CLEAN REGATTA
In 2009, The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta became the first “clean regatta” in the Caribbean with Sailors for the Sea. Sailors for the Sea is a leading conservation organization that engages, educates, inspires and activates the sailing and boating community toward healing the ocean. They are a movement and pragmatic voice for action that offers boaters tangible opportunities to create a legacy and make a difference.
Keeping both local and non-local’s aware of the environment of St. Maarten and the Caribbean is a strong point on the Regatta’s agenda. At this moment the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta has been awarded with a Silver Certificate and is very eager to maintain this level and try to improve on various points. Together we can help and keep the ocean clean. Described below is what the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta will actually do in order to make everyone involved in this major event aware.
Biodegradable Products: The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Office orders several biodegradable products, such as cups, coffee cups, household towels, toilet tissues and garbage bags to be used during the Regatta.
Banning of Styrofoam and Straws: Since the 2017 St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, the organization bans Styrofoam on the event site. Styrofoam was used by many food vendors as plates or box. Before, the organization had already banned straws at the event. Straws are dangerous when ending up on the beach or in the ocean, where they can injure and kill wildlife, including endangered sea turtles.
Recycling/ responsible signage: To make people aware of their garbage, we collaborate with Clean St. Maarten to promote separating waste. All waste bins are clearly marked with ‘Recycling’, ‘Compost’ or ‘Landfill’. Clean St. Maarten provides recycle bins to cover the property at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. Every day, employees of Clean St. Maarten come to empty the recycling bins and to keep everything clean.
Paperless Regatta Management: Just like previous years, we are aiming to do a (fully) paperless registration for the 42nd St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. This will help saving paper and will save us a lot of garbage at the same time! With our online entry and results system, provided by yachtscoring.com, and digital results screens on the party locations, there is no need for paper anymore.
Bow numbers: All the bow numbers that will be used for our participants are reusable. At the end of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, the organization and volunteers are busy cleaning the bow numbers and making sure that they are still in a good shape.
No Discharge: All participants are reminded in the Notice of Race that sewage discharge is illegal.
Alternative Transportation: To reduce the amount of cars on the island, the Regatta Organization encourages public transportation, by running shuttles and providing water taxi services between the Yacht Club and the party locations.
Would you like to know more about Sailors for the Sea? Please visit their website here.
REGATTA BEACH CLEAN UP
For several years now, the St. Maarten Regatta Office organizes a Beach Clean-Up for local primary and high school kids on Kim Sha Beach. The goal is to make the kids aware of the importance to keep the beaches of St. Maarten clean.
The day starts with a presentation of the Nature Foundation about the dangers of garbage. After the presentation it’s time for the clean-up. All kids will get gloves and garbage bags and try to collect as much garbage as possible. Prizes will be given to the kids who collect the most garbage.
The day will be ended with some fun sport activities, organized by Les Brown of LAB Sports Academy. The kids take part in activities like mini golf, tug of war and games of dodge ball.
REGATTA ART COMPETITION
The Regatta Art Competition is an annual event organized by the St. Maarten Regatta. The event is organized for the local children of St. Maarten and every year more schools and children are participating.
The Regatta art Competition is a pre event of the St. Maarten Regatta. The competition is a great way to give something back to the island and to get the local children involved. The competition is also organized to create awareness and to educate the children about the St. Maarten Regatta, since the event has such a big impact on the island.
This event is also another example to show the Regatta’s efforts to be a Green Event as its emphasis is on using recycled materials for the artworks and focuses on nature, ocean and marine life.
key values
The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is built on several objectives and key values. For the 2024 Regatta organizers decided to expand the 4 key values that were used in 2023 and will form the red thread leading up to the event and during the 4 days of the event. Each day will represent one key value and will allow sponsors and partners to showcase their affinity with these values through specific activations. It allows for firm story lines prior, during and after the Regatta. The key values are: Sustainability, Generations, Inclusivity and Celebration and are explained in the following pages.
GENERATIONS
CELEBRATIONS
SUSTAINABILITY
INCLUSIVITY
