I write a lot about extreme sailing. That usually means elite sailors, high-end yacht design, sponsors and marketing. But it’s also worth emphasizing simple sailing adventures. No sponsors. No marketing. Just people who went sailing because they love to sail and wanted to explore. And blog, of course.

© Lloyd Images

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In a fleet as tight as the Extreme 40s have proven to be this year, being in contention for the podium entering the final day of racing is as good as it’s going to get. The races are short, and there are as many as 10 each day. Every team is well trained, focused and stacked with top talent. It’s a one-design fleet. And the final race of every Act is worth double points. When you combine all these factors with the inevitable unpredictability of sailboat racing, the idea of any team pulling away from the fleet before the final day is close to laughable.

© Lloyd Images

Flying into the finish in front of the race village.

Will, our headsail trimmer and resident X40 vet, continually warned us about the tight nature of the short course racing in store for us during the regatta. Despite a couple weeks of training and hours watching footage from previous seasons, I had no idea just how close the racing would be until the first day of the event was over.

A few days ago, I was driving up a steep, winding road in St. Maarten past a couple of grazing goats on the way back to my beachside lodging for a quick dip before the Heineken Regatta party.

Wait… Goats? Really?

My first trip to the Caribbean went along those lines: a bit of the expected, with a bit of the unexpected.