Today the first group of sailors flies to St. Maarten to sail in the St. Maarten Days Races and practice for the Golden Rock Regatta. The second group from America and the Netherlands will fly on the 11th to join the rest. Sunday the whole fleet will move to Great Bay for an evening with Briefing and Partying on the program. More information will be posted by the Committee on Sunday.

Kate has reached completion, only now she's on her way to meet the ocean. In a race against the clock she will not make it to the first two races of the Golden Rock Regatta. But will join the fleet in St. Kitts and race to St. Barths and also race in the First Salute Race. She will be a great site to watch.

A sailor with Statia Ancestry joins the US Team to enter the Statia First Salute Race, the final leg of the Golden Rock Regatta on November 16th!

Tom Pedersen will fly down to St. Barths and board one of the two US entries on chartered yachts entered in the Golden Rock Regatta, with teams from the Manhattan Yacht Club. The two US boats will be flying the old Continental Colors celebrating the 230th anniversary of the First Salute.

His ancestry is traced back, through his mothers side, all the way to 1737 and predates the First Salute of the newly created United States by 30 years! His family owned a sugar plantation there up to the early 20th century. His maternal grandmother, Maria Arrabella MacDonald Pandt, was born on Statia and didn’t leave Statia until she married his grandfather. The Pandt family history on Statia goes back many generations and includes the Heyligers and MacDonalds.

Another US sailor, currently living on Curacao, who also has Statia connections and wanting to sail in the Golden Rock Regatta is Joe Blanchard. He found out about the regatta from one of Tom’s cousins and sent in an email enquiry to join one of the Manhattan Yacht Club teams. Unfortunately family matters prevent him coming this time around. He was born on St. Barths and his wife is the grandchild of Aletta Pandt who married a Beaujon.

It really is a small world!

The first Golden Rock Regatta Meeting in Rotterdam at the Entrepot Haven Café was a succes. We would like to thank Kim, Rob, Ricco and Cees for great catering and perfect services.

Almost all Dutch entries came to the Meeting and had the opportunity to meet other crewmembers. Knowing the Regatta is now only over two weeks nobody can wait to leave for the Caribbean.

Even the proud mother and father (Pauline and Erik) came to taste the exiting atmosphere and to show off the First Golden Rock Off Spring. We organized the smallest GRR shirt ever, a size "xxxxxs". Sadly they will not join us in the Caribbean, but maybe next year.

It was also a good opportunity for the Statia Invitation Team to meet their shipmates.

Of course it was not possible for our American and Caribbean sailors to join this event for it was held in Rotterdam. The Dutch entries got their polo-shirts and flight information. Whereas the other entries organized their own travel accommodations.

We would like to wish all fair sailing and a save voyage to the Caribbean. As everybody was saying last night:

"See you in the Caribbean!"

Without our valued sponsors the Golden Rock Regatta would not be possible. To accomodate our entries from the Islands or other countries we needed a sponsor to send all the T-shirts from Holland to St. Maarten. The T-shirts will be for sale on the islands with tanks to Net Travel Associates.

We're happy to inform you of a second entry from America. Skipper Christopher C. Land from the Manhattan Sailing Club has entered their second boat and joins the Fleet for the Golden Rock Regatta.

28 September 2006,

We are happy to announce the entry of the team from the Manhattan Sailing Club, the first US Team to do so! They will be flying the old Continental Colors to commemorate the 230th anniversary of the "First Salute". They intend being the first to receive a Royal Salute from Fort Oranje when the fleet races from St. Barths to Statia in a Pursuit Race, a distance of about 40 sea miles! Who will dare stop them from winning the First Salute Race?
 

This weekend we´ve drawn two more winners to join the Statia Invitation Team.

At theNK Zeezeilen in IJmuiden Bas Boer (photo) was crowned as champion of the Micro Magics and drawn to join the team at Golden Rock Regatta!

Ad Noorlander from Watersprotvereniging Bestevaer was the lucky winner from the drawing at the Duo Race. A day later he was still glowing.

20 September 2006,

Dirk-Jan Verdoorn was drawn as the second member of the “Statia Invitation Team”.
On 23 September 2006 there will be two more drawings at the Medemblik "De Duo Race" and at the IJmuiden NKZeezeilen.

Dirk-Jan will be the Invitation Team Skipper, being a sailing instructor him self this will be an easy task for him.
His website: http://www.bedrijfstrainers.nl/zeilboot/zeilboot.html

The “Statia Invitation Team” is an initiative to put together a team of eight yachtsmen/-yachtswomen to take part in the GRR2006 to represent of the island of Statia. With a population of about 3.000 souls the island has to few yachtsmen and no yachts to take part in the regatta. Over the coming weeks 7 more will be drawn at different events/yacht clubs.

This initiative is sponsored by De Wilgen Vastgoed and Windward Adventures. 

12 September 2006,

Chippie and UTS joins our Team of Sponsors for the Golden Rock Regatta. The first race from St. Maarten to Statia will be named the Chippie Trophy. With many thanks to our Sponsors, without them the Golden Rock Regatta would not have been possible. In the menu of our site you can find our Sponsors page please take some time and have a look.

Foto (c) RVD.

Press Release
For Immediate Release
A Royal Celebration" for 2^nd Golden
Rock Regatta November 13 -18, 2006

St. Eustatius, affectionately called Statia “The Golden Rock”, is poised to welcome Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the jolly participants of The Statia First

Salute Race on November 16, in the prize giving finals in the 2^nd Golden Rock Regatta.

The Golden Rock Regatta is “the new kid on the block” of Caribbean sailing competitions and is known as the only regatta in the north eastern Caribbean which involves races between multiple islands. The Golden Rock Regatta hosts races between the islands of St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Barths and St. Eustatius. Coordinator, Mr. Juul Hermsen is already experiencing significant growth in the number of participants over last year. “We will host teams from the Netherlands, USA, Austria, and St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Eustatius. Current records show a total of approximately 20 boats with about 150 participants, organization included”, says Mr. Hermsen. Some interest is also expected from Belgium, UK and Germany.

What makes The Golden Rock Regatta exciting is that it coincides with the Annual Statia-America Day Week of Activities, which is expected to have Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands as the guest of honour this year. These celebrations are held to commemorate the historic First Salute to the United States of America on November 16, 1776. This year marks the 230^th anniversary of St. Eustatius becoming to first foreign nation to officially recognize America’s independence. History teaches that The Brig “Andrew Doria” sailed into the roadstead of Oranjestad, the capital of St. Eustatius 230 years ago, deploys the red and white striped continental colours and fires a salute of thirteen guns. On the insistence of the Governor, Johannes de Graaff, the commander of Fort Oranje replies with 11 guns. These shots would echo around the world.  

Thursday, November 16, 2006 The Statia First Salute Race will start in St. Barths ending in St. Eustatius. Here sailors will be welcomed by islanders during the ever popular annual St. Eustatius Fort Oranje Street Festival brimming with a potpourri of cultures, sweet calypso music and tasty Caribbean delights.  

Participants in the Golden Rock Regatta will experience no dull moments during one week of sailing on open seas while visiting four totally different islands. Each race will culminate with nightly award ceremonies and festive parties enhanced by cool breezes under a tropical moonlight. The 5 days long 2^nd Golden Rock Regatta races culminates on November 17, when charter yachts return to Oyster Pond in St. Maarten.

For more information visit www.goldenrockregatta.com and www.statiatourism.com

St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation

Fort Oranje, Oranjestad

St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean

Tel: 599-318-2433/2107

Email: euxtour@goldenrocknet.com
 

Read the Statia Newsletter click here.

Utrecht, Saturday 19^th August

The GRR congratulates Pauline Wilmink (Race Committee 2005) and Erik den Burger with their newborn son. We wish them fair weather and good sailing. Maarten is named after the Island of Sint Maarten in the Dutch Antilies.

Name: Maarten den Burger
Date of birth: 19 august 2006 23:29 hrs in Utrecht (The Netherlands)
Size: 55cm long and weighs 4380 gram.

s’Gravenzande, Sunday 31^st July

During the Westland Cup, a Beach Cat Regatta off the Hoek near the small town of s’Gravenzande, Christina de Boer’s number was drawn making her the first member of the “Statia Invitation Team”

The “Statia Invitation Team” is an initiative to put together a team of eight yachtsmen/-yachtswomen to take part in the GRR2006 to represent of the island of Statia. With a population of about 3.000 souls the island has to few yachtsmen and no yachts to take part in the regatta. Over the coming weeks 7 more will be drawn at different events/yacht clubs.

Photo (c) RVD.

Oranjestad, Tuesday 11 May

The Governor of Saint Eustatius informed us that her majesty Queen Beatrix will be visiting the Island in November of 2006. This information has been confirmed on the site of Go Dutch.

Willemstad, Friday 7 May

During a speech celebrating “Koninginnedag” (birthday of the Queen mother), the Aruban Governor, Fredis Refunjol announced that Queen Beatrix would be visiting all the territories making up the Dutch Antilles this coming Autumn. The program is planned for the period 6 – 18 November and will include visits to Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius and Aruba

The Golden Rock Regatta visits Statia (St. Eustatius) twice in this period namely on Monday the 13^th,  with the St.Maarten to Statia Race and again on the Thursday the 16^th November, with the Statia First Salute Race which starts on St. Barths. That evening the Golden Rock Regatta has it’s prize giving  party joining the island festivities.

With plan approval from the 12 Metre class, she has been re-engineered for bronze, wood, epoxy and glass construction by Ian Nicolson, the well known surveyor and yacht designer. She is being built by Philip Walwyn and his team at Pleasant Boats Company of mahogany, Oregon pine, Sitka spruce and teak.

The yacht will be 60 foot on deck and have an overall length, with bowsprit and boom, of 78 feet.

At press time they were building mast and boom and have yet to cast the keel (there are already 10 tons of scrap lead from old keels in SXM on site, the builder needs to find another 3 tons). Launch date will be in the beginning of November after the main threat of hurricanes is past.

The yacht will first participate in the Golden Rock Regatta as a try out and for photo opportunities and training before racing in the St.Maarten-St.Martin Classic Yacht Regatta in January. She is built to Alfred Mylne's original plans from 1908, the year after the International Rule was formed.

Philip Walwyn lofted the lines of the yacht. Ian Nicolson, who worked for the Mylne's and who now owns their archive of some 500 designs from the late Nineteenth Century to about 1940 is a naval architect and has done the structural analysis to enable Philip to build to the current 12 Metre Rule using Oregon Pine strip planking over laminated mahogany frames and centreline structure.

This is all epoxy glued and bronze fastened and then sheathed in two layers of 300 gsm glass. The deck is built over laminated deck beams using two layers of 10mm Bruynzeel plywood and a laid deck above. Spars are built of Sitka Spruce. The builder has received pre-construction plan approval from the 12 Metre Class and the aim is to have the boat measured and rated 12 Metres to the First International Rule when she is sailing in the USA or Europe next year.

The boat will be engineless and without any modern systems (except hand held GPS, VHF & Iridium).

The accommodation will allow offshore passages.