On Tuesday November 8th 2005, the top two teams showed a tied battle for victory in the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk (Tornado, NED) won the first race, after which Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power (F18, GBR) took the next bullet. John Moret and Gijs Jannink (Tornado, NED) moved into third position overall with today’s top ten results. Due to a miscalculation, the race committee announced the wrong winners of race five yesterday. It was not the Dart 18 of Sybrand Trefffers and Tjitske Stoel that beat all high tech cats, but it was the Capricorn of Gummer and Power.

Yamaha Race 6: No extra miles, two OCS
This morning, the competitors had to sail again a long course with two triangles and two rounds. Some people wrote the numbers of the marks down on their arm, others studied hard on the map, but everybody completed the race correctly. The offshore wind was about force four and initially the sun struggled to burst through the clouds. It was also a typical third day, as many sailors had to deal with muscular pains, painful hands and bruces all over. Zanen and Heemskerk were first at the upwind mark and staid in the lead until the end. Unfortunately for Gerard Loos and Ruurd van Wieren, they got an OCS (early over the line) after a second finish. The same happened to James Power and Marcus Lynch (F18, GBR). Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power scored a second place, followed by Chris Sproat and Georgina Burke.

Fun in the Sun and a Shot at a Watch. Highlighting the Caribbean racing calendar with its unique blend of island-style hospitality, competition and camaraderie, the St. Thomas Yacht Club's International Rolex Regatta will celebrate its 33rd edition on Friday, March 24, through Sunday, March 26, 2006. The event features handicap and one-design racing in a beautiful setting, professional race management, and dependable Caribbean tradewinds. On the social agenda are festive shoreside events and the Rolex Prize Giving partnered with a not-to-be-forgotten beach party at the Yacht Club. With over three decades of history, the tradition of a Rolex watch awarded to every class winner still stands.

"Last year we really raised the bar, by adding some intriguing new twists on the water and back onshore," said Tracy Roberts, who co-directs the regatta with fellow St. Thomas Yacht Club member Colin Probyn. "There was near-perfect harmony between exciting competition and extreme fun." Roberts explained that on one of the competition days, short-course buoy racing was traded in for a coastal romp that took the fleet from Cowpet Bay, where the St. Thomas Yacht Club is located, to a finish line just inside the harbor of Charlotte Amalie, formerly plied by privateers and now the island's cruise ship port. The fleet then reversed course to beat back home, where reggae, rum and barbecue awaited the tired but happy competitors. Added Probyn: "This year the race will be repeated but augmented by some IC-24 windward-leeward racing in the harbor. This will show the racers St. Thomas's beautiful capital and afford the islanders and visitors alike a flavor of competitive sailing."

The IC-24s are indigenous to the area having been developed from J/24s by a group of St. Thomas sailors and attracting the very best in inter-island talent. In size (24 feet) they are the same as J/24s, which had their own class last year and a strong Puerto Rican contingent including six-time watch winner Fraito Lugo. A little smaller but a lot faster are the Beach Cats, which always arrive in full force with plenty of Hobie and Nacra class stars competing, including Puerto Rico's multiple world champion and Olympian Enrique Figueroa. At the other end of the scale is the 2005 winner Titan XII, an awe-inspiring 75-footer with Puerto Rico's Tom Hill at the helm and America's Cup veteran Peter Isler (San Diego, Calif.) serving as tactician, a fine example of the top-notch competition that is always on hand. Titan will compete in the Over-50 Foot Class for the biggest boats; there are other classes for boats ranging from 30 to 50 feet that also include the hottest Caribbean sailors as well as visiting professinal and semi-pro racers.

Gummer and Power (GBR) dominate fleet. On Monday November 7th 2005 in race five of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta, Sybrand Treffers and Tjitske Stoel (NED) beat all high tech catamarans on their Dart 18. They won the so called Golgate Race on handicap, before favourite Tornado and Formula 18 teams. With the traditional offshore wind of 12 to 15 knots, the three scheduled races could be sailed today. Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power (F18, GBR) are still in a comfortable lead with seventeen points. The competition between number two up to four is tied. All competitors are pushing the boats hard, so there is some exciting action on the Caribbean Sea.

Race three: "We are not the only idiots"
In the morning, many competitors sailed extra miles in race three, Patria Race. After the second triangle of the course, they were supposed to go downwind and finish upwind. Those who made a mistake, did a complete lap before they went up to the finish line. Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk (Tornado, NED) learned from their miscalculation yesterday and took the bullet, followed by Stuart Gummer/Gillian Power (F18, GBR) and Jurgen Kerstens/Paul Smissaert (F18, NED). Heemskerk looked confused when he returned to the beach: "We might have a discussion again." At that moment John Moret also arrived. "Ah, that is John and if one person is always right, it is him, so we won." Moret and Jannink finished second and got a fourth position after calculation (on handicap). Gerard Loos and Ruurd van Wieren (last year’s winner) were second at the last bottom mark. Van Wieren: "We sailed port tack and could not see Mischa. We thought that he did not cross the line and we were pretty sure that we had to sail another lap." His father Gerben van Wieren shakes his head: "Well, I will give him a count frame for Sint Nicolas." Richard Allen and Simon Farren followed their example and completed an extra round as well. Allen: "It’s a shame. Never mind, we are not the only idiots."

Ellen MacArthur, Fernando Echavarri Erasun & Anton Paz Blanco flying high

November 8, 2005 The International Sailing Federation and Rolex have announced Dame Ellen MACARTHUR of Great Britain and Tornado World Champions Fernando ECHAVARRI ERASUN and Antón PAZ BLANCO of Spain as winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005.

At an Awards Ceremony tonight in Singapore, the three sailors were honoured for their outstanding sailing achievements between 1 September 2004 and 31 August 2005, when MacArthur completed her record-breaking solo sprint around the world in her maxi-trimaran B&Q and Echavarri and Paz were crowned Tornado World and European Champions after a string of outstanding results.

Tornado sailors Fernando Echavarri Erasun and Antón Paz Blanco continued in 2005 where they left off the previous year and have enjoyed an extraordinary 12 months, starting with victory at the ISAF Grade 2 Barcelona Olympic Sailing Week in March where they won five of the nine races. In May, they took the gold medal at the ISAF Grade 1 Holland Regatta then followed it up the following month by winning the ISAF Grade W Tornado World Championship.

In August, they reinforced their credentials as the most exciting talent on the Tornado circuit by adding the European Championship title to their portfolio and as a result accumulated more points to boost their ISAF World Ranking position. Through the nomination period they climbed steadily to the top spot, making it theirs on 29 June.

Aruba, November 6th 2005 On Sunday, Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power had a flying start of the 15th Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. The British F18 sailors took two bullets in the first two races and are leading after day one. John Moret and Gijs Jannink (Tornado, NED) are in second position, followed by Richard Allen and Simon Farren (Tornado, GBR). After a big squall during the practice race, it cleared up in the afternoon and the 15 knots wind pleased the competitors.

Gummer and Power were less fortunate at the Aruba Regatta 2004, as their boat was destroyed in a collision. They switched from the Spitfire to the F18 class and bought a Capricorn. Gillian Power: "It is not only great and fast, but also nice to run up with the Tornado’s now." And today, they beat them all on rating (after calculation). "We have to beat Mischa Heemskerk, since he finished ahead of us at our F18 nationals", said Gummer with a smile on her face.

Wrong call
Richard Allen and Simon Farren took the lead in the first race, until the last beat. Allen: "The two teams behind us went to the left and right. I wanted to defend our position and tried to stay in the middle of both Tornado’s. That was the wrong call, because there was no wind there." A fourth position was the result. Gerard Loos and Ruurd van Wieren (Tornado, NED) took the line honours, which was good enough for a second position on handicap, followed by Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk (Tornado, NED).