A debrief of the cmc rally in st. martin

Race or Rally? That was the option at this year’s 5th running of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge, put on by the St. Martin Yacht Club. Our first inclination was to Race, even knowing we would be in the ‘Pirate Class’ as we are an ‘unrated’ boat. It didn’t matter as much as our finish position on paper, more so than the ability to sail with like-minded multi-hull-ers.

Glad we did the Rally. Why? A few reasons. Mainly the entry list. If we had raced, it would have only been with a few boats, but the rally had 12 entries! Our next reason was really at the core of our boat and program: who are we? We are cruisers and Panda ROSSO, although quick, is no racing machine. The rally offered a way for other performance oriented cruising boats a chance to sail competitively together, yet anchor after, dinghy around, and socialize!

So how was this rally formatted? Well, lets say the organizers did a wonderful job staging a rally, and not a race. Starts were placed one minute apart with bigger boats at the back, adding a sort of ‘pursuit’ theme. Then, the finish was marked by the rally boat and all competitors taking their own times and reporting in. The actual competition was to see how close you could finish to your estimated time, but in reality, everyone wants to finish first, including the competitive crew aboard Panda ROSSO!

How did we fare? Amazing! Amanda and I have never had the chance to sail our Neel 45 head-to-head with similar multihulls. In general, she performed super well in downwind/reaching, but lacked the upwind grip that the daggerboard boats had. Though for most courses we still ‘punched above our weight’ per-se. A fleet of mostly Balance 44’s and 48’s, we generally competed with the 48’s, a longer boat with a bit more sail area.

Would we do it again? ABSOLUTELY. Count on this event being on the 2024 schedule, and expect it to SELL OUT. The rally organizers are expecting double the boats and possibly adding a fourth day to the mix (this year’s event was three days of sailing in three different countries!).

Big thanks to the organizers, sponsors, and most of all, our CREW for making this event one to remember <3