Sailing Ahead – Helping Grenada Rebuild’ is the slogan for the 2005 post-Ivan LaSource Grenada Sailing Festival to be held from Friday 28 January to Tuesday 1 February. In the light of the great support coming from sailors wanting to join in and help and sponsors who have pledged to continue even after the damage they sustained, the organisers believe that the slogan aptly sums up the spirit of this year’s event. “We were determined to go ahead with the Festival, even following the damage the whole island suffered after Ivan, not only to welcome visitors back to Grenada, but also to contribute to re-charging the local economy by providing as much business as possible for local companies, suppliers and services,” said James Robinson, Festival Chairman. The event will kick off as always on Friday with the special Grenadian welcome party on Grand Anse Beach, and this year our favourite Festival caterer Deyna will be providing ‘A Flavour of Grenada’ buffet for participants, courtesy of ComNav Marine Ltd, a new premier sponsor for 2005. Local steel pan bands will set the mood and then Tivoli Drummers and DJ Blackstorm will pick up the pace to get the beach rocking until… The racing schedule will start in earnest on Saturday with the Mount Gay Race Series, followed by a morning only of racing on Sunday with the shortened Grenada Yacht Club Race Series. This will give all yacht crews the chance to get to Grand Anse Beach to enjoy the excitement of the final stages of the Grenada Work Boat Regatta being held there. Appropriately, this year this event is sponsored by two of the companies who have been at the forefront of ‘Helping Grenada Rebuild’ – Cable & Wireless Grenada Ltd. and Grenada Electricity Services Ltd. (Grenlec). The Heineken Race Series will be contested on Monday and as always the final day will start with the ever popular Pursuit Race, this year sponsored by ComNav Marine Ltd., providing a specially designed ComNav NX2 Cup for the winner. The LaSource Trophy Race Series will wind up the event and provide the last chance to improve positions for the overall class prizes and of course, the title of Overall Festival Winner, who will take away the LaSource Trophy and two return tickets Grenada/UK courtesy of British Airways. As well as the usual tough racing, there will still be the famous after race parties held at Prickly Bay Marina, True Blue Bay Resort and the Aquarium Restaurant, where the mix of great Grenadian food, drinks and music will be as good as ever. There will also be the usual Prize Presentation at each Party, but with the spirit in mind of ‘Sailing Ahead – Helping Grenada Rebuild’, the Organisers have decided that instead of presenting trophies, this year the funds allocated will be donated to local Charities, which will be announced each night. Winners will not be going away empty-handed, however, but will be presented with prizes from local businesses, artists and craftsmen to say a “Thank You” from Grenada. The entry form is on the Festival’s official website www.grenadasailingfestival.com. Entries can be emailed to gsail@caribsurf.com; posted to LaSource Grenada Sailing Festival, PO Box 98, St. George’s, Grenada; or Faxed to (473) 440 4811. For more information contact Sarah Baker at the Festival office at True Blue Bay Resort, on (473) 440 4809 or (473) 456 0914. Reprinted from caribbeanracing.com