Sailboat racing in St. M. and St. T.

[Details]

This type of excursion is offered in both ports. Is there a difference? Which would anyone recommend? Thanks in advance.....

[Host Caroline]

This type of excursion is offered in both ports. Is there a difference? Which would anyone recommend? Thanks in advance.....

 

We did both in September...and unfortunately had little or NO wind and stinking hot, humid temps so wasn't nearly the fun it usually is. The On-Deck race in St Thomas is ocean racers.. in fact I think one of their boats was actually gone in an ocean race then. You litearlly crew the vessel, man the helm and get some great views of St Thomas int he process.. the America's Cup on St Maarten is 12 metre boats that were actulaly used in the Cut.. they are sleeker and run a tighter course. I think having done America's Cup twice and the ocean racing in St Thomas I would redo the Cup race in another port where it's now also offered (I know they ahve in Nassau now with New Zealand boats).. I think had we had some good breezes the ocean racing in St Thomas would have been much more fun... as it was it was a floating sauna :eek:

[BigGuy25]

I did the America's Cup race on "Canada I" in St. Maarten several years ago. I was great. They give you the choice of participating in running the ship or just sitting back and enjoying the sail. And now I know what it means to be the "ginder." I'd do it again!

[spongerob]

Main Grinder here. The 12-metre AC boats are a rush. We had good winds and choppy seas, but those boats are so sleek that they barely notice the waves, even when making more than 10 kts. It's a blast, and amazingly competitive. It is traditional to moon the other boats. :D

[5:00_Somewhere]

Yup, we did the America's Cup Regatta on St. Maarten a few years ago, and it was without quesiton my favorite excursion ever! What an incredible rush. We were on the Stars and Stripes and, while I know it wasn't a "real race", it sure felt real enough for us. When we nosed out the other boat we all got this incredible adrenalin rush! Which, of course, meant that I had to buy one of everything in the gift shop at the end of the day. ;)

 

Definitely worth doing!

[ancldaca]

2 time grinder here (S&S once and Canada 1 once). Since S&S sails better in strong winds we won in a November outing, but on my second trip (summer) we had considerably less wind and I won on Canada (which apparently is rare).

 

The AC races are, by far, the single best excursion in the Caribbean.

[B8C]

Another vote for AC in St. M. DH was a grinder and I the bar wench. Booked our cruise this year specifically so DH could do this excursion again since he love it so much a couple of years ago.

[AC Stew]

We did the America's Cup race in St.Maarten, April '06. Quite definitely our most exciting shore excursion to date. Without a doubt, worth every penny.

 

Regards,

Air Canada Stew

[Jay_NH]

Backstay Grinder here;)

 

My wife and I did the Sailing regatta in St. Martin and it was without a doubt the best excursion ever. Will do it again when we return.

Jay:D

[DougH]

I've done the 12 meter regatta on St Martin twice and loved it. First time I went out in 1996 it was the first day they had gone out in two weeks because of high winds. The winds actually came up again after we had started sailing, if they had started earlier they would have cancelled because they were too strong. Believe they were in the 30 knot plus range with seas building to 8 to 10 feet, was told later they were at the top of the boats range and they were actually afraid of breaking something. I know we missed the start of the race as we were caught is such stong gusts that they didn't want to try and turn around!

 

Ended up being an absolute blast, skipper was actually surfing the boat along the breaking waves to gain speed. Afterwards I descibed it as being on a roller coaster with someone throwing a bucket of water on you every 30 seconds! Even the skippers were talking afterwards about it being an absolute blast and being the way the boats should really be sailed. An adventure to remember always.

 

Second trip was a nice sailboat ride in comparison

[cabana]

Us too , we loved the Cup race in St Maarten. Host Caroline made the right call when she told me a few years back that it was the best trip out there. We will be back In April for a second go at it. I am going to take my crew shirt and get it replaced. They do that as a perk for people to come back. I hope Canada II or True North can beat the Stars and Stripes this time. I have a plan. Crew gets a bigger tip if we win. Lose and no tip. That should do it lol.