Sitting at the computer – where else- looking out on another beautiful Caribbean autumn day. Yesterday we kicked of a new season of YachtBlast on Island 92, 91.9fm St. Maarten. Island 92 is the Caribbean’s top Rock and Blues station broadcasting to the northeast Caribbean and to the rest of the world via Internet.
This is the fourth season of YachtBlast which ranks as one of the world’s favorite sailing shows. YachtBlast is supported by a weekly podcast that to date has been downloaded over 25,000 times. The podcast is available from iTunes or by following the link.
The first show covers the sailing news from the Caribbean and around the world. Our main interview, and one I really enjoyed recording, was with Jimmy Cornell the man who created the ARC - Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. Jimmy comments about the early days and how he thought the ARC would be a one-off event. This year more than 250 boats celebrate the ARC’s 25th anniversary so Jimmy sure got that wrong.
The first boat in the Velux5Oceans race has made it to Cape Town. American Brad Van Liew arrived tired but elated to a hero’s welcome. This is one of the world’s toughest races and one that held the spotlight for many years. This year’s entry list is very disappointing, the sailors are of the best but there are only five of them and, unless the organizers can pull something out of the hat, this Velux might be the last. The rise of Class 40 is affecting the world of ocean racing in many ways and the Velux could be the first casualty.
The yachting season in St. Maarten has got off to a spectacular start with quite a number of mega yachts arriving early this year. We should be happy, however; there is a dark cloud over the Simpson Bay Lagoon. Several of the mega yachts have been boarded at night. This is a new phenomenon in St. Maarten. The authorities and the local marine industry have quickly joined forces and increased security at all marinas, ashore and on the water. Coastguard patrols have been doubled and private security firms are, for the first time, patrolling in high speed boats. CCTV cameras are playing their part and one perpetrator has been caught on film. To keep the record straight, no one has been injured, there has been no violence, and certainly no weapons of any kind were used during these unfortunate incidents. Lorraine Talmi of the St. Marine Trades Association, and IGY assistant manager Martin Plas discuss the problem and the steps that are being taken to prevent it from happening again on the YachtBlast podcast.
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