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Raising Funds for Charity at the St. Maartin Heineken Regatta
Real estate news By International Herald Tribune
Feb 6, 2008, 07:28 PST
There are countless ways to enjoy the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. From beach cats and bareboats to Grand Prix racers and multihulls, this annual Caribbean festival of yachting has a niche for every sailor. For a couple of special crews aboard the Farr 49, Synergy, and the Beneteau Oceanis 473, Team Goldendog, the event provides another opportunity. It gives them the chance to race for a grander purpose, and to use the regatta to raise funds for great causes.
Take Team Synergy, the all-woman team based in Curacao, which came together for the first time last October for a regatta in Bonaire. Team leader Lea de Haas said the 14-member crew “had much to learn” about the 49-footer, which was built in 1974. “Everything was new,” she said. “We hadn’t trained before and it was challenging learning a boat with several headsails and an asymmetric spinnaker. Luckily, the winds were light. But the group was so enthusiastic and no job was too big for anyone. It was in Bonaire that we became a team. And we had such a great time and learned so much, that we decided to do the 2008 St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.”
But de Haas says Team Synergy’s goals go beyond their personal aims. “The idea was to do the Heineken for our own fun but also to raise money for a group of very young teenage girls in Curacao who are pregnant, homeless and out of school. Kai di Bruder Pius is an organization that takes care of these girls by giving them a place to live and assisting in their education so they can learn a profession and take care of their child.”
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