SIMPSON BAY--Heineken Regatta co-founder Robbie Ferron will no longer serve as Steering Committee Chairman of the event with immediate effect, St. Maarten Heineken Regatta announced Monday.
A joint statement issued by the Heineken Regatta and Ferron said that "the position of Steering Committee Chairman and all functions related to that position will be taken over by Mr. John Gifford, previous co-chair to the event."
The statement cited Robbie's resignation as "due to his views on the future organisation of the event differing from those of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Foundation board of directors, the organising entity."
Current operations and organisation of the regatta will continue to be handled by Regatta Director Heather Tackling and Assistant Director Michele Korteweg. "The change of Chairman will have no effect on the day to day operations and organisation of the event," the statement added.
The news will come as a shock to many in the community given the prominent role Ferron has played in the steering of the regatta's development. In a separate communication he indicated he had resigned from all positions at the St. Maarten Yacht Club, including the Heineken Regatta. However, he said he hoped the situation was "temporary."
"I am not retiring," he told The Daily Herald emphatically.
Friction between Ferron and the board had come to a head to an extent the situation had become untenable.
"There are so many issues but I don't want to go into the gory details," he said. "I want to see continued focus on sailing and sailing skills. The yacht club has grown considerably over the years and the way it is organised should reflect that growth, but I don't believe it does at the moment.
"As for the Heineken Regatta, I believe we should strategise and re-design it because we have so much competition. There are so many changes in the regatta market. But it became difficult for me to operate in the environment that the governing board created for me. They don't reply, they don't respond. Basically they don't want anything to happen."
He added: "There's a lack of interest in the core mission, in other words, putting up a great sailing event. I'm very conscious that sailors think of this as a great sailing event and you have to cater to that. Apparently this is not discussable. We've always put on a great sailing event but there are changes and you have to match the demand. I don't see the board being completely interested and I'm not being inaccurate by saying they are not interested in the development of sailing and how you manage high end international sailing events and the complications and demands that they present."
Ferron said he would be sailing as a competitor in the upcoming regatta but would be "working at finding ways to have a better situation in the future."
Asked if his own management style inflamed discussions and working relationships and ultimately was not conducive to a harmonious development of the regatta, he replied. "I probably have a lack of tolerance for people who stand still. Effectively I have not managed it as well as some people could have. There are definitely people who would like to handle it differently from the process point of view. But I'm not interested in pretending everything is fine and not challenging the situation we are faced with. And I'm probably too blunt and pushy."
Efforts to contact Commodore of the St. Maarten Yacht Club Ian Hope-Ross for a comment were unsuccessful yesterday. Calls to office and cell phone went unanswered.
Organisers of the Heineken Regatta indicated entries are ahead of the 2011 numbers to date and are looking forward to another successful event.
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