garth grows more and more animated, his love of the sport overcoming his initially taciturn nature. “There used to be a catamaran out here called El Tigre, and the lady that owned it put us in the Heineken Regatta on another boat with her husband, but she put us in the racing class.” He chuckles before adding, “We were way, way out of our league. I suppose that was 1994. That was my first experience in the regatta.” From those humble beginnings, Garth has become one of the most experienced captains on the island. “Used to be, the Heinek42 PELICAN RESORT NEWS RESORT LIFE
en Regatta was just Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but they’ve added Thursday now. On Thursday, they do the out-and-out racing boats. On Friday, we race around the island; on Saturday, we race from here to Marigot, and on Sunday we race from Marigot to Simpson Bay.” “For Aqua Mania’s part,” Debby adds, “We put out the big spectator boats. So the big sail catamarans that you see” – she gestures toward the bay, where Tango and Lambada are moored – “will go out with 65, 70 people on board. People are already signing up.” Aqua Mania’s two big sail catamarans will be among a sea of observer boats, all lined along the raceway when the regatta gets underway each day. A festive atmosphere surrounds these spectator boats, with people enjoying libations, cheering for friends or favored racers, and shouting encouragement to runners up. Iain Mobbs, an employee of Aqua Mania and racing partner with Garth, describes the races: “The out-and-out race involve the Thoroughbreds of racing boats. These are high-powered performance yachts driven by the pros. I prefer the Friday race because all of the boats participate, no matter what class; the race mainly starts in Simpson Bay but there are so many boats that they have to start in different places across the island. The Saturday and Sunday races involve different sailing classes including the Cruisers, Catamarans, Spinnaker and nonSpinnakers plus the professional Racing boats.” Iain also shares his favorite part of the race, the part that really gets his heart racing - the beginning: “First, the boats get the 10 minute warning that the race is about to start. The crews begin rushing around to check their lines while the captain studies the winds to make sure the boat is positioned in the most advantageous place. The yachts jostle around and the one-minute mark is sounded, boats come head to head with each other, pushing to get into their preferred spot. Tension is high and room is tight. The horn sounds and the boats begin their rolling start. It is awesome to watch.”