Vote for your favorite multihulls! Caribbean Multihull Challenge 2024 - A great celebration of multihulls despite the lack of tradewinds
Article published on 02/04/2024
Contact the editorpublished inn°195may / june
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Steven Burzon has never seen anything like it: Saturday February 3, and the wind didn’t deign to exceed 4 knots, so the day’s racing was postponed at 9:00 a.m... And yet, points out the initiator of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge, the date of the event based in Saint-Martin is exactly timed to the most favorable statistics for a strong easterly trade wind regime. But for this sixth edition, the wind never managed to exceed 12 knots – though that was enough for some.
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The 2023 edition had already introduced a new rally category and courses with times to beat; this 2024 edition has incorporated a fourth day, to make the Caribbean multihull party even better.
Of the 37 entries, 35 actually attended - two boats were forced to postpone their participation due to technical problems. 9 multihulls were entered in CSA 1, and this class was enlivened by a great battle between two 66-foot catamarans, Ricardo Pavoncelli’s Gunboat 66 Mana, crewed by two offshore legends - Briton Brian Thompson and Frenchman Loïck Peyron - and American Todd Slynstad’s HH66 Nemo, with professional sailors such as Ryan Breymaier, Mat Bryant and Jan Majer on board. The duel ended in favor of the HH in both real and on compensated time. The HH, with its particularly sleek rig, was more suited to light airs, and was even able to lift a hull even though the wind never exceeded Beaufort force 3. For Todd, it’s also been a great sea story coming to an end at the best of times: “Nemo has been a great boat, but I’m now moving on to an MOD 70 trimaran, and I hope to take boat speed up a notch and have even more fun.” Marc Guillemot’s MG5 was also present - with a crew worthy of the French Connection grand cru-stlye, including Bruno Jourden, Nicolas Raynaud and Régis Guillemot, if you can believe it... Exceptional skills that couldn’t save the high rating of the Christophe Barreau design, heavily taxed by its asymmetrical daggerboards and breezy character.
Some trimarans brilliantly represented a part of ocean racing heritage, with the participation of two famous vintage trimarans - the Dick Newick-designed Tryst, built in 1968, and Derek Kelsall’s Triple Jack, carefully restored by a crew from the nearby BVI.
The Diam 24s also put on a great show, with 10 of them taking part, confirming the excellent level and dynamism of this fleet, set up in Saint-Martin just three years ago by Pierre Altier. The cup was awarded to Alexis de Boucaud’s Diam 24 Merlin, winning 8 of the 12 races.
Competitors entered in the Rallye class had the opportunity to be ranked. The vast majority of the 16 competitors got to enjoy the anchorages of Great Bay, Orient Bay, Anse Marcel, and of course Saint-Barth. And not forgetting the parties and barbecues ashore.
We can’t wait for the seventh edition!
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