Caribben Multihull Challenge Race & Rally News and Updates

La Novia – Chasing the Wind

Georges Coutu has chased the wind in his need for speed from Canada to the Caribbean. As a kid, he raced a self-built monohull on a small lake in his native Quebec. In his early 20’s, he discovered windsurfing, finding it the ‘real deal’ way to have a blast going fast. This small board sport proved life-changing for Coutu in two ways. First, he met and raced with windsurfing freestyle champion, Gary Eversole. Secondly, he followed a friend’s tip in the early 1980s to visit Cabarete, in the Dominican Republic.

Spellbound’s Fast Cat Condo Racing

Success on one hull has translated to two for St. Maarten’s Ian Martin. The South African native who races his Leopard 45, Spellbound, in the Caribbean Multihull Challenge (CMC) boasts an impressive monohull resume. He’s sailed from Cape Town to the Caribbean, competed in the Whitbread Round the World Race, and, with his brother John, set a Guinness Book of World Records for the fasted elapsed time in a double-handed transatlantic race. Martin’s cat life started in 2015, when he bought the hurricane-damaged Spellbound, repaired her, and put her into day charter.

Racing the charter way

Spice up a charter by throwing in some competitive fun Chartering isn’t always about lolling around at anchor in turquoise splendor. For avid racers, bareboat chartering offers a chance to enjoy competition in new and exciting venues, with fresh opponents and an international flair. That’s how we ended up at the Caribbean Multihull Challenge, a relatively new event in the winter racing season, organized by the people who made the Heineken Regatta synonymous with seriously fun racing in paradise.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead Following Succesful Fourth Edition of the CMC

It was a wet and wild weekend of highly competitive yacht racing with a little bit of everything: squalls and sunshine, gusts and lulls, surprising finishes. In other words, the fourth running of the annual Caribbean Multihull Challenge, which took place over the first weekend of February from the 4th through the 6th, was a resounding success. Let’s take a look back at this edition, and ahead to the next, already labelled with a catchy nickname: “Five Years of Flight.”

A Quartet of Worthy Crews Earn Class Victories in Final Race Day of Caribbean Multihull Challenge IV

It was one of those Caribbean days with a little bit of everything: early squalls followed by radiant sunshine, whitecap-flecked waters smoothing in the lulls, then more rain (and plenty of it). In sailing terms, the challenging conditions favored those who could shift gears quickly in up-and-down breeze, reduced visibility and an ever-changing seascape. And on the last day of competition in the fourth edition of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge, the most versatile and persistent skippers and crews were rewarded with class victories.

Triple the Fun! The CSA 3 Trimaran Class is the Featured Division in Day 2 of CMC IV.

Simpson Bay, St Maarten, February 5, 2022: They dart to windward like skittish water bugs, spinning through tacks and jibes with speed and precision. Off the breeze, with kites set and windward hulls lifted, they often seem on a razor’s edge between control and disaster. We’re talking about the CSA 3 class in this fourth edition of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge—a division dedicated to the regatta’s five trimarans—and on the second wild and windy day of racing, with easterly trade winds settled in the high teens, they put on a show.

Fujin draws first blood over Nemo in the 60-Mile Sprint in Opening Day of CMC IV.

Simpson Bay, St Maarten (February 4, 2022): In a day full of memorable moments, perhaps the most indelible was the smile on Greg Slyngstad’s face. In the marquee matchup on the opening day of racing in the fourth running of the St. Maarten Caribbean Multihull Challenge, Greg’s Bieker 53, Fujin, was the victor in the Caribbean Multihull 60-Mile Sprint, a power reach from the starting line off Simpson Bay, around St. Barth’s, and back to St. Maarten. And in topping the four-boat CSA 1 class, Greg and the team aboard Fujin also beat brother Todd Slyngstad and his talented crew aboard the HH 66, Nemo. “It was Fujin’s conditions,” said Greg, between grins.

Ministry of tourism / Tourism Bureau announces new sponsorship for 2023 CMC

The Fourth Annual Caribbean Multihull Challenge kicked off today where it was announced that a special race from Simpson Bay to and around Saba and back will occur during the Fifth Annual Caribbean Multihull Challenge (CMC V). The CMC V is to be held on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of February 2023 and will receive support from the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau.

The Caribbean Multihull Challenge is getting close

The Caribbean Multihull Challenge is getting close and the indications are that stiff competition will be seen on the water. The classes are not finalized but it is already possible to get a picture of the likely competitive groups in what will probably be three classes …maybe four .

FKG Rigging to Sponsor ‘Sprint’ Around St. Barts in Caribbean Multihull Challenge IV

It’s a partnership made in heaven—the heavenly island of St. Maarten in the beautiful blue Caribbean, that is. The Caribbean Multihull Challenge IV has announced that the event has teamed up with FKG Marine Rigging and Fabricating NV (www.fkgmarine.com), which will now sponsor one of the regatta’s most innovative races: the FKG Caribbean 60-Mile Multihull Sprint.