Bequia gets ready for Easter Regatta!

The Bequia Sailing Club is putting the final touches to its preparations for Bequia Easter Regatta 2010, which kicks off on Wednesday, March 31, with pre-registration for the yacht competition. Racing starts on Friday, April 2, and finishes Monday, April 5, with the Grand Prize Giving at Gingerbread Hotel.{{more}}

Over last 29 years, the Bequia Easter Regatta has grown into one of the region’s most popular small island regattas, with visitors and competitors coming from all over the world to be in Bequia for the four days of local double-ender and yacht racing action over the long Easter weekend.

The three-race series for 30 or more locally built double-enders continues to be one of the highlights of the Regatta, and this year all eyes will be on “Double Bluff, the new 28-foot double-ender built by Orbin Ollivierre that was launched only a few weeks ago. The Bequia Sailing Club will also be hosting boats and crew from the neighbouring islands of Mayreau, Canouan and Carriacou, making Bequia’s Regatta a true Grenadine affair.

Last year’s record-breaking turnout of 50 yachts emphatically confirmed Bequia Regatta’s popularity in the yacht racing and cruising community. The J24 One-Design Class, first introduced in 2005, and since 2006 with its own specially designed courses, continues to be a major draw for J24s from around the region, who this year in Bequia will be vying for the title of first ever J24 Southern Caribbean Champion. With over 25 yachts of all types already pre-registered through the Internet, the Bequia Sailing Club is looking forward to another great Regatta with boats anticipated from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, the USA and Europe.

The ability of the Bequia Sailing Club to continue to stage this renowned sporting and tourism event is dependent on the continued support of its long standing sponsors: St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Authority, Heineken (St. Vincent Brewery), Mount Gay and Pepsi (Bottlers Ltd. St. Vincent), Mountain Top Water, the Frangipani Hotel and Tradewinds Cruise Club. These major sponsors are joined this year by the luxury Bequia Beach Hotel in Friendship Bay and IK TV, which will be providing coverage of the event. Numerous private individuals and small businesses on Bequia and St. Vincent also make a critical contribution to the Regatta’s success with generous donations.

The tiny island of Bequia expects to be full-to-bursting with visitors and competitors at Easter, all ready to join in the excitement of highly competitive yacht racing, thrilling double-ender action and plenty of the island’s famous hospitality.