Serious mishaps with loss of life were not reported during the 30 years of existence of the Bonaire International Sailing Regatta. However, damage to participating craft has occurred on various occasions. A broken mast, the loss of a rudder or even the loss of an entire sailing vessel, a fishing vessel in this case, have shown to those in charge and those participating that the Bonaire Regatta is a safe event. These incidents may take place in any sailing event, but as long as rescue operations are guaranteed to safe lives if needed, people will be confident that the races of the Bonaire Regatta are well under control and safe.

Important in this respect are the guidance and supervision of the race committee, the police force on Bonaire and particularly the police boat and its crew, the boat and crew of the Bonaire fire brigade, and last but not least the, escort vessels of the Royal Netherlands Navy which for the past few years was the small carrier "Pelikaan", accompanied by several Boston Whalers operated by the marines. Radio communication and also the alertness of the participating vessels in the races have also highly contributed to the large degree of safety in the races.

It may not be well¬known that many crew members of the naval vessel "Pelikaan" have suffered from seasickness during the escort services that this ship has provided during the annual Regatta race round the island of Bonaire. The behavior of the "Pelikaan" in waves and swell is ugly and she rolls and pitches heavily which has its effects on the stomachs of people on board of the ship in these circumstances. In spite of any unfavorable sea: the officers and crew of the "Pelikaan" and her predecessors have done an excellent job as a reliable escort vessel for the Bonaire Regatta. The "Pelikaan" used to send one of her Zodiac boats to position a marker buoy at Cai for the regular Lac Bay race of the Bonaire Regatta. Such a buoy was also used in the past to mark the turning point at Slagbaai when Slagbaai was the destination of a race to the west coast of Bonaire in early days. Some participants in that race had difficulty in finding the correct position of this buoy which was located at a certain distance offshore.

Adverse weather conditions have also affected the Bonaire Regatta on various occasions. Strong winds but also periods with hardly any wind at all have made the Bonaire Regatta a capricious venture in certain years. Some participants who have participated in the Regatta races for many years are aware of these surprises and they have admitted that these circumstances make the Bonaire Regatta even more interesting. However, the race committee sometimes has to decide to take drastic measures because of the weather conditions, for instance shorten a race or cancel a race if there is insufficient wind. Regatta no 21 in 1988 was affected by the tropical depression Joan which resulted in two Regatta days without any wind at all. The 1988 Bonaire Regatta had 167 participants including 23 yachts, 15 Sunfishes, 28 catamarans, 73 windsurfers and 18 fishing boats. In the previous year 1987 there was a total of 187 participants, with 16 extra catamarans more and also more Sunfishes.

The 1988 Bonaire Regatta was not entirely to the satisfaction of everybody for some reasons, regardless of the weather conditions. One of the complaints was that too much attention was given to the yachts and not enough attention to the other categories.

A disappointment during the Bonaire Regatta of 1996 was the absence of a Venezuelan navy vessel. This type of vessel had served in previous years as a carrier for regatta racers from Venezuela and their boats, but also as a special attraction in port during the Regatta period. The urgent need in Venezuela to use navy vessels for cargo services has meant the end of the visits of these vessels to Bonaire for regatta purposes.

An important station for the Regatta race committee has always been the control tower. The committee members and race director spend many hours in that tower. Of course the heat made them very thirsty in the enclosed tower space, first above the dive shop in Hotel Bonaire and later in a newly constructed tower at Playa Lechi. After the return of the race committee to Hotel Bonaire/Sunset Beach Hotel this committee operated for some time from the Sunset Terrace area and the concrete pier near there. After shifting the races in 1996 from Sunset Beach Hotel to Plaza Resort Bonaire, the race committee could use of a sheltered open control tower and working space in the area near the Tipsy Seagull Beach bar. The committee members and the scoring officials were very satisfied with this location. Also the participants in the Regatta races are quite happy in this new race center situated near the entrance of the Plaza marina. Special guest, among many others, at the 1996 Bonaire Regatta was the new head of the Bonaire police force, Mr Daantje. He joined the crew of the police boat during their surveillance trips in the Bay of Kralendijk.

Press coverage of the Bonaire Regatta has always been extensive, by newspaper reporters and radio reporters, but also by television stations like Tele Curacao and Flamingo TV. It was not always easy for these reporters to get sufficient information about the results and developments of the races from members of the race committee. They have managed to do an excellent job, also thanks to the daily press meetings held at the Kas di Regatta. A friendly gesture of the organizing committee of the Bonaire Regatta has been to present to members of the press special Regatta T¬shirts with a PRENSA marking for identification. Also press representatives from abroad and their photographers have been welcome guests at the Bonaire Regatta in order to promote and boost tourism on Bonaire.

Promotion and publicity for the Bonaire Regatta has become increasingly important. Competition of other regattas in the Caribbean region is growing and this makes the market slim. However, the Bonaire Regatta is different from most other regattas because it offers the opportunity for many categories of sailing vessels to participate. Still, the organizers of the Bonaire Regatta should be on guard that even more attention and care is needed than before to keep people interested in the Bonaire International Sailing Regatta. That is the legacy that they owe to the persons who made this event the success that Bonaire has experienced for so many years.