GREETINGS from The 2008 BONAIRE SAILING REGATTA 1st Place in the Multihull Division
Our Winning Race Crew, which included our friends: the Holians who live on Bonaire, the Primrose Family from s/v Monkey Feet, and Sparky the dog.
<< Click to see our Race Week photos.
October, 2008 - Bonaire, a small Dutch island about 50 miles off the coast of
Venezuela, has a yearly sailing regatta in early October that runs for a week.
It is the major yachting event of the year and includes all classes of
sailboats. In addition, wind-surfers, sunfish, lasers, and local fishing boats
join the action. Everyone is welcome to participate and made to feel special.
During Regatta Week, schools close and the town hums and vibrates with a
carnival atmosphere. There are parades, music and dance shows at night and the
main square is jammed with booths selling delicious island specialties and
souvenirs.
"You're signed up for the Regatta, aren't you?" a fellow
British sailor asked us as we were reading a bright orange Regatta flyer on the
bulletin board at the local Bonaire Yacht Club. Before we knew it, Worldwide
Traveler was signed up in the catamaran category. Our new friends, Hettie and
Patrick Holian, residents of Bonaire, agreed to join us along with their dog
Sparky. Then our friends from Canada, Giselle and Kasey Primrose from sailing
vessel Monkeyfeet, signed up as crew. We had the added benefit of their two
lively kids, Radik and Talon, who kept us entertained with calisthenics. A
friend from s/v Tourjours, Tom Steinhoff, who has always dreamed of sailing on
a catamaran, also joined us for a day, fulfilling his dream.
