Last weekend, February 4-5, 2012 was the annual Work Boat Regatta on Grand Anse Beach.

Part of the Grenada Sailing Festival, this regatta showcases the traditional boats that have been built in these islands for generations.

 We arrived early to stake out a spot in the shade and watched the vendors setting up for the day.

 We really enjoyed walking the beach for an up-close look at these beauties.

What is a boat without a name?

These boats are built by hand and without plans.  The booms are bamboo.

 A little duct tape will take care of that torn sail, hopefully!

Stepping the mast.

 The starts were amazing. The boat is pushed into the surf and held in place while the rudder is attached.

One crew member has to wait on shore. At the sound of the race horn, he sprints into the water and jumps aboard followed quickly by the rest of the crew.  The race is on!

 Capsizing occurred frequently and with the high wind conditions some boats weren't able to recover quickly.

They ended up swamped and had to be pulled to shore.

The many faces of the regatta.

A broken boom.

 There was also an Optimist class for the young sailors.

It's been a long day of rigging the boat and sailing 4 races.

Tomorrow is another day.