Family Takes On the Heineken Regatta in a Cat
Every sailor has heard of the infamous St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, held every March in St. Maarten, FWI. Crystal clear waters, a truly international sailor base with over 2,500 participants, and the world’s elite of sailing yachts. What more can a crew eager to go racing ask for? The Tarjan family (Flo, Victor, Philippe and Gregor) entered their German/French-built Bavaria-Nautitech 40 Open catamaran FLO 2 in the Offshore Multihull division in this year’s Heineken Regatta. Gregor, the CEO and Founder of the well-known New York-based multihull dealership Aeroyacht Ltd, was at the helm. Winds were forecast to be fresh easterlies with 25-knot trade winds blowing constantly with very little deviation. Deciding to carry full sail, the Tarjans pushed their fast cruising catamaran hard. Despite messing up both starts, they claimed line honors in the first race. “The second day of the regatta was mayhem, with dozens of broken masts and booms” Gregor reported. FLO 2 remained strong, finishing third on corrected time on the second day. “The Heineken Regatta is the largest warm water regatta in the world and should be on the bucket list for every sailor,”
Philippe, Gregor and Victor Tarjan share a moment aboard FLO 2 during the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. © Flo Tarjan
Gregor enthused. The 38th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is scheduled for March 1- 4, 2018. Visit heinekenregatta.com for more information. To learn more about multihulls available at Aeroyacht Ltd including Bavaria-Nautitech, Sunreef Yachts, Outremer Catamarans and various power cats as well as charter ownership opportunities, log onto aeroyacht.com. ■
Continued from page 52 giving us an easy first place in the end. Of course it would have been more satisfying to beat them, but clearly we were more than competitive against them, and earned our spot on the podium. After a few hours of work shifting VAruna back into cruiser mode, we danced late into the night. We all were beat up and sore from four days of hard racing, but having been up on the podium was an unbelievable high, especially for me given that I had done the St. Thomas International Regatta at least 12 times. A good boat, a good crew and excellent sailing won the day for Team Sound Sailing Center. ■ Martin van Breems is the Founder and President of Sound Sailing Center in Norwalk, CT as well as Dutchmar, makers of the Dutchman Sail Flaking System, SailCase, Boom Brake, Zoom Jib Boom and other innovative sail handling hardware. To learn more, visit SoundSailingCenter.com and Dutchmar.com. Sound Sailing Center is the US Agent for VAr Yachts, builders of the VAr 37 and VAr 44. For more information, log onto VArYachts.com. The 44th St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR) was held March 24 - 26 out of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Known as the ‘Crown Jewel of Caribbean Yacht Racing,’ the STIR is renowned for its serious racing reputation that attracts the latest yacht designs and hottest one-design classes as well as the greatest skippers and crews from around the globe. The 45th edition is set for March 23- 25, 2018. Visit stthomasinternationalregatta.com for details. windcheckmagazine.com
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WindCheck Magazine
May 2017
53