By Robbie Ferron, Founder, Budget Marine Group
Caribbean Multihull Challenge V to take place February 3-5
February 2023 will see the 5th edition of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge. The event will include both a Race and a Rally for the first time. The goal is to build a second strong regatta event on Sint Maarten to reinforce the island’s position in the field of regatta events and optimize the share of the market for Sint Maarten sailing tourism.
Throughout the Caribbean, islands have been trying to replicate the enormous success of the the Sint Maarten Heineken Regatta. This event not only brings direct economic value to our island, but it also carries a powerful low-cost promotional message about the vitality of Sint Maarten itself.
The yachting world is changing. Much energy is moving towards multihulls which come in the form of catamarans and trimarans. In order to capitalize on this energy; the Sint Maarten Yacht Club in 2019 launched a unique regatta for multihulls-only (which are the largest growth category in yacht construction).
The Caribbean Multihull Challenge has been the focus of great effort by yacht club volunteers, who formed a strong Steering Committee with sailor and seasoned marketing expert Stephen Burzon as its Marketing Director, to guide the event to strong recognition by the global multihull community. Numerous local sponsors have played a major role in building the property; and as the growth of this event is energetically managed over time, the entire island will benefit.
Among others, the Sint Maarten Tourist Bureau has chosen to support the entire regatta as well as a new component of the 2023 event being a 52-mile “Around Saba Dash”. Myriad contacts have been made with decision makers in the multihull industry from around the world. In April, Burzon travelled to the International Multihull Show in France to cement relationships with brands from the US, Europe, Asia, South Africa; and elsewhere.
Sint Maarten has a unique claim to multihull sailing in that it was the location of the Caribbean’s earliest and most recognized multihull construction. In the 1970s, Peter Spronk built catamarans in Cole Bay which became world famous. Spronk catamarans were the first effective day charter boats that went to St. Barths – and names like Maidwell and Court were early operators. The present team is simply refreshing the old focus of Sint Maarten’s dominance in multihull sailing.
Race/Rally registration is open at www.YachtScoring.com/ Complete regatta details at CaribbeanMultihullChallenge.com/
