20/11/11
Second Saint Barth Cata Cup Win For Mischa HeemskerkFast facts:
Mischa Heemskerk reigns supreme in Saint Barth
John Casey second, Gurvan Bontemps third
Last day’s races cancelled due to lack of wind
2012 regatta already on the calendar for the F18 racers
The fourth edition of the Saint Barth Cata Cup once again lived up to its excellent reputation. This is an exceptional regatta where professional champions and passionate amateurs have nothing but great things to say about this incredible gathering of Formula 18 catamarans.The members of the Saint Barth Multihull Association, in collaboration with the Centre Nautique de Saint Barth, do a superb job of organization. Their enormous effort is applauded by all of the participants, starting with winner Mischa Heemskerk (who also won in 2009). The conditions are idyllic for this outstanding annual regatta where the format of the regatta is perfectly adapted to waters of the bay of St Jean. This year, for the first three days the winds were between 10 and 15 knots, with six offshore races including a great around-the-island event. From the very first races, Dutchman Mischa Heemskerk “Emeraude Plage” had command of the regatta.With his teammate Eduard Zanen, they reigned supreme, winning four of the six races. “This year we were certainly competitive, with a boat that was perfectly tuned,” explains Heemskerk. “In our discipline, it is never easy to win. You are never protected from error or a mechanical problem. And many of the participants here sail very fast. So it is imperative not to make any mistakes. For the Saint Barth Cata Cup, Eduard and I were especially prepared. As it had been a year since we had sailed together, we came three days in advance to get ready and get comfortable with one another on the boat again.” Only the American team of John Casey and Dalton Tebo “Intendant Village Service” were able to maintain the rhythm imposed by the Dutchmen. Sailing in their wake, and normally at ease for a long-distance challenge, the Americans were not able to show their stuff on the around-the-island race. On the morning of the race, anxious to get onto the “battlefield,” they were obliged to quit the race following a pre-race collision. Yet they were able to maintain their second place in the final rankings. “I am truly sorry about this collision, for which I take full responsibility,” says Casey. “I’d like to give my trophy to Bérangère Kieffer and Patrick Lasserre, the team I penalized, and hope they will forgive me.” Frenchman Gurvan Bontemps, in his first St Barth Cata Cup, took third place. Accustomed to tropical sailing, Bontemps quickly felt at home in Saint Barth, stayed close to the front of the pack, putting in a constant performance. The surprising Saint Barth sailor Yan Van den Haute, teammate of Puerto Rican champion Enrique Figueroa on “St Barth Sailor,” was thrilled to take fourth place overall, thanks to a superb victory in the around-the-island race. Bretons Anne and Fred Boc-Ho “St Barth Sailing “ were in eighth place and the top mixed team this year. “I am very proud of my husband,” says a smiling Anne Boc-Ho. “With Fred, everything went very well aboard the boat. This regatta is our annual rendezvous, and it is a very special moment, where the context, like the format of the regatta, is exceptional.” At the awards ceremony for this fourth edition of the Saint Barth Cata Cup, many of the participants were anxious to know how soon they can sign up for the 2012 regatta. And if 2012 is anything like 2011, the list will be “sold-out” within 24 hours…Results All rankings 
