Cup boats fear winds that ten year old in optimist would treat with contempt!

From the announcements made every week, one would surmise that the America’s Cup will take place. But what kind of race will it be, I dread to think. On November 11th the Société Nautique de Genève, in their role as defender of the 33rd America’s Cup, published the Notice of Race that will govern the event. And this calls for the first race to take place in Valencia, Spain on Monday February 8th, 2010. Less than ten weeks away. When I read that, I got all excited, but then I read some more. Included in the notice of race is this amazing piece of nonsense … the races won’t start if the wind exceeds fifteen knots or the waves are more than one meter high. And they say they have done this to ensure the safety of competitors, officials and spectators. All the millions they have spent on developing two of the most advanced sailboats the world has ever seen and they won’t race in winds that a ten year old in an optimist dinghy would treat with contempt. What have they done to the America’s Cup?

What a load of Bull!

Now that disgraced investor Bernard Madoff has been thrown in jail, the authorities are selling of his assets. The latest to go are his three yachts which fell under the auctioneer’s hammer on Monday. The yacht’s, a 55 foot-1969 Rybovich Sport Fisher, a 38 foot-2003 Shelter Island Runabout, and 23 foot- Maverick Boat Co. 2400 Center Console, all have the word bull in their name: There’s Bull, Little Bull, and Sitting Bull. Strangely there’s no Bull Shit, perhaps he’s saving that for when and if he ever gets out. The auctioneers were waiting to see if Madoff’s notoriety would add to the price and push the bids to a higher level.

Hey skip, chuck another shrimp on the barbie!

Who do you think invented BBQ? Well according to the St Maarten Charter Yacht Exhibition it was the Arawak Indians of the 17th century. Hard to imagine isn’t it all those Arawaks sitting around drinking beer and saying chuck another shrimp on the Barbie. Anyway, barbecue is the theme of this year’s Concourse de Chef Competition at the charter boat show in December. Competing chefs will be asked to use any fish, shell fish, land based protean, vegetable or fruit found in the Caribbean Basin. This will be a two lunch format, main course and desert. Registration is now open and limited to twenty chefs. You should be able to download the registration form from www.mybacaribbeanshow.com or contact the administrators on 599 544 2436. The exhibition ruins from December 4th to the 7th.

America's Cup... yaaawn ....

Well it had to happen, the New York Supreme Court have ruled that the Société Nautique de Genève cannot hold the America's Cup in Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates. The SNG, the yacht club representing Cup Defender Alinghi, had announced the emirate as the venue several months ago. But its challenger, BMW/Oracle, objected in court. Unfortunately for the Swiss syndicate, whose lawyers, I suspect, are now looking for another job, they had already shipped their boat to the emirate. Pretty cocky that. In her ruling, Justice Shirley Kornreich said that the February 2010 event must take place in a venue in the Southern Hemisphere as per the competition's governing document, the famous Deed of Gift, or in Valencia, Spain, where the last America's Cup was held. The Golden Gate Yacht Club, which represents challengers BMW/Oracle, was said to be pleased with the ruling. All the money they have spent arguing, and now they’re back looking at Valencia as a venue. It’s more like a bad soap opera than a yacht race.

SMYC News: Yacht Racing back with a vengeance

November sees the start of the St. Maarten Yacht Club Keelboat Racing Season and the club has come up with a whole new idea. Points will be awarded for yachts that take part in races throughout the season and these include the French side Course de L’Alliance, Captain Oliver’s Regatta, the Anguilla Regatta and the Statia/Nevis Race. There are 13 races and a total of 14 points up for grabs. The season will end with the presentation of perpetual trophies for spinnaker and non-spinnaker classes at the St. Maarten Yacht Club on Saturday July 24th next year. The first of the races is around the cans and that’s on Sunday the 22nd of November and it’s followed the week after by the Course de L’Alliance. People have fought hard to bring yacht racing back to the SMYC and this series deserves everyone's full support. I’ll be talking to someone about how and why this 13 race series came about on YachtBlast next week, in the mean time if you want more details then email info@smyc.com or log on to http://www.smyc.com

Thieves are at it again!

Outboards are the target of thieves operating around St. Maarten’s Simpson Bay Lagoon. Having been shown a heavy stainless steel chain that has been cut by an even heavier set of bolt cutters, and an all but severed stainless steel lock, one of the strongest that money can buy, then I suggest dinghy operators take care. Having been the target of thieves in the past, I know the horrible feeling of finding what you have worked so hard for has been taken by a lowlife. I was sad when I found my self-tailing winches were gone and even sadder when I realized that the sextant and dividers that have accompanied me across so many oceans are now in the hands of someone who probably doesn’t even know what they are. And to think that for years, and on just about every island’s in the Caribbean, we never closed our boat!

On Sea-anchors, Bridges and Chunks of Missing Concrete

Mention of sea-anchors on Sunday’s show drew quite a response on Twitter, and I was delighted to learn that some yachts still carry them. Like life-rafts, sea-anchors are something you hope to never use but, unlike life rafts, too many sea-anchors find themselves shuffled to the bottom of the lazarette, only to be found by the boat’s new owner and either chucked out or sold at the next nautical flea market. The old canvas sea anchors were a bitch to stow, set, and retrieve but the latest sea-anchors or series-drogues are much more user friendly. I would love to hear from anyone who has used a sea-anchor in anger. Please leave your comments below.

St. Maarten’s Simpson’s Bay Bridge has snagged another! I went out of the bridge this morning and noticed a massive chunk of concrete has been knocked off the starboard support. Worse, the wooden fenders attached to the steel pilings on the final approach to the bridge have all disappeared leaving a series of naked steel lugs ready to gouge the topsides of the next vessel that misjudges wind or tide. The lugs will do more than scratch your topsides; they will peel them open like a can of sardines. Mariners beware!