SAILWORLD: AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHELE KORTEWEG ONT THE 2023 ST. MAARTEN HEINEKEN REGATTA
A PEEK INSIDE THE HEINEKEN REGATTA’S ORGANIZATION
From March 2nd until March 5th, the 43rd. edition of the Heineken Regatta will take place. If you are into sailing, this 4-day during race is the perfect amusement. Apart from the racing, there are a lot of events and parties with live music where the drinks will be flowing. To acquire more information about the Heineken Regatta, the director of this years edition Michele Korteweg has been interviewed.
The interviewer asks a bunch of questions. First the interview starts of with some information about the history of Regatta and how it all has taken shape. Michele tells that the idea of the Regatta started of with sailors who wanted to race each other, after they started racing the events grew bigger and bigger every time with a hundreds of boats coming to St. Maarten in a matter of a couple years. She also tells that this 2023 edition is expected to have just as much interest as previous editions.
Another topic being discussed is about what the crew is looking most forward to and how many races are being desired as well as upcoming challenges that have to be dealt with. Michele tells that one of the most famous races of St Maarten is the ‘around the island race’ where participants race around St. Maarten island. There are also races for the faster and bigger boats near Anguilla and St. Barths. Some of the challenges Michele is talking about are mostly coming from the diversity in the classification of the competition as well as some safety issues.
Lastly, they talk about the different approach of the Heineken Regatta this year in comparison of previous editions mainly focused on sustainability. This year there is a beach clean-up operation at Kim Sha Beach together with a man-grove planting at Little Key, located at Simpson Bay Lagoon. The main goal of these interventions are to leave a long-lasting positive environmental impact and raise awareness of the ecological consequence of such an event.
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