Bequia Easter Regatta huge success thanks to St Vincent Brewery – marketing coordinator

The St Vincent Brewery Ltd once again proudly embraced the Bequia Sailing Club’s premiere event – the Bequia Easter Regatta – and as a result pumped over EC$40,000 into the annual happening.

According to marketing coordinator at the St Vincent Brewery Limited Kelvin Franklyn, in 2016, Hairoun Beer took the top spot as Platinum sponsors of the Bequia Easter Regatta{{more}} and as a result, assisted in making the event that attracts thousands of persons to the Grenadine island a huge success.

“We had two consecutive days of Hairoun Challenges that saw persons being rewarded with great prizes,” said Franklyn, who stressed that the Hairoun’s presence showed at activities like the local double-enders and the Lay Day Single-Handed yacht races on Easter Saturday and Sunday.

“Hairoun is the most favoured beer on the Island and the continued loyalty of our consumers on Bequia continues to add tremendously to our overall volume and as such we see this marketing investment in the Regatta as a meaningful one,” stressed Franklyn, who noted that the Brewery’s sponsorship did nothing with the Bequia Sailing Club’s racing events.

“We also partnered with the various promoters who put on a number of very exciting, quality and entertaining functions that appealed to locals and hundreds of persons who are now drawn to the lovely island of Bequia for that special Easter weekend experience,” said Franklyn.

The Brewery man stated that Easter in Bequia marks a major peak in the tourism season, as hotels, villas and apartments are booked far in advance and restaurants and bars welcome hundreds of visitors.

“We are proud to support the tourism product on the island and we are glad that we are able to contribute to a variety of shore-based activities. Regatta fever was in the air and just about everyone was infected with the excitement of being in Bequia to celebrate tradition and excellence in sailing on the island’s biggest weekend of the year, which Hairoun beer proudly helped make a success,” said Franklyn, speaking at the end of activities last Monday.

This year’s Easter regatta marked some 36 years of unbroken dedication by the all-volunteer Bequia Sailing Club. The group has seen the Easter Regatta evolve from a small, local sailing get-together into one of the biggest sporting and tourism events in the country.

With the vital support of its sponsors like the Brewery, the regatta has continued to grow and this year, there was a record-breaking entry for yachts and local double-enders (a boat in which stern and bow are similarly tapered), which helped affirm Bequia’s status as host of the largest yacht regatta in the southern Caribbean by a wide margin.

“In fact, Bequia’s four-day Easter Regatta is renowned the world over for its unique blend of thrilling local boat racing, exciting, superbly-run yacht racing and the warm, small-island hospitality that is Bequia’s trademark,” said Franklyn.

Operations sales and marketing manager at the Brewery Shafia London-Williams said that the Brewery is proud, having once again contributed to such an event.

“Tourism and activities like the Easter Regatta are important to the country and we are happy that we were able to help make the event such a success,” said London-Williams.

The Easter Regatta ran from March 24 to 29.