Don’t Miss August 2019 Caribbean Events
August 2-5: Carriacou Regatta Festival. This 54th annual celebration on land and sea is one not to miss! New this year is the first annual premier race, the Carriacou Sloop Classic, and a first-time ‘Kids Gotta Regatta Day’ with special events geared for children including a coconut boat building workshop. Over 60 boats, including those from Antigua, Bequia and Canouan, will come to race against from best from Union Island, Petit Martinique and Carriacou. There will be 8 classes, including large and small deck sloops, traditional and modified classes, long and small open boats, and laser and Optimist dinghies.
“This is a wonderful inclusive event for visitor’s that celebrates the island traditions and the connection between us and the sea,” says Jacqui Pascall, director of St. George’s, Grenada-based Horizon Yacht Charters, which can arrange charters that include watching the action in Carriacou as well as cruising to nearby locales such as the Tobago Cays. “From live music events along the shore of Tyrell Bay, where each evening the competing yachtsmen and women gather to discuss the days results, to donkey races through the streets of Hillsborough, everyone is made to feel welcome.”carriacouregattafestival.com; horizonyachtcharters.com/grenada/
August 12-18: International Billfish Tournament. Big blue marlin are what anglers want. This is exactly what Salvador Egea, Jr., chairman of the 66th Club Nautico de San Juan’s International Billfish Tournament (IBT), expects to give participating anglers by moving the events date back to August. In fact, in August of 2000, tournament angler Roger Medlock from South Carolina, USA, hooked a 1086-pound blue marlin in what’s known as ‘Marlin Alley’, a natural trench a short out from the Club’s marina in Old San Juan.
“Last year, we opted to hold the tournament in October. This is when there are more fish, blue and white marlin and sailfish, but the fish are smaller this time of year. The advantage is that you can hook more billfish with a shorter time to fight them. This year, fishermen can enjoy more time fighting the fish before releasing it since in all probability it will be a bigger fish – 400-, 500-, 600-pounds and even larger. We are also going back to heavier 50-pound fishing line,” says Egea, Jr.
Sports fishermen from the United States, Guatemala, Dominic Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Venezuela and Puerto Rico are already registered. sanjuaninternational.com
August 17: The Trinidad & Tobago Great Race. Powerboat racing doesn’t get any more exciting than this! Thirty to 40 souped-up speedboats rev their engines and race 86-nautical miles from Trinidad’s Gulf of Paria to Store Bay, Tobago. There will be seven classes, ranging from the 50-mph Cruiser Class to the 130-mph class. The vessel Motul Monster won the fastest class last year, at the Great Race’s 50th anniversary, and claimed the point-to-point record with a time of 47 minutes and 43 second. This record is officially recognized by the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique), the Monaco-based global authority in Powerboating and Aquabike/Jet Ski racing by the International Olympic Committee. Motul Monster has since retired, leaving the winner’s field wide open to other entries.
“New, we plan to introduce a point-to-point speed record for each class. The UIM record was only available to the 130-mph class, but we would like to establish records for each speed class and have each class try to break their class record each year,” says an executive committee spokesman for the Trinidad & Tobago Powerboat Association, of which Marcus Gomez is president. “We are also looking at the possibility of video live streaming the race from different points along the route. www.thettpba.com
August 31-September 1. Round Grenada Regatta. Single-handers and live-aboards as well as dedicated racers will enjoy this two-day regatta, which features an overnight stop at Carriacou Marine and party in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. The start and finish is off Le Phare Bleu, home of the host Petite Calivigny Yacht Club (PCYC), located on Grenada’s southern coast. Each leg, to Carriacou and back, are approximately 30 nautical miles.
“There will be two classes: a general Cruising Class and the J-24’s,” invites John Whitsett, PCYC commodore. pcycgrenada.com
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