Gunboat 66 Sugar Daddy Sails to Impressive Debut
Final Day Report from Heineken St Maarten Regatta

Posted Tuesday, March 10, 2009

 
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It was the last day of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta and the Gunboat crews were itching to race after the Race Committee declared a lay day on
Saturday due to extreme conditions on the Anguilla race course. With a day to rest and plan, Sunday proved to be a tight race on the water. Nora and
Bruce Slayden (Sisters, Ore.) on SUGAR DADDY once again proved their prowess on the racecourse leading the Gunboat Class home on the water. While CREAM
took the handicap win for the series, SUGAR DADDY clearly established herself as the fastest Gunboat on the water.

Gunboat1930.jpgSunday's race was from Phillipsburg to Tintamarre Island and back. With steep seas and winds at 20 knots or more, conditions could not be
more perfect for the Gunboat Class. The start and short weather leg were led by CREAM, with Gunboat's Founder, Peter Johnstone at the helm. Additional
crew aboard included long time friends Wendy and Phil Lotz, who came aboard after their Swan 42 was nearly sunk in a devastating collision on Saturday.

SUGAR DADDY took control of the race on the brief reach leg, and extended her lead on the long beat to Tintamarre. The Slaydens had a full house
onboard with upwards of 15 friends crewing. While passing CREAM, SUGAR DADDY pulled their usual pranks and antics to keep the competition light-hearted.
SUGAR DADDY had her rails lined for a broadside of water balloons. CREAM's crew took a beating under the barrage, but before SUGAR DADDY could reload,
unexploded balloons were tossed back as SUGAR DADDY sped away down the 15-20 knot reach leg.

Before leaving Phillipsburg, the Gunboats were already passing much of the 'racing' multihull fleet that had started 5 minutes prior. The windy
conditions on the upwind leg to Tintamare kept crews minding their mainsheets, as everyone pushed their Gunboats to their racing limits. In the
gusts, Tim Slade's SAFARI showed great bursts of speed, but it was all SUGAR DADDY to Tintamare. Bruce noted that "it was a lot of fun sailing against
the Gunboat 62 and 48 to see the difference between the models. SUGAR DADDY seems to walk away upwind with four extra Gunboat2068.jpgfeet along the
waterline and larger sail area. She is so smooth and balanced."

Leading the way home on the downwind leg, SUGAR DADDY blazed the trail with her bright lollipop colored asymmetrical spinnaker. Meanwhile, CREAM cut
through some rocky waters, dodged keelboats leaning over on their slog to windward, and stayed near the class leader. With a tight screecher reach to
the finish after Phillipsburg, both SUGAR DADDY and CREAM averaged 15-20 knots on the final leg. And now, with the final day of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta behind the
class, Bruce Slayden has secured SUGAR DADDY as the hottest thing in the Gunboat line-up before heading through the Panama Canal to the Galapogos,
and onto the north Pacific route to Alaska via Hawaii. SUGAR DADDY will definitely be missed by the rest of the Gunboat Class at the British Virgin
Islands Sailing Festival and Regatta. For more information, visit the GUNBOAT blog at http://web.me.com/chandlercollins or the GUNBOAT website www.gunboat.com