Windrose of Amsterdam wins St Barths

Everyone who took part agreed that the 2008 St Barths Bucket was one of the best regattas for many years. The weather at the end of March was perfect with winds of between 18 and 24 knots being the norm. And in these ideal Caribbean racing conditions, it was HJB’s very own Windrose of Amsterdam that came out overall winner.

This 152 ft schooner, launched in 2001, has an incredible record in regattas the world over and has twice bettered the record for a Transatlantic two-masted schooner crossing. But this was her first overall victory at St Barth’s, achieved after a breathtaking run-in against Ranger in the third and final race.

“As we reached at full force and stretched for the finishing line, the excitement was incredible,” says HJB Managing director Paul Dielemans, who had joined the crew to share his knowledge and experience of how best to sail Windrose of Amsterdam. “It was a virtual photo finish but we took line honours just five seconds ahead of Ranger. Having come second on day two and fifth in the around the island race, this was sufficient for us to be named overall winner.”

What makes this victory all the more impressive is that Windrose was chartered by a well-known Bucket competitor who had never raced with a schooner rig. “The crew had just one day’s practice to get used to the boat and it is remarkable that they managed to sail Windrose to her true potential. This is an enormous complement both to the handling skills of all the crew members and to the responsiveness of the boat.”

HJB was one of the five main boatbuilder sponsors of the St Barth’s Bucket. We also sponsored the All Star Crew Award, which this year went to Avalon.