8th Caribbean Multihull Challenge Race and Rally - Day 1
by St. Maarten Yacht Club 30 Jan 19:16 GMT
January 28 to February 1, 2026
Simpson Bay, St Maarten - 8th Caribbean Multihull Challenge Race and Rally day 1 © Andre Dede Knol
At first glance, the two yachts could not be more varied in appearance. With its massive beam and willowy outriggers, Marcus Sirota's triple-hulled, 63-foot trimaran Sophia resembles a fast, graceful water bug. Some 20 feet shorter, with reverse, wave-piercing bows and a sleek profile, Marco Uliassi's 43-foot canary-yellow catamaran, Falcon, emits an aura that's all business.
However, as we learned on the opening day of competition in the CSA 1 division in this year's running of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge Race and Rally, looks can be very deceiving. For once the starting gun went off to begin the 22.3 nautical-mile contest around the Mancel Rocks—an outcropping about midway between the southeast shores of St. Maarten and the glitzy isle of St. Barth's—in the opening stages Sophia and Falcon engaged in a boat-for-boat tacking duel and match race reminiscent of the heydays of the America's Cup. Somewhat surprisingly, at least at the outset, the two smaller boats showed significant pace in the relatively light air over the CSA 1 heavyweight, Andrew Anne's Gunboat 72, Layla.
Meanwhile, it was also a day to showcase the fun and diversity in the wide world of multihull sailing. As the racing fleets, including the CSA 2 class and the one-design Diam 24 tris, took flight from Simpson Bay, the quartet of yachts in the Rally portion of the CMC also got under way, but at a much more genteel pace. The first stop on their four-day adventure was Friar's Bay Beach, where the crews enjoyed lunch at the local beach café and took the opportunity to chill out and get acquainted. With catamaran sailors, pun intended, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
On Friday, the Rally crews will be under way on a quick reach to St. Barth's and an overnight anchorage off Corossol Beach, located near the St. Barth's Yacht Club, where they'll enjoy drinks sponsored by the CMC. From there, on Saturday, it will be back to St. Maarten to anchor in Great Bay off Philipsburg. The day's activities will include viewing the Diam 24 fleet racing in the Bay before hitting the sand off the Seaview Beach Hotel for a full slate of volleyball, cornhole, tug of war and more beach sports, followed by a prize-giving in the Seaview Courtyard.
Sunday will take the Rally group to Mullet Bay for a Boat Crawl so all participants can boat hop to their neighbor's vessels for drinks and snacks. Throughout the Rally, the crews are encouraged to participate in the Time Trials Mariner challenge, a pursuit sail where skippers compete not amongst one another—it is definitely not a race—but against the clock. It will all conclude, for the entire CMC contingent, back at the St. Maarten Yacht Club for the presentation of awards and the wrap-up party.
Before all that, however, there's also plenty of racing action to unfold. Which started on Thursday with the aforementioned CSA 1 battle. The race began in Simpson Bay in unusually mild winds of 8-10 knots and flat water, and both Falcon and Layla had excellent starts. But as the fleet sailed to windward up the island's southern shoreline, en route to rounding the rocky Pelikan group, Falcon was clearly sailing higher and faster than the entire CSA 1 fleet. Close behind was not only Layla but also Sophia, which overcame a shaky start to emerge with the frontrunners.
Falcon was first to leave Pelikan to starboard, followed shortly thereafter by Sophia. Against the backdrop of the dramatic islands, they were a stirring, spectacular sight to behold. But on the next leg of the racecourse, as the first whitecaps appeared and the breeze briefly freshened to 10-12 knots, Sophia made her move and led the entire class around the Moncel Rocks group. In the race between Falcon and Sophia, the latter's superior waterline length in the open water ruled the waves. It was another picturesque scene, with the stony rocks capped with guano looking something like icing on a cake.
At the conclusion of the race, on corrected time, Layla had done just enough to surge ahead of the smaller boats and earn the Race 1 victory, with Sophia and Falcon rounding out the podium in that order. Meanwhile, in CSA 2, Richard Woodridge's Kelsal 47, Triple Jack, took Race 1 ahead of Sam Talbot's Rapido 40, Spike, and Appie Stoutenbeek's Newick 38, Ninth Charm.
Lastly, the CMC Race and Rally would be a far lesser event without the inclusion of the strong Diam 24 one-design fleet, which kicked off the regatta with three stirring round-the-buoys races out of Simpson Bay. When the spray had settled, there was a resounding leader in the clubhouse: Miha Krumpak's Fastnet, which laid down the gauntlet with three bullets. It was a statement day for Fastnet, and it will be fascinating to watch how his rivals respond.