With the perfect weather for sailing and outstanding crowd support, the 44th annual Carriacou Regatta Festival can be dubbed a success. People from Grenada, Carriacou, Petite Martinique, and the rest of the Grenadines, as well as other regional and international visitors, converged on the 13 square mile island for four days of sailing and onshore activities. This year, according to the regatta committee, has seen the greatest participation in terms of boats, including five new boats that were built and competed for the first time. The new organizing committee, headed by Duane Williams, was commended by Minister for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs, Senator the Hon. George Prime, for staging a successful festival. Minister Prime, in delivering remarks at the prize-giving ceremony, noted that the culture of any nation is the glue that binds people together. Therefore, he said, recognition must be paid to the persons who ensure the island's cultural heritage remains. For a second straight year, Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas attended the regatta festival. He told the organisers and festival participants that it is important to protect and preserve our cultural heritage. The Prime Minister added that the support of the festival is evidence that people view the regatta as important. However, locals need to claim ownership in order that it grows from strength to strength. Also in attendance at the regatta were Senator the Hon. Arley Gill, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Ministry with responsibility for Information and Culture and Dexter Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of the Grenada Cultural Foundation. From Deanna Isaac Carriacou