My watch, synchronised with the committee time check, blinked 10:16, less than 4 minutes until our category would commence the forth and final race in Tobago's 1994 Angostura Yachting World Regatta.
My watch, synchronised with the
committee time check, blinked 10:16, less than 4 minutes until
our category would commence the forth and final race in Tobago's
1994 Angostura Yachting World Regatta.
Sails were hoisted, the motor turned off, our angle aligned to the starting mark and the all but stiff wind. That was the moment; just enough time to rush down to the galley and check the carrot cake in the oven, put away the last few dishes in the drying rack and maybe stow the guitar better. Perhaps we weren't as serious as the slick racers and swift cruisers who participated in the other two categories, but we were competitive enough to not cross the finish line last with the other "Live-Aboards."
There were plenty of good reasons for an otherwise unhurried cruising sailboat to race in Tobago, and not just the bottle of free rum doled out to each participant. For the moderate fee of US$18.00, we were promised nightly parties for a week, treasure hunts and volleyball games, wavered clearance charges and a slew of lavish prizes to be raffled at the end.
Trinidad & Tobago can expect an exponential increase in cruising boats from abroad, particularly with the present state of affairs for foreign cruisers in Venezuela, the popularity of Carnival and the economic advantages of a devalued TT dollar. The recently opened Peak Marine Yacht Services in Chaguaramas, one of the sponsors of the regatta, is picking up the slack from its neighbouring Power Boats Facilities, who can no longer service all of the cruisers seeking shelter and repair during the Caribbean hurricane season.
In line with this trend towards Live-Aboard services, the regatta committee created a category to give every Joe Cruiser a chance to see how his floating home does around orange buoys. Any boat of any size was eligible. This new "Live-Aboard" category intended to emphasise the fun and sporty side of the regatta rather than cut-throat competition. Our courses were one third as long as the racers' and less difficult.
But that doesn't mean the participants took the races lightly. In fact, according to the starting committee, the Live-Aboard category had a more elegant and tight start than the racing class. As for us, we purposely stayed slightly behind the initial starting frenzy. Would you put your house in jeopardy so you could win a fragile crystal paperweight, the first prize in the Coca-Cola race? (Just what every 'live-aboard" needs!)
Many cruisers rarely get a chance to compare their sailboats' movement with other boats. They can spin tales, while at anchor, about how high on the wind she moves or how easily she turns on a dime. This was a chance for us to see, in a pleasant but concentrated setting, how we match up to others and improve our own performance during the course of the week. For Rufus, Cornucopia's single-hander who took a few complete novices for crew, it was a chance to do some good off-reef fishing and to win a free haul-out in the raffle.
One separation between the "real" racers and us inexperienced Live-Aboards was that we didn't need to take the hotel rooms at the luxurious Grafton or the Crown Point Hotel, both centres of most of the weeks' activities. Still, all categories mixed well in the social functions, which were doused with plenty of rum and sweet steelband serenades. We may not have competed against one another in the regatta, but in the treasure hunts, volleyball games, tug-of-war and the raffles, no handicaps were given for those sleeping in undulating berths.
All in all, the creation of a separate category for Live-Aboards proved successful. However, handicapping remains an ambiguous aspect. The PHRF system cannot account for a funky custom-made cement boat, distinguish the disadvantage of books or water tanks, or how many babies or crew members you sail with. Who knows how a sleek fibreglass boat like Greenpeace, who came in third overall, could have almost the same handicap as we, an amateur-built steel boat? Moreover, someone who happens to be living on a top-notch racing boat is eligible for the Live-Aboard class. Abricotine, who has won in regular regattas in the South of France and elsewhere, was not eligible for the cruising class because he did not empty out his boat and didn't have a sufficient amount of crew. Despite his extremely high handicap he won 3 out of 4 races. Who ever said life was fair? Live-Aboard sailboats, like houses, come in every shape, size - and price range.
If this year success was any indication, the Angostura Yachting World Regatta will attract more cruisers to Tobago next year. Still, there's always room for improvement, according to Jack Dausend, member of the committee and skipper of the boat Wind Psalm. Next year, they plan a more personal assessment of each participating Live-Aboard, including a visit on board and brief interview. Handicaps will be fortified for those cruising with an elephant or grand piano aboard. Also, they may include a special orientation for those who are "green" to regattas, talk a little about rules, and give the somewhat intimidated liveaboards a chance to meet one other. Then again, it's not difficult to recognize us; we're the ones without spiffy matching monogrammed T-shirts, leather gloves or huge public relation banners up our masts.