The first day of the St. Barth Cata Cup is over. John Casey and Colin Page (USA) won the first race (Design Affairs Prize) of the event. Dutchies Elke Delnooz & Jeroen van Leeuwen finished in 2nd position, The French team Jean-Christophe Mourniac & Alexandre Dekyspotter Jouannot passed the finish in 3rd position.
The race committee had a small surprise in store for the racers, launching the event with a counter clockwise round-the-island raid. The race started at 2:45 p.m. with ideal conditions: medium winds between 8-10 knots.
These favorable conditions were followed by a sudden rainfall, thereby complicating matters for the fleet. According to Didier Flamme, President of the race committee for the St-Barth Cata Cup: “We had a good start, passed Gustavia and when we reached Coco Island the wind dropped which made it more complicated to reach the last mark at La Tortue Island. At La Tortue, we were hit by some big rain showers, which allowed the leaders to finish.”
The first finishers crossed the line after 2:30 hours at sea, while it took the last finishers more than 4 hours to cross the finish line because lack of breeze was against them. “At 5:05 p.m. the Americans crossed the finish line. Then the wind speed dropped again making it difficult for the sailors to finish the race. The last crews got in at nightfall”, adds Didier Flamme. In the end, it was all fun and the racers appreciated this new raid formula at the St-Barth Cata Cup.
Casey/Page, winners of the first race
The winning crew of the Design Affairs Prize are U.S. representatives John Casey and Colin Page (St-Barth Properties), followed by Elke Delnooz and and Jeroen Van Leeuwen (ODP). Jean-Christophe Mourniac and Alexandre Dekyspotter Jouannot claimed the last positon on the podium after they finished in 3rd place.
Top 10 results after day 1:
- USA 80 (St-Barth Properties) John Casey & Colin Page
- NED 2 (ODP2) Elke Delnooz & Jeroen van Leeuwen
- FRA 007 (ODP1) Jean-Christophe Mourniac & Alexandre Dekyspotter Jouannot
- 56836 (Architectonik) Gurvan Bontemps & Benjamin Amiot
- FRA 29 (Float and Shoot) Pierre-Yves Durand & Antoine Le Corre
- 1892 (ODP) Cruz Gonzalez Smith & Mariano Heuser
- BEL 1 (St-Barth Sail Racing Team) Patrick Demesmaecker & Olivier Gagliani
- FRA 901 (L’Esprit) Emmanuel Boulogne & Vincent Boulogne
- USA 7 (Tradewind Aviation) Todd Ricardi & Evan Aras
- AUS 8 (Nikki Beach) Jeremie Lagarrigue & Andy Dinsale
About Design Affairs
Design Affairs is a design firm located in Gustavia that employs architects, developers, designers and managers. For more information: http://www.design-affairs.com
About the St. Barth Cata Cup
The ST-BARTH CATA CUP is a high-calibre sporting event where catamaran enthusiasts come together under the Caribbean sun. After three editions in 1992, 1993 and 1994, the St-Barth Cata Cup was relaunched in 2008 by Vincent Jordil, Jeff Ledee and Thierry Linares. The St-Barth Cata Cup brings together competitors of various nationalities, from world champions to Saint-Barth residents. Follow the eighth edition of the St-Barth Cata Cup at www.stbarthcatacup.com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Photo credit: Alain Blanchard
Video Credit: Easy Ride videos & Théo Reynal