Fun and fine racing at the Round Martinique Regatta 2017

Round Martinique Regatta 2017 © Round Martinique Regatta

The Round Martinique Regatta 2017 concluded Sunday; 100 miles around the island in three days of racing. The forty-two boats from the different categories successfully completed the regatta, which saw close competition throughout and a hotly contested podium at the end. The format of different courses for the cruising and racing categories has proved a great success.

The strong north-easterly wind on day one made it possible to complete the first leg in record time, with Watermelon in the cruising category finishing first, and GFA Caraïbes number one in the racing category overall ranking. Day two saw more strong wind and exciting racing, with Watermelon still heading the fleet in the cruising category, and l'Antikri narrowly beating day one winner GFA Caraïbes.

There was close competition in all categories right up until the finish on day three, with Aito finishing first in the cruising category, Crédit Mutuel winning the leg in the racing category, GFA Caraïbes taking the lead back from l'Antikri in the Melges 24 category, and Kreol Sandwich winning the leg in the Surprise category.

It was a great comeback for GFA Caraïbes's Nicolas Gillet, who narrowly missed victory in 2016. Challenged by the weather conditions and spurred on by a tight duel with l'Antikri on the third day of racing, he says "Nicolas Poix's crew was glued to us throughout the race, we really had to finish ahead of them!"

Proud of this 33rd edition, the Round Martinique Regatta association has already announced the 2018 event and invites everyone to "save the date"!

See you next year on 8th, 9th, and 10th February 2018.

Winners:

• Surprise: Kreol Sandwich
• Racing: Credit Mutuel
• Racing Cruising: Open the Barre
• Melges: GFA Caraïbes
• Cruising: Aito
• Inter series: GFA Caraïbes