The Carriacou Regatta Committee was established in 1965 by the late John Linton Riggs, a Jamaican born yachtsman who settled here in the early 1950's.

Mr. Riggs original plan was to retire peacefully on this beautiful island, but as fate would have it, he ended up working and racing for many more years to come. Given the state of the economy Mr. Riggs was genuinely worried about the island and formulated a plan to revitalize the boat building industry, hoping to get the economy back on track. As the industry was being rebuilt, he created a regatta for workboats where professional boat builders and skippers could race amongst themselves and have a chance to win cash for their efforts.

 

He traveled from Bequia to Trinidad promoting the event tirelessly, using radio announcements such as, “Come race in Carriacou. You can win good money if you think your boat is fast enough!” Mr. Riggs was able to also convince two enthusiastic yachtsmen from Trinidad to join the organizing team for the event. His new partners, John Watson and Sidney Knox, were very instrumental in staging one of the most authentic Caribbean regattas the region would ever see.

After organizing the race for three years, Riggs decided that it was time for him to get into his own race to savour his chances. He then convinced Zepherine McLaren (winner of the large work boat class for three years) to become his partner in the building of their new boat, "the Mermaid". The agreement was that Riggs would supply the finances and McLaren, a master shipwright, would build it. As Mermaid was launched, it was evident that she would be the one to beat. With her new technological advances (new terylene sails ordered from England) Mermaid was a formidable opponent and winner of the next 7 regattas.

 

The competitors were furious that the Mermaid was allowed to sail against them, as they believed that she was more of a yacht than a workboat. This did not stop the shipwrights and captains of Carriacou who started building bigger and more technologically equipped boats, all with the intention of beating Mermaid. This spirit has lived on today as can he seen on the many workboats that are equipped currently with state of the art sails and equipment.