2025 Caribbean Multihull Challenge in St. Maarten Day 2
by Caribbean Multihull Challenge 1 Feb 16:15 PST
January 29 - February 2, 2025
Day 2 of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge © Laurens Morel
Last night's beach party in Philipsburg was not over, yet crews were already talking about what would happen on this second day. One thing was for sure: breeze would come in!
Whether a bad or good news for racers or for rally participants, the weather was still being a debated this morning. While the latter had no reason to worry about it, the 20+ knots were more of a concern for racing boats, regarding the sea state which would result from that wind force. Here is what happened!
CSA Race: Breath the Breeze!
As all participants are hoisting their mainsails right after the bridge, there's an obvious clue that the day is going to be fun: 5 out of 5 entries took their first reef! On these large and fast multis, this is a pretty wise attitude and clear evidence of true seamanship: reducing the sail area means they will keep better control of their boats in gusts and lower the center of gravity - a rule that also applies to Diam24s, see below! This time, usual suspect Marc Guillemot's MG5 did a pretty good job on the starting line, passing every single competitor until he eventually broke his mainsail's foot and lost some precious time. An opportunity for the followers in ambush: Gunboat 72 LAYLA and HH66 LEE OVERLAY PARTNERS III, soon taking advantage of the situation.
The journey sounded idyllic: direct sail to Saba, round the island, and come back. Approximately 50 nautical miles of reaching, with a constant breeze and offshore waves building up quickly, and for the guilty pleasure of our photographer, shooting hulls out of the water. Due to time compensation, the HH66 being first to cross the finish line left top honors to Kimmo Nordstrom's ORC50 "CALAMITY" on this day.
"This was the perfect day for our boat, because we need some breeze to get the best of her! We started with a J1 on the way to Saba and came back full speed with a J2.It was overall a fantastic sailing day. Looking forward to the next races!" said Kimmo
Rally Division: Sandy toes and salty kisses
Imagine starting your day with a morning swim, then sipping a cappuccino while drying under the sun before getting your anchor back and setting sail to gently exit Great Bay. How does that sound?
At noon, one could see big colorful foresails hoisted for an enjoyable downwind surfing session along the island's southern coast, before eventually gibing around Les Terres Basses and then to take a north course. Destination: Anse Marcel, located at the north-west corner of Saint Martin, French side. That was today's agenda for the rally participants, who will enjoy some more fun and surprises tonight when gathering in that sheltered lovely bay.
What happens in Anse Marcel...stays in Anse Marcel, but we'll hopefully be able to share insights from their evening soon!
Diam24: Upside down, boy you turn me!
When you had a look at the freeboard of a Diam24 and compared it to the wave's average height this morning, no rocket science was needed to understand that it would be a wet day for all crew!
While Jan Sotelo's ANOMALY, Ted Reshetiloff's BUZZ RACE TEAM and Erick Clement's KARIBUNI formed a battling squadron from the very first minutes, the whole fleet could be spotted from far away: massive leeward spray in the air, and from time to time one of these trimarans would fly on a foamy crest. As breeze built up so did the sea state, up to a point where waves would end up limiting their top speed and make crews edgy. Experienced race committee decided to "Stay on the Safe Side" (aka the triple-S rule) and stop the racing day after Race #7, when Pierre Altier's CRY BABY inadvertently capsized. Both crew and boat were quickly recovered by the safety dinghy, safe and sound, although one of their crew members suffered from a broken rib. No pain no gain!
"We clocked 19 knots as top speed during the day and had a lot of fun. On the last race, in front of Les Terres Basses, there was a mix of calms and big gusts coming in. Clearly the worst conditions for these light boats! Capsizing has been brutal, and I'm sad my mate was injured as he obviously wont's be able to continue the racing with us tomorrow", explains Noah, Cry Baby's skipper for the day.