Cruiser racing, or “Big sailboat” racing, has staged a comeback in Cayman this year, thanks partly to Cayman Islands Sailing Club cruiser rep Rob Hutchison and the generous sponsorship of Harbour House Marina.

Apart from the major offshore races that have traditionally been raced, the introduction of the Round the Sound series has meant that more boats have been encouraged to join in. Rob Hutchison explained “You don’t have to be a full blown race machine to take part and have a lot of fun. We have had sixteen boats taking part from 22 footers to 47 footers.”

An important part of cruiser racing is the social side. After each race all boats meet up somewhere to share a drink and the stories of the day’s racing. This is often at the Sailing Club where a hearty post race BBQ is offered. Harbour House Marina recently donated a new BBQ to the club in recognition of the appetites of hungry sailors. Jonathan Cuff of HHM said “In J22 racing, sailors have to keep under a certain weight to be competitive. This is not the case with cruisers and we all like to mix racing with pleasure.”

The Cruiser fleet will be taking to the open seas this long weekend with a race around to Seven Mile Beach on Saturday, The 12 mile banks and back race on Sunday, and a race back to North Sound on Monday. If anyone wants to join in they should contact Rob Hutchison at [email protected]  or sailing club manager Rick Caley at [email protected]