Search Results for Category: St. Maarten

Regional airline Winair recently announced its latest expansion by introducing flights to Dominica, St. Lucia and Tortola from St. Maarten.

The service will begin on Monday, June 28, 2010, with the airline’s newly acquired aircraft, the Jetstream 32, which is faster, pressurized and air-conditioned.

Winair will be the only carrier offering non-stop service to St. Lucia from St. Maarten, and daily direct flights between Dominica and St. Lucia.

In addition, Winair code shares with several leading airlines, including Air France, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air Caraibes, Continental, US Airways, Delta, Insel Air and KLM.

Visit our guide to St. Luica and the British Virgin Islands!

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Without a doubt, the beaches in the Caribbean are some of the world’s sexiest – some clothing optional too!

St. Barths’s Grande Saline Beach. Hidden behind rolling dunes, St. Barths’s Grande Saline Beach is both intensely popular among island vacationers and yet secluded enough to give canoodling couples ample space to coo amongst themselves. Most visitors arrive at this stretch of white sand by car and a short hike over the dunes to the beach. Officially speaking, nude sunbathing is not allowed, but that doesn’t seem to bother beach visitors, who routinely belly up here sans swimsuits. While restaurants and resort hotels flank many of this tiny island’s beaches, this swimming spot has neither, so you’ll have to plan accordingly.

Barbados’ Crane Beach. This breezy, pink beach with rugged cliffs, rolling dunes and turquoise waters was originally a harbour, and is considered by many to be one of the island’s most beautiful beaches. In fact, Barbados’ Crane Beach dubbed one of the sexiest beaches in the world!

Barbuda’s Long Beach. Barbuda has one strand on the west coast that continues virtually unbroken for 17 miles. The sand varies ever so slightly along its length – mostly it’s sugar white, but in some sections, tiny remnants of broken shells give the beach a beautiful pink hue! Visitors who head to Long Beach are rewarded with a relaxing day spent snorkeling, bathing and tanning.

St. Maarten’s Mullet Bay. Just about everyone who visits St. Maarten heads to Mullet Bay Beach as it’s one of the prettiest and most popular beaches on the island. The beach is very active on weekends and holidays as tourist and locals alike flock to the beach for island barbecues and surfing.

Some of the Caribbean’s Best Beaches – Exposed!

White sandy beaches edged with the ocean’s aqua tones are always inviting, and every local has a favorite spot for sunbathing or just liming! Read more.

Top 3 Day Trips from St. Maarten

St. Maarten has amazing resorts and a hot nightlife, not to mention pristine white sand beaches, though it’s also the gateway for experiencing the smaller surrounding islands, especially if your main interest is soft adventure and relaxation. Here are some day trips you should check out during your stay in St. Maarten.

SABA

At a blossoming peak of 877 m, this unspoiled volcanic island reaches the highest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is surrounded by charm, thriving rain forest, and incredible offshore diving; making this tiny 5sq mile Caribbean island a major destination for the true eco-tourism traveler!

Saba Visitor Guide

ST. BARTS

This French Caribbean Island is a good spot to practice windsurfing & snorkeling. Many visitors enjoy diving the nearby coral reefs and even sailing around the island while enjoying a delicious meal. It’s capital Gustavia, unlike many, is a duty-free port. A little Caribbean, a little European, you’ll find elegant boutiques, a yacht-filled harbor, and a tranquil lifestyle.

St. Barts Visitor Guide

ST. EUSTATIUS

St. Eustatius, commonly referred to as Statia isn’t known as the “The Golden Rock” for nothing! It was a key trading center during the 17^th and 18^th century. It’s one of the few islands left in the region that you’re able to see a vast array of the old Caribbean. After more than 150 years of declining fortunes, Statia began developing its tourism infrastructure in the 1960s and 1970s. With a land area of 8.1 sq. miles, approximately 2500 inhabitants, St. Eustatius is not overly developed. Laid back with great diving and well preserved natural habitats make this a great vacation for the adventurous tourists.

St. Eustatius Visitor Guide

Getting to these islands:

Visit Gocheapcaribbean.com for incredible low fares to these destinations!

Winair offers daily connections from the Princess Juliana Airport in St. Maarten with daily flights to the islands of Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barths. Book at www.fly-winair.com or call 1 (866) 466 0410.

There can be few events in the world that match St. Maarten Heineken Regatta’s unique cocktail of fun and serious racing. Under the leadership of Robbie Ferron – Sint Maarten Yacht Club commodore – who set up the regatta 30 years ago, this Caribbean classic continues to go from strength to strength and, if the positive buzz on the street is anything to go by, next year’s event is going to reach record levels.

With some of the world’s most talented sailors including the likes of America’s Cup legends Peter Isler, Peter Holmberg, Gavin Brady, round the world sailors Kenny Read, Wouter Verbraak, Olympic/America’s Cup skipper Andy Beadsworth, and Dutch double Europe Olympic silver medallist Margriet Matthijsse, among the many high profile sailors competing here this week, it’s not surprising this event is fast becoming a Mecca for seriously fun winter racing.

As well as the big names racing on the latest, powerful ultra-light racing machines such as Irvine Laidlaw’s Wally 82 Highland Fling, Tom and Dotty Hill’s brand-new stunning-looking custom Reichel/Pugh 75, Titan 15, George David’s Reichel/Pugh 90 Rambler, and a healthy mix of big Swans, Farrs and custom builds, yachts in the 30ft-40ft range make up the majority of the fleet including a bumper 99-strong Bareboat charter fleet.

While fun and partying contribute hugely to Caribbean regatta success, it’s what happens behind the scenes and on the water that really counts. St. Maarten Heineken Regatta race team run a good balance of coastal and round-the buoys races, and offer a highly efficient results system, which are the other key factors that make a good event, great.

The final race of the three-day St. Maarten Heineken Regatta this morning may have lacked one special Caribbean ingredient – sun – but there was certainly no shortage of action for the 240-boat fleet in the extremely lively northerly breeze which allowed the big raunchy yachts the opportunity to really strut their stuff on the 27nm race from Marigot Bay back to Sint Maarten Yacht Club.

In the three-horse battle between Titan, Highland Fling and Rambler, it was Titan that benefited from a strange twist of misfortune when she blew out her A5 spinnaker. With no option other than to hoist a slightly flatter A3, it proved to be the perfect choice of sail when the wind shifted round to a tighter angle. Revelling in the 20kt squalls, and sailing right on the edge, Peter Isler tactfully gave Titan the opportunity to really show her true colours and, in a fine demonstration of downwind sailing, stormed past Highland Fling and Rambler at blistering speed not only taking line honours but also an impressive first overall in class. Artie Means – navigator aboard Titan enthused about the day’s racing: “It was a fantastic day out there with all three of us doing 17-20kts downwind side by side and trading back and forth. It’s a great boat and great team, and it was the first chance we’ve had to line up against the others and really see how she performs. It was probably one of the best day’s racing I’ve had.”

Highland Fling led round the course most of the race and although she was effectively pipped at the post for line honours, Peter Holmberg was pleased with the day’s racing. “We probably put together our best result of the regatta because we, as a team, sailed smart. Titan got a little lucky and got in front of us just before the finish but we still feel we ended on a good note after a really fantastic race.”

Hans-Joachim Tiggels and team from Germany sailing a Beneteau Oceanis 523 Acele et were the overall winners of Bareboat 1, with the Duketown Official Royal Sailing Team (DORST) finishing second. Ronald Gessel and team in a Harmony 52 Neerlands Glorie who was leading the fleet going into today’s final race, suffered a disqualification following a protest hearing and had to settle for third overall.

One of the closest regatta-long battles this week was in Spinnaker 3 between the Reichel/Pugh 44 Peake Yacht Services sailed by Peter Peake and team, and Richard Matthews and team from the UK aboard Oystercatcher XXVI. These two raced neck and neck, often match racing each other round the course but it was the British Tom Humphries design Oystercatcher XXVI that won the day. Going into today’s race any one of three boats – Peake Yacht Services, Oystercatcher XXVI or Paul Solomon’s Blackberry Enzyme – could have won overall. Neil Mackley – trimmer – commented: “We had a great day. The key to our win was choice of headsail. We opted for a jib rather than the spinnaker which paid off big time and eventually beat Peake Yacht Services by a minute and a half – possibly one of the biggest margins of the week.”

The winner of Bareboat 6 was Robbie Nitche and the team from Germany sailing a Dufour 455 Let Me Go which three straight wins. Nitche, a first timer to the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, said the bareboat fleets are extremely close but today’s racing in the biggest winds of the week, was the most competitive. “The most fun was today because we really had a good battle. It’s a great regatta because I like the courses and the three-day format, and the parties of course. We’ll be back,”

After a relaxing afternoon at Sint Maarten Yacht Club, and at the big prizegiving event, competitors and guests were treated to a relaxing evening dancing the night away on the beach in the presence of International Reggae superstar Maxi Priest and his band who played classic hits of the last three decades, well into the early hours, concluding yet another successful St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

Report by Sue Pelling

Countdown to the Rock’n Roll’n Caribbean Classic-The St.Maarten Heineken Regatta

With less than one week to go before the opening events at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta (4-7 March) there’s a steady flow of yachts arriving in the marina including Tom and Dotty Hill’s custom Reichel/Pugh 75 – Titan 15. Final preparations are well underway and entries to this 30th anniversary spectacular have already exceeded numbers from last year.

The bareboat charter fleet is extremely buoyant with over 100 including a high contingent of Beneteau and Jenneau yachts making up the bulk of the fleet. There’ll certainly be no lack of top ranked competition in this fleet either with the likes of Margriet Matthijsse – Dutch, double Europe Olympic silver medallist – who will be racing with her team aboard a Beneteau Oceanis 473 Heineken Rotterdam (Monet II), among the notable entries.

The big boat line-up is exceptionally strong too with the rare opportunity to see Tom and Dotty Hill’s new custom Reichel/Pugh 75 – Titan 15 up against George David’s Reichel/Pugh 90 – Rambler, and Irvin Laidlaw’s Wally 82 Highland Fling, and probably in the same class as Roberto Galperti’s Swan 90 White Lie, Patrick Adams’ Swan 100 Varsovie, Peter Harrison’s Farr 115 Sojana, and Christopher Besser’s Swan 80 Team Selene.

These seven large boats represent an unusually strong fleet for recent regattas with three of them (Titan 15, Highland Fling and Rambler) highly comparable new boats incorporating the latest trends in high technology, which should make for some interesting racing. Also, Bill Alcott – an avid campaigner whose spirited effort is always appreciated in the Caribbean – will make a welcome return this year with the super-hot crew aboard his Andrews 68 – Equation.

Other interesting entries to keep an eye on include Clay Deutsch’s chartered canting-keeled Farr/Cookson 50 Privateer, and Richard Matthews’ Humphries One-Off design Oystercatcher XXVI. Given the right conditions, either of these boats could produce some sparkling results. Matthews chatting about what draws him from the UK to this particular regatta said: “I have been a fairly regular participant in the Heineken Regatta, Rolex, BVI and Antigua Sailing Week for the last 20 years as they are a great way to escape the UK winter… Most of the Heineken fleet will probably be charter yachts but there is still some excellent Class 1 and 2 racing, with great courses which we are all looking forward to.”

A solid group is forming to make Class 3 interesting including Kip Curren’s Swan 56 Clover III which is likely to be fighting it out with Stefan Lehnert’s Passion 4C (Turner 56), the Spanish 55 ft X Yacht Reserva de Higueron, Bernard Laurent’s Swan 62 Schider, and the 63ft Judel Vrolijk Stickey Toffee, to name a few.

Guaranteed close racing is also expected in the next class down with a bevy of Beneteau 40.7s such as Toucan, Spirit of Athens, Past the Mark, Lancelot, Elandra and Coyote up against a selection of highly rated A 40s including Malachite, Black Sheep, the well prepared El Ocasso (J/120), and the likely entry of Lost Horizon (J/122).

Smaller boats they may be, but there will be no shortage of strong competition among the three local Melges 24s whose mission it is to beat St Croix-based Bad Girl, the J/100 that, up to now, has consistently managed to out-perform them. Other hot locals include Ian Hope Ross with his Beneteau 36.7 Kick Em Jenny, and St Barth’s entry Raymond Magras with his Dufour 34 Speedy Nemo.

Arguably the newest boats at the regatta, and making a Caribbean debut, will be the SC37 Team Optimix/AEZ – one of the newest, highly regarded generation of Santa Cruz boats.

The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta race schedule kicks off at 1000 next Tuesday, 2 March with the ISAF-sanctioned Grade 5 Budget Marine Match Racing Cup. Peter Isler, Gavin Brady, and Peter Holmberg – three of the world’s most respected match racing skipper – will be among the eight-strong team, racing for cash prizes totalling $10,000.

The Gill Commodore’s Cup on Thursday 4 March is proving a popular option with over 40 entries already signed up. This one-day, windward/leeward format, on a course two miles offshore, is used by many as the perfect warm up to the three-day Heineken Regatta series. After racing there’s a special welcoming party at Port de Plaisance giving competitors and visitors to the island a chance to experience the first of many stimulating Caribbean parties. First up, in the line-up of legendary performances planned for the regatta is “Voices of Classic Rock”, an all star ensemble comprising the original lead singers from among the most iconic classic rock acts of the 1980s including Loverboy’s Mike Reno, Toto’s Bobby Kimball, John Cafferty of John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, and Tommy Tutone.

The first race of the Heineken Regatta series is on Friday, 5 March, starting just off Simpson Bay on a course that will take most of the fleet around the Island to Great Bay. After another night of partying, most classes race from Simpson Bay on the Saturday but this time to Marigot.

The final day of racing is from Marigot back to Simpson Bay where the prize giving ceremony will take place. The iconic Caribbean beach party atmosphere where competitors will be able to relax and dance with a cool Heineken in hand, will be enhanced by the presence of International Reggae superstar Maxi Priest and his band who promises an evening filled with classic hits of the last three decades

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The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Steering Committee, Heineken, and International Liquors & Tobacco Trading are proud to announce that for the 30th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, they will be returning the Friday night party to the Boardwalk. On Friday March 5th 2010, following a day of sailing that ends in Great Bay, the evening’s festivities and musical entertainment will be held on the Great Bay Promenade. The steering committee is very pleased with the support from the local authorities and the surrounding bars and restaurants in helping to host the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta on the Boardwalk.

Racing will commence on Friday morning and participants will complete the “Around the Island” course, with a finish in Great Bay. This allows the participants to get the longest leg of the weekends racing over with on day one, leaving the shorter races for Saturday and Sunday. “We are always taking the wishes and desires of our regatta sailors into account and hope that they are pleased to not only be able to race in our waters but also to have the chance to see a variety of finish locations each evening. We look forward to competitive racing and happy sailors for this 30th edition of the St.Maarten Heineken Regatta”, Heather Tackling, Director of the event.

Both the steering committee and local authorities and businesses expect a great crowd on the Boardwalk that evening and the local shops, bars and restaurants should benefit from the high increase in traffic from local shoppers and the visiting tourists.

“The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, on behalf of the Island Government, is very excited to be part of this event. It is significant, and indeed, symbolic of the Heineken Regatta in this its 30th anniversary to return the Friday night big bash to the Boardwalk in accordance with it’s original slogan of ‘serious fun’”, Regina LaBega, Director of Tourism states.

Frans Richardson, commissioner of Tourism, one of the key government officials working with the steering committee says: “The Boardwalk represents the very best of serious fun: where else can you find ‘serious’ duty free shopping; ‘serious’ gourmet dining, and a ‘serious’ stroll by the Great Bay Beach, with the option of a soak in the crystalline waters of the Caribbean Sea, while ‘serious’ music and entertainment fills the air? All of this is just a hop-skip-and jump at the Great Bay Promenade. It is a feature that attracts our visitors like a magnet and brings back life into town in a very fun-filled way. As Commissioner of Tourism, I am very aware of this and congratulate the organizers of the Heineken Regatta on this important milestone. We look forward to celebrating all along the Boardwalk, from the Sea Palace stretching to Bobby’s Marina,” he added.

The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta kicks off Thursday March 4th 2010 and will end on Kim Sha beach Sunday March 7th. The weekend is filled with world class sailing during the day and fun-filled Heineken Parties at night. With the original slogan of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta being “Serious Fun”, naturally people can expect an amazing ensemble of good music, great food and of course ice cold Heineken beers during the Friday night activities on The Boardwalk.

John Leone, commercial director of ILTT states, “We want to use the Philipsburg venue to showcase the immense local musical talent that Sint Maarten/Saint Martin offers. We will be featuring the hottest bands and musicians the island has to offer and provide the artists the platform to showcase their talents. As we always say ‘It takes the Whole Island to throw a party this big’ and the cooperation we are seeing from the various groups is very encouraging”.

The layout of the entertainment along the Boardwalk will feature various stages to allow an eclectic array of music styles and performances for all types of music lovers. There will be entertainment all along the Boardwalk and each official Boardwalk vendor gets the opportunity to be a part of this great event. Celebrating the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta’s 30th edition, this year’s event promises to be a great success.

So make sure you are on The Boardwalk the 5th of March, because it is going to be a “Seriously Fun” night!

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