The Montego Bay Yacht Club is delighted to announce that Jamaica Sport, a division of the Jamaica Tourism Board as a Gold Level sponsor for the 33rd edition of the Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race. In addition, teams are gearing up in Florida for the 811-nautical mile race departing from Miami on February 3rd.
The Jamaica Tourist Board is charged with the mission of marketing the tourism product so that Jamaica remains the premier Caribbean tourism destination. Jamaica Sport, an initiative in the Jamaica Tourist Board, spearheads Jamaica’s efforts in sports tourism as it promotes the island as an ideal destination for hosting world-class sporting events. In 2015 over 2.1 million people visited the island of Jamaica, spending approximately $2.402 billion USD making tourism the largest industry in Jamaica.
“The Jamaica Tourist Board is pleased to be aligned with the 2017 edition of the Pineapple Cup, and the inaugural Cuba Cup,” said Director of Tourism, Paul Pennicook. “We continue to support the Pineapple Cup because it adds another dimension to our product offering. Jamaica offers excellent sailing options and the Pineapple Cup provides multiple opportunities to showcase the destination. The addition of the Cuba Cup strengthens the appeal of race to a wider pool of participants.”
With 15 days before the start of the Pineapple Cup, teams are in their final preparations. One of those teams, Wizard, a Reichel/Pugh 74, competed in the annual Fort Lauderdale-Key West Race this past weekend and was the first monohull to finish, the overall winner in IRC, and they also smashed the 12-year record.
Wizard Tactician, Charlie Enright said, “It’s been a successful start to our season, and we are excited about racing to Jamaica through the Bahamas and the windward passage. The Pineapple Cup is certainly one of the cooler races you can do in distance racing and while the record is up for grabs, it’s out of our control. So right now we know we have a great crew and we’re looking forward to a good race against Prospector and the rest of the fleet!”
A complete list of registered entrants can be found HERE. The Biscayne Bay Yacht Club will host the Pineapple Cup Skippers Meeting and crew party on Thursday, February 2nd. Race updates will come via daily press briefings, newsletters, Facebook and Twitter leading up to and during the race.
For more information, please visit: http://pineapplecup.com