Paul Sabga's Candyman will make history on August 27 when it becomes the first boat in the 42 years of the Carib Great Race to field an all-women crew. Having already recruited his friend and lifelong boating enthusiast Frances Correia as trottlewoman, Sabga is currently holding trials among a field of seven finalists to determine the boat's driver and navigator. Narrowed down from a group of 18 respondents to an open call on Facebook, the remaining candidates include Maria LaCoa, Raenika Delaunay Belville, Chanelle Boon, Marissa Budhu, Daniella Belville, Nyla Ramdial and Kefie Jones. Named after the classic horror movie, Candyman is a 28-foot Formula Three boasting two V6 Mercury 225 HP engines and will be competing in the 70 mph class. In five appearances at the Great Race, it placed seventh overall in 2006, third in 2009 and failed to finish in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Sabga said he decided to put together an all-female team after being invited to join the crew of former champ Soul Rebel for this year's race. "I wanted to do something a little different. Everybody looked at me and said I was crazy for putting three women in the Great Race, but the concept is about having fun and proving the naysayers wrong." Placing an emphasis on safety, he has switched the boat's propellers from three-blade to four-blade and expects it to travel at 60 MPH rather than its usual 75. Correia, a general manager at Microsoft T&T, said that although she "grew up on the water," she never expected to be given this opportunity. "This has been a childhood dream of mine. While I've never raced a Great Race it's always been in my blood," she added. A big inspiration for the team has been Carol Seetai, who in 1983 became the first and only woman to win the Great Race on One Zee. Correia said that she hoped Candyman's performance would encourage more women to get involved in the sport.
"Powerboat racing has always been seen as a male-dominated pursuit and whether we win or not, I think it will be a solid statement that women can compete. I don't think there's anything out there that a woman can't do." The team is being sponsored by bmobile, who according to Correia, "loved the idea and did not hesitate to come on board." However, she admitted that a few people had remained sceptical about the idea. "There are one or two doubters who say we don't know what we're getting into. How it will never work. How we will hit the Boca and the first big wave will have us screaming and wanting to turn back. Those kind of things actually spur me on silently. I think all of the girls think like that. A lot of them are into adventure racing and have pushed themselves in different ventures so a lot of us are looking forward to pushing ourselves to another level."
