Montego Bay, Jamaica, May 16, 2016 – The Montego Bay Yacht Club, the Storm Trysail Club, and the Hemingway Yacht Club announced today the 2017 Western Caribbean Series. The Western Caribbean Series will include the 33rd edition of the Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race and the Cuba Cup, a new race from Montego Bay to Havana following the conclusion of the Pineapple Cup.
The Pineapple Cup is set to start in Miami, Florida, on February 3, 2017 and send competitors on a 811 nautical mile course to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Following a brief stop-over and Awards Ceremony in Montego Bay, boats may elect to sail in the newly formed Cuba Cup, a 640 nautical mile race from Montego Bay to Havana set to start on February 17th.
The two events will include divisions for IRC, PHRF, double-handed and multi-hulls. Both races may be registered for and raced independently, however, there will be an overall series trophy awarded in Havana to the boat with the best combined corrected time.
The Pineapple Cup will award the Robert McNeil Mobay Course Challenge Trophy to the first monohull to break the Montego Bay Race Record of 2 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes and 42 seconds set in 2005 by Titan 12. In addition, the Silver Rose Bowl (1st monohull to finish), Silver Pineapple Cup (1st overall corrected time IRC), Silver Seahorse (1st overall correct time PHRF), Arawak (1st overall corrected time multihull) perpetual trophies will be awarded at the prize giving. The Jamaica Tourist Board Log Award will be awarded to the team with the most interesting log.
The Pineapple Cup-Montego Bay race first started in 1961 and has been run either annually or biannually ever since.
“The Pineapple Cup has long been central to Storm Trysail Club’s mission, ‘to encourage the sport of ocean racing’,” noted Storm Trysail Club Commodore Lee Reichart. “We are excited to be again partnering with the Montego Bay Yacht club to reinvigorate this classic race. We think there is great potential in the new Cuba Cup, applaud Montego Bay for expanding its offerings and look forward to the series becoming a staple in the offshore calendar for years to come.”
For more information, visit the event website at www.pineapplecup.com
