heineken yacht scoring

Over 110 Boats Registered and Officially St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Ready

• February 29, 2024
• St. Maarten / St. Martin News Blog , St. Maarten / St. Martin Sailing Blog , St. Maarten / St. Martin Sports Blog

February 28, 2024 – Simpson Bay – Over 110 boats have registered for the 44th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta from over 20 countries around the world – as far as South Africa and Australia! Teams gathered at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Village at Port de Plaisance for registration, where they were loaded with goodies and good energy for the 4-day weekend of “Serious Fun!” ahead.

Competing teams represent over 25 nationalities, many teams sailing with mixed international crew from all over the world. Among them is GFA Caraibes – La Morrigane, Overall Winners of the 2023 St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, who are competing in the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta before the team goes on an international racing campaign. “It’s our last regatta in the Caribbean, because after that we will go to the Pacific – so we want to make a good last race here for the team,” said skipper Tristan Marmousez.

Newcomers to the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, Team Trident, have had the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta on their horizon for many months, and are thrilled that the time has finally come! “I’m super excited. We’ve been planning for 8 months with race prep and briefings, getting comfortable as a team and interviewing other skippers… I think we’re ready,” shared Captain Nico Treverno – Trident Sailing Team. Nico’s team is racing within the Bareboat class, meaning they flew in and stepped onboard a new boat to the team today, and will be racing it together for the first time! But the team is well prepared, as many are former and current students of Nico’s from his Trident Sailing Academy out of Texas, USA.

Registration is also the time for competitors to catch up and for some to meet event organizers for the first time, including members of the race committee and the jury. The international committee and jury have been expertly curated by Race Chair, Cary Byerley, who is active and well connected in the World Sailing community.

This year, Mark Townsend rejoins the committee, this time as PRO, but he is really a triple threat – umpire, judge and PRO – and one of only five people in the world who hold all three World Sailing credentials. His CV includes top events around the world, from inshore race management at the Melges 24 world championships to serving as a judge for the Rolex Fastnet Race, Mark brings a world of experience and perspectives to the Race Committee.

“We have a lot of different types of boats, so ultimately it is our job to design the right courses for the right boats. With two separate committee boats and race areas, this helps us pick a mix of windward-leeward for sportsboats and the reaching courses for the big boats,” shared Mark Townsend.

Race Director David Sprague, also brings in an international perspective, serving as past president of Sail Canada, former Director at World Sailing, and Deputy Race Officer at the Olympic Games. Complementing David’s leadership on the water will be Josje Hofland, who will be leading the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Jury. Josje has served as a World Sailing International Judge since 1992. She was a Jury member in three America’s Cups, and four Olympic Games, so certainly sets the bar high for the jury room! Josje returns for her second St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, serving for the first time on the jury 25 years ago.

Race committee would also like to take the occasion on the eve of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta to remind competitors of a few rules that will ensure “Serious Fun!” for everyone on the race course. Proper protest protocol must be followed, and a helpful protocol graphic can be found on the Regatta’s social media accounts. “And never underestimate the value of the Sailing Instructions (SIs)!” said Race Committee Chair Cary Byerley.

In the SIs, sailors can find all critical information for race information, such as all race courses, description of marks, and obstruction areas around the island. Race committee has a selection of 20 marks, including natural marks such as Table Rock and Blowing Rock at their disposal around the island, which will allow flexibility and diversity in courses for various wind angles, strengths, and best courses for each class.

Sailors can locate all racing-related information on the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta website’s Race page, or on the official regatta management system: Yacht Scoring. Race Committee has also put together a series of FAQs, which can be found online or within the Notice Board on Yacht Scoring.

Tonight, to officially kick off the 44th edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, the St. Martin Tourism Bureau invited sailors to a welcome party at the Yacht Club Fort Louis. As a true island-wide event, the opening event hosted on the French side of the island showcases the support and camaraderie celebrated on both sides of the island. The friendly competition continues with plenty of french side – dutch side duels both in the Melges 24 and Diam 24 local fleets this Thursday through Sunday.

Sailors, families, friends and members of the public are all welcome to join the “Serious Fun!” both on and off the water this February 29 – March 3. The Regatta Village at Port de Plaisance is open to all starting at 3 PM daily this Thursday, with special concerts and ticketed events running Friday through Sunday. Spectators can capture all the action from the shoreside at select “Regatta Ready” venues around the island with perfect views of the race courses: Sint Maarten Yacht Club , Dinghy Beach Bar, K for Karakter , Holland House, Seaview Hotel and Bikini Beach. Tune into Regatta Radio on 91.9 FM on island or island92.com for live commentary and coverage of the Regatta, and join the daily prize giving ceremonies hosted at 6 PM at the Port de Plaisance Regatta Village each day.

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Over 110 boats have registered for the 44th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta from over 20 countries around the world – as far as South Africa and Australia!

Teams gathered at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Village at Port de Plaisance for registration, where they were loaded with goodies and good energy for the 4-day weekend of “Serious Fun!” ahead.

Competing teams represent over 25 nationalities, many teams sailing with mixed international crew from all over the world. Among them is GFA Caraibes – La Morrigane, Overall Winners of the 2023 St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, who are competing in the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta before the team goes on an international racing campaign. “It’s our last regatta in the Caribbean, because after that we will go to the Pacific – so we want to make a good last race here for the team,” said skipper Tristan Marmousez.

Newcomers to the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, Team Trident, have had the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta on their horizon for many months, and are thrilled that the time has finally come! “I’m super excited. We’ve been planning for 8 months with race prep and briefings, getting comfortable as a team and interviewing other skippers… I think we’re ready,” shared Captain Nico Treverno – Trident Sailing Team. Nico’s team is racing within the Bareboat class, meaning they flew in and stepped onboard a new boat to the team today, and will be racing it together for the first time! But the team is well prepared, as many are former and current students of Nico’s from his Trident Sailing Academy out of Texas, USA.

Registration is also the time for competitors to catch up and for some to meet event organizers for the first time, including members of the race committee and the jury. The international committee and jury have been expertly curated by Race Chair, Cary Byerley, who is active and well connected in the World Sailing community.

This year, Mark Townsend rejoins the committee, this time as PRO, but he is really a triple threat – umpire, judge and PRO – and one of only five people in the world who hold all three World Sailing credentials. His CV includes top events around the world, from inshore race management at the  Melges  24 world championships to serving as a judge for the Rolex Fastnet Race, Mark brings a world of experience and perspectives to the Race Committee.

“We have a lot of different types of boats, so ultimately it is our job to design the right courses for the right boats. With two separate committee boats and race areas, this helps us create a mix of windward-leeward for sportsboats and the reaching courses for the big boats,” shared Mark Townsend.

Race Director David Sprague, also brings in an international perspective, serving as past president of Sail Canada, former Director at World Sailing, and Deputy Race Officer at the Olympic Games. Complementing David’s leadership on the water will be Josje Hofland, who will be leading the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Jury. Josje has served as a World Sailing International Judge since 1992. She was a Jury member in three America’s Cups, and four Olympic Games, so certainly sets the bar high for the jury room! Josje returns for her second St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, serving for the first time on the jury 25 years ago.

Race committee would also like to take the occasion on the eve of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta to remind competitors of a few rules that will ensure “Serious Fun!” for everyone on the race course. Proper protest protocol must be followed, and a helpful protocol graphic can be found on the Regatta’s social media accounts. “And never underestimate the value of the Sailing Instructions (SIs)!” said Race Committee Chair Cary Byerley.

In the SIs, sailors can find all critical information for race information, such as all race courses, description of marks, and obstruction areas around the island. Race committee has a selection of 20 marks, including natural marks such as Table Rock and Blowing Rock at their disposal around the island, which will allow flexibility and diversity in courses for various wind angles, strengths, and best courses for each class.

Sailors can locate all racing-related information on the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta website’s Race page, or on the official regatta management system: Yacht Scoring. Race Committee has also put together a series of FAQs, which can be found online or within the Notice Board on Yacht Scoring.

Tonight, to officially kick off the 44th edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, the St. Martin Tourism Bureau invited sailors to a welcome party at the Yacht Club Fort Louis. As a true island-wide event, the opening event hosted on the French side of the island showcases the support and camaraderie celebrated on both sides of the island. The friendly competition continues with plenty of french side – dutch side duels both in the Melges 24 and Diam 24 local fleets this Thursday through Sunday.

Sailors, families, friends and members of the public are all welcome to join the “Serious Fun!” both on and off the water this February 29 – March 3. The Regatta Village at Port de Plaisance is open to all starting at 3 PM daily this Thursday, with special concerts and ticketed events running Friday through Sunday. Spectators can capture all the action from the shoreside at select “Regatta Ready” venues around the island with perfect views of the race courses: Sint Maarten Yacht Club, Dinghy Beach Bar, K for Karakter, Holland House, Seaview Hotel and Bikini Beach. Tune into Regatta Radio on 91.9 FM on island or island92.com for live commentary and coverage of the Regatta, and join the daily prize-giving ceremonies hosted at 6 PM at the Port de Plaisance Regatta Village each day.

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MoSCoW Prioritization

What is moscow prioritization.

MoSCoW prioritization, also known as the MoSCoW method or MoSCoW analysis, is a popular prioritization technique for managing requirements. 

  The acronym MoSCoW represents four categories of initiatives: must-have, should-have, could-have, and won’t-have, or will not have right now. Some companies also use the “W” in MoSCoW to mean “wish.”

What is the History of the MoSCoW Method?

Software development expert Dai Clegg created the MoSCoW method while working at Oracle. He designed the framework to help his team prioritize tasks during development work on product releases.

You can find a detailed account of using MoSCoW prioritization in the Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM) handbook . But because MoSCoW can prioritize tasks within any time-boxed project, teams have adapted the method for a broad range of uses.

How Does MoSCoW Prioritization Work?

Before running a MoSCoW analysis, a few things need to happen. First, key stakeholders and the product team need to get aligned on objectives and prioritization factors. Then, all participants must agree on which initiatives to prioritize.

At this point, your team should also discuss how they will settle any disagreements in prioritization. If you can establish how to resolve disputes before they come up, you can help prevent those disagreements from holding up progress.

Finally, you’ll also want to reach a consensus on what percentage of resources you’d like to allocate to each category.

With the groundwork complete, you may begin determining which category is most appropriate for each initiative. But, first, let’s further break down each category in the MoSCoW method.

Start prioritizing your roadmap

Moscow prioritization categories.

1. Must-have initiatives

As the name suggests, this category consists of initiatives that are “musts” for your team. They represent non-negotiable needs for the project, product, or release in question. For example, if you’re releasing a healthcare application, a must-have initiative may be security functionalities that help maintain compliance.

The “must-have” category requires the team to complete a mandatory task. If you’re unsure about whether something belongs in this category, ask yourself the following.

If the product won’t work without an initiative, or the release becomes useless without it, the initiative is most likely a “must-have.”

2. Should-have initiatives

Should-have initiatives are just a step below must-haves. They are essential to the product, project, or release, but they are not vital. If left out, the product or project still functions. However, the initiatives may add significant value.

“Should-have” initiatives are different from “must-have” initiatives in that they can get scheduled for a future release without impacting the current one. For example, performance improvements, minor bug fixes, or new functionality may be “should-have” initiatives. Without them, the product still works.

3. Could-have initiatives

Another way of describing “could-have” initiatives is nice-to-haves. “Could-have” initiatives are not necessary to the core function of the product. However, compared with “should-have” initiatives, they have a much smaller impact on the outcome if left out.

So, initiatives placed in the “could-have” category are often the first to be deprioritized if a project in the “should-have” or “must-have” category ends up larger than expected.

4. Will not have (this time)

One benefit of the MoSCoW method is that it places several initiatives in the “will-not-have” category. The category can manage expectations about what the team will not include in a specific release (or another timeframe you’re prioritizing).

Placing initiatives in the “will-not-have” category is one way to help prevent scope creep . If initiatives are in this category, the team knows they are not a priority for this specific time frame. 

Some initiatives in the “will-not-have” group will be prioritized in the future, while others are not likely to happen. Some teams decide to differentiate between those by creating a subcategory within this group.

How Can Development Teams Use MoSCoW?

  Although Dai Clegg developed the approach to help prioritize tasks around his team’s limited time, the MoSCoW method also works when a development team faces limitations other than time. For example: 

Prioritize based on budgetary constraints.

What if a development team’s limiting factor is not a deadline but a tight budget imposed by the company? Working with the product managers, the team can use MoSCoW first to decide on the initiatives that represent must-haves and the should-haves. Then, using the development department’s budget as the guide, the team can figure out which items they can complete. 

Prioritize based on the team’s skillsets.

A cross-functional product team might also find itself constrained by the experience and expertise of its developers. If the product roadmap calls for functionality the team does not have the skills to build, this limiting factor will play into scoring those items in their MoSCoW analysis.

Prioritize based on competing needs at the company.

Cross-functional teams can also find themselves constrained by other company priorities. The team wants to make progress on a new product release, but the executive staff has created tight deadlines for further releases in the same timeframe. In this case, the team can use MoSCoW to determine which aspects of their desired release represent must-haves and temporarily backlog everything else.

What Are the Drawbacks of MoSCoW Prioritization?

  Although many product and development teams have prioritized MoSCoW, the approach has potential pitfalls. Here are a few examples.

1. An inconsistent scoring process can lead to tasks placed in the wrong categories.

  One common criticism against MoSCoW is that it does not include an objective methodology for ranking initiatives against each other. Your team will need to bring this methodology to your analysis. The MoSCoW approach works only to ensure that your team applies a consistent scoring system for all initiatives.

Pro tip: One proven method is weighted scoring, where your team measures each initiative on your backlog against a standard set of cost and benefit criteria. You can use the weighted scoring approach in ProductPlan’s roadmap app .

2. Not including all relevant stakeholders can lead to items placed in the wrong categories.

To know which of your team’s initiatives represent must-haves for your product and which are merely should-haves, you will need as much context as possible.

For example, you might need someone from your sales team to let you know how important (or unimportant) prospective buyers view a proposed new feature.

One pitfall of the MoSCoW method is that you could make poor decisions about where to slot each initiative unless your team receives input from all relevant stakeholders. 

3. Team bias for (or against) initiatives can undermine MoSCoW’s effectiveness.

Because MoSCoW does not include an objective scoring method, your team members can fall victim to their own opinions about certain initiatives. 

One risk of using MoSCoW prioritization is that a team can mistakenly think MoSCoW itself represents an objective way of measuring the items on their list. They discuss an initiative, agree that it is a “should have,” and move on to the next.

But your team will also need an objective and consistent framework for ranking all initiatives. That is the only way to minimize your team’s biases in favor of items or against them.

When Do You Use the MoSCoW Method for Prioritization?

MoSCoW prioritization is effective for teams that want to include representatives from the whole organization in their process. You can capture a broader perspective by involving participants from various functional departments.

Another reason you may want to use MoSCoW prioritization is it allows your team to determine how much effort goes into each category. Therefore, you can ensure you’re delivering a good variety of initiatives in each release.

What Are Best Practices for Using MoSCoW Prioritization?

If you’re considering giving MoSCoW prioritization a try, here are a few steps to keep in mind. Incorporating these into your process will help your team gain more value from the MoSCoW method.

1. Choose an objective ranking or scoring system.

Remember, MoSCoW helps your team group items into the appropriate buckets—from must-have items down to your longer-term wish list. But MoSCoW itself doesn’t help you determine which item belongs in which category.

You will need a separate ranking methodology. You can choose from many, such as:

• Weighted scoring
• Value vs. complexity
• Buy-a-feature
• Opportunity scoring

For help finding the best scoring methodology for your team, check out ProductPlan’s article: 7 strategies to choose the best features for your product .

2. Seek input from all key stakeholders.

To make sure you’re placing each initiative into the right bucket—must-have, should-have, could-have, or won’t-have—your team needs context. 

At the beginning of your MoSCoW method, your team should consider which stakeholders can provide valuable context and insights. Sales? Customer success? The executive staff? Product managers in another area of your business? Include them in your initiative scoring process if you think they can help you see opportunities or threats your team might miss. 

3. Share your MoSCoW process across your organization.

MoSCoW gives your team a tangible way to show your organization prioritizing initiatives for your products or projects. 

The method can help you build company-wide consensus for your work, or at least help you show stakeholders why you made the decisions you did.

Communicating your team’s prioritization strategy also helps you set expectations across the business. When they see your methodology for choosing one initiative over another, stakeholders in other departments will understand that your team has thought through and weighed all decisions you’ve made. 

If any stakeholders have an issue with one of your decisions, they will understand that they can’t simply complain—they’ll need to present you with evidence to alter your course of action.  

Related Terms

2×2 prioritization matrix / Eisenhower matrix / DACI decision-making framework / ICE scoring model / RICE scoring model

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