To mark SAIL’s 40th anniversary, the editors highlighted 40 sailors who have had the greatest impact on the sport in the last four decades. Among them are Charlie and Ginny Cary, founders of The Moorings.

Indo-Pacific lionfish are rapidly invading the waters of the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic. Due to their population explosion and aggressive behavior, lionfish have the potential to become the most disastrous marine invasion in history by drastically reducing the abundance of coral reef fishes and leaving behind a devastated ecosystem. Dr. Mark Hixon and his team from Oregon State University with support from NOAA’s Undersea Research Program (NURP) embarked on the first studies to measure the severity of the crisis posed by this invasive predator.

The lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific region, have infiltrated their way into the Caribbean. Their introduction is believed to be a result of hurricanes and tank releases during the early 1990’s. They have been spotted along the eastern seaboard spanning as far north as Rhode Island to as far south as Columbia. Protected by venomous spines, lionfish are voracious and effective predators. When hunting, they herd and corner their prey using their pectoral fins, then quickly strike and swallow their prey whole. With few known natural predators, the lionfish poses a major threat to coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean region by decreasing survival of a wide range of native reef animals via both predation and competition. While native grouper may prey on lionfish, they have been overfished and therefore unlikely to significantly reduce the effects of invasive lionfish on coral reef communities.

In the last several years, members of Dr. Mark Hixon’s lab working at the NURP Caribbean Marine Research Center at Lee Stocking Island (LSI), a field station at the southwestern end of Exuma Sound, Bahamas, have documented increasingly frequent sightings of lionfish. These findings have provided an unprecedented opportunity to study the ecological interactions of lionfish with Caribbean coral reef fish communities from the very beginning of the invasion. In the summer of 2005, they found their first lionfish near LSI. Between the fall of 2006 and summer of 2007, the lionfish population in the Bahamas increased substantially. During the summer of 2007, over 100 lionfish were spotted around LSI signifying a rapid expansion within the Bahamas.

While complete eradication does not seem realistic, affected nations are encouraged to initiate targeted lionfish control efforts as soon as possible, including targeted fisheries (lionfish flesh is tasty and cooking denatures the spine venom). Efforts to reduce densities of lionfish at key locations may help to lessen their ecological impacts. Recovering and maintaining healthy populations of potential native predators of lionfish, such as large grouper and sharks, may also help reduce the deleterious effects of these voracious invasive predators.

Calvin Reed’s Elandra, a production Beneteau First 40.7, has won the Gill Commodore’s Cup. Reed and team, sailing in the highly competitive Racing B class at this opening event of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, managed to hold off not only similar designs such as a J/120 and a couple of A40s, but also five other First 40.7s. At a special prizegiving ceremony at Port De Plaisance, Nick Gill – company chairman – presented the delighted team with a selection of Gill products including a Gill Regatta Master starting watch and kit bag.

Lifeguards and beach safety officers of the Conservation and Fisheries Department are replacing and erecting new beach safety signs on Tortola’s north shore beaches and on Beef Island.

Austin and Gwen Fragomens have released Judel/Vrolik 52' Interlodge, a newcomer to the International Rolex Regatta, Slated for March 26 to 28. For the past 37 years, the three-day event, hosted by St. Thomas Yacht Club, has a track record for delivering the goods when it comes to racing and island-style hospitality.