There has been a certain amount of dispute between the Regatta Committee and the French authorities in the past 2 years; perhaps triggered or exacerbated by the committee’s decision not to hold any parties or events in Marigot on the French side. The marine preserve around much of the French side is home to breeding grounds for whales and also has many dolphins. Initially the French didn’t want any of the races going through this biologically sensitive area but an agreement was reach in that 3 government officials would precede the race around the island and look for whales. I was driving our powerboat ahead of the main fleet of racers (but behind the amazingly fast Phaedo 3 and the beach cats) with a marine biologist aboard. Our task was to stay ahead and keep a sharp lookout for whale spume. The conditions were much stronger than forecast and on a couple of occasions I had to turn the powerboat 90° into a 2m breaking wave! We all got soaked on the windward side and by the time we finally rounded Philipsburg and got into sheltered waters we all needed a break. Nonetheless a fun experience and I now have more appreciation about how powerboats handle (much, much worse than my boat!).
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