Our friends at Sound Sailing Center won their class at the 51st St. Thomas International Regatta in their Caribbean racer/cruiser Tatihou, a 2012 Jeanneau 409. Club members had sailed Tatihou from Connecticut to Bermuda and on to St. Thomas in December, as they have done for many years, and have now notched their second win in the Jewel of Caribbean Racing, hosted by the St. Thomas Yacht Club March 28-30.
“I had Tatihou remeasured this year with all her cruising gear, including a furling staysail/storm jib and a large rigid bimini with three rigid solar panels,” said Sound Sailing Center president Martin van Breems, who sails this regatta as the finale to his annual spring Bareboat Certification course. “I wanted to see how competitive we were with this gear on board. In the first race, we rounded the windward island with only the Santa Cruz 70 ahead. We managed to get about eight boat lengths ahead of a J/40 and Bene 40.7 who both owed us time, so I had a pretty good feeling about our chances.
“We had good starts and sailed well. We were racing with Sound Sailing Center members and students, including some who’d just completed our Bareboat class. We took turns getting everyone on the wheel and trying out different positions. It’s super cool to expose sailors to the incredible beauty of the Virgin Islands and it’s even better when you manage to win every race! It would be great to get more cruising boats out next year.
“I started Sound Sailing Center in 1995, and we are the largest US Sailing certified school in Connecticut. We have 25 boats including one (our Jeanneau 409 for 2025!) in Mystic, three in Branford, and twelve in Norwalk. Our fleet includes everything from 23-foot Ensigns to our J/44 and a trimaran. All boat are available for member use based on the class, and include unlimited sailing. We focus on setting up our boats for singlehanding, and use products like the Dutchman Sail Flaking System which we manufacture to make sailing safe, fast and easy. We had a 4-line system on our Jeanneau 409 to maximize the ease of use.
“On Saturday, May 31, Sound Sailing hosts our Annual Open House/Commissioning Day at Norwalk Cove Marina in Norwalk, CT, with free lessons on subjects like docking and MOB drills, and introductory sails for those new to the sport. Of course, interested parties are always welcome to stop by. Contact us at SSCsailing@gmail.com or visit us at SoundSailingCenter.com or Dutchmar.com for more info. We look forward to seeing you out there this summer.” ■
